Recaster Alert

[Tom Geiger]

Guys-  I couldn't find current listings but here's everything he has put on eBay...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Automotive/2580/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=2580&LH_Complete=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=19341&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_fss=1&_fsradio=%26LH_SpecificSeller%3D1&_saslop=1&_sasl=meditrans65&_sop=1&_dmd=1&_ipg=200

Note that he has no negative feedback but 3 neutrals in the past month:

"Okay casting, lots of flash not removed"

"Poor quality casting"

"Disappointed in quality--fidelity of product doesn't match picture"

His poached products are aimed at the tuner market.  That and the fact that he's using his mother's credit card tells me this is a kid. Probably doesn't understand that he cannot copy other's products.   With the poor quality now noted in his feedback, he won't be around long.

Sad fact is that there is that a lot of guys in this hobby don't understand right from wrong.  One past caster / poacher I confronted on the phone told me that once he bought a resin product, it was his to do what he wanted with.  From his tone, he actually believed that.  And others believe if they change any small aspect of that part, that it's now their design.

He is local to NNL East, but we have no record of him every attending the show.  

[Chief Joseph]

Anthony Gimaldi took the recasts of my items off eBay when I reported him.  He is a kid.  Recasting is endemic in the car modeling section of the hobby.  Unfortunately, recasting of kit parts has gone one for so long, by some of the biggest names in the aftermarket, that dummies just think that everything is fair game to be recast.  Yes, it is true that when you buy a part from me, you can recast as many copies as you like for your own use.  But you can't give them to anyone else, and you certainly can't sell them.  In the figure modeling community, recasting is a huge problem, and to fight it, the kit producers will only sell to people that are vetted by the community.  Because of a recaster in Puerto Rico who got my items from someone else, I no longer sell to anyone in Puerto Rico without having one of my friends who is in that community actually vouch for the person.  It would be easy to simply not sell to anyone in Puerto Rico, but that is not really fair to the good guys in the hobby.  I know of some guys who will not sell to someone if they know they've bought from a recaster.  I really don't want to do that, because most of the time the buyer actually doesn't know he's bought a recast item-- he just thinks he bought a recast kit part from some kit he's never seen.

[mikemodeler]

Got another one now:  Dave Panek, who has a page called "Emergency Scale Lighting" on Facebook, is recasting my Mopar police wheels.  I sell them in 1/24 and 1/25 scale, and he bought one set of each in November.  In January, he advertised on Facebook that he had replacement police wheels for the Monaco kit.  Very convenient, huh?  He glued my separate hubcaps to the wheels and is making a one-piece copy that doesn't have the open holes that my wheels have.  Again, a completely inferior copy.  

Listen, guys, it's *easy* to take kit parts and make resin copies of them.  There are resin copies of kit parts all over eBay.  Anybody with a 40% Hobby Lobby coupon can get into the kit part recasting game.  You can recast all the kit parts you want-- I don't care.  But I make everything from scratch, and I have to research, test, and refine the things I make.  When you copy my parts, you are directly affecting my ability to make a living, and that just won't stand.  

 

That is a shame Joseph because he makes some nice lightbars for emergency vehicles that are hard to find elsewhere. The right thing to do would be to refer people to your site so they could get the wheels as you designed them.

I have yet to try casting copies of any kit parts, mainly because reputable casters like you have what I need and also have explained that it can be difficult to replicate parts.

[mademan]

wow, he has scenes unlimited, Hoppers Bazar, Eight81One , c1 models stuff that he is recasting.........

[Paul Hettick]

Every one on this board should buy a carburetor from him and leave negative feedback.   I'll be selling my own mastered resin kits on the bay soon. Looking for a way to legally protect my work from the resin thieves.

[dannyi]

Here's my take on this, "meditrans65" purchased the items from me that he's recasting. The M/T Hemi valve covers were given to me by a builder who couldn't find more available anywhere. I made several sets for him and decided to add them to my product line. Same with the Cragar wheels, a request from another builder. In fact 90% of the "kit" items we sell are requested or given to us. I've been told "I picked up a vintage kit at a garage sale or estate sale and want to rebuild it" or "I'm kit bashing and would like to have these wheels and tires" and "I just bought a resin kit and need this or that". The reasons for the requested kit items vary as much as the items do. In the several years I've been casting I've received countless requests for parts and wish I could cast them all. There is not much I can say to "meditrans65" but to go ahead a cast the kit parts. Your quality is atrocious and your ethics and sense of decency are far worse. You will come and go just like several others I've seen in the past trying the same thing. There are reputable casters filling the wants and needs of modelers that have 3 main qualities that keep them in business. 1. Quality items at reasonable prices. 2. Great customer service. 3. Filling a need. There are more factors of course, but these "meditrans65" types will never succeed because they have none of them.

Now, with that being said, casting "scratch built" or "one off" items of a any particular caster is definitely crossing the line. I'm all in for doing everything possible to stop them. I've had parts recast by others in the past and completely understand the frustration. I have good number of scratch built parts and a lot of work and time go into each one. For me, in the beginning it was a Dremel tool and sand paper. A hobby lathe came next and made some things easier but still required lots of bench time. I am learning CAD software and this has opened up a lot of possibilities for new parts, but even this is time consuming and requires certain skills that have to be acquired. All and all, a successful resin business requires a lot of time, know how, and discipline 

among plenty of other things. Someone trying to steal those efforts for their own gain is totally unacceptable. 

Bottom line, it's hard to stop these unscrupulous individuals from trying, but once they are exposed we can all pitch in to make everyone aware and do what we can to stop them. 

[LaughingIndian]

Recasting artwork has been unscrupulously done throughout history ... a way sculptors and potters have identified their work is by signing the work before casting 

 may I suggest creators of the originals "sign" their work in an embossed or imprinted sig?

this wouldn't stop thievery but would help buyers readily ID knockoffs since the sig would cast poorly 

 

I bought 1/8 scale 3D Arden heads with "Arden" barely readable from a reputable company ...

 

 

 

 

[ScottH454]

I almost started doing that, then it occurred to me that it could be erased pretty easy. We see in this guys case he doesn't even bother to hide the part numbers. I think the only way is to educate people so they know where to get the original. An as Dannyi wrote there poor quality should take care of them.

[Jordan White]

Embossing or imprinting would be smart, except if it's noticeable enough and the caster isn't dumb, they will simply fill the imprint with putty before casting (or sand it in the case of raised text).

[Ace-Garageguy]

Over the years I've made several lines of one-off full-scale aftermarket fiberglass parts for real cars (mostly Porsches, Datsun Z-cars and fairly recently some tuners and Fieros). I did all the design work, the full-scale model work, the mold work, and the production.

These things sold on average for several hundred dollars, and often, shortly after MY parts hit the market, I started seeing cheap knockoffs that were poor quality.

I countered by laminating my own business card (with a secret little trick) under clear resin on the back side of my own parts...difficult for the average slop-jockey knockoff jerk to copy.

This didn't stop the ripoffs, but it DID shut up the bozos who called me saying they'd bought my parts and they were carp.

No laminated card, it just ain't mine. Next time, buy it from ME.

[LoneWolf15]

It is a shame that these situations even exist ... Modelers wonder why their favorite aftermarket suppliers close their doors and shut down  the business ? This is the very reason !  Greed , lack of integrity , honor  , call it whatever you will , these individuals should be ashamed of themselves . Unfortunately , in most cases , they are not !  Dirk , do not think for five seconds that this " kid " does not know what he is doing . I am quite sure he knows exactly what he is doing and simply does not care whether it is right or wrong . 

Regardless of his age , nail him by legal means . It's the only way that this is going to stop . This is the very reason that Lone Wolf Custom Painting has not released a new DVD in almost nine years . Piracy , burned copies , unauthorized uploads to the Internet , etc , you name it , they found a way to steal it . So .... Every chance that the after market has the chance to bring charges and have the thieves prosecuted , it should do so ........ We have lost quite a few talented companies for the very reasons stated here , it's time to put a stop to it before we lose more . The Community itself needs to step up and refuse to purchase the knockoffs once they have been identified as such ........

Donn Yost 

Lone Wold Custom Painting 

[Tom Geiger]

. This is the very reason that Lone Wolf Custom Painting has not released a new DVD in almost nine years . Piracy , burned copies , unauthorized uploads to the Internet , etc , you name it , they found a way to steal it .

Many years ago NNL East had a video done each year. We paid a professional company that did car show videos to film this. We'd sell maybe a dozen copies each year.  As I stood at the show table attempting to sell these, people would say things like, "No Thanks. My club buys one and makes copies for all our members."  So we stopped doing the video.  Wouldn't ya know that a lot of people complained!  Many more people than we sold videos!

[LaughingIndian]

I almost started doing that, then it occurred to me that it could be erased pretty easy. We see in this guys case he doesn't even bother to hide the part numbers. I think the only way is to educate people so they know where to get the original. An as Dannyi wrote there poor quality should take care of them.

yeah I know they could take it off, but at least your original could be easily identified from a forgery ... the creator could just sign it with a sharpie. Maybe add a date and series number. If every caster started signing their work buyers would look for only signed pieces ... 

I know it'd be like a cop on a moped, but that's how the art world does it.

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Part of the problem is cultural. The notion of "copyright" is really considered to be mean and old-fashioned by many (in the minority who have even HEARD of it) owing to the widespread ripping and copying of music and video files with no payment.

The idea that an artist's work should be freely available to everyone has somehow invaded the minds of those who don't make anything original, and many of them just don't get it.

Part of it is ignorance of the whole idea that it's wrong to copy someone else's work for resale. It may be hard to believe, but it just never occurs to some of these clowns...and these are the ones who actually believe that once you buy a part, it's yours to do whatever you want with, including copying and selling copies.

Then there's plain old stupid. I actually had one fool get really angry with me, threatening to sue, after he bought a carp quality ripoff of one of my body kits, warped out of shape and made WAY too thick out of bottom-of-the-barrel resin, heavy and brittle. He actually screamed that because I had designed and made the originals, I should be responsible for making sure all the copies anywhere in the universe were made correctly...even the unauthorized copies that I made zero money on.

And don't forget cheapness. A lot of people JUST DON'T CARE if they're getting an original or a copy, as long as it doesn't cost much.

Those of you who produce ORIGINAL work need to seriously look into copyright law, and at the very least, include a little slip of paper in with your parts explaining that IT IS ILLEGAL TO COPY THEM WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

If you sell direct, you also need to get your customers to tick a box stating specifically that they will NOT copy them, and they know it's illegal to do so. This constitutes a legally binding contract, and though you'd STILL have to spend money to shut violators down, forcing buyers to acknowledge their awareness of the situation at least keeps the basically honest people honest.

 

[redneckrigger]

meditrans65 is still selling carbs on eBay.................just saw a few, and reported them to the site. Joseph, ANYONE who has seen your items will know in a blink of an eye that these gutter quality parts were not made by you!

[one_eyed_croaker]

Sounds like he is underage. My have issues taking legal action. Best you can hope for is Mom and Ebay can put a stop to future transgressions.

Edited February 26, 2017 by one_eyed_croaker

[mr68gts]

Couldnt find his copy on there just now. Maybe got pulled? I see someone else has one up with Fireballs card with it. I assume that is you Chiefjoseph?

[Chief Joseph]

Couldnt find his copy on there just now. Maybe got pulled? I see someone else has one up with Fireballs card with it. I assume that is you Chiefjoseph?

I don't sell on eBay. It's possible someone is reselling items they purchased from me. That is totally okay. I just looked it up and it looks legit. I can sell someone the complete 2-piece set for half of what he's trying to get, but that's capitalism for you. 

[jahmaljasson]

Just giving a heads up about another recaster Jeff Metzger also known as @jpscustommctwheels on Instagram and JPS customs model car and truck wheels on Facebook. Seen Shucky's centrifugal/ prochargers recasted.

[AMT Pacemakers]

?

Edited August 27, 2017 by AMT Pacemakers
i need help

[PARTSMARTY]

Copying somebody else's work is just disgusting-makes no sense to buy from them.Even though I haven't put my first order in to Joseph and I will hopefully soon-I wouldn't buy his product from anybody else.

[AMT Pacemakers]

Copying somebody else's work is just disgusting-

So. when Modelhaus copied all that stuff from AMT, that was disgusting?

-I wouldn't buy his product from anybody else.

His product? Did he create his stuff out of his mind or copy someone else?

Just curious as to why ya"ll want to hang this guy..He's just copying what everyone else has already copied .

[mikemodeler]

Copying somebody else's work is just disgusting-

So. when Modelhaus copied all that stuff from AMT, that was disgusting?

-I wouldn't buy his product from anybody else.

His product? Did he create his stuff out of his mind or copy someone else?

Just curious as to why ya"ll want to hang this guy..He's just copying what everyone else has already copied .

This is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.....

The Modelhaus offered resin copies of parts for vehicles no longer in production (promo models from the 50's-70's) and original hand crafted resin bodies and trans kits. While the did "copy" someone else's work, it wasn't currently available items.

The folks who purchase items from other resin casters who have taken the time to create a master or original item and then re-cast it themselves and try to pass it off as their own are the ones who come under fire. The issue here is that a poor copy of a quality item can have a negative effect on the original caster. Other than bringing it to the attention of the hobby via forums like this one, there isn't much the original caster can do. In the end, it will drive the quality people out of the casting business as they see their hard work and thin profits disappear when sales drop off.

[djflyer]

After seeing the heading for this thread I was curious if anything I purchased on the 'bay was a pirated copy.  So far all look legit but I am going to keep checking and file complaints on everyone that turns out like meditrans65.  I looked at his page and he's still at it with a wide range of stuff he's ripped off from other companies.  It also looks like he's trying to up his game with claims of being higher-quality pressure castings.  He seems especially fond of Hobby Design's products, one of which should get him in real trouble.  He's selling copies of their Honda F20C engine listed as "Hobby Design", not Hobby Design-like, or based-on. So he's using their name to promote his copies.

I did find what looked like the Fireball Modelworks carbs and reported him to eBay for selling unauthorized copies of this and ALL of his items. Everyone that uses this forum should do the same.  Joseph, you should also put something on your homepage in bold print about this guy and warning people about him.

 

 

[Tom Geiger]

Copying somebody else's work is just disgusting-

So. when Modelhaus copied all that stuff from AMT, that was disgusting?

-I wouldn't buy his product from anybody else.

His product? Did he create his stuff out of his mind or copy someone else?

Just curious as to why ya"ll want to hang this guy..He's just copying what everyone else has already copied .

Ya know, it would be nice if people learned about the resin business before spouting off.  

Modelhaus made replacement parts for out of print kits with full cooperation of the model car companies.  He even supplied resin copies of kits they were going to re-release to use as box art vehicles. Several ModelHaus models appear on new model kit boxes.

The model car manufacturers have actually supplied some resin casters with pre-production copies of their upcoming kits so they could get a jump start on offering alternative bodies and parts to service those kits.  There is interaction and cooperation.

On the other hand there are guys who think they can copy the original work of a current resin caster for a quick profit. Some of them out and out copy with no conscience, others make up laws to suit themselves  (if I sand the belt line molding off this body, then it's my creation).  By the very nature of their business be assured that their "copy" will be inferior to the original.  

Modelhaus had some original kits, creations of Don and a few talented sculptors like Paul Hettick that had many hours into this creation. For an idea of what work goes into this, look up the thread by DELL  (Dwayne Larriviere)  to see the amazing work that goes into creating a unique vehicle.  Then there are those among us who think  it's just fine to buy a copy and cast them up for sale.   And the people who buy from them full knowing the history to save a few dollars are just as guilty.  Is this important?  Yes it is. If we as a group allow this to continue to happen, the good people will stop creating this art and offering it for sale. That would be a great loss to us all!

The Article:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/111472-1988-1991-ford-ltd-crown-victoria-scratchbuild/

 

 

Edited September 4, 2017 by Tom Geiger