Wow! Great discussion about recasts.
I do not collect Mithrils to try and make a profit on reselling them, but it is a good thing that some people do so that others can build their collections and keep our hobby growing. But most people don’t want to pay for something that isn’t original. And they don’t want to pay crazy prices even if a figure is original either.
I have a few recast in my collection that I know about, but have managed to find originals to replace them. I was very happy to get those recasts and am appreciative of the person who provided them to me, and they are of excellent quality. But during several later conversations with Chris he expressed his concerns about recasts, and after thinking about it myself I completely agree with him. Even if recasts are made as a favor to friends, eventually they could end up in the market place and cause problems for him and Mithril . . . the recasts would dilute the brand and cause him to eventually lose customers, who need to be sure they are collecting original pieces.
So there are two issues: 1) outright thievery by dishonest people; and 2) people with good intentions who eventually might cause problems because of their actions.
Chris has told me (and others, I suspect) that he’d address the issues of recasts and outright piracy–people who knowingly sell fakes of his works, and not just Mithrils. Still, he seems to me to be someone who doesn’t like conflict, and I know he really cares about his clients. In some ways, perhaps it is easier for him to avoid the conversation. Still, a recast of his work that is given to a friend can easily be passed to another friend, or to a relative who is not a collector, and might eventually become a “fake” on eBay, and that is concerning. So far he hasn’t made a public statement that I know of addressing these concerns.
As for those who create conversions, I don’t believe that bothers him at all. In my opinion, any customer who has an origianal figure can do what they want to it, even to convert and then sell it if they are honest about the conversion. It is the selling of recasts (pirated figures, Chris calls them) that makes him angry, and especially if the seller misrepresents the figure as original, or came across it thinking it was original and then sells it, not having the inclination or knowledge to tell if it is real.
Regarding listing the weight of each figure, it think it would be a good idea, but only if Mithril can assure us that the weight (composition of metals) of the original figures were consistant throughout its individual production. PA/Mithril and all figure companies change ingredients from time to time (primer, anyone?). So unless we have that info, this data might not be so useful.
Finally . . . to the issue of whether dritz is selling fakes: I doubt he is intentionally; many years ago I purchased a few figures from him and they were excellent. And once (even though he really didn’t even know me) he offered to give up one of his several purchases of an old MW Half Orc auction from Chris because of confusion over the difference between time zones, and if I remember right, he was going to let me have it for the price Chris set as buy it now. Thankfully Chris had an extra and I bought from him instead. I still don’t really know dritz, but I think that this is more of a business for him than a passion (and he sells a lot of other stuff besides Mithrils), and that he might not recognize a recast if he came across it, especially if it was of a high quality like the ones I was given. So again, I think this validates what Chris is concerned about when it comes to recasts.
). If there is interest, I’ll dig this beauty out of storage and weigh it again….
