Stone troll studios manit dinosaur kits.

[tyrantqueen]

So Stone Troll Studios is pretty much living up to its name...by trolling honest buyers.

[copper]

luckily i didn't end up buying from the seller, i was lucky and shane foulkes warned me about this guy's doings. the seller actually said he could donate few models, here's a quote: "I have a few animals that are not up to straight sale". of course i never got the models but i didn't have any hopes that they'd show up.

[Zelan]

Wow, I had no idea this guy scammed so many people until now. I did get my order but it was a bit iffy. When I first put in my order he offered up free shipping and gave me a good deal when I asked for it without any fuss. In retrospect he obviously didn't care what deal he gives me since he never intended to ship anything. I got a notification my shipment was sent out within a week of ordering, then immediately cancelled. I asked him what was going on and he avoided me until I told him I'm asking for a refund from paypal if I didn't hear from him in a few days. He came up with a bunch of excuses for not sending my order and told me he would send a bonus to compensate. I got my shipment within a few days after that.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have sent me my order if I had not threaten to report him to paypal. Friend of mine insisted that I do that when he heard what was happening, and I'm glad I listened to him. Sorry to hear so many people never got theirs  Since this was the first time I ever bought resin kits I wasn't really sure what to expect from a seller and gave him the benefit of the doubt for all his excuses or I definitely would have warned others. Figured I would at least share what happened with me and hopefully help people avoid similar scams in the future.

[s.foulkes]

THis horrible persons name is Brian Vallery , we don't even know if he obtained these molds legitimately or not, probably not, but IT sounds like he didn't have molds just obtained a bunch of castings some ok some bad and trolled on to this forum to take advantage of us and try to scam money , which I know of 6 people now that lost a total of over 1200$ . once he sold out of all the crap he took his money and ran. then got on the forum and started posting figures that he bought for himself with our money and never delivered the products. Hope to meet him in person some day.

[ataraxus]

Hope to meet him in person some day.

ah, now i understand

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Shane'll mess him up one way or the other.

[radman]

Well I'm happy to report that my situation, at least, was resolved amicably.  After I filed a dispute with PP, they contacted Brian and he sent me a very apologetic letter saying he was very sorry for all the delays, he had been having some personal problems, but my package had been sent out along with a bonus to make up for the wait and hassle.  So, UPS did deliver yesterday, two months after I paid for my order, and I found my Allosaurus, nicely packed and complete, along with a Carnotaurus, also in good shape.  The models have some flash, which is fine and expected, the resin is of good quality with no major defects, a little bubble on the allo hornlet, which is easily fixed, or I could just leave it too.  Anyway, I'm enjoying my models, they are very nice, actually, happy with the freebie, and all is forgiven and forgotten as far as I am concerned, anyone can go through a rough patch, but if one makes it right later, that's OK.  Hopefully, other folks will get their stuff as well eventually, as he did seem to be sincere about making things right with everyone.



So, would I recommend this seller to anyone else now?  Well, you pays your money and you takes your chances.  PP certainly helps remove some of the risk, but you can only use that option once or twice a year, I think. Basically, don't spend more than you're occasionally willing to lose.  These Manit models are really nice, they don't show up often, and they are closed-mouth theropods, another rarity.  Caveat emptor, and good luck!

[s.foulkes]

Really? recommend him? so he honors one person,  what about the others? even if I got my stuff and all my fellow friends failed to get theirs I would not be happy, not when I know they got ripped off but its a principal of the deal, stroll on send a few out, screw so many then drop off out of sight ,then stroll back only after being threatened to loose money then he steps forward and follows through. no conscience . only does right when he stands to loose money himself, but cares nothing about all those who lost theirs? not for me.

[s.foulkes]

Shane'll mess him up one way or the other.

Nah , more like share with him on how to do proper business and regain proper moral standards.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Shane'll mess him up one way or the other.

Nah , more like share with him on how to do proper business and regain proper moral standards.

..and I know you'll be a very instructive teacher ..no matter what it takes.

[tyrantqueen]

Well I'm happy to report that my situation, at least, was resolved amicably.  After I filed a dispute with PP, they contacted Brian and he sent me a very apologetic letter saying he was very sorry for all the delays, he had been having some personal problems, but my package had been sent out along with a bonus to make up for the wait and hassle.  So, UPS did deliver yesterday, two months after I paid for my order, and I found my Allosaurus, nicely packed and complete, along with a Carnotaurus, also in good shape.  The models have some flash, which is fine and expected, the resin is of good quality with no major defects, a little bubble on the allo hornlet, which is easily fixed, or I could just leave it too.  Anyway, I'm enjoying my models, they are very nice, actually, happy with the freebie, and all is forgiven and forgotten as far as I am concerned, anyone can go through a rough patch, but if one makes it right later, that's OK.  Hopefully, other folks will get their stuff as well eventually, as he did seem to be sincere about making things right with everyone.

Why doesn't he just come back to the forum and explain the situation?

[Simon]

As I believe Shane might have mentioned, these are recasts.  Matt Manit has stated on another forum that this fellow does not own the right to the moulds, and the person who did buy the rights to the pieces from Matt has also stated that this gent does not have permission to make copies ....

[s.foulkes]

Nice! if that's True then I really hate him. Im so glad then that our deal fell through. Funny thing is it worked out for the better, My Mosasaur built and assembled by me that we were supposed to trade for , I ended up selling it for 325$ so instead of me getting recast ( I would have died!) I got money. some things were meant to be. fruits of good honest living I guess. For those who got scammed and those who bought and got the models ,which are now recast im sorry that happened. IF anyone ever has questions about a seller contact me first and chances are I can give you the low down or at least tell you to be weary ! Thanks Simon for posting .

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Simon do you have a link for that statement by Mr. Manit ?  I think it would help the thread to have it posted here for those looking for verification. 

[Simon]

Simon do you have a link for that statement by Mr. Manit ?  I think it would help the thread to have it posted here for those looking for verification.

There is a thread in the tar pit on the Clubhouse discussing these models.  Vallery of course, as he's done here, states that he has the rights and is using the sales to help "offset" debts that Manit ran up with him years ago when Manit apparently lived with him in Milwaukee while they were trying to make finished models for museums.

However, eventually Matt Manit opened an account to respond, as did the fellow who actually owns the right to the pieces.  The thread is in the Tar Pit section of the Clubhouse - I believe that you have to be a member to be able to view it, so I am reproducing the relevant posts below:

hawkmoth66    
Post subject: Re: New Possible Dino Recasts?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:19 am
Offline
Brush Jockey

Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:00 am
Posts: 42
Location: Sacramento, CA
   
Hi Gang,


I will be writing a longer response to address what Brian (Captian Jack)has posted on the clubhouse. Right now I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of people involved in this matter. Before I post said response I will ask the moderators of this board to look it over. If they give me the OK, I will then post it. I'm hoping this will only take a couple of days.


For the record Brian does not have have the rights (or permission) to sell any of the dinosaur kits regardless of what has been claimed . The 1/35 scale line are owned by Randy Guthrie of Lil'monsters. Brian has been told this once before the last time he sold the kits on ebay. For the record, Brian did stop selling them at that point.

This is the only time I will post on this until I have the longer post ready as I'm not going to try turning this tread into a "He said / He said" mess. If anyone wishes to contact me off the boards they may do so at [email protected].


Matt





LilMonster    
Post subject: Re: New Possible Dino Recasts?
PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:02 am
Offline
Registered Seller

Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 6:37 pm
Posts: 232
Location: Washington state
   
I think I'll chime in here since I see I am mentioned. I do own the rights to the Matt Manit/Charlie McGrady 1/35 scale dinos. And I do have the paper work between Charlie and I, And most important the rights are clearly given to me in writing
.
So i'm thinking that anyone producing these kits is re-casting. I consider the unauthorized production and sale of any piece,without the express permission of the owner to be wrong, For whatever perceived reason the re-caster might think gives him the right. I would suggest to anyone from now on to get stuff written in any trans action and spell out the terms to a gnat's eyelash. Even between friends, It's just the business side of this hobby.

I am going to re-release some kits that I have acquired the rights to under the banner "Re-Activated Resin" for Lil' Monsters. And all that are coming out were deals with the original owners/producers and yes it is all in writing.
As the 1/35 Dinos may figure in this, I would hope the unauthorized production of these pieces will stop. They will have more of a chance to be produced if the sales go to the actual owner /producer of the kit which in turn will make it profitable for Matt or whatever sculptor is involved. This might make them feel a bit better about producing more product. And in Matts case this would be good because this whole line of Dinos is a Manit Tour de Force.

I personally would like to hear if there is going to be a market for these critters and maybe I can get them back out there for you guys.

This is just my take on the section of the thread that involves me as I don't know enough about the rest to comment.
I do know that I consider Matt a good friend of mine and some of the stuff I read in here is without any shred of class. Matt has always been accessible and any problems could have been talked over privately, not in a public forum.

I thought The Clubhouse was for the enjoyment and bettering of our hobby. And it really only has one big rule: Produce your own, actual product.

[postsaurischian]

Oh man! The story's escalating. I don't think we'll ever hear from "Captian Jack - Brian" again here .

After checking the substance of all the evidence it should even be considered to ban him !



_{....... that's strange - the guy sent me models that I love ... I'm not really the one who should complain, but I'm sorry ... we have rules.}

[s.foulkes]

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING THE HOLE TIME, QUIT SUPPORTING BRIAN VALLERY WHAT HE IS DOING IS MORALLY ILLIGAL AND DECEPTIVE !

[tyrantqueen]

Oh man! The story's escalating. I don't think we'll ever hear from "Captian Jack - Brian" again here .

After checking the substance of all the evidence it should even be considered to ban him !



_{....... that's strange - the guy sent me models that I love ... I'm not really the one who should complain, but I'm sorry ... we have rules.}

I'm not trying to defend the guy, but what rules has he broken? (I'm not trying to criticise, just wondering) Is the selling of recasts enough to warrant a ban?

1. No intentional personal attacks.

2. No profanity, pornography or spam.

3. Only one account per person.

4. Respect designated topic areas (categories and threads).

5. We ask members to please use basic grammar and punctuation.

6. The forum should not be regarded as a general social media site - excessive off-topic posts are not allowed.

7. Topics concerning politics and religion are discouraged.

A breach of rules 1-3 will result in an immediate ban. Breach of rules 4-7 will result in a warning or a ban depending on the particulars.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Thanks for posting that Simon.

I'm not sure he's done anything as yet to be banned..but as he was only here to sell pieces I doubt he will be back.

[Roktman]

So lets see... if I use profanity, I get myself kicked off the forum immediately. But if I just show up, make promises, steal money from the members, delivering either nothing or vastly inferior recasts, I'm still in good standing?

I think people should listen to Shane. The guy is bad news. He has ripped people off and is probably on some other forum somewhere pulling the same bull.  Yep, I think the guy should be booted for life and other dino-philes not here should be alerted.
I think the admins should have a meeting and come up with a rule that people, when they join, should have to spend a certain about of time here, with a certain amount of posts (and not just simple "me too" posts) to assure loyalty to the membership before they be allowed to sell.

IMHO.
OK, I'm off the soapbox.

PS - yes I also think that selling recasts should also be grounds for a permanent ban. They guy is basically selling what don't belong to him = stealing...