Lazerbrain

I understand what you're all saying and I'm cool with that. As I said before, I wasn't offended by the closing of the thread in any way. All I was trying to do was find out what everyone thought and hopefully get some gray matter churning... complacency is the first step to oppression and all that. I have been reading most of the older threads, but sometimes I get ahead of myself when looking for definitive answers, so please forgive my impatience. So for the sake of everyone's sanity (including my own) I'll just sit back for a while and soak it all in. Then we'll go from there.

I just wanted to apologize to everyone for raising a few questions that I didn't fully understand and for speaking my mind about it. Apparently the status quo is good enough for most people and poking the proverbial dragon is not an option to be explored within the walls of this forum, so who am I to disrupt the natural flow of the atmosphere here. Not that I'm bitter about getting a thread closed, but I do feel a little disappointed that such things can't be discussed openly and without prejudice. Perhaps I just don't belong here and should seek the answers to my questions elsewhere. Sadly, I was just starting to like everyone and thought there was a good chance for some lasting friendships... oh well, better luck next time I guess. Again, as Han said to Wuher, "Sorry about the mess."

I was thinking the same thing, could just be the lens or angle of the camera though. Anyway, looks very convincing to me, good job!

Dude, I never said I was dumb or rich. Sure, I've been around the costuming and prop community for a few years, so one is bound to pick up interesting information here and there... after all, I do read. The fact is, I've always wanted tk armor since May of '77 and finally found a reasonably priced FX suit. But now that I actually have the armor in my hands, I didn't realize how stylized it was and regret the purchase, so here I am... does that make me a bad person?

Recasters? C'mon Phil, you're honestly going to sit there and tell me that all tk armor (except for TM's) isn't a recast in and of itself? Tisk, tisk... As for who is looking to purchase the armor, every dealer runs that risk every time he sells something, no? I mean ask yourself, have you ever met an honest and up front lawyer or corporation representative? I'd rather trust a Jawa.

Okay, just to play devil's advocate, then prove that what you say is indeed true with actual documentation or something even remotely tangible. Again, not trying to start a flame war here... just the facts, ma'am.

Hmmm... perhaps you just touched on something there, Nav. I'm going to go out on a limb here and hope nobody saws it off before I reach the end, but if you want to hear a paranoid theory, here's one: Back in the day I had a friend who was heavily into Batman and wanted a '89 suit, so he hit the forums looking for one. He finally found where all the hardcore bat-fans hung out and eventually was able to acquire a suit that was adequate from a few of the people on the forum who made them. Shortly after, another artist popped up who had better looking and better quality suits to offer for much less than the others were charging for their crappy suits. Basically, in a nutshell, what happened was that this new artist was told he couldn't sell his wears on that forum, because he offered the same things the other artists (*cough* or hacks *cough*) made and was undermined by these people and their friends (even the forum administrators) at every turn. At his wits end, the new artist became very frustrated and left the forum, never to be seen again, anywhere. In my own experience, I've seen similar acts occur in the Star Trek community, like certain individuals withholding vital information on a prop or costume simply because it made them feel they had an advantage over everyone else. I've also seen others get degraded/shunned for sharing such information or supplying tutorials on how to build a popular prop. The list goes on, but I assume you get my point. Now, I'm not saying this very thing is going on here, but it does seem rather odd that the average person or costumer has a rough time finding quality armor until he/she exerts some real effort and signs up with their local legion to become one of the 'in crowd' or emails 20 different people to track a good suit down. Is it just me or is this starting to make some serious sense? So, as I try to dodge all of the rotten tomatoes, I look forward to where this thread turns next!

I donno guys (and please don't take offense), but I think those answers smack of 'Governor Tarkin Syndrome'. I mean, didn't Tarkin say something to the effect of "Fear will keep the local systems in line... fear of this battle-station!"? Which in this situation, basically equates "fear" to being a C&D and the "battle-station" being LFL, catch my drift? To me, the C&D rhetoric is just an overplayed myth thrust upon us by other paranoid fans and holds no real weight. If you don't believe me, take a look at Ebay. There's tons of replica prop stores who openly sell unlicensed product every day and very few are shut down. Sure, one or two get suspended from time to time just to appease the powers that be (i.e. if the license holder notices and complains), but those stores are right back at it in a matter of days or weeks. The fact is, I have a hard time believing that the hand of doom is going to come down and thwart a small-time one man operation, which in turn, leads to endangering the entire hobby. Logistically, it's just not feasible for LFL to waste their time and resources on halting the actions of one person (or even a small group, for that matter) who aren't even denting LFL's profit margin in the least. Are there any better arguments out there? Prove me wrong... I dare ya'!

Okay, I'm new here and this may have been discussed before, but I just have to know what this is all about, so here goes... It's always bewildered me as to why tk armor isn't openly sold by its makers and everyone is also reluctant to divulge any information about it in public. LFL obviously knows the armor is being made and purchased, so what's the big deal? Yes, GF got slapped around pretty good by the LFL lawyers back in 2001 (hell, I even have a copy of the C&D filed away), but isn't that all water under the bridge at this point? After all, the current attitude is that LFL turns a blind eye to the Star Wars costuming/prop fan community, so do you really think they'll go after a small operation like AP or TE2? I'm guessing it's highly unlikely they would, considering the fact that these armor makers are usually sole proprietorships and not flooding the market with manufactured product in high quantities. Granted that the armor in question is copyrighted and licensed, but just how much control can LFL really hope to obtain? With that said, could someone please explain to me (in a logical and thought out manner) why the making and purchasing of tk armor is such a mysterious entity? P.S. to the mods: It's not my intention to start any trouble, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the situation... so delete this post if you deem it necessary.

Ah-ha! Seems my window wasn't wide enough, but once I extended it, the menu bar corrected itself (fixed width=bad layout IMHO). Well, they don't call me Lazerbrain fer nothin'!

My Controls? Where is that? I used the SETTINGS button on my PROFILE screen and thought it was where you set everything up, because I couldn't find any other place to do it. Could it be that I'm missing a 'active x' or 'java' control somewhere? Because the menu bar at the top of every page is all outta whack for me.

For some reason my avitar and sig aren't showing up in my posts. Can anyone help me out here?