12-30-2005, 09:09 PM
You know guys; I really do wish that I could give each, and everyone, of you something for just being a part of the NIGHTOWL "family"...It’s not my site, nor am I affiliated with Justin in any way, there’s just something about it.
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn\'t been the greatest ride, but I have managed to make a few "real" friends here and a lot of "net" buddies along the way. So I guess it was all good.
Since I started this several years ago I have made a lot of mistakes and some just outright stupid. But I like to think that I have learned from them and have moved on.
When I first started on the Hockey Mask scene I had no idea what I was getting into. After talking with David Miller for awhile about Paul Blaisdell and his work, I bought one of David’s hockey masks. I loved it, I felt like a kid in a candy store that just found the golden ticket.
Everywhere I went the mask went with me. Then other people started wanting a Hockey mask but laughed at the price I spent for it. Having a background in prop and automotive fiberglass work, I made a copy of the DMC mask thinking I was doing something good by providing people with a cheaper alternative.
Well, David called me on it and I explained the situation to him and I agreed to stop selling the cast copies and never sold another. So my sculpting adventure began. After two or three tries at, I was happy with my sculpted Hockey mask with David’s as a reference. Then I started selling theses custom made masks as blanks. Well, then I found NIGHTOWL and tried selling the blanks on the forum. Man, was that a learning experience!! I was still accused of selling recast hockey masks yet they weren’t. I took it really hard and dropped out of the scene for a while until a well respected member of the board said I should be proud…of what??? That people took my sculpture and looked at it thinking that it was a recast, meaning my skills at the Hockey Mask sculpture must be pretty good. That made me feel a little better, but it still bothered me. So I didn’t stay around much longer.
Then came the Freddy gloves, talk about jumping out of the kettle and straight into the fire….man!! Never accused of recasting a Freddy Glove, but the critique that people give is just so unreal. I just wanted to make a generic glove for the average Joe that wanted a glove. Then I got blasted for not being accurate…that was the whole point. I make props for Haunted Houses, things that are only going to be seen for a minute at the most. I wasn’t trying to make a “screen accurate” piece in anyway. So once again I felt sadden by the feedback.
Next came Christopher Grantner and FreddyGloves.com, that was a perfect match until New Line and W.B. intervened and screwed everything up. But it was a blast while it lasted and a great run.
And then, DungeonDesigners was born…mainly for the Haunt industry and people looking for alternative options. Where people like Neil Goldsmith, Mark Goodson, Chris Russell, and Eddie Chastain, just to mention a few, helped me lay the foundation of what I am today. The generosity of these people during some of the toughest times I went though still amazes me today.
Which brings me to the point, sorry for being long winded!!
I’m no one special, just an ordinary guy with a real 9-5 job, actually a 11p-7a job, as a police officer. I love the horror genre and fans of it. I try to provide the best props I can with the lowest prices I can just because I know not everyone has a lot of money to support the hobby. I gave my first item away to Dragoboodlust, a Vs. battle Hockey Mask, just because he need a Hockey Mask for Halloween and got in a bind and couldn’t find one.
I wasn’t looking for anything in return, just helping someone out…just like I’m trying to do again. And, with some of the past experiences it makes me feel a little better just to be able to give something back. And that’s why I did so.
And for those of you wondering, this was in response to a PM that I thought I’d air out to set the record straight!
Happy New Years guys, and gals!!
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn\'t been the greatest ride, but I have managed to make a few "real" friends here and a lot of "net" buddies along the way. So I guess it was all good.
Since I started this several years ago I have made a lot of mistakes and some just outright stupid. But I like to think that I have learned from them and have moved on.
When I first started on the Hockey Mask scene I had no idea what I was getting into. After talking with David Miller for awhile about Paul Blaisdell and his work, I bought one of David’s hockey masks. I loved it, I felt like a kid in a candy store that just found the golden ticket.
Everywhere I went the mask went with me. Then other people started wanting a Hockey mask but laughed at the price I spent for it. Having a background in prop and automotive fiberglass work, I made a copy of the DMC mask thinking I was doing something good by providing people with a cheaper alternative.
Well, David called me on it and I explained the situation to him and I agreed to stop selling the cast copies and never sold another. So my sculpting adventure began. After two or three tries at, I was happy with my sculpted Hockey mask with David’s as a reference. Then I started selling theses custom made masks as blanks. Well, then I found NIGHTOWL and tried selling the blanks on the forum. Man, was that a learning experience!! I was still accused of selling recast hockey masks yet they weren’t. I took it really hard and dropped out of the scene for a while until a well respected member of the board said I should be proud…of what??? That people took my sculpture and looked at it thinking that it was a recast, meaning my skills at the Hockey Mask sculpture must be pretty good. That made me feel a little better, but it still bothered me. So I didn’t stay around much longer.
Then came the Freddy gloves, talk about jumping out of the kettle and straight into the fire….man!! Never accused of recasting a Freddy Glove, but the critique that people give is just so unreal. I just wanted to make a generic glove for the average Joe that wanted a glove. Then I got blasted for not being accurate…that was the whole point. I make props for Haunted Houses, things that are only going to be seen for a minute at the most. I wasn’t trying to make a “screen accurate” piece in anyway. So once again I felt sadden by the feedback.
Next came Christopher Grantner and FreddyGloves.com, that was a perfect match until New Line and W.B. intervened and screwed everything up. But it was a blast while it lasted and a great run.
And then, DungeonDesigners was born…mainly for the Haunt industry and people looking for alternative options. Where people like Neil Goldsmith, Mark Goodson, Chris Russell, and Eddie Chastain, just to mention a few, helped me lay the foundation of what I am today. The generosity of these people during some of the toughest times I went though still amazes me today.
Which brings me to the point, sorry for being long winded!!
I’m no one special, just an ordinary guy with a real 9-5 job, actually a 11p-7a job, as a police officer. I love the horror genre and fans of it. I try to provide the best props I can with the lowest prices I can just because I know not everyone has a lot of money to support the hobby. I gave my first item away to Dragoboodlust, a Vs. battle Hockey Mask, just because he need a Hockey Mask for Halloween and got in a bind and couldn’t find one.
I wasn’t looking for anything in return, just helping someone out…just like I’m trying to do again. And, with some of the past experiences it makes me feel a little better just to be able to give something back. And that’s why I did so.
And for those of you wondering, this was in response to a PM that I thought I’d air out to set the record straight!
Happy New Years guys, and gals!!
