Wow.
I come back after a day, and there are 7 pages of responses regarding my work.
Thank you very much for the warm welcome, and for the kind words. They are greatly appreciated.
I'll try to answer your questions later. First:
Yeah that does look great but it also looks very close to the Triad bodies maybe to close. The wrists and knees especially. Your statements on building a body with better form is basically what I set out to do for Triad a long long time ago.
By the admin's leave, I wish to address this issue of black propaganda.
I was very much surprised that customdawg and the Triad people insinuated that I would be stealing their design. This sort of nasty thing has been posted on several boards and it is absolutely reprehensible.
Let me clarify things: such an accusation is repugnant as I DID NOT and WOULD NOT DO such a thing, nor was I influenced by any of Triad's work.
When I said all the parts and design were original, I meant exactly that: all the conceptualization, design, engineering, and sculpt for the whole figure is original and wholly mine. As has been very kindly posted by Bluesparrow at the Men with Dolls forum and in the Triad boards (which was suddenly deleted), I have been customizing and sculpting for a long time--over 2 decades--and in all that time my focus is to create new and innovative things, as those who are familiar with my work know. I have worked in various media, scales, and genres. You can check out my website for some of the things I have done, which have even merited awards in their respective areas. I have the utmost respect for the work of other artists as I consider myself one of them, and I know full well that respect is a two-way street.
The thing that Triad must realize is that the world does not revolve around Triad Toys. The world moves on, with or without you. You do not have a monopoly on innovation, and not everyone who has done a new thing is automatically because of your influence. It is terribly misguided, decidedly arrogant and ultimately foolish to assume otherwise. Especially in the light that your own sculptor admitted that he couldn't figure out my inventions.
It is even more foolish to run around posting nasty insinuations and black propaganda on publicly viewed message boards, as this severely reflects on the company you represent. Had you had any legitimate issues, you'd have contacted me personally, which you didn't. With your display of unprofessionalism and questionable ethics, a buyer should certainly think twice before doing business with you. I would definitely be watching if my designs and inventions start showing up in your work.
And if your intent is to put doubt on a potential competitor's capabilities, the only thing you've succeeded in doing is showing the world how unprofessional you are, and that your ethics are dubious.
What you failed to realize, is that by hitting the panic button and reacting in such a way you just admitted to the world how well I have done my work on both the sculpting and the engineering. And by your sculptor's admittance, that you cannot do what I have just achieved. And the irony is: by claiming credit for supposedly influencing something that had absolutely nothing to do with you, it is actually you who are taking somebody else's work.
Perhaps it is my wife who put it best, when she said to me:
"When you have invented an original thing, and that original invention sent a known company panicking, then that means you have just invented a very, VERY good thing.
And if they're trying to pull you down, it's because they realize that you are up."
I hope this would be the last word on this matter. By entering into this new scale, with its new challenges, I come in with the belief that it will be an enjoyable one. I still believe that. I bring a host of new ideas into the field, and I am very much grateful for the the vast majority's warm welcome: it is a very pleasant surprise--a humbling one--and one that is most appreciated. Thank you very much.
But to those who would, and have done so:
Know that when you jump to conclusions, the likelihood is that you'll end up with your foot in your mouth.