Chris Reeve Superman

[streetjudge79]

Just wanted to show you guys this piece I'm painting and attaching to a mannequin torso for one of our members. Now before any heated debates start with Chewie15 about this, I'll just come out and say it.
He apparently believes that this is a recast of his bust. This wasn't brought to light until after I painted it up. The owner thought it was a legit piece. He bought it from someone other than Howard. I just wanted to show off the paintwork, not looking to get in an argument with Chewie15. This happened to be my best Chris Reeve paint up and pretty proud of how it turned out. It's unfortunate if it is a recast, we aren't 100 percent sure. The casting was pretty much identical to Howard's. I've painted at least 4 of his heads before and all the same mold lines and resin goobers were present in this as well. I didn't suspect a thing, had no reason to.I had no idea when I got it until he said something.
The owner of this assured me he won't be buying from the guy that sold him this head again and I believe him 100 percent. Anyway, here's the piece.

 

[streetjudge79]

Here it is attached to the mannequin. I first anchored it with 5 screws, then used milliput to blend in the seam from the head to the torso. Going to sand it down tomorrow and repaint the neck area.
This is the first time I'm attaching a head to a mannequin, it's been a labor of love.

Putty is dried and hard as a rock now. Sanding it down tomorrow. The seam isn't going to show anyway with the cape and costume on, but I want to try to make it as even as I can. The neck has a quick paintjob just to blend the colors a bit here. I'll repaint it tomorrow.

Here you can see, No seam line.

 

[streetjudge79]

And the hands that I'm repainting to match the mannequin

 

[Heman]

Im not posting to point fingers and take sides and say HE SAID vs SHE SAID, but I have to state what is obvious to me and im not even the artist. That is 150% percent a recast and might I add, an extremley bad one. I am not referring to your paint job streetjudge. But I own 2 of these busts and I noticed instantly. The head looks warped on the right side, like the temple part of the face was melted or heat warped in then pushing the hair and ear out way to much. There is other parts that are off as well.

I can just safely say this was a bad attempt at recasting Howards Bust and fudging it.
Obviously, with all the recasters out there recasting everything you can think of, it is hard to be sure some times. I almost got scammed when trying to buy my cennobites, but instead of second guessing, I went straight to the different artists that did the sculpts and asked. So glad I did as the recaster lied and almost had me convinced.

That being said, I dont think you should show this particular piece on the boards as it is a painted recast and in most peoples eyes painting a recasted peice is as bad as buying one. Granted you may have not known when doing it, but you know now and definately can understand how the artist would be ticked. I would post a picture for comparision, but I dont think it needs to go that far.

 

[streetjudge79]

Well, like I said, I'm not really sure. I've painted a few of these and it's identical to Howard's castings... same resin boogers in the same places ,Same air holes, same seam lines. Howard's Reeve had a small chunk of lip missing in all his casts from flaw in the mold most likely and this had it too. His signature on the back was there also and very clear and pronounced. Most recasters usually fill those in, no? .. I can't really see what warpage you are talking about, it looks right to me. Could just be my really bad photography.. I'm not the best at taking pics, LOL. And if there is any warpage, that could have happened from being left someplace that was hot. Resin will flex some if left in a hot place too long. I guess nobody really will know 100 percent if this is recast or not. If the mods feel this is a recast, feel free to remove the post.
I know there is someone on ebay selling recasts of Howard's pieces, looks like he recasts everything he gets his hands on.. as he has done with other artists busts as well. I'm surprised Howard hasn't gone after him on ebay and alerted them. His auctions are running weekly. Fortunately, no one bids on his junk. Recasters are the slime of this hobby.

 

[streetjudge79]

Oh and I wanted to add, Howard and I were in contact a few days ago and he told me to post it up here. It was originally on my facebook page where he saw it. Unfornately, Howard and I are no longer talking due to the way he handled this. It's unfortunate because I've always respected the guy and was a good customer. He knows I only paint for members and just did away with me without even talking about it with me. But he wanted it posted , so i posted it. I'll let you guys be the judge.

 

[Heman]

But he wanted it posted , so i posted it. I'll let you guys be the judge.

Well if thats truely the case, I think my last post says it all. Howard owns the mold and has records of all the blanks he has sold and to whom. He is insisting this is not one done by him. He seams adimate on it and think he can recognize his own work. Im not the artist and I could see INSTANTLY that it was a recast. If you really want I will post a picture of the busts side by side for you to see. It would be extremely noticable......Truely and Honestly!

So if you have the artist saying its a recast, you have a fellow member who owns multiples of this bust saying its a recast and you yourself say the member bought it from someone other than howard( who still owns the mold) than I think the evidence is pretty clear.

I normally dont speak up in threads like this as I dont want to tick off my fellow collectors, but Ive become quite good friends with a number of artists and there is nothing that upsets them more than to see there hard earned work being copied and recasted. And if you even suspect that a piece is a recast you should refuse to paint it. Its better to be cautious than to error on the side of bad judgement.

Any how, its up to the mods, I think this thread should be removed but Ive said all im going to say on this matter. Cheers

 

[streetjudge79]

Well, it was painted before it was brought to my attention , so I wasn't able to refuse the job until it was too late .The work was already done. Nothing wrong was done on my part or the owner of the bust. Everything was brought to light after the fact. And like I said, I have no problem with mods removing this post. I'm totally cool with it if they feel it's necessary, Not due to it being a flaming post as we are having an intelligent, healthy discussion about it, but out of respect for The sculptor.
Oh and other members have sold unfinished busts from Howard before, there is a Keaton batman on ebay right now being sold by someone else saying he got it from Howard.I believe his user name is S lave1. So that is very much a possiblility also. Howard may keep track of what he sells, but doesn't keep track of who paints theirs up and who sells them after they purchase from him. (Not defending anyone , but just stating that it does happen)
And not defending recasting in any way here,because it's totally wrong, but you also have to realize Howard is illegally selling these himself without a license from Warner brothers or DC and has profited at their expense. Two wrongs don't make a right. He has violated copyright laws on every bust that he's sold , other than the stuff he's done for sideshow. You have to remember that also. He doesn't own the rights to any of these busts. Forums such as thestatueforum.com would not even allow him to sell there because they are illegal statues. These are facts and not my opinion. Not stating it to egg anyone on, but it's the truth. It still doesn't make recasting acceptable. I'll never buy a recast piece myself and I never have. Especially Howards. And at this point, if anyone here wants to send me anything to paint for them, it better be the original piece from the sculptor. I will not accept any paint jobs if there is prior knowledge , or any doubt of it being original. It will be returned at the owners expense or sent to the original sculptor.

I think it's important to leave this post up, so that members here will be more careful in buying their busts and ensure that they get originals. This is a learning experience for all, including me.

And to Howard, I'm sorry things turned the way they did, but a simple return of my email would have cleared everything up instead of you blowing up at me without me even being able to explain what happened.Even though we won't be doing business any longer, I still respect your feelings on the matter and Yeah, I'd be ticked if someone copied my work. You have known me as long as you've been sculpting and selling your busts here, I've been a member here 10 years,and you know I don't deal with recast work. I've always bought directly from you and so have my clients. You have sent me their busts directly so blowing up at me for no reason was wrong on your part without hearing my side. This was an unusal incident and I will ensure it won't happen again.
That's all I'm saying on this matter from here on out.

 

[frosty]

Well regardless of the busts origin, the finished bust looks ace, you did a great job on it.
How were you to know it was a recast?, if it turns out it was one, the whole recasting thing is just getting out of hand now, and all the sniping and backbiting that goes on with it.
Theres no definate proof that it is one, sorry but thats the way it is,if it is warped, it could have come into contact with heat at any time.
Really some of my fellow sculptors need a real attitude and ego adjustment, your not all knowing gods guys jeesh

 

[ave4uevoli]

Where are those mannequin fists from?
The paint up looks great. I love the eyes

 

[streetjudge79]

Thanks.. those are the soft silicone eyes from masterpiece eyes. I like them better than the glass ones. Easier to work with and you don't have to worry about breaking them.Not sure where he got the fists, I guess it came with the mannequin he got. I can ask though.

 

[jlhR2]

Very Impressive Bust! you will be putting the "s" on right?

~James 'S'

 

[streetjudge79]

Well, the owner is going to have it fully costumed and on a mannequin, so yes.

 

[streetjudge79]

My client sent me photos of the head and hands mounted to the mannequin suited up.

 

[streetjudge79]

Few more pics he sent me. The mannequin is a little skinny but he plans to bulk him up a bit.

 

[Amish Trooper]

Looks great Steve..

 

[winghead]

Nice Job!! Looks Good!!

 

[Monteburns]

The display turned out fantastic & with a little more padding he will look even better.

The costume is very well done & the eyes really stand out.

 

[frosty]

Yes the finished statue looks great! those eyes are interesting, soft silicone, never seen those before, they work well