Re: Another recaster, and i think this time, I'm done..
Normally I don't chime in with all of the posts there are out there about Dave and his work, but, considering this is still something going on now after years of me hearing horrible customer reviews and experiences, and now recasting situations; I can say, myself as an actual customer of his, I never recommend him to others.
What I had received from him was three X-Men buckles. Two circle, 1 oval... well, what he thinks mathematically is an oval. He has poor communication, and rushes his jobs. That's what I can say personally as a customer.
Now, I also personally know many in my area (Chicagoland) and many friends in Florida who have had an incredible amount of bad experiences with him. As a customer, and as a person. Sarah Larson's Reddit and DeviantArt post that was linked in this thread, were products I got to hold, see, and touch as she is a personal local friend of mine.
At one point a few years back, I had commissioned (as in also paid for the sculpt and designed together) a few collar pieces (Magneto, AoA Magneto, AoA Rogue) for costumes I was making for myself and my boyfriend. I did NOT go through Dave. I went through Xtreme Design FX. Dave had asked me multiple times where I commissioned them from, so he can purchase one to copy it. He had admitted this to me, via text, a couple years ago. I repeatedly said no I was not going to give him the information (even though in all photos, I credited the prop maker). I do not know what came from that, as I have not seen that copied collar yet today.
While I have not experienced the extensive amount of drama and rip-offs that many do, I am undoubtedly all about respect and etiquette in the costuming scene, as I commission (well, used to) entire costumes myself so I am on both sides of the field which gives me an ample more amount of understanding in the community. So constantly hearing stories such as these, and more, about Dave specifically, it saddened me and I didn't want any part of him anymore. I have blocked him on everything I have and replaced my X-Men buckles with ReevzFX instead (and VERY VERY happy I did) so I never wear Dave's work again. [[[[as of 6/28/13, I removed the unnecessary post about Dave's girlfriend as it has no qualms with this situation]]]].
I am also one of the finalists in the Geekie Awards (The Angela from Spawn costume!) so it satisfies me to know he has been pulled, as that was a concern of mine as well. Since I respect and admire a lot of people here in the RPF and what it stands for, I felt now for the first time, it was necessary to openly chime in with my history and experience with Dave.