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Beacon Hill Builders: The Next Generation


Blondie

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Fantastic costume @SewMini:D

Never thought about the copyright issues of cosplay.. it's a bit of a minefield.

I tend to lean on the side of flattery also... but I suppose if I had a business and was trying to make money out of my stuff.. then I'd be miffed if someone was reproducing it. Even more so if it was my hobby but they were making money from copying my designs (never going to happen anyway haha..).

I do agree it is a bit rude to completely copy right down to the finest detail. The best form of flattery in this area is to use someone else's work to inspire your own creativity and then put your own obvious spin on it. 

And... credit, credit, credit... where it is due.

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1 minute ago, Samusa said:

I do agree it is a bit rude to completely copy right down to the finest detail. The best form of flattery in this area is to use someone else's work to inspire your own creativity and then put your own obvious spin on it. 

Yes. I agree wholeheartedly. 

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It's a hard line to be drawn. As miniaturists, we copy real rooms in miniature, sometimes down to the last detail. Now is it an infringement of copyright? Some say no, because the room is in miniature. Others would say yes, because what we're copying is the the idea, the impact, the color, and the design.

I know I saw a Glencroft 30 years ago that was so ingrained in my mind, that I wanted to reproduce it in every detail. The reason? Because I wanted to own it and knew I never could. I think people copy things for the same reason they want to own a print of a famous painting they know they can never have. And then, some people just see a picture they think is so neat, they want to share it with the world, usually with Pinterest. I will say one thing though. I think Pinterest is a horrible contribution to people taking photos and not giving credit. It's not that people are being sneaky, it's because after a photo has been copied so many times, people forget who the original artist was or they never knew in the first place.

I'm on a puzzle site where occasionally a photo of someone's house will show up. I will usually correct them and they will thank me for it. I think the latest was when someone used one of Pat Balazs's photos of her Gothic house and called it a "children's play house". I corrected him in the comments, told him who really made the house and gave him a link to her page. At least if he doesn't acknowledge the correction, it's there for everyone to see.

 

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1 hour ago, Samusa said:

...it is ...rude to completely copy right down to the finest detail. The best form of flattery in this area is to use someone else's work to inspire your own creativity and then put your own obvious spin on it. 

And... credit, credit, credit... where it is due.

Well put.

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It can definitely get ugly in cosplay when you get to the point where you are selling services. There is actually only ONE seller who is legally allowed to sell any star wars related cosplays and state that they are Star Wars replicas. Everyone else has to get really creative and you can't get screen accurate. Even the seller who is legally authorized doesn't, in my opinion, have a screen accurate version. If you ever have a boatload of time on your hands, check out the 501st legion. It's basically one huge forum of people doing screen accurate replicas of Dark Side Star Wars costumes. Amazing stuff but it's all barely legal lol.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 04/04/2017, 22:02:09, SewMini said:

It can definitely get ugly in cosplay when you get to the point where you are selling services. There is actually only ONE seller who is legally allowed to sell any star wars related cosplays and state that they are Star Wars replicas. Everyone else has to get really creative and you can't get screen accurate. Even the seller who is legally authorized doesn't, in my opinion, have a screen accurate version. If you ever have a boatload of time on your hands, check out the 501st legion. It's basically one huge forum of people doing screen accurate replicas of Dark Side Star Wars costumes. Amazing stuff but it's all barely legal lol.

That's some really impressive work Miranda! I've always been fascinated with the work of cosplayers and costume makers, as well as people who forge weapon replicas from shows/videogames out of metal (I was following a few blacksmiths on youtube who do that kind of work, it's really impressive). I wasn't aware so many were crossing a dangerous line when it comes to copyright infringement, but I guess I tend to look at cosplay as more of a performance... in a way it ends up benefiting the company who owns the copyright (free advertisement), but the nature of their business makes them a bit 'overprotective' even at the risk of hurting their fans.

On 04/04/2017, 21:44:17, rodentraiser said:

It's a hard line to be drawn. As miniaturists, we copy real rooms in miniature, sometimes down to the last detail. Now is it an infringement of copyright? Some say no, because the room is in miniature. Others would say yes, because what we're copying is the the idea, the impact, the color, and the design.

(...) I think Pinterest is a horrible contribution to people taking photos and not giving credit. It's not that people are being sneaky, it's because after a photo has been copied so many times, people forget who the original artist was or they never knew in the first place. (....)

Doing a scaled down 'replica' from a real size building is a diferent matter. Architecture, civil engineering and other fields do this all the time with existing buildings and structures, it's a great way of planning future work or keeping a 3D model of an historical building that has been damaged/modified over time. Museums often use these models for educational purposes (they are quite helpful to visitors in archeological sites), and then we have galleries like the Thorne Rooms in Chicago which are fantastic displays of craftsmanship and historical decor. 

I have to agree Pinterest as a platform for sharing ideas is a bit flawed, I always try to leave the links to the original websites and write the artist name in the description, but too often I find pins that I like and it's a pain to find the source >.< 

 

Back on topic, I often take inspiration from the above mentioned thorne rooms for my miniature houses. I've decided to do wall pannels on the Beacon Hill, now the question is... should I add a fireplace breast or not, I could benefit from having a bit of extra space on the living room (already turned it into a rectangle, the entrance corridor was taking too much space for my plans). Here's a gorgeous example:

2362_1602004.jpg

My construction materials should arrive in a few weeks so I hope to start work in this room soon ;) 

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  • 4 weeks later...

This house is so much work... I feel like I'm going at a really slow pace. Perhaps it's both lack of practise in larger scale and not making the best use of downtime ('let stuff dry') to work in other areas of the house... :punch: I wish I could have the tower wall glued already so I could work on the exterior parts, I tought perhaps I could start painting the window bits while I wait, I suppose it won't be a problem to glue them after... just hope I won't get lost with so many components lol. I have picked my colors already, it will be dark magenta with green trims and ivory details.

I'm doing some slight changes to the stairs, replacing the rails and top posts with bits from houseworks, and I think it's still missing something... Hubby is helping me with the carpeting to save some time, I think he's doing a good job for a beginner, here's hoping he'll lend me a hand more often! Please ignore the mess... work in progress ;) 

IMG_2319.thumb.JPG.0db2c211aa49de7efecee

By the way, does anyone know who built this Beacon Hill? Found it on Pinterest but couldn't find the author. I really love the colors, I wasn't sure if the green would look nice on the roof trims but this house definitely convinced me, I would love to see more pictures of it! :) 

e777e98cc1cab946ae919ed24f2a568a.jpg

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Your stairs are looking great, Wormwoodz!  I like the modifications you are doing.  As you can't easily access those stairs once they are installed, it is good to pay attention to details early. (I wish I had.)  FYI, I also found putting in wallpaper challenging after the primary build phase was complete because I couldn't see what I was doing on the first set of stairs.  Again, I wish I had more patience and knowledge when I was starting out, but "live and learn". :)

-David

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1 hour ago, dkumpula said:

Your stairs are looking great, Wormwoodz!  I like the modifications you are doing.  As you can't easily access those stairs once they are installed, it is good to pay attention to details early. (I wish I had.)  FYI, I also found putting in wallpaper challenging after the primary build phase was complete because I couldn't see what I was doing on the first set of stairs.  Again, I wish I had more patience and knowledge when I was starting out, but "live and learn". :)

-David

Indeed! I am trying to make sure I do everything I need to do before moving on. I don't like wallpapering before gluing the house, but with the entrance area is prety much necessary :S Love the shape of the stairs, but it's a bit tricky to do anything to them after the front wall is inserted. I figured it's not very complicated to insert the rails through the second floor opening even with some modifications glued in.. but I will have to apply the finishing varnish before gluing them, so I'm double and triple checking if everything fits together properly. Not sure how I'll glue the crown moulding to the wall on the back (tower front) after the rails are in, I will have to be really careful to not smear glue all over the wallpaper lol xD 

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