I think my Iron Man suit might have been recast!

[davy]

Back in September I sold Angel (aka angelousprime23) a cast of the Iron Man Mk IV suit that I painstakingly worked on for 7 months to make. After he got the shipment he asked me if he could resize and recast it. I told him no, I spent a lot of time making the suit and it is not ok to recast it. In the past couple days I have found incriminating trails that lead me to believe that he did in fact recast my suit.

You can read the post by my good friend Darkside_501st that explains my concerns better:

http://www.therpf.com/f13/iron-man-suit-kit-168335/index2.html#post2609539

Here is the information I have found that leads me to think that Angel has recasted my suit. I would encourage you all to look at his posts here in the RPF and from the following links and you will be able to see from his comments what he is trying to do:

I saw his video on YouTube where he is advertising all the things he has ‘made’ and can ‘make’ for everyone. I have also found that he purchased a raw cast of a war machine helmet on eBay (go to 2nd page of feedback comments):

Iron man war machine helmet | eBay

eBay Feedback profile for mrjamesie

Here is the link where he ‘sold’ my suit on ebay:

replica iron man suit armour prop | eBay

You can see that it is the same person. Also note that for some reason this sale and several other sales he has made have been marked private so that nobody can see what he sold.

eBay Feedback profile for johnconnerangel02

In any case, he is also now selling War Machine helmets as you can see in his YouTube video comments:

iron man helmets for sale - YouTube

You can also see in the comments he has posted that he sells (Iron Man) suits. He made a post 2 months ago that he now has a suit as well. It would seem that this was intended to be an advertisement to indicate that he now has Iron Man suits that he is selling. Since this post was made 2 months ago, right after he bought my suit, you can see that there is no way he would have had time to make the suits he is trying to sell.
I was also told from another RPF member that the Iron Man helmet he has been selling since last year on ebay was recasted from the Museum Replica’s Iron Man helmet distributed by Sideshow. You can see that his helmet looks really similar in shape and detail to that helmet. There are possibly a few differences; however, it is also possible he made slight changes using clay or some other medium before recasting the helmet.

If that is not evidence enough, I also found his Facebook pages:

http://www.facebook.com/angel.sunley/photos_stream

http://www.facebook.com/angeleffects.co.uk/photos_stream

Here is a screencap of his photostream:



And here are some comparison shots that I set up:





I would really appreciate some feedback and opinions from you guys and I would like this situation to get some serious attention from the RPF Mods and Staff. To myself and several others the proof is undeniable especially with the lovely pictures Angel posted of his recent casts on his Facebook page. Also, if you looked up and read his comments you can see that he is in the market to buy props and sell props. One should question that if he can make such good props why does he need to buy them and also note that he starts selling the same props he has been in the market to buy. Please comment and share your thoughts.

 

[oysteinhole]

No doubt about who he has recast from ....

 

[Peejfro]

DOH! LOOKS UNDENIABLE TO ME, I HAD HOPED IT WOULDNT BE BUT YOU CANT DENY IT LOOKS VERY SUSPICIOUS! DAMN ANGEL I THOUGHT YOU WERE COOL.:confused

 

[docholiday78]

By the photos they look exactly the same. I understand completly why Davy would be upset. Its not easy to build somthing as detailed as Davy's suit and for someone to try to make a profit off his hard work I would be upset too. Angel also put an interest in the stuff I sell as well...not good

 

[RussellSculpts]

I had my iron man helmet recast several times. Even had a guy try to sell the mold he recast from my helmet, so others could recast it. The jerk even offered to sell me the mold first dibs( after I called him out on it), so I could destroy it. It's a sad fact in this arena that this is going to happen to you if you sell to unknown buyers. You just have to anticipate it and obviously try to make it known when it happens, maybe they get shut down.

 

[darkside501st]

davy asked me to help him write out his post so that it is easy to follow and understand and through this I got to see all the evidence. I pride myself as being able to see things from all perspectives and I try my hardest to give everyone a fair chance at things and I can give my non biased opinion prety well even when someone I know (davy) is involved. I have to say that after seeing everything and reading all of Angel's comments, I fully believe that he has recast davy's suit as well as many other props... just look at the rest of the stuff he is trying to sell. He has probably recast all of it. I think if we posted on the 405th to see if anyone sold him a Halo costume and/or the Gears of War costume you will find someone that did. Although, it looks like he buys a lot of stuff off ebay.

 

[Mockle]

well looks like its time to say goodbye Angelousprime23.. Ban Hammer is coming...:facepalm

 

[hollywoodhardware]

I would like to thank darkside501st to help Davy with this matter.

You are really a standup guy and earned my respect!

Davy, from what it looks, I would think the banhammer would be appropriate for angelousprime23.

 

[Supa troop]

I am Mortified ................ i felt sure, no ............ hoped this was just a misunderstanding ............. i am totally gutted

 

[dms54nyc]

So what can happen to this guy? banned? Thats the risk you take. Burn

 

[electraflier]

Davy I have followed you from very early and you are one of my inspirations! I am mortified someone could stoop so low. I hope this gets resolved quickly.
It is a shame there is no way to fix this. You do have my full support in that the photos are clearly your work being recast. I know the details of your work and it is obvious.

 

[oysteinhole]

To The admin of therpf ...take responsible and banned this profile (angelousprime23)...this site is for people who love making costume and prop ...not a site to steal other work and make money

 

[Peejfro]

I am Mortified ................ i felt sure, no ............ hoped this was just a misunderstanding ............. i am totally gutted

look bud you were not the first to be fooled i doubt u were the last dont beat yourself up about it:unsure

 

[docholiday78]

I just read that He said that he built his from scratch and that Davy's suit was to small. So wheres his wip thread? A prop builder always takes photos of his process of building like Davy has done in his wip thread and showed how much work went into his build. So if he wantd to defend his name he better show some pics of him building it thats all I can say

 

[Peejfro]

I just read that He said that he built his from scratch and that Davy's suit was to small. So wheres his wip thread? A prop builder always takes photos of his process of building like Davy has done in his wip thread and showed how much work went into his build. So if he wantd to defend his name he better show some pics of him building it thats all I can say

that will never happen , "will it angel?"" if that is even your name, i am so glad i never got to buying a suit off of you cos i would have gotten ripped of big time!" Angel if I was u i would do one! and dont ever turn up in my hood! not in the best of interests!

 

[QuikSilver]

I know this is pretty harsh but really, if someone wants to buy your work, then you are essentially selling the rights to it also. If you are really that upset about someone making money of your hard work, then don't sell what you build.

I empathize with you, I would hate to see someone making money from what I have done. Angel should be banned because what he has done is completely disrespectful.

My advise to all you costume builders out there, make sure that you get some legal advise/documentation before selling your goods to prevent something like this happening. A written agreement outlining the intend and allowed uses of the item. That way if it can be proven (as is clearly the case here) then you can take legal action against them.

 

[darkside501st]

I just read that He said that he built his from scratch and that Davy's suit was to small. So wheres his wip thread? A prop builder always takes photos of his process of building like Davy has done in his wip thread and showed how much work went into his build. So if he wantd to defend his name he better show some pics of him building it thats all I can say

Yeah that is what Angel said but after davy told me his suspicion and showed me the timeline I was like... there is NO WAY IN HELL someone built a suit like that in 2 months. So we started digging.

Angel has claimed to have his WIP pics he has just never shown anyone to date even when they have been requested. I bet he will read this thread sometime soon if he hasn't already done so and just disappear. I would be surprised if he tried to defend himself somehow. I just don't see how he could make a case against this evidence. If he has WIP pics then maybe he has a leg to stand on. I just don't see how that is possible with the evidence listed in davy's post.

I know this is pretty harsh but really, if someone wants to buy your work, then you are essentially selling the rights to it also. If you are really that upset about someone making money of your hard work, then don't sell what you build.

I empathize with you, I would hate to see someone making money from what I have done. Angel should be banned because what he has done is completely disrespectful.

My advise to all you costume builders out there, make sure that you get some legal advise/documentation before selling your goods to prevent something like this happening. A written agreement outlining the intend and allowed uses of the item. That way if it can be proven (as is clearly the case here) then you can take legal action against them.

Nobody sells the rights to their work unless that is stated in the purchase agreement. The problem with prop building is that we don't own the rights to the props that we are making. The creators of said props have the rights.

It is against the law to recast something that you don't own the rights to. It is the same as plagiarism of someone's creative writings or artwork. For example, buying a licensed prop and making a mold of it and selling copies. The people that own the license can come after you. Any of us prop makers could get a C&D order from the companies that own the licenses to the props we are making. They let it happen to a certain extent because they know it increases the hype for their movies, toys, etc.

However, within the prop community there is a code of conduct and recasting someone's prop that they worked so hard on is a violation of that code. While we can not send the police after Angel or take him to court for what he has done we can ban him and do our best to make sure everyone knows what kind of person he is. Will that stop him from profiting from other's hard work... probably not. Bad people are like cockroaches, they will always exist and they are hard to get rid of. But maybe we can take measures to help protect other members on this site.

 

[hollywoodhardware]

Where are the mods when you need them? :rolleyes

 

[fingaz]

Davy SORRY to hear this has unfolded.
i couldnt attend birmingham but had a good friend who did, take me some pics of the suit as you know i had very grave concerns about the suit/auction listing when i pm'd you while the auction was live.
i received the pics wednesday and they spoke for themself.


ironic!!!!!!!!!!!!! that a iron man suit builder doesn't know which way the forearms go round

 

[jackieisrockin]

Man, that is a shame. To me, with all of the pictures you posted, it is OBVIOUSLY your suit. Not just the carved in details but the overall shape of certain pieces are exactly the same as your suit. Sorry to hear about this, Davy.