Chris Howes' Sculptural Creations

[Husker75]

You have got to be kidding me.... Honestly I have stayed out of this except for watching it all unfold and I really don't have anything at stake here other than this whole situation has totally changed the attitude on the board and being a custom artist I feel the ripples just as everyone else. The point is is is pure stupid to try and spin this aroung like people should feel bad about there actions. Did it get out of hand..yes, but all he had to do was just post a freaking update. Every artist on here, myself included has gotten a little bit behind and all it takes is just post an update and assure people that they are getting what they ordered. Also when doing so don't lie about it repeatedly and then have the gault to act shocked when they question you. Are you that God Dammed arrogant to think we are that far beneath you we dare not question you about it. Most people wouldn't have reacted as bad as they did save for his freaking ego.

Geeze.... what a mess and load of crap...

This really has changed the whole attitude of the boards towards customizing. And i think that is sad. Especially with great customizers like yourself working for us. But wouldn't you agree that things got out of hand? It just scares me how far people have taken this. I know that you would have handled this better. Which is what makes you a better custom creator and businessman. But I believe maybe chris was so used to dealing with commercial deals, he didn't know how to handle the person to person deals, and that is where he messed up so bad. Maybe he just didn't know how to communicate, and thus created this cluster.. well.. you know.
I also guess i didn't see as much of his ego as a lot of you did. I thought he was just acting in defense because so many had attacked him while he was away. But i can see how his comments made everyone think he was acting like he was high and mighty and not to question him. And that troubles me too.

 

[Husker75]

Someone, anyone, answer two questions about Chris Howes for me without using the words "recaster" and "Russian."

1. A month ago, in Chris's own words, all the unpainted and undrilled House heads shipped. It's the second time in two months he has said all the heads were shipped. Who besides me has received one and posted photos of it?

2. Chris promised to post photographs of the progress he has made on the Maximus project seven times, and nothing was posted any of these seven times. This series of promises dates back to January. How many months do I have to be promised photos that never come, before it's justified to be frustrated out loud?

I don't want the Maximus progress photos now. I want the finished product, and I want it yesterday.

My birthday is in two days. As a present to myself, I am mailing off the papers to sue Chris Howes in small claims court. The court date will be set thirty days later. That is ample time for him to make good on the Maximus project or refund my money. No more games for me.

1. Recaster. 2. Russ...

ok.. just trying to lighten the mood.

But really:

1. I have no idea.. He obviously lied, since i don't have my head yet either.
2. Obviously, i would exercise more patience in waiting for the maximus stuff. But i don't have any of it on order. And you do. And while I disagree with the way you have handled a lot of things on here, i do wish you the best of luck in court, and hope you will keep us informed. I really hope that if it comes to court, he makes good on the project, or refunds your money. Like i said, i didn't like the way you reacted sometimes, but it also really frustrated me to read how many times he blew you off when you asked him questions.

 

[Husker75]

Fear? Revenge?

Didn’t this start when Collector49 asked him to just plain communicate with the board, to just simply inform on the status of projects, and later to find out why people on ebay were getting the items that SSF members had already paid for months ago. Who’s afraid, and what was there to be afraid about?

All kidding aside I hope Chris gets the work he’s be paid for done and shipped at some point. But the instant Chris realized he was in over his head he should have made it right, right then and there, not disappear and cut communication.

Chris could have solved this way back with one big picture of his work bench.

yes, that is what he should have done. But obviously he didn't. And honestly, even if he did, do you really think everyone would have just been like.. "oh.. ok.. well then.. we are cool!" and waited for a few more months? of course not. Things were steadily building for a long time, and his communication was deteriorating all the while.

 

[Husker75]

This is complete BS and he knows it. I have not seen anyone attacking him for any reason other than the fact he took their money and ran.

He has repeatedly lied and given some of the lamest excuses I have ever seen.

There is not anyone person that has any other motives or reasons to attack or ruin him as he is claiming. He took on more work than he could handle and blamed all the problems on everyone that sent him money in good faith. He was never at fault was he.

Ask him the following Husker75 since you seem to be the only one that he is still communicating with.

1. Way back before any of this started and he was communicating with people why did all communications suddenly stop as soon as a refund was requested.

2. Why does he have to lie about things that are not done and that have not been shipped out. He has stated numerous times to people that things were done and have shipped only to have nothing arrive weeks later. He has lied to me on 3 occasions that he had shipped my stuff and nothing ever arrived.

3. There is no one that is doing this out of FEAR and REVENGE about Chris, this is just more of his BS they are doing it because he ripped them off plain and simple.

4. I am pretty sure that he does not have the money to refund anyone so why doesnt he just be a man about it and say so.

5. He has the power to make this all go away and get better. If he did the right thing then there is not one person that could launch a smear campaign for whatever reason against him that would hold up. If he was sending out things as he said he is and people were receiving them then that one person would be discredited quickly like they were a disgruntled employee. There is not just one person that is trying to "RUIN" him, he has done a fine job of that all by himself.

6. Someone pays you money you send them what they paid for, if he thinks that this person is a "RUSSIAN RECASTER" or whatever then dont send them the product and refund their money. Its really pretty simple.

I am glad he has someone that will listen and believe his BS, he has brought all of this on himself and I feel no pity for him at all......

If he can not be man enough to take blame for his own actions or lack of them then he deserves whatever he gets.........

He is the one that needs to grow up and do the right thing.

Ok then..

You are wrong about people not being at least somewhat going after him. I have seen recasts of his sculpts myself on ebay being sold by others who are not authorized to do so. Not saying that justifies a damn thing. But i have seen it, and know that at least the recaster bit is partially true.
No confirmation on that russian spam thing though yet!

I'm not the only one he's communicating with. And I can't get a straightforward answer out of him half the time either. Which is why i know he didn't do this on purpose just to steal peoples money. I think he seriously just took on too much, and completely collapsed and has no idea what to do. And instead of doing the smart thing, and taking our suggestions, he's letting his own ego and insecurity get the better of him.

1. No idea. He also stopped talking with me about the refund topic when i brought it up. He continued to talk to me, but i decided it was smart not to persue the refund topic until after i get my own head.. (if i actually get one, i'll continue to press him on this)
2. I have no idea why he is lying. But one thing is for sure, he is a compulsive liar.
3. I disagree.
4. As i said, i don't think he has the money either. And i think he is too scared to say that. I wish he'd man up to it too.
5. Agreed.
6. I would agree. Except the recaster wasn't russian. And if a known recaster ordered from me, i'd immediately return his money, or refund it. I have no idea if he did so.

As you can all see, i love talking to you all. I'm not going anywhere. And if you ask me something, or respond, i'm more than happy to discuss it in a timely fashion.

I know we are all upset. My only point was that we needed to calm down a bit and make sure we were not behaving childishly (like chris has so far). I hope that eventually, when people read what i'm actually saying, they realize i'm not on chris's side at all. In fact, i think it is very sad what has happened. I'm just still hoping for a better outcome.

 

[Husker75]

So is the plan to just go into hiding until some unspecified point in the future when he can deliver everything people paid for?

Sure seems like it, doesn't it?

 

[Morbo]

does all this mean I'm not going to get my Denzel Washington head? I paid $25.

 

[Shai]

So did he came through on anything recently...???

 

[Husker75]

not that i have seen. Just the head he sent collector49.

 

[Darren Carnall]

as a customiser myself (And one who tries to answer emails every morning)... threads like this make me sad. For those who have handed money over and don't know what is happening, and for Chris who clearly took on more than he could manage (and I can relate to that)... but isn't giving updates like he should

 

[captdan]

Ok then..

You are wrong about people not being at least somewhat going after him. I have seen recasts of his sculpts myself on ebay being sold by others who are not authorized to do so. Not saying that justifies a damn thing. But i have seen it, and know that at least the recaster bit is partially true.
No confirmation on that russian spam thing though yet!

I'm not the only one he's communicating with. And I can't get a straightforward answer out of him half the time either. Which is why i know he didn't do this on purpose just to steal peoples money. I think he seriously just took on too much, and completely collapsed and has no idea what to do. And instead of doing the smart thing, and taking our suggestions, he's letting his own ego and insecurity get the better of him.

1. No idea. He also stopped talking with me about the refund topic when i brought it up. He continued to talk to me, but i decided it was smart not to persue the refund topic until after i get my own head.. (if i actually get one, i'll continue to press him on this)
2. I have no idea why he is lying. But one thing is for sure, he is a compulsive liar.
3. I disagree.
4. As i said, i don't think he has the money either. And i think he is too scared to say that. I wish he'd man up to it too.
5. Agreed.
6. I would agree. Except the recaster wasn't russian. And if a known recaster ordered from me, i'd immediately return his money, or refund it. I have no idea if he did so.

As you can all see, i love talking to you all. I'm not going anywhere. And if you ask me something, or respond, i'm more than happy to discuss it in a timely fashion.

I know we are all upset. My only point was that we needed to calm down a bit and make sure we were not behaving childishly (like chris has so far). I hope that eventually, when people read what i'm actually saying, they realize i'm not on chris's side at all. In fact, i think it is very sad what has happened. I'm just still hoping for a better outcome.

First let me thank you for trying to keep things in perspective....

I'm a little confused about the recasting situation, kinda hard for someone to be able to recast any of his sculpts if he never sends any out to people. If his logic is I am worried that people will recast my hard work then he should not take money from people and he should stop offering his services......As it stands right now he has stolen a lot of money from a lot of people and that makes him a thief and no better maybe worse than a recaster.....

I have seen a few comments made about some one having ulterior motives and is trying to ruin him, I really do not understand this nor do I agree with it. As I mentioned earlier if there is a small group out to get Chris all he would have to do is make good on the orders and deliver what was paid for. If he did that this small group of troublemakers would be discredited quickly and be ignored. The problem is he has not made good on things he was paid to do and as far as I can tell only 2 people have received anything from him.

I am trying very hard to understand his logic and no matter how I twist and turn everything it all comes right back to Chris being deceitful and constantly lying to people. Again if there is an individual or small group that has underlying motives for trying to ruin him (which by the way I think is BS) then deliver to the rest of the people and the ones he claims are out to get him would all fade away and be forgotten very soon. Actions or lack of them speak louder than words and no matter how I try I can find no one to blame but Chris......

I do not think anyone was ever complaining about the time frame as long as they were being periodically updated and he was communicating. There are people now that have been waiting for over a year with numerous promised deadlines come and gone and now all communication stopped......

Just can not buy his BS anymore.......

 

[Spenser]

And honestly, even if he did, do you really think everyone would have just been like.. "oh.. ok.. well then.. we are cool!" and waited for a few more months? of course not.

If the picture showed that he was indeed working on what he said he was, and showed progress…Yes I do honestly believe it would have.

Many guys here repeatedly said they would wait. Many sighted the others on this forum who have taken a year or more to get the job done and that they where okay with it. Not crazy happy about the wait, but at least those guys are communicating. So yes I believe it would have solved a world of problems, maybe not all (that eBay thing was a dumb move.) but most would have.

The re-caster thing…This is just the nature of this hobby, it’s going to happen, it’s happened to me more times than I can count over three different hobbies. Do you want to know what you do about it? First identify the re-caster so everyone knows who the jerk is, and then MOVE on.

On a side note… thanks for being the messenger on this Husker, it took some guts to be the one to post all of this.

 

[Studio49]

It all comes down to trust.

I seriously considered altering my spending habits because of this. But then I realized that one problem transaction is not worth missing out on custom items by people who have their head on straight. Guys like Darren, Xenoviper, Spenser and BlindVoyeur have working email addresses. That is really all it comes down to. If you know you CAN contact somebody, many times you don't feel the NEED to contact them. Just knowing they are still there if you want to contact them makes a world of difference.

The wait of several months or more for custom work becomes tolerable as long as contact is still open. I think the real ripples are going to be felt by new customizers who come to the board. They are going to have to have product in hand, and work hard to build good reputations before people trust them on the level that someone would trust one of the guys I mentioned above. This is the way it should work. I lost sight of this because Chris had a great song and dance.

For the record, I do receive contact from Chris. Well, I did up until yesterday when I told him I was taking this situation to court. At this point, I am escalating my response to the situation, because I don't feel Chris is taking it seriously. He continues to promise photos are coming "in a few more days," and then nothing shows up. He refuses to post photos of individual components which he claims are done. I paid for multiple items in the Maximus commission, and I think photos of one or two parts probably would have stayed me for a few more weeks. But the days of Chris buying time with the promise of delivered goods and progress photos of the work are long gone. He lost that trust and seems not to care.

 

[Something Sexy]

I will let him keep the Dexter money and hopes that I get that head someday but all I wanted was a refund for the Lone gunmen heads which I know he hasn't started. Regardless if he was pushed out of here or not or attack he has some of the worst business practices ever. If a customer is requesting a refund (especially on work that wasn't started on a commission that has a lot more than the required people) he really should give it.

Of course I am just speculating he hasn't started but if it is true he isn't coming back..then I really want my damn money back.

 

[galactiboy]

What's sad is that (at least from what was said here) he is trying to use the actions of others as an excuse to avoid the entire board. I think Spenser is dead right, if he simply posted one image of the in-progress sculpts he is working on it would go a long, long way to stemming concerns.

Avoiding people only makes things worse. I personally wasn't up in arms or all that bothered when the first thread asking where Chris was started, but now I'm actually offended by how cowardly he's been in addressing his lack of progress. Saying that he refuses to post here because of other members is just dead wrong and there is absolutely no justification for it. I am very supportive of customizers and have never pushed someone for work to be sped up, but I've also never delt with a customizer who acts so unprofessional; which is even more ironic as he bills himself as a professional sculptor.

 

[morethanatimelord]

As an outsider looking in on this i have to say i think Chris`s behaviour has been unbelieveable.

When you pay someone for a commission that artist is meant to honor that commission in a respectable timeframe. I have paid for many commissions from many artists over thears (even took on commissions myself) and if they believe they have far to much work on at the time then they do not take my commission until the rest have been settled. To take on work when you know you cant complete it in a promised timeframe is unprofessional

What Chris has done here is im afraid inexcuseable. I understand that there are 2 sides to every story but if the accused doesnt state his story then what are the victims surposed to believe?.

The sad thing is all of this could have been solved very simply but it wasnt

 

[captdan]

As an outsider looking in on this i have to say i think Chris`s behaviour has been unbelieveable.

When you pay someone for a commission that artist is meant to honor that commission in a respectable timeframe. I have paid for many commissions from many artists and if they believe they have far to much work on at the time then they do not take my commission until the rest have been settled.

What Chris has done here is im afraid inexcuseable. I understand that there are 2 sides to every story but if the accused doesnt state his story then what are the victims surposed to believe?.

The sad thing is all of this could have been solved very simply but it wasnt

I agree, and I still can not understand his conduct in this situation.

As Spenser mentioned, recasting seems to be a part of the hobby. If your so worried about your work being recast then don't put it out there to be copied which is what he is doing. But you do not take people money and cut off all communication.

I can not emphasis enough that if he had been delivering items as promised then it would be very difficult for anyone or even a group of people to discredit him so this ulterior motive and "Out to Get Him" crap doesnt fly.

For someone that is supposedly working 100 hour weeks as he stated he sure as heck doesnt have a lot to show for it.

Where are the House heads that he said were shipped a month ago?

 

[Ironman1188]

While i love these boards, i'm kind of ashamed at how a lot of you have behaved. And I think the comments made my some other customizers on here who had similar problems shed some very good light on just how unforgiving a lot of people can be.

I think thats part of the problem. He never kept anyone updated on things. WIP pix never materialized. Updates never showed up. And no one who paid got their product.

I found it strange that when the Star Trek interest started to progress past just having sculpts and another member started the ball rolling with some great Trek accesories he was still missing from the thread. Eventually, other Trek heads started to emerge and then - VOILA! - there was Howes with a WIP only photo of ONE of the Trek heads he had been working on for months.
No offense, but Spenser stepped up to the plate and, uncommissioned as far as I know, started and finished a Kirk AND posted it in no time at all. You're telling me that a "professional" like Howes couldn't get anything done to show his progress?

I'm no recaster. I'm no sculptor. And, no, I have no money invested. I am a 1:6 collector/enthusiast and I love to add variety to my collection It seemed as if some of his offerings were what I was looking for, and, as of yet, had been unmade. That is no longer the case.
House - done by several others
Ghostbusters - done by others
Trek - done by others
Dexter - done by others
TDK Rachel - done by others

It appears that thru his lack of sculpting, lack of updates and lack of responsibility he has made himself obsolete.

 

[Doom Saber]

Not tryin to add any fuel to the fyra, but I think one of the bigger contributions of what went wrong is that Howes viewed the 1/6 custom head sculpting "business" as business. What I mean is that the sculptors here who creates hs for us fans are really makin them for extra money or for fun.
I have read Chris's first topic on this board and got the impression that he went to the forums to sculpt custom heads as a new career.

I believe that Howes thought that doing custom heads would bring in some big dollars but did not realize how much work it would be takin in all those commissions. He may have also gotten a job after takin all those commissions and probably doesn't have time to make the heads anymore.

 

[vodoun]

It appears that thru his lack of sculpting, lack of updates and lack of responsibility he has made himself obsolete.

Not only that... did he not always claim the money had to be put upfront for all his materials? so if he has all this money, no work done... where has everyones money went?... to pay his bills and thats the end of it? remain hidden?... give everyone the silent treatment? because thats how it comes across to me.

When people do shady or bad things they hide away. How long has he remained hidden now?...

 

[Studio49]

Apparently, Chris is still answering my emails. I am currently discussing the Maximus project with him, and you can see our conversation here...

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43310&page=47

It's extremely frustrating dealing with him even when he does choose to communicate. The "few more days" response is not working for me, because he has not delivered on previous "few more days" requests.