I wanted to hear how people feel about the recent slew of resin bootlegs of other toy makers sculpts, I'm curious as to why this hasn't come up already but bugs the hell out of me, I've seen it done a few times now, first with Bemon but now with Longneck and Zollmen as well, original toys that have been shrunk down and recast in resin. is this acceptable and would people turn a blind eye or even support it if say a MVH or PK toy was getting the same treatment?
To me it feels like a poor show and I could get my head around it if say the toys were being resculpted or weren't being made any more but as they are I see it as untactful and disrespectful to the original makers.
opinions??

"Firewood out of the fallen tree"

I think it is disrespectful to the original artist, but so is blatant flipping or stripping their work to make shitty customs.

And none of that shits going away.

Blurry lines here.. I think to be more specific, there's reproductions, bootlegs and uninspired copies.

Repro's and bootlegs are good in my books. Uninspired copies not so much.

What about someone making bootlegs off of pieces that are still available from the original creator?
That seems shady if they aren't getting a cut of the money.

yeah I think its acceptable when a sculpt or character is reimagined or a sculpt from the past is resurrected but simply shrinking down a 2/3/5 yr old toy and re casting it isn't cool. infact its pretty disgraceful

Ironpaw - that is exactly what I'm talking about

I guess I'm weird as I don't see the same problem as some of you do. Since it's already been mentioned, I like Kevins resin Bemon and I don't think he is ripping the original Bemon off at all. The only thing I would have a problem with is if he was making actual Bemons and trying to sell them as actual Bemons. Personally I don't have any real vinyl Bemons in my collection but I do have more than one of Kevin's. I think they are witty, cute/ugly, and even somewhat conceptual, after all isn't Kevin the one that roasted a Bemon to a crisp on his bar-b-que?Also his little resin is much more in my price range than the inflated original.

...it's all good so long as it does something new with an existing piece. A mere carbon copy though, meh.

Carbon copy to me means exactly that. There's no way in hell that anyone could confuse Kevin's Bemon with an actual Bemon. It is definitely not a carbon copy. The best protest someone could have if they don't like what other's are doing with these "copies" is to not buy them.

It's a double edge sword for me..being someone who works in resin and produces original resin pieces. I love the resin Bemon Kevin made! Heck I own a few. But for how big that piece is and the fact that shrinking the sculpt down or actually resculpting the Bemon and how having them rotocasted I would think he is almost breaking even on them. I look at it as more of a fan piece. My struggle has always been more with mashing up bits of other toys and casting them in resin and selling them for $100..sorry but I'm no sucker.

for me, i see it like doing a cover song...

if you can't add to it, for god sakes please don't go there.

but, if you can take it up a notch, or add a different dimension...by all means go for it.

having said that, please recognize that 96% of Beatles covers are fucking awful and pointless.

...100% with you man. LOVE what Kevin + MosterIsland are doing with the resin right now myself!

To me I think its good for practice at making molds of your own sculpts and whatnot, or if you customize them in some weird way that you would never have done to the actual toy. However if you just make copies, whats the point?

I don't particularly care. But then, I've pretty much stopped caring about all of the "toy controversies"...and most toys.
With that said, depending on the toy I kinda like the idea. All I've noticed are the Bemons. And in that case I particularly like it because, other than getting a good deal on an original in the BST, the maker has made them nearly impossible to buy. So, rather than go without - buy one from a guy who'll make them available for purchase. Basically, Honda (or whatever his name is) gave everyone interested in buying his toys a big middle finger and I see the resins as a big middle finger pointed right back at Honda. That's probably not Kevin's intention, but that's what I like about his bootlegs.

I think it really depends on the situation. I agree with the above though that carbon copies are bleh... Also how many more star wars resin bootlegs can possibly be made? Some stuff out there is great but then i feel like i see the same stuff over and over again from different makers!

Yeah, I am so tired of all those SW bootlegs being tossed around, what we need to see is some MOTU style toys, now that would be sweet.

I don't know why everyone is isolating out Kevin's pollution monster as an example. Anyone with a couple brain cells to rub together is not going to mistake it for a 'Bemon.' The scale is totally different, the sculpt is an original effort, and it is in a completely different medium. This is an homage/tribute, not a knock-off - and believe me, there is an universe of difference between that and a straight up copy.

I don't know if Honda got his knickers in a twist over these or not, and frankly don't care. He should be honoured if anything. You guys understand he didn't create the creature design himself either, right?

People are going to do what they want. Working with resin is just another craft hobby. If you are not selling shit with the purpose of profiting off someone else's established license or marketing your stuff as if it were the actual thing, no harm is done really. If it's crap, it's crap - and people will be sure to tell you; if you have talent, and it's cool, someone else might want one too.

I don't collect bootlegs, I really only like original characters and sculpts.

I guess there are some unlicensed characters out there like the bemon or 2 headed bemon, that someone could make and there would be no licensing issues and that is fine. But yeah if you're taking current artists or companies licensed characters or intellectual property and making your own versions and trying to sell casts, I don't know get ready for some shit... if someone ever tried to bootleg one of my figures, I would be pretty pissed off.

Bemon Made 2 Headed Bemon, which is a pretty accurate (and amazingly cool) depiction of the Monsters of Filmland Cover Monster, no? Here we have an age-old debate that will never be decided....Warhol, Lichtenstein & Kaws? Fun discussion tho.

If you didn't sculpt it, you shouldn't make money off of it. And that would include slapping a head on a re-casted MOTU body. Really doesn't take any skill to pour resin on something you didn't create.

Would it be OK to make prints of COOP's work and sell it? No...

[Hides three shelves of bootleg CKs] That is exactly what I am saying. Bootlegging a original concept toy that is out there now doesn't even make sense, and is a terrible insult to the artist if you are selling it. However, I guess because I am not working in resin, but I still see it as a niche hobby, that people mostly are doing for the fun of it. Stuff I have seen for sale has all been generally original sculpts and I tend to think if someone is doing an hommage to a character they love, it is probably just for themselves; I am not going to hunt into people's basements to see who is fiddling around with some clay that now resembles another toy....because largely they will just look something like this



If you are copying/ripping off/faking any artists' work for your own gain, that is NOT COOL. Don't do it. Ever.

If someone is going to make some Mickey Mouse/Batman/Spongebob/Ultraman figures because, 'hey I am a fan!' out of resin, sculpy, clay, paint, matchsticks, whatever - you'll never stop them. And if I sculpt a statue of the Mona Lisa, is that a bootleg? What about a Lite Brite Vader? My point is this discussion all depends on what you are referring to. Art, hobby, production piece, it is all different.

A bigger problem is that with the increased ease and knowledge of it, everybody thinks they are a professional [hyperbole]. A better discussion is whether/what a crime it is, and how the original artists feel, to see their toys covered in disgusting custom paint jobs.

^^ I think that a big issue is really just this whole independent toy thing is just hugely over saturated with people trying to get involved and make shit, and most of it is just that, shit.

I'm not going to tell anyone not to have fun making whatever or painting whatever, but can't you be somewhat critical and maybe surround yourself with other critical artists, and maybe think about if the stuff you're making is really worth promoting and trying to sell or should just be for fun. That's my whole problem with the resin and bootleg scene, once people realized anyone could do it, it just seemed to explode and all of a sudden there were 100 duded out there just spamming every media space they could trying to promote and sell crap. And now you can't find the guys who are worth being noticed because there is just too much garbage blocking them. And that spills over into vinyl and it just discredits all really great design and work because you look at this as designer toys as a whole and it's 95% junk.

^^^^
Re: 'the proliferation of resin/vinyl toys' -

...the yin and yang of DIY - easy to make is a double edged sword.

the double edged sword wouldn't come into play if morals were abundant

If the bootleg is vintage I like it, otherwise I don't give a shit....