Is it possible to make a Halo 3 legendary edition helmet mold

[CosmosCrusader1]

Is it possible to make a mold of the Halo 3 legendary edition helmet without ruining the helmet? I'd like to make a mold of my helmet and make wearable copies but I'd like to not ruin my helmet.

 

[Cadet]

Doing a Silicone Mold of a helmet won't ruin the original, that's the point of using Silicone, it doesn't stick to anything but other Silicone and other things, like the original sculpt or the cast agent, not really stick to it. You brush on the Silicone, build up your layers, then peel it back and pop out the original.

Making a mold and producing copies of the Halo 3 Legendary Edition Helmet itself is going to get you into a Morally Gray area. Typically making a mold and producing Copies of another person's work with out their permission is called "ReCasting" and it is a major No-No. Where this issue becomes gray is that making a mold of Fan's work, another Fan Sculpted or Fan produced item or helmet, is absolutely unacceptable, however, some people think that recasting a commercial product is acceptable, because it was a commercial product, and others still feel it is wrong because you are still making a copy of another artist's work, even if they were working for a corporate entity.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Hey Cadet, I have a lawyer friend who deals w/ copywriter law. I've asked him to see what the legal ramification of the do's and don'ts are regarding this. As for Moral Grey area......that is for each of us to decide. It also depends if the casting is for personal use or mass production to sell.....now that is a definite no-no.

 

[CosmosCrusader1]

Doing a Silicone Mold of a helmet won't ruin the original, that's the point of using Silicone, it doesn't stick to anything but other Silicone and other things, like the original sculpt or the cast agent, not really stick to it. You brush on the Silicone, build up your layers, then peel it back and pop out the original.

Making a mold and producing copies of the Halo 3 Legendary Edition Helmet itself is going to get you into a Morally Gray area. Typically making a mold and producing Copies of another person's work with out their permission is called "ReCasting" and it is a major No-No. Where this issue becomes gray is that making a mold of Fan's work, another Fan Sculpted or Fan produced item or helmet, is absolutely unacceptable, however, some people think that recasting a commercial product is acceptable, because it was a commercial product, and others still feel it is wrong because you are still making a copy of another artist's work, even if they were working for a corporate entity.

I have no intention of selling them, I just wanna have a few cool helmets to give to either my nephew as a bday gift, or keep for myself as a cool collector item.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

I have no intention of selling them, I just wanna have a few cool helmets to give to either my nephew as a bday gift, or keep for myself as a cool collector item.

Well my friend said: "Legally one is not allowed to copy or reproduce a copy of anything based off a commercially copywritten item for any use". He did go on to say, off the record, if it is for personal use, and not being sold on any market, then none the wiser. It's not like they will come after you in the middle of the night and arrest you.

6 weeks later:

*KNOCK-KNOCK_KNOCK*

CosmosCrusader1" Who is it?"

Person Outside" Copywrite Police!!"


oops................

 

[Cadet]

I see people constantly getting wrapped up in "Copyright" and "Legal-ese" when it comes to Recasting, but, frankly, as a community and group of builders I really feel we should be more concerned with respect and proper behavior than we are with whether an act is technically legal or not.

For example, my brother made a very unique style Star Wars Mandalorian helmet. He even went ahead and made a mold and sells casts of them because so many people complimented him on it and said they would like their own copy of it. Now, this is a non-canon design that has never been featured in any official Star Wars media. He is the originator of this specific helmet design. Now a lot of people are making 3-D models of this helmet, or ones that look extremely like it, and 3-D printing them, either for personally use or some people are even making their own version and selling them to other people. Technically speaking, he probably has no real "Copyright" on the helmet, as it is a derivative work from Star Wars, and these other people are often changing some small things, so it is not a direct recast, but since this helmet style is never seen anywhere else expect in his own creations, you know its based on my brother's helmets. But, people will say, "You can't copyright it/Its not copyrighted, so it's fine to do this."

Legally? Maybe, yes.
Should they? No, I don't think they do. Not if they really want to be a part of the greater Mandalorian Costuming Community.

We should expect better from our community. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard and seek to support each other, rather than try to find loop holes to justify our actions.

The Prop and Costuming World is full of Gray and Shadowy areas when it comes to replicating on screen items, and at the end of the day, each person is accountable to their own conscience and where they draw the line. I personally would not make a mold and casts of the Legendary Edition helmet. I would not feel comfortable doing so, and quite frankly the amount of time and money you will spend making the Silicone Mold, the Mother Mold, and then casting the helmet in resin, you could have made a pep one or bought a cast from someone like Justin or Stony/Icon Props. But as I said, the reproduction of a commercial product is a contested and debated gray area. There is no rule here on the 405th about making copies of commercial products, so it would be entirely up to you whether or not you follow through on this plan.

 

[NobleofDeath16]

I am as well in 100% agreement with Cadet's above post. But I also want to simply reiterate that what makes it so morally grey is it is someones work out there. It may have been for commercial/promotional use, but casting it all leads to the difficult question posed, "Are you stealing their work and claiming it as you own?".

I find the best way to mitigate this in the scenario is to just leave disclaimers on your represented work about this specific piece in general if you do so choose to cast a copy. That way the artist is credited, wherever they may be, and you have a cool useable helmet now. It's the best win-win scenario I could see.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Cadet, I also agree w/ almost everything you said.....but as I quoted my friend, "Legally one is not allowed to copy or reproduce a copy of anything based off a commercially copywritten item for any use", is not a debatable or grey area. It's law.

Now if one were to obtain permission to recast someone else's personal work......perfectly fine and legal for personal use only (some even stipulate to give credit where credit is due)......If it's for marketing and casted w/o permission, which does happen in the Prop and Cosplay world quite often, that is between the creator and person recasting the item. and that just opens up a whole can of legality worms. Morally off the reservation and should not be done 100% agree w/ you.

As a group we most assuredly should hold ourselves to a higher standard. Proper behavior and etiquette is part and parcel of who and what we represent. Your brother is 100% within his rights to be upset...as would anyone in his situation....unfortunately w/o a copy-write, he has no legal recourse. Sorry for that. Its sucks that it was done to him....to anyone for that matter.

 

[NobleofDeath16]

Well said, Dirtdives. My half awake state must of breezed over your law part! Great clarification nonetheless.