lharles
Sr Member
Matt,
First of all, well done on the article.
Second, I am absolutely a reformed consumer/customer due to my experiences building my own stuff since becoming fully engrossed in this hobby a couple years ago.
For a long, long time I was interested in things like a replica of Han Solo in carbonite but was astonished at the cost of purchasing such a thing from someone. I simply couldn't justify the cost & thought that it was outrageous to think that someone would pay thousands of dollars for such a thing when someone could just pour a bunch of latex over it and make a copy~!
Then, as I got involved in making these things myself, getting wrapped up in the joy of creating these things, the time taken to assemble something properly, the passion that takes you past the idea of 'good enough' to the point of 'better than expected' & in some cases to 'just like the one in the movie' - I began to realize that many times the items folks make are worth far MORE than they're asking.
Folks are trying to make these little tidbits of imagination born into the world through hard work & hard spent dollars available to other folks who love them...without completely losing their shorts doing it. I absolutely GET that now.
The longer I'm involved with this hobby here on the RPF, the more respect I gain for the artistry of the individuals who do the work to make some amazing things.
Their efforts are certainly worth more than the cost of raw materials & are - to folks who appreciate them - works of art which have a value more than just a monetary one since they really do capture the moment in time when you first encountered something like Doc Brown's flux capacitor or Deckard's blaster.
I don't know about anyone else but every time I wander into the room where I've put all these little pieces of pleasant memory brought to life, I'm hard pressed not to strain the muscles that keep a persistent smile on my face.
Thanks for writing the article, sir. Well put, well said.
First of all, well done on the article.
Second, I am absolutely a reformed consumer/customer due to my experiences building my own stuff since becoming fully engrossed in this hobby a couple years ago.
For a long, long time I was interested in things like a replica of Han Solo in carbonite but was astonished at the cost of purchasing such a thing from someone. I simply couldn't justify the cost & thought that it was outrageous to think that someone would pay thousands of dollars for such a thing when someone could just pour a bunch of latex over it and make a copy~!
Then, as I got involved in making these things myself, getting wrapped up in the joy of creating these things, the time taken to assemble something properly, the passion that takes you past the idea of 'good enough' to the point of 'better than expected' & in some cases to 'just like the one in the movie' - I began to realize that many times the items folks make are worth far MORE than they're asking.
Folks are trying to make these little tidbits of imagination born into the world through hard work & hard spent dollars available to other folks who love them...without completely losing their shorts doing it. I absolutely GET that now.
The longer I'm involved with this hobby here on the RPF, the more respect I gain for the artistry of the individuals who do the work to make some amazing things.
Their efforts are certainly worth more than the cost of raw materials & are - to folks who appreciate them - works of art which have a value more than just a monetary one since they really do capture the moment in time when you first encountered something like Doc Brown's flux capacitor or Deckard's blaster.
I don't know about anyone else but every time I wander into the room where I've put all these little pieces of pleasant memory brought to life, I'm hard pressed not to strain the muscles that keep a persistent smile on my face.
Thanks for writing the article, sir. Well put, well said.
