Kroenen one more Time

[Jarvis B]

I was surprised to find out just how much bigger my Kroenen masks where to the original masks .
I asked around and got a casting of a Kroenen I'm sure is a recast of the Side show masks from a few years ago , I had to ask sereal people if this was the right size . The casting was warped , Thick in places , paper thin in others and the surface looked like a golf ball for the most part with barnacles on it.
I fiber glassed the inside did some filler on the out side heated it, reshaped it so it was even again and then put it on the shelf for awhile .
When I started sanding it the thin spots turned into blisters that I couldn't get away from so I made a waste mold of it to pull a few copies .
Now rather than just make the same mask everyone has I'm taking it a different direction .
Seeing the screws on the mask I thought it would be cool to make my New Mask a two piece and actually make the screws do something like attache the Mask to the Jaw , So I cast and cut one made a detail template for the inside of the jaw and did some putty work .
When its done I plan to cast the mask in Black resin and the Jaw in Cold Cast Aluminum to do away with having to paint , At least that's the plan .

Here's some pics of the progress.

 

[Rebabaluba]

Now that looks awesome! Keep the updates coming.

 

[kantgetnun]

thats killer! are you planning on doing a run of the two piece version?

 

[Jarvis B]

If interest is there why not .

 

[MooCriket]

Looks fantastic. Nice and clean. I really enjoyed this character and relish the opportunity to see another Kroenen come to life.

 

[NoTsOsErIoUs]

I'd probably be interested in one as a back up. I love my Sideshow one, but I don't like the idea of having to keep using it at cons.
A while ago at a con a little brat blindsided me with some sort of cheap anime weapon and chipped the rim around the eye. Just walked up behind me hit me and then scarpered into the crowd.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[kantgetnun]

i would be interested in another one from you also

 

[Jarvis B]

Judging from the PM's I'll more than likely be doing a small run.

 

[Jarvis B]

One Negative PM on the Kroenen Mask possibly be offered ( The Recasting Issue ).
After all this WORK should I even Bother going forward at this point?

 

[Amish Trooper]

Is it an issue because it is a Sideshow copy or because you received a recast copy of a Sideshow and are modifying it to make your own and then offering cast? You can't please everyone. Maybe notify a mod and get there opinion. Would it be easier to modify one of your own masks and then go this route?

 

[Jarvis B]

( Cleaned up and reworked or not, Its recasting a commercial piece )

Is the issue in this case , This piece has been out of production for quite a few years and is being Heavily modified , I don't want to get involved in the Recasting argument .
The point of using this casting and not one of mine was to have an accurate display piece that had the extra features to show off .

 

[Amish Trooper]

If the complaint is because it's a cast off a commercial piece then I say go for it bud. It's frowned on by some but not it against what seems the majority or the rules of this forum. There isn't a difference between this or a cast of a MR clone. Go for it. Like I said you can't please everybody.

 

[Plolol]

Hi
Nice work! Wondering if you want to start a run of this sick thing or not. Thanks

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

If the complaint is because it's a cast off a commercial piece then I say go for it bud. It's frowned on by some but not it against what seems the majority or the rules of this forum. There isn't a difference between this or a cast of a MR clone. Go for it. Like I said you can't please everybody.

Amish, the difference is that Master Replicas is out of business as a licensee and as a company in general.

Sideshow Collectibles is still a company in business, and you don´t know if they might re-release that item in the future. So, recasting an item of a company still in business might become a problem in the future.

And just because it was a "faceless company" does IMO not justify a gung-ho "go for it" recasting mentality.

Why haven´t we seen respected prop makers recast such items in good quality, but you only get those horrible casts anyway? I bet there is a reason for that...

Michael
RPF staff

 

[Amish Trooper]

When I made the post I was thinking they no longer held the license to Hellboy

 

[Prototype]

Are these availalbe for sale?

 

[Dean wanna be]

One of my all time Favorite costumes and sadly one of the most expensive to put together.

From start to finnish it was almost $1500

 

[JOATRASH FX]

You can't even get enough of Kroenen! Nice modifications so far.

But quite honestly, the recasting debate has been getting out of hand lately. It used to be about not directly ripping off someone else's hard work or taking their business from them (by selling copies of a readily available licensed product). Y'know... those "nice people" that buy a finished prop, dip it in silicone and sell crappy copies as their own "work". Nowadays people start screaming "RECASTER!" at every little thing. It's not about "honor among thieves" any longer but "let's all join the witchhunt! Where's my 100% pure, kissed-by-angels, non-recast pitchfork?" It's almost as if the paranoid nature of the outside world has begun infiltrating our little realm of prop heaven.

In this case, the Sideshow Kroenen isn't available and hasn't been for years. It's highly doubtful it would ever be reissued because the popularity of Hellboy props seems to have diminished quite a lot (unfortunately). Also, the Sideshow replica can't really be worn... it's much too small, even for my tiny 56cm (22") head. (And I don't think I'd risk wearing mine to a con or something anyway.) If this is a heavily reworked casting that ends up being an essentially different "product" (i.e. larger and wearable, as I understand it?) then I would have a hard time summing up the moral enthusiasm to light my lynching torch when the effort is best used elsewhere to combat more devious offenders. (And I say this not to stir up any trouble, but as a working producer in the games industry, where "theft" of work and intellectual property is a thousand times more rampant than in our prop community.)

We also keep coming back to this question: How can it be more acceptable to sell copies a REAL prop, the rights of which are still owned by an existing production company, than to base something off (and heavily modify) a no-longer-available licensed replica? The line has become so blurry it's hard to see where it must be drawn.