There would be more than five copies of the sculpt, but I can imagine five or less sculpts with a unique paint scheme.
It is hard to argue with "if you own it you can do what you want" but the question was about ethics. If there is such a thing as toy ethics or ethical collecting I think it is fairly reasonable to argue that customizing a 1 0f 5 gold mutant head would be unethical or at least selfish. Luckily the market is powerful enough to keep this question from coming up that often since most extremely rare toys cost loads of cash. In most cases greed keeps people in check. On the other hand I have seen the "blanks" Paul started with for the S7 Halloween show and a few of them are kinda rare. Right or wrong most customs still have a lessening effect. (IMO)
Artists rights in the work (such as in the EU) would be interesting to discuss if these weren't mass produced. But I don't think anyone really cares. Lets talk about tattoos, everyone is one of a kind, a chase maybe even, so is tattooing wrong? hmmm
Okay, then looking at it from an ethical perspective (guess I should have kept the title of the thread in mind)... If one buys a rare toy and customizes it, the immediate effect is that the resale value is killed. I only see that affecting the person who bought it, not anyone else. I don't see how the owner would be violating an ethical code by something they do with their own property. Obviously, if the buyer tries to sell it they'll likely be screwed, but 1) buying toys with the idea that you'll sell them one day and/or 2) buying toys with the idea that they'll hold value is folly, especially with a market that is fickle and faddish. (Forgive my description of this mentality as if I were a Victorian-era fop complete with frilly frock. What I mean to say is that those ideas are just outright dumb, and a losing proposition. And I apologize for the excessive Fs.) And I get the point about there being one less of something in the world, but it's something that was the product of mass-production techniques. I don't assign the same special value to it as I would something that was completely hand-made, like a sculpture or painting, and I'm not saying that those things are off-limits. I may not even mind a moustache on the Mona Lisa, as long as the person who does it owns it. I could understand people being concerned if someone was committing deliberately negative acts with a customized toy, such as trying to sell it as a legitimate variant, but I don't see the act of customization itself as something that would raise ethical issues.
no, it took me that long to get back to the thread and then it took me about 30 seconds to find the picture... I guess fops were the metrosexuals of their day...
For a moment I thought you guys were talking about my old post. Should I tell you it started life as a GID Not really, it was a Desert, I bought from a local, and it was scratched all up.
If a figure is limited to, say, 20-25 or less, and someone customizes it, it certainly will affect my decision to work with that person in the future. If someone doesn't know how rare a figure is, they should ask. I do believe a certain degree of responsiblity comes with collecting rare figures. That's my personal POV. Naturally, a person's figures are a person's figures, but I think people should know there are a number of us who share a similar POV. So, I think there would be repercussions if it comes to light that someone is having rare figures customized. Not laying down a guilt trip, law, or dogma. Just saying how I (and others) would react. As the fop would say, "Voila".
I love this post cause I love Liquid..... SOMEONE PLEASE RESCUE ME!!!! I WANT TO BE PLAIN GID AGAIN!!! MY OWNER IS A SELF-ABSORB ASSHOLE!!!! HELLLLLLPPPPPP!!! btw, to respond to scotty's original question, I don't think it's ethically wrong to customize a rare figure. I might agree that it's a tad selfish, but I also submit that, hopefully in most cases, customization improves the aesthetic value of a figure.....
Better than a self-absorbing asshole, I suppose. Then again, think of the revenues from the bladder control industry...
I think a self-absorbing asshole would cause a time-space paradox and destroy the universe, or something. Can I ask who it is who has the Skullpirate and their middle finger up?
... fuckers... funny.... that's my GID skullpirate painted by PK. never regretted doing it for a second. I get my hands on another one, i'd send it to paul again. any of you that doesn't believe it's "ethical" to have toys customized, don't sell or trade it to me.
BASTARD!! I'm still not a big fan of customs on rare toys, that said I got Paul to do a custom on a Bemon for me, I have no idea how many of that clear color were made, but it was the perfect one for the idea!
^&%%&$&@& !!!!!! So thats where it landed....Liquid, I have a Kaiju Black Cambodia just for you !!! I heard 4 Kaiju vs. 6 Vader....anyone know for sure? I love Freedom and Customs done well on commons ,but I think most can agree...it is fucked up for ANYONE to change a 1 of 5 piece ....just cause you had the $/luck to get it doesnt make it OK to do whatever you want with it whether is blank or painted. I can buy a 2000 year old tree or a 5th Century Buddah Head or a Usugrow OG...but I probably should not alter of them for any reason Thats how the NWO sees America/Most of the World...we bought / own it ...so we can destroy/change it if we want....sorry I forget this world is apolitical,,back to toys. The GID Pirate is a tough one ..33 made (I think) ...the PK spray RULES so it would be pretty hard to say it shouldnt have been sprayed.....PK is a Master and Toybot is probably gonna take it to his grave before he sells it.LOL!!! Probably too rare for me to have it sprayed by anyone but Pus...but thats me. Commons ..blank or painted....I say let Freedom reign that way they can stay Toys and not just Figurines behind glass. Maybe there needs to be a certain amount of freedom to "play" with them and some are gonna get painted or destroyed in the process...depending on your POV and the Skills of the painter. Sometimes a Piece will even become rare/sought after ... After it has been altered...but even then the price goes up accordingly and nobody will alter them anymore...like the DevilMan Evil. ***Liquid PM me about the HHH or Im a gonna set fire to this little bastard in a sacrificial offering to the HHH !!!
i personlay consider these "toys" peices of art. thats specificly why i dont mind paying what i pay for a piece of vinyl. so its hard for me to think customizing is ok, but i guess when theyr common its allright, again when we get down to limited runs of say 50, certainly anything below 20, i think your being selfish to do something with it, yes, you may own it, but i sortof consider ownership of these things the way id consider ownership of a piece of art. they are in your hands to appreciatye, enjoy, and protect. these will last almost forever and i think there will be people after us who might enjoy them, even if we bring them to our grave. sure they may not end up in those hands but thats beyond you at that point. obviously this is all just my opinion, but i think its lame, but this is coming from someone who wouldnt dare write their name on a CD, so initiling a toy or doing something of the sort is beyond me. i think if you want to customize, get a blank. if you want it to glow under the pain, paint it glow first then go on with the other paint. but leave the hard to gets out there and dont make em even harder to come by : /
ok. i'm selling all of my rxh at a garage sale and seeing what people actually offer for it next week. I'm thinking I'll get probably 5-10 bucks a figure.
