Forces of Valor 1/32 Custom made Russian SU 85 on ebay

[ledhead0085]

check this out! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... TQ:US:1123

[tparkhere]

It's impressive and I do appreciate the craftsmanship. However, I just cannot justify spending $250 for it. I am curious to see if someone end up buying it.

[plasticgeneral]

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!
When I see that, it excites me and pisses me off,
thinking that FORCES of VALOR should have done that five years ago!

I want to be the new product director of FOV! I DEMAND IT!

The PLASTIC GENERAL!

[ledhead0085]

well i've invited him to join our forum. hes trying to join but can't get in. he said he has more customs.

[plasticgeneral]

CUSTOMS????

[[CAT]CplSlade]

If you look at the listing, click to see his other items and then hit completed sales you can see a couple of them.

[cnq]

Good luck to him for selling at $250

[cjg476]

They're customs. This seller has a link on the treefrog forum of all the pieces he has made.

[PanzerArm]

I think some of his pieces are hybrids from model kits, like the IS-3 and SU-152. He does great work though, always nice to see another doing the 1/32 custom thing.

-Kevin

[ketelone]

Great work but not worth $250...

[ledhead0085]

the guy is from new Zealand so you got to figure the exchange rate cause the US dollar isn't in the best shape these days.

[WSG1926]

Do as I have done. give your seller/customizer your password. ALEX of Engineer Bassevich often posts with my moniker!

[plasticgeneral]

STEVE WESTON has them out of England.
Dealing with someone who speaks English makes things easier.

http://plasticsoldiers.co.uk/index.php/contact-us/

Plastic General

[jkinzel]

Seller has cancelled auction as he said there is problem with description?? PS Going by insignia in front of hull number believe it is a POLISH SU instead of Russian<B>

[[CAT]CplSlade]

And he couldn't quickly re-up it with a corrected description because...?

[PanzerArm]

IDK what to think of this guy. I admire his work and all, but he has some, eccentricities I'd call them, that are putting me off to interacting with him. I messaged him on ebay a few weeks ago wanting to discuss his work and ask about an StuH 42 he had in the background of one picture, and he seemed to be very much avoiding my questions. Then I go on the treefrog site and see that he isn't really being upfront about how he made some of his pieces, saying they are not from kits, when some, like his SU-152 and IS-3, are most certainly derived from the Russian Ogenok kits. And his SU-100 is seeming to be kit-bashed with an existing 1/35 kit of some sort. His t-34/76, like mine, is just the FOV hull with a Britains turret. Why not just come out an say that, is he trying to protect a secret recipe lol? Maybe it is a language barrier, but I thought English was the main language for New Zealand.

I won't rush to any judgements just yet though. His prices are those of someone really attached to their work and probably spent way more time than one might expect making them. I think of myself in that same boat which is why I never offer to sell them because I am too attached and the prices I would want no one (probably) would want to pay.

-Kevin

[plasticgeneral]

This is honestly what I think.
I could be wrong, but were starting to see a pattern coming out of Russia.
I suspect that a lot of Russians think that we're rich,
indulgent obsessives that will pay almost any overblown price to get what we want.
Just like in the case of all those new 1:32 toy soldiers coming out of Russia.
They KNOW we !@#$% want them.
They spread rumors that they are a limited pressing and fetch very overblown prices.
It's a very aggressive tactic,
but they KNOW that there will be a plastic brained SOB like ME,
that will want them SO BAD, that I won't be able to resist and I WILL BUY them!
I think that guy is simply teasing us, and doesn't really want to sell.
He's basically showing off and holding out for the highest bidder.

Plastic General

[ledhead0085]

Wow you guys really tore apart that guys tank like it was a used car. he joined our group but i don't think he'll want to talk to us now. at least hes trying i think he did a really good job on it. we need people like this to join our forum so we can see their creations and to be inspired by them. forum has been slow lately at least hes doing something lets try to be supportive.

[cjg476]

I agree with you completely ledhead on the fact weneed more people making 1/32 customs.

[plasticgeneral]

If your talking about me, I'm not putting his work down, on the contrary it's quite great!
It's just the current trend of Russian pricing that I have a problem with and that is all.
For the record. "The SU-85 is FANTASTIC"

Plastic General

[cjg476]

I wasn't being specific to anyone. I just meant I wish we had more customizers out there sharing there work.

[PanzerArm]

Wow you guys really tore apart that guys tank like it was a used car. he joined our group but i don't think he'll want to talk to us now. at least hes trying i think he did a really good job on it. we need people like this to join our forum so we can see their creations and to be inspired by them. forum has been slow lately at least hes doing something lets try to be supportive.

I fail to see where you are coming from with this statement. No one has "tore apart" this dudes work. Perhaps you are misunderstanding some of what has been said above, but critiquing the price he is asking for his work, or critiquing his transparency with concern to his customs' creation, is not critiquing his tanks, but more so his public relations.

Serge's customs are great, and if I wanted to critique them like someone on the Missing Lynx forum, I could, but here is not the place for such a thing. Saying he is asking a bit too much for his tanks is nothing new for this forum, and has been done with other members in the past. And me saying that he should try and be a bit more transparent with how his tanks were created, is not unreasonable either. He had a bunch of people at the treefrogtreasures forum convinced FoV was going to be releasing these vehicles because the narration in his posts was vague and misleading(see my language barrier note above). He also has not been answering curious onlookers questions about how his vehicles were created. Now I for one am a huge proponent of transparency when it comes to letting everyone know how to make something cool on their own should they find the motivation to do so. I do not mass produce stuff via casting/molding, so if I have a good idea for a custom tank or vehicle, by golly I will let everyone here know how to do it.

What I feel may be going on is he is skirting around the questions in an attempt to avoid revealing details that might prevent him selling his tanks for what he is asking. And I feel it is my duty to give you guys any intel I can garner from looking at the photos of his work of just how his stuff is made (especially since he won't).

Leadhead, in case you don't know what "kit-bash" means, it is no way a derogatory statement. It is merely stating that based on the intricate details evident in the build of his SU-85(interior, hatches), his history with using superstructures from model kits on his other builds(SU-152), and the fact that certain things look underscale (gun), I just said if appears he combined elements of the t-34 hull with a 1/35 model kit~ kit-bash.

I hope Serge does come on here and actually engage us in conversation concerning his work. You are right cjg476, there aren't many customizers on here sharing their work these days and I relish the opportunity to converse with one. All that I ask, is that he be honest with us.

-Kevin

[plasticgeneral]

Well said.

[cjg476]

Seconded. If that's a word

[plasticgeneral]

When I want an important variant that doesn't exist in 1:32, I take a FOV or 21 CENT vehicle and
cross-pollinate it with a 1:35 scale kit.
If it doesn't look right, all you have to do is build it up a little, but quite often you don't have to.

Plastic General