Friday, October 25, 2013

Recast issues in my own home! :(

EDIT: I have removed information that may allow anyone to make a search for the client mentioned in this post. I realize I'm not used to writing posts about other ppl so I made a few mistakes by thinking that as long as I did not mention my client's name and contact info I was protecting their identity. As such I apologize if my writing is a bit awkward in censoring any relevant information.

So if any of you follow my tumblr or twitter you will know that I was recently sent a recast to paint. Please note that I clearly state I do not accept or paint recasts and I am very much anti-recast. However the girl who sent the recast PukiFee Ante plate to me did not know what recasts were and as a recast commission showed up on my doorstep. At first I did not want to post any photos of this plate anywhere but then I realized it would be a good way to show ppl some signs to look out for in recasts.

Here's my experience with the recast plate and how I discovered it was a recast.
More under Cut


The first thought that crossed my mind upon opening the package was that the plate seemed oddly dark for Fairyland Normal. However since resin can change color with age I just soaked the plate in soapy water and gave it a scrub.

While airbrushing on the base layer I noticed that one of the ears was a funny shape. Upon closer inspection I saw that there was a bit missing from the tip due to bubbles but it isn't super visible with a wig on. I contacted the owner to let her know. At this point I didn't think it was a recast but I was a little suspicious because I own a lot (yes a lot) of FL dolls and I had yet to see a bubble in any of their casts.

I continued the faceup since I didn't have any proof that the doll was a recast. As I was painting her lips I realized that they were very poorly casted. They were the worse casting job I had ever seen. It was obvious that the mold was overused resulting in a loss of detail and overly wavy edges. Fine detail in lip lines require a thin fragile piece of silicone in the mold to give it that shape. Thin silicone can warp and stretch more quickly and as a result you end up with oddly wavy lip lines that no longer look like liplines.

I tried to go on with the faceup because I didn't want to accuse anyone of sending me a recast but the issue with the lips bothered me so much that I looked at the back of the plate and compared it to all my PukiFee faceplates. Needless to say I only saw more evidence that the plate was a recast at which point I contacted the owner to let her know the casting issues and to inform her that if she purchased the doll from FL recently she should inform them of the poor job they did and if she got it second hand, it might very well be a recast.

The list of issues are:
1. Bubbles in the cast.
2. Odd resin color that is darker but not yellowed.
3. Terrible casting in the lips.
4. Loss of detail/odd bumps in the ears.
5. Thinner faceplate walls.
6. Very messy texture on the inside of plate.


The owner got back to me and told me finally that it was a recast and she hadn't known about them when she bought her doll. She just thought she got a good deal and she felt very bad about it. I reassured her that since I was quite far along in the painting proccess that I would finish it and it was a mistake but she should enjoy the doll anyway.

Here are some photos I took to show the difference between a recast and a legit. Pls note that the texture on the recast is because I was in the middle of painting it and so there is paint on it.


You can see here that there are odd bits in the crevices from the bad casting. and the lip no longer looks like a lip much.





Here is the final result.


From photos it is indeed difficult to tell it is a recast. The details are very small so a lot of pro-recast ppl like to gloat that their dolls look just like the real thing. It's true that in photos it is hard to tell but in real life if you are familiar with the company there are issues that pop up. Keep in mind this is only a faceplate. I'm not sure how the body is or if its posing abilities are affected.

Since the commission ended, the owner has let me know she purchased a Pukisha straight from Fairyland and will be sending it to me to paint. I accepted this new commission a month or more ago but have since finally taken a look at my Facebook. I pretty much ignore Facebook but as a fluke I checked and saw the owner had friended me. Randomly I get a friend suggestion for a  with person with the same name as a well known recaster. The icon photo was of some blonde man so I check his page to be sure it's him. It is indeed and it really sickened me to see that he had already appropriated new sculpts from companies and was recasting them with a colorist he hired to achieve resin colors closer to legitimate resin.

Now why does this pertain at all to this recast commission? Because right there I saw that my customer had left a note on the page asking the recaster to get back to her on her new order. It left a sick feeling in my stomach so I went to check her page and noticed she had photos of various recasts including a Kinoko Juice and an oddly colored Pukisha. Not only did I notice she only had photos of recasts that belonged to her but I notice she recently took a trip to Disney Japan....now if you have money to go on a trip to Disney Japan, why don't you pay the rightful artists for their work? I would love to go to Disney Japan but I cannot afford it. Needless to say I'm quite suspicious of the incoming Pukisha and I am very very unhappy about the situation.

23 comments:

  1. As far as I know, none of the Pukisha faceplates has been recasted. I try to be update on the new recasted dolls to avoid any market place problems. The Pukisha set (ears, paws and feet) have been recasted. Thanks for the comparison, very useful!

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  2. Wow, this is indeed a bad situation. I can't believe she just plain lied to you! I would be so mad.. And I think it is within your right to refuse working with her in the future based on your suspicions! I mean, obviously she's buying from Luo. I also want to point out one extra thing you might not be aware of: I've been living in China for a few years and looked to commission Chinese artists for faceups. A lot of the really good ones are also very much against recasts. They don't only state that they will not work on recasts, they also say on their websites that if they receive a recast doll, they will not return it and will throw it away immediately. I don't know if you can really do that without getting into trouble, but openly stating that might discourage people from sending recasts to you!

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  3. Wow, this is a shame.
    Honestly, as soon as I had found out that it's a recast I would have wiped off the face-up and send everything back, after all you said beforehand that you are not working on recasts and this girl still send you her FP.
    Also your work is now on a recast and this might shine a wrong light on you and your work :(

    But it's good you made this public, and honestly: Why would you paint her another FP? Even if it's not a recast she still lied to you, numerous times, and in my opinion that's not a trusty customer.

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  4. Thank you for sharing this information. I am so sorry this happened to you (untrustworthy client), but glad you did share the photos and warnings so that those of us who Do Not wish to own recast do not get tricked into buying one.

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  5. I wouldn't touch the Pukisha faceplate at all, and tell her why. She *may* have bought the recast you painted in error (although by the fact she is in touch with the recaster on Facebook, I have my doubts) but she certainly knows what she's buying now and by association your reputation could be damaged.

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  6. Regardless of what the other person did, I do not want to ever commission you. You gave out far too many identifying details, and that bothers me deeply. It wouldn't take maybe more than five minutes of digging around on facebook to figure that out, and I fear that anyone who angers you wouldn't be safe from you trying to expose them.

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    1. It obviously isn't my intention to cause this woman harm. Honestly it did not cross my mind that anybody would waste their time trying to find out who she is. As I said it was a fluke that even I found her post. I don't harass ppl so I obviously didn't consider the possibility which is my fault. However don't treat me like someone who is directing ppl to go hunt other ppl down and don't cry witch hunt because there isn't one.

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    2. oh, and I went back and deleted some info but considering that I didn't put her name out personal information up I don't think it's a huge deal. I can't be bothered to go out of my way to harass someone so I assume most ppl don't.

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    3. Who said anything about witch hunts? Not me. I just commented that your business tactics make me deeply uncomfortable, and I'd more likely hire recast friendly artist than yourself, even though I, myself, am anti-recast. I'm sorry you don't like the way I feel, but there's no need to be as rude as you were.

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    4. I am responding to your accusation that I purposely gave out information that would allow other ppl to find my client and harass her. My only intention was to recount my experience and I admitted I was at fault for being naive about information I could put up or not. I never made any mention of my client's name out contact info. If you leave a comment that assumes I did this in purpose instead of politely pointing out my errors I will respond in kind because it is upsetting to me.

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    5. And I quote, "ecause right there I saw that my customer had left a note on the page asking the recaster to get back to her on her new order. It left a sick feeling in my stomach so I went to check her page and noticed she had photos of a recast Kinoko Juice doll, Pipos Cheshire cat and an oddly colored Pukisha. Not only did I notice she only had photos of recasts that belonged to her but I notice she recently took a trip to Disney Japan....now if you have money to go on a trip to Disney Japan, why don't you pay the rightful artists for their work?" This is all identifying information.


      How can this be seen as anything other than purposeful and intentional?

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    6. As i said before, I was merely recounting exactly what happened and not thinking that ppl would go out of their way to find my client. How is that the same as I'm intentionally putting this info up so ppl can find her. That Facebook page is not a secret and it's been up before I ever wrote this post. I'm guilty of not thinking before I posted but notfof intentional harm.

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    7. I believe you that you didn't think about it before you posted. However, Alisha is right that all the information given about the customer's pictures and activities makes it easy for the lynch mobs to find her (the devotees find people on less). There are a lot of really unreasonable people out there right now on the internet that harass and threaten over lesser issues and I've seen some pretty psychopathic behavior from anti-recast people in particular. It wouldn't surprise me at all if some people tried to hunt this woman down and do gawd knows what.

      That said, if I were you, I'd be wary of dealing with her now too if she plans to send you any more pieces that are available as recasts since you know that she does buy recasts. Maybe ask for pictures of her doll with the box and certificate?

      I think it is ridiculous of people to think negatively of you for finishing something for someone who initially may not have known that her piece was a recast. I think you were kind to finish it and that's a plus in my book. Nothing wrong with giving someone the benefit of the doubt at least once. Good karma! :D

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    8. Thank you for your comment. I have gone through the article again to make sure it's not easy to find out who the client is. If there is anything else that stands out. Please let me know. I'm not used to writing about other people so I'm not sure what information I should leave and what to take out.

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    9. That was very considerate of you :D I'm not used to writing such things either. Not much of a social person and I avoid social media (hate things like facebook), so I don't have profile information to enter.

      Ah, I just realized I forgot to mention I love your work! All your pieces are just beautiful! If I had seen your work before I painted all my own dolls I would have commissioned you for at least one! Your skills definitely faaaar surpass my own!

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  7. Thank you for the tips! Oh my, what an uncomfortable situation. I hope you don't get any more recasts in the future! I would agree with wiping the face up off of a doll if you realize it's a recast. I would hate for it to shine a bad light on you :(

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  8. I really don't think it's right of you to be bad mouthing your customers on your blog, if you don't like the fact that they have a recast, then don't take future commissions from them. I do my own faceups but tbh, I'd never ever commission someone who bad mouthed their customers on their blog for any reason. So honestly, I think you're losing a lot more future customers from your poor attitude rather than your being sent a recast by a customer.

    If you don't like that she sent you a recast- just end the transaction like a mature adult instead of griping about how the customer is a hypocrite for owning recast and going on vacation. It's incredibly rude and unprofessional of you, even if you do not disclose the customer name, it's still so childish of you to assume things about their life. The comparison pics are fine but the rude assumptions are just so childish and immature. I'd never commission anything from you even though your work is good.

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    1. I think you're excessive in your criticism. Her issue was not with the customer having a recast, it's the customer repeatedly lying despite clear guidelines on the transactions that Invie posted. I would say it's less of an assumption and more of a presumption. This is a customer who has demonstrated that she can disrespect other's beliefs and stances to get what she wants. It is not too far a stretch to say this attitude has most likely extended to her decision to buy recasts. She wants a doll, but she's not willing to pay the full price, and so she buys a recasts. You are the one who is not acting like a mature adult, unless threatening to withhold business when you initially have no business to offer is mature.

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  9. It would shock me too, if someone lied to my face like that. You gave her the benefit of the doubt, and that was really nice of you, but then she just lied to you and went and bought another recast? She should just find a recast-friendly faceup artist then, in stead of lying to people like you and make you look bad. I'm anti-recast myself, but I won't go telling people off for buying recasts. But I would be really mad if someone lied about a recast to my face. If you buy recasts, don't lie about it. If you do not want to be harassed for it (there are a lot of scary cases), don't show your recasts in places that are anti-recast (makes sense, no?) and just stick to the recast-friendly places (as I guess there must be some). I just think that it's fair for you - who openly stated that your service does not include dealing with recasts - to be frustrated that someone went and send you one anyway. I do not think bad of you for pointing out about her lying and the uncomfortable situation you ended up in.

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  10. I Think invading someones Privacy or What they do for their own choice is wrong.If you dont like recasts thats fine all good. But some people sometimes want a doll they really like and cant afford one. for others they have other reasons to buy a recast. I personally dont own any recasts. but i don't mind them one bit. Only thing i mind about recasts. Is the ones making the recasts. That they dont see the worth of art of the doll. However. When you think about this..EVERYONE in the world who buys from fairyland. All the dolls are the same too. They too got copied theres not 1 actual limited to 1 purchase to 1 doll ever. So if you think about it fairyland is selling its own recasts. because they keep making the same dolls. However that being not fully true (I KNOW THIS) however i know that recasters (those who remake the dolls) are at the fault. not the ones who buy them. Because for a fact those dolls of FL are extremely wanted and amazing. But the price is deadly for your wallet.

    As much as i know that some people use recasts as practise dolls for face-ups. so they wont screw up their original dolls. Stuff like that i find understandable. However being anti-recast does not mean any reputation goes down the drill. It could also mean if your recast friendly-painter.. Youd get more customers. because youd look more friendly more open to the community. and more sincere to peoples situations.

    I myself when i started at the hobby., I informed myself however. i found myself almost purchasing a ''cheap'' doll which ended up being recast afterall. And i canceled my order. lucky me i got my money back safely. and now all is buy them at a store or online shop of the original site(legit dolls).

    But reading that some of you peoples opinion can actually hurt a doll lover.I think its rediculous. Cyberbullying is just as painfull as normal words and actions.and to deny a recast face up or not wanting to touch a recast is just stupid to say in my opinion. Doll is a doll. They cant help it for the way they were created. they need love too, just like legit dolls. i personally find this useless to stamp someone in the ground. And personally too.While they entrusted you into their privacy.

    However. ofcourse i always agree to people who say ''Íf you wanne do it good, get the legit dolls'' because you help the business that way. I cannot immagien fairyland goners. love them.

    Dont hate the buyer or doll...Hate the makers of the recasts. those are the ones lurking peoplein en not informing on their website about recasting. People who just started can easilly make the mistake of buying a cheap one form a recaster. understandable because they wanne know what bjd is and feel like and making a major purchase for a first doll is expensive.

    Anyway i hope this sad cyberbullying stops. Because all i think is. Leave everyone at their worth. dont judge them on their dolls. My best friend has a recast.because the doll asnt in store nomore. It still looked the same and she wanted a character to look like that she was super happy with it so. aslong as people are happy with them and give them the care they need. Who are we to decide what is permitted on the communitiy...Doll is doll.

    If people wanne be bishes about recasts they shouldnt blog it. because it only makes them look dumb. in my eyes the least it makes people look disrespectfull of other peoples choices.

    ...but do as you please...as people say if you dont wanne be part of it...dont get involved withit. And recasts are part of the community. people keep talking about them.

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