sskunky

Hi FISD staff, members and friends. I’d like to thank all the FISD staff for working tirelessly over the last week on this nightmare. I know it’s not a decision you and the other staff members have taken lightly. Believe me the last thing I wanted was to bring down a trusted vendor who I respected and trusted. But in his own admission of guilt has done this to himself. I’d also like to thank all members I have known on this forum for many happy years and members I hope to get to know, a heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming support I’ve had through this whole debacle. It really has been a humbling experience in more ways than one. THANK YOU ALL. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks guys. It’s not hard to see the BS when you’ve been in this hobby as long as we have. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good to see you. Shame it’s not under better circumstances.

I’m glad I’m not part of it by what I’m hearing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Isn’t it just. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks mate. I appreciate that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He’s not admitting to recasting it he is admitting he got hold of some moulds of my helmet and used them. To me it’s no different really. He still knew they were moulds of the JoeR helmet and used them. And his justification is revenge to make me feel what he felt when joe posted the photos that he bought in a private deal that was nothing to do with me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So Paul reaches out to me. If you can call it that. This all stems from a deep rooted manifested anger against me for something I didn’t do some 10 years ago. I’m not sure if you’ll remember but there were some CDs being sold of the LFL SDS court case photos taken by TE. now at this time we were just starting CFO and Matt aka TE owed me money from a deal I had with him personally. So as a settlement he gave me the photos. At this time I had no idea these were being sold for lots of money and no idea who was buying them or the conditions of those sales. It was nothing to do with me. This was a private matter between myself and TE and those who purchased the photos and the agreement they had signed to. anyway........ we thought it would be nice to release these photos to the community so everyone had accurate reference. Unbeknown to me TM had purchased these photos himself a few weeks earlier and had to sign a NDA. I don’t know what he paid for them but he tells me it was a lot. I had no idea until I received a very irate message from him after that fact. I brushed it off and got on with my life. TM however didn’t. He was furious at me and Joe. Not sure why because it wasn’t me that actually put them online and Joe was only really a part of CFO for a year or so. His legacy lives on! TM says he acquired some moulds of the JoeR Helmet and out of revenge and to recoup his loss from the photos he would start selling JoeR copies. Whilst maintaining to the community he sculpted it like he sculpts all his recasts. So in essence Paul believes he has the right to rip me off because he paid for something that we gave to the community and he didn’t think it was fair. So this is payback, revenge or whatever you want to call it. way to go mate. I have all this on a PM and can post if required.

You’ll always be BIG in my eyes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually I think it is about this. The legion and Garrisons are supposed to have a morel standing. As it stands they couldn’t care less. This speaks volumes of the integrity of its staff. And should be highlighted. They are backing a known recaster saying all TM and recasters do is exactly the same as what I do. It’s so not. This was my response posted on my behalf and I think it explains the difference for anyone that doesn’t quite understand. “Some comments in regards to the TM recast saga that have been posted on the UKG forum and it really made me quite upset with some of the opinions about recasting. Let me explain the difference as its clear that some people dont understand what I do and what TM does. It is NOT easy finding, procuring, moulding and casting original Star Wars props and costumes so all of you wonderful troopers can run around in accurate armour and helmets doing the world some good. I spend thousands researching, finding and developing Cast from original props. My original stormtrooper helmet was valued at £120,000. It’s not something that serious collectors like to take apart and mould at a drop of a hat. It takes a long time to get to know these collectors and gain their trust that I won’t damage such an expensive piece of cinematic history. I then have to design the moulds so that they vacuum without faults. This takes again a lot of time, skill and experience to get right. I spend hundreds of pounds on moulding materials for each mould. Just to put it into context I have made 4 sets of moulds and casts of the Set for Stun ANH helmet trying to get the whole thing to assemble and look like it should. Also the sheets of plastic I go through prototyping all the moulds. This all cost money and time. You see none of this is done by a recaster. They wait for me to do all the hard work, spend my money and time developing products, finding props to mould for the community. Then they get a mate to purchase a kit and pour clay in the parts. So your “All I do is cast LFL helmets, it’s no different” attitude really doesn’t represent the trouble I go to and feel an establishment like the UKG should stand up for its trusted vendors rather than ridicule. You all represent the UKG costuming group. Some of your attitudes and opinions do not reflect well in this community. I don’t expect you to suddenly change your mind. Its your choice of how you view this situation but I thought I should just try and explain the difference. Because there is a massive difference. Just because TM “makes nice kits” really should not be a reason to condone recasting. If it wasn’t for people like me, RS and a few other quality vendors who go to these lengths TM and other recasters would not be “making nice kits” and you would all be wearing Anovos and rubies licensed armour and helmets. This is my business and main income and I have a family to feed and bills to pay just like anyone else. So yes, I do do it for the money but I also do this out of passion. I’m a fan and have been all my life. I am humbled that I am in a position to give a little back to the hobby I so cherish. All the best Mark aka CFO. Cast from original. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I clearly show where Paul has written in his handwriting his full name, return address and telephone number. I covered the address and telephone number for security reasons. I didn’t think it was a good thing to do to anyone to post that kind of information on the internet despite the topic. And No, it was impossible to get a group of witnesses together for the opening. There is a pandemic going on. I’m pretty sure my evidence speaks for itself. I would also like to hear why Paul did it. I’ve invited him to say so but so far he has declined. The real background? The background is that he blatantly recast my helmet. There is no other explanation. I’m sorry if this is hard for some to accept but this is a pretty much open and shut case. I have never given Paul permission to cast any of my props, helmets and armours. It’s as simple as that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TM has sharpened and changed bits here and there including the eyes, bridge of the nose, traps and emphasised the kink. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is where I was told to post it by FISD staff. Personally I think it should be in announcements. This is a pretty huge revelation in the prop world. . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi everyone, It is with great sadness that I have to bring this to your attention. Troopermaster has recast my CFO ROTJ JoeR Stormtrooper helmet. I know this will be a hard one for some people to accept as Paul has always maintained his excellence in sculpting. Well Paul, I’m sorry to say your sculpting skills don’t really live up to what you proclaim. What I’m about to show you are a series of photos of the JoeR faceplate next to the TM ROTJ faceplate I received in a kit from Paul, that a friend of mine purchased. Whilst Paul has sharpened a few details, notably the tears have been sharpened along the edges and the middle bulge has been sanded down. The bridge of the nose has also been sharpened as has the eyes, more so along the underside. Other than that all the asymmetry is identical as are the lumps, bumps, dents and kinks. The way the light cast shadows across the two faceplates is a massive tell. There is no way you could create that similarity to that level through sculpting. I don’t care what you say. I’ve been doing this too long. All helmets I have had the privilege to offer have their own unique asymmetry. That’s something that does not carry from helmet to helmet. A lot has to do with how it was assembled and then taken apart for moulding. The way the parts are supported when moulding and the way the helmet has been glued together effect the memory of the plastic and it’s asymmetry. Moving on to the video I show just how close TMs ROTJ back n cap is when compared to the CFO JoeR. It fits inside the JoeR back n cap perfectly in asymmetry and size, yet the CFO JoeR does not fit inside the TM due to the fact that the helmet was cast from mine therefor shrinkage on a minuscule scale prevents this. The trim lines are identical to the CFO JoeR. Now the most damning evidence I can show you is the TM ears. When I saw these ear vacuum pulls from Paul I immediately saw a resemblance to my old production ear moulds I personally made, moulded and cast. Even down to my tooling and moulding marks and defects. This to me is the fingerprint of recasting. If you are going to blatantly recast and rip off a fellow vendor then at least have a bit of self respect and change the moulds. They pop on my moulds with an almost satisfying click. I say almost satisfying as they are a recast. I have lived with the JoeR and made these helmets, offering them to the community for over 10 years. I know this helmet inside and out better than anyone else on this planet. As we all know, all the original helmets have their own unique asymmetry, details and character. That is also true for each replica. I have many moulds of different original stormtrooper helmets and they all have very distinct tells to them. I also own an original screen used ROTJ stormtrooper helmet. The only way to accurately capture those unique features is by making a carbon copy. And they are obvious to someone with a trained eye, which I dare say I have, as I have not just been studying these, but been making them as well for a good decade now. I have studied these helmets for over a quarter of my life. This is what I do. What really gets me is that I have always shared my company in full transparency, honesty and a good customer service. I go to great lengths, time and financial expenditure to bring you, the community helmets and armour cast from original sources available nowhere else. When I purchased my original screen used Stormtrooper helmet I immediately shared it with Paul, sending him many close up photos and sharing information on the mic tips and internal suspension system and materials. Paul engaged with me knowing all this time he was ripping off me, my company and my products. To top it all off and to show just how confident he is, Paul sent me a message through Facebook to ask if I could help him out as he couldn’t get and decals for a couple of kits he was sending out. Turns out one of those kits was for my friend. The kit arrived without decals or mic tips. So Paul, I would also be interested to see just what your mic tips are cast from. I would also like to invite you to show off all your amazing sculpting skills to this community in a bid to clear your name. Because as it stands if you are happy to recast my ROTJ helmet what else are you happy to recast? I know a good number of very talented sculptors and all, yes all are proud of their work and constantly show pictures of their sculpts. You for some reason do exactly the opposite? This alone tells me something fishy is going on. It’s not normal. You are however happy to show finished products off telling everyone just how good you are at sculpting and how accurate you can get them. Strange that. Shame on you mate. I honestly respected you for your fantastic work. But now all I see is a individual that just can’t stand to see another vendor producing accurate products that are not available to you.. I was thinking about contacting you privately and giving you the chance to explain yourself and remove this recast and any others from your product list. But as you did not pay me the same courtesy when you decided it would be a good idea to try and diminish my business and recast my products I see no reason why I should pay you that respect. This will rock the costuming world and upset a good many people that have trusted you and spent their money on your recasts. For that I’m sorry. Paul, this is inexcusable. To think that you accuse me of being a recaster and criticise the accuracy of my helmets. How ironic. They seem to be accurate enough for you to recast! This also brings into contention everything else you make. If you are happy to recast CFO then I’m pretty sure you are happy to Recast anyone and anything. Nows the time to show us all those amazing sculpting skills you have from the beginning lump of clay to the finished product. I’m giving you every opportunity to show us your sculpting skills. And by that I don’t mean tipping a slurry of body filler and resin into a vac pull. Because let’s face it we can all do that. But to sculpt a stormtrooper helmet from scratch, ground up and get every little bit of asymmetry, exact sizing and detail correct takes some skill. A skill you have so far eluded to demonstrate. So after presenting my evidence and findings I invite Paul to explain himself. Not only is the most frowned upon action in this community it is also a kick in the face to me as a trusted fellow vendor and all his customers and loyal fan base. In a world that is tough enough selling props as it is, to have a fellow trusted vendor whom I share information and photos with do this to me is just soul destroying. Thanks for looking. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk