Another "ORIGINAL YODA" for sale Scam!!!

Just been informed about this Old Chris King Foam latex Yoda being sold as an original pull fro the Freeborn molds.. Chris may rain in here and shed some light on its history. I feel sorry for the person who bought this thing thinking he'd found a rare gem

STAR WARS<br>Yoda Full Head Skin - £0.00 : Propmasters.net

What is the story as that was on the site at £5000? I assumed it was a reputable company?

Simple really - I believe this company is acting in good faith that its original... But they are ignorant to the truth, basically. We just need Chris King to confirm its his old commissioned Yoda. But hey, any one who knows the sculpt will instantly see its nothing like the screen original

One other point though... if, in the worse case, this company are banding around that this is an original, and they know its not.... then what else are they selling thats not screen used??? It asks a lot of questions of the credibility of them and their sources.:unsure

Thanks for the heads up on this Phil. David at Propmasters is a great guy but it does look like he was taken for a ride by whoever consigned that Yoda head to him. It is 100% categorically NOT from the original Freeborn molds. This is in fact a latex casting from an original sculpt done by Jim Sparrow in the UK. Jim sculpted this as a personal project and I was introduced to him by fellow member "Vos". It was a lovely sculpt and much better than the Illusive Originals head (which was the only one available at the time), so I asked Jim if he could make a small handful of fully finished heads with glass eyes and they were sold to members here. What Propmasters have sold is either a "recast" from one of these heads, or it's a casting taken from Jim's molds (maybe without his knowledge because I think he shared workshop space with other prop makers), or it's a "reject" casting that Jim may have given to someone when he decided it wasn't good enough to use for the finished heads that were being sold.

In a nutshell, definitely NOT from Freeborn's original molds. I do feel very sorry for the person who purchased this and I feel equally enraged by whoever managed to sell this to Propmasters as an original!

For those of you who never saw the Jim Sparrow sculpt, here's some photos:














Chris

Would it not be worth contacting the owner of Propmasters? Obviously some of you are experts in this field and could point out this 'oversight'.

I only just saw the PM from Cyberman about this today. As soon as I saw the pics on Propmasters website, I emailed the owner of Propmasters and told him that it's not the real deal. I have sent him lots of pics of the Jim Sparrow head to show that the casting he was offering was clearly the same as the Jim Sparrow sculpt. The website was already saying "SOLD" when I saw the pics today but hopefully Propmasters will do the right thing and inform the buyer that it's not the real deal after all and give them a refund and hopefully kick the ass of the person who consigned it to them claiming it to be original!

Chris

Looks like their Rep is going to be based on depending on what they do now.

I emailed David Oliver about it and he said.....

"Hi Phil,

It came from a member of the creature effects crew on Star Wars episode one, not the original trilogy.

Best regards,

David"

Just had a reply from Propmasters. They're saying that the casting came from an Episode 1 crew member. Even though the photos on Propmasters website clearly match up with the Jim Sparrow sculpt, it seems that they're sticking to the description purely because the consignor worked on Episode 1. With all the prop makers working in the UK movie fx industry, it appears that somewhere along the lines, the Jim Sparrow molds were mistaken for the Freeborn molds, or alternatively, someone got hold of a reject casting that Jim made (or a recast of one of the heads that he made). Whatever the claims of the Episode 1 crew member are, the photos speak a thousand words and the casting sold by Propmasters is definitely the Jim Sparrow sculpt and NOT the Freeborn version. Sadly, it's too late for the person who purchased this.

If I was the owner of that site I'd reimburse the guy who bought it to the full amount and take action against the person he bought it from... its the honourable thing, now that he knows the facts.

Trouble is, the fact that the consignor was an "Episode 1 crew member" (which I'm not doubting) seems to be the only provenance required. The fact that this Episode 1 crew member has mistakenly been given or got hold of a Jim Sparrow casting is not being taken into question. I would have wanted to see a lot more provenance before making the claims about this sculpt. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, the Episode 1 crew member could have been totally convinced that the casting was what it was claimed to be and at first glance (especially in its unfinished state). It's only when you compare it to the Jim Sparrow sculpt that it becomes clear it's from that sculpt instead of the Freeborn version, but this crew member may have been naïve about it.
Chris

Cyberman said:

If I was the owner of that site I'd reimburse the guy who bought it to the full amount and take action against the person he bought it from... its the honourable thing, now that he knows the facts.

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Sounds very sus to me Chris.... I still think David should re-imburse the entire amount and claim back what he paid this supposed Episode 1 Crew member. If he doesn't then he surely can't be taken seriously again.

Thank you to Chris for the information provided.

I have been in the middle of the bereavement of my father, who passed away suddenly 6 weeks ago, so have been understandably out of the loop the last few weeks.

Firstly I most strongly say I do not appreciate certain aspertions that 'cyberman' has continually been putting across in this thread and should it continue and not be retracted I may be forced to take legal action. I pride myself on my long standing and unsurpassed 25 years + reputation in the business and do not take such potential slander and defamation of character accusations lightly.

The Yoda Pull was originaly sourced from a crew member that worked on Episode One in the creature fx department. She informed me that it was gifted to her at the end of shoot and that it was sourced from the original Freeborn Yoda for reference for the Yoda in Episode 1. I will endeavour to get back in touch with her this week to clear the points now raised. I feel there has been innocent confusion along the way and nothing along the way has been intentional to miss lead. I am a firm believer of innocent until proven guilty rather than straight away pointing the heavy accusation finger.

I have contacted the buyer and informed him of the situation that has now arisen and as is our policy with everything we sell, a full money back guarantee is assured. Those here 'worried' by this need only have viewed the website to see this fact. Only a handful of fellow reputable dealers offer such a guarantee.

I had no initial reason to doubt the piece as the line of ownership and source was deemed a reputable one. Indeed a fellow high standing collector/dealer was personally interested in the piece for his collection so the piece held up in many an expert's eyes.

Rest assured this will be sorted out to the current owner's total satisfaction, no less a service should have needed to have been expected or questioned unless from those ignorant of the service and guarantees provided by Propmasters.

Sincerely,

David Oliver

Hi David...Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

I think that if you go back and read Cyberman's post #3, you will see that he said he believed you were acting in good faith that it was original. I believe that everyone on this thread is simply hoping that you will do the right thing now that you know it's not what the buyer thought it was. It is absolutely from the Jim Sparrow mold, as can be evidenced literally wrinkle by wrinkle with the pics that are posted. Just take the time to really look at them and you will see what I mean.

The reality is that the original owner may have in fact believed whole heartedly that it was original...But that doesn't change the fact that it's not.

There's no need to pop on and immediately threaten legal action in what has been a pretty civilized thread. No one has placed direct blame with you, or even with the original owner...It could easily be a case of wrong information all the way back to the person that provided it to the Episode 1 worker.

I realize that this transaction puts you under the microscope, but I'm sure that you would agree that this is something that needs to be corrected.

Jason

Propmasters said:

Thank you to Chris for the information provided.

I have been in the middle of the bereavement of my father, who passed away suddenly 6 weeks ago, so have been understandably out of the loop the last few weeks.

Firstly I most strongly say I do not appreciate certain aspertions that 'cyberman' has continually been putting across in this thread and should it continue and not be retracted I may be forced to take legal action. I pride myself on my long standing and unsurpassed 25 years + reputation in the business and do not take such potential slander and defamation of character accusations lightly.

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If your reputation is on the line and you respond with threats rather than proofs, what good is anything you say?
You have more than one person in this thread making the same conclusion, while "scam" is probably not the term we should jump to, we all suffer from the same human condition of the ability to be fooled and take things the wrong way.
YOU are no exception. 25 years of experience or not.

Propmasters said:

The Yoda Pull was originaly sourced from a crew member that worked on Episode One in the creature fx department. She informed me that it was gifted to her at the end of shoot and that it was sourced from the original Freeborn Yoda for reference for the Yoda in Episode 1. I will endeavour to get back in touch with her this week to clear the points now raised. I feel there has been innocent confusion along the way and nothing along the way has been intentional to miss lead. I am a firm believer of innocent until proven guilty rather than straight away pointing the heavy accusation finger.

I have contacted the buyer and informed him of the situation that has now arisen and as is our policy with everything we sell, a full money back guarantee is assured. Those here 'worried' by this need only have viewed the website to see this fact. Only a handful of fellow reputable dealers offer such a guarantee.

I had no initial reason to doubt the piece as the line of ownership and source was deemed a reputable one. Indeed a fellow high standing collector/dealer was personally interested in the piece for his collection so the piece held up in many an expert's eyes.

Click to expand...

Yet, you having being human an din that part of the industry were not swayed by the photographs posted in this very thread either, so, one could reasonably assume that you, of all folks, would be doing your homework, a lot closer than the rest of us.
Just something to think about.

Propmasters said:

Rest assured this will be sorted out to the current owner's total satisfaction, no less a service should have needed to have been expected or questioned unless from those ignorant of the service and guarantees provided by Propmasters.

Sincerely,

David Oliver

Click to expand...

The buyer was informed after the new information was brought to my attention on Saturday.

When back at work on Monday I followed up the matter, contacting all involved and posting here on this thread.

I am very protective of my business and it's solid reputation hence the obvious and clear need to protect it's name legally. Not a threat. The title alone of this thread should be suffice to understand the reasoning behind this.

The skin was present in the creature fx workshop during episode one. The crew member was informed it was from the freeborn mold and was gifted it at the end of production. I feel there has definately been no line of inentional deceipt any where a long the line.


I am happy with this, the buyer is happy with this and has been refunded without question/query. All within a 3 day time span.

Nothing less should be expected with the Propmasters after sales service and guarantee. This is the first time in 25 years that the need for a refund has ever occurred. That in itself should speak volumes with regards to our reputation and how highly we value our customers.

With information that Chris has kindly supplied I am going to try and find out how the skin ended up in the creature fx workshop at Leavesden in the first place and will happily post updates here.

David Oliver

You don't need to try and gag us with blackmails or threats of legal action David... even though no actual allegations were made against you, so your comments about defamation are baseless. Read my comments again and tell me if they are Actual allegations?

A problem arose and as a member of this site I felt the need to bring this up as someone had obviously been sold a bad piece that they thought was from the screen moulds... You've thankfully come through and explained whats gone on and redeemed yourself and proven you are honourable and you business is reputable.

Thanks for your excellent conduct during this difficult time David. Your reputation remains untarnished and everyone should have no hesitation in dealing with you after seeing how you handled this. Sorry that the Yoda head did not work out to be what people thought it was. It just goes to show how tricky it is to authenticate these types of props - especially when they come from people who had involvement in actual Lucasfilm productions.

Chris

I think this is fake too.

I know someone who used to make them.

JUDGE DREDD (1995)<BR>Judge Unicard Reader - £295.00 : Propmasters.net