When I got back into our hobby a few years ago, the first few resin and vinyl kits I bought were, unbeknownst to me, recasts. I soon learned of recasts and researched and discovered a major can of worms.
The least of the outrages was that recasts simply rip off the original artist -who very likely created his 'art' as a 'work for hire', was paid once and never saw another dime from the producer. Perhaps the rare artist gets a pittance of a percentage of sales but like our music industry, it is truly a pittance. Then there were the outrageous claims of recasters actually being criminal fronts, funding all sorts of evil doings. Both extremes are likely true to some degree and largely false in others. Blanket statements and admonishment does no one any good.
In my case, I knowingly continued buying some recast figures for a time as I was turning them into maquette prototypes for a feature film franchise I am developing. I cant' sculpt well enough to create figures and the recasts became a shortcut as the figures were easily hacked into my characters. I would not be re-re-casting these. These are samples to show media execs what 'could' be. The irony that if I did sell my movie/tv series, recasters would be making a wad off of my work, is not lost on me...
Why not buy the originals and mod those? Well, for something I was going to hack to pieces, the price not being worth it is the least consideration. Many have thrown the word 'art' around. Well, as a fine artist myself, we have inherent rights to our work even after it's sold. If you commission me to do an oil portrait or some such, you then modify (yourself or by someone else's hand), copy and distruibute, or even destroy it, I still have rights to legally come after you for damages to me. Whereas, if I as an artist do a work-for-hire piece, you own it outright and I waive all future rights. I would not deface a work of art that some of these kits are.
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But the fact is 'collectors' are called collectors for a reason. They have the COA, they seek the legitimacy of the piece. A forgery is simply a forgery.
And just as there are folks who will always want a band's latest cd, there are semi-fans that just want to share in the music. a few dozen years ago, we used to build music shared tape collections. Those were recasts.
So too w/ models. A true collector will shun the recast, while a fan or even a casual observer who simply likes the design may simply want to get one w/o paying an exorbident fee for the privilege.
In my case, I was turning established anime figures into 'fictional' mockups. This can't be done with, say, an unlicensed studio scale resin tie fighter. If Lucas released an ss tie and another guy crafted his own and a third simply recasts Lucas', I would want to get Lucas', would settle for the other guy's and would hate to get the recast. My decision would come down to my desire for the model and the money I had, or would ever likely have, or be able to afford.
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I think the idea that these unlicensed properties sell in the low 2 digits is lowballed. I think I can assure you that these GK'ers don't spend months of their lives slaving away for peanuts. They make a time/money calculation just like a company like moebius or polar lights. If they don't think they can make some kind of profit, however small, they don't do it. Further, many of these GK'ers have had some of their kits in production for years. Low hundreds is likely a more accurate number for many g. kits. Some like a DeBoer may indeed be dozens in the world, but others like the SS xwing? I bet there are hundreds of those around. And at ~$300 a pop, you do the math. A $600 star destroyer at, say, 50 sold... The numbers get HUGE!
As to recasts of oops, well, a recast is a recast and if you are against any, you should be against all, even if a small part. You can always find an original kit on ebay at some point. That comes down to the syncronicity of you looking when they are around. If you can't afford one at the time, well, that is that. You don't get one. Replacement recasts are handy, but again, a recast part is a recast part. And if it's truly a small part, one should be able to re-create it oneself.
As to unlicensed vs. recasts, the owner of the property is still being 'ripped off'. In this way, they are exactly the same.
Additionally, anyone who has ever gotten an mp3 from a friend or coworker, watched an avi of a film instead of the dvd, or gotten that copy of software you wanted/needed, or much less even downloaded same yourself, you are dealing with 'recasts'.
Finally, the notion that recasters are 'evil' is one of the more absurd statements that can be made.
Personally, I would prefer to save up for an original. I am in a position where I can do so and the gratification of saving intensifies the purchase/ownership satisfaction. However, I would never begrudge any for getting or owning recasts. Society doesn't need more bitter intolerance.
IMHO, of course.
but, I own a couple recast kits which I bought because the company had long gone out of business and I can't afford the extortionate prices that the kits are now fetching.
