Reaper Rips-off Rackham
- Thread starter Duende
- Start date
kittykat23uk
New member
I\'m not sure that Reaper per se. can be blamed for the similarities to Rackham in these sculpts. I\'m not sure how much leeway individual sculptors are given to produce what they want and as we are aware, Reaper miniatures have a number of different sculptors working for them. Perhaps Bobby Jackson, Tim Prow and Julie Guthrie were each inspired by Rackham to see what they could come up with.
These are new minis and as such must be newer than the Rackham ones to which they look similar. None of these minis particularly interests me, I tend to buy more monstrous stuff from Reaper such as their dragons.
Regards
Kat
These are new minis and as such must be newer than the Rackham ones to which they look similar. None of these minis particularly interests me, I tend to buy more monstrous stuff from Reaper such as their dragons.
Regards
Kat
Flashman14
Member
ya ... I can\'t quite put my finger on it but I feel a great deal of negativity towards those sculpts. I don\'t generally feel \"hate\" for minis but somehow I\'m annoyed as f*** about those ...
Course I haven\'t yet had my coffee ....
Course I haven\'t yet had my coffee ....
Similarity Hmmmn!
If we are talking about that try checking out the Arabic girl with a Falcon on the following three sites:
DarkSword Miniatureshttp://www.darkswordminiatures.com It\'s in the Masterworks Parkinson section.
Assassin Miniatures http://www.assassin.de/Shop/Englisch/index2.html You\'ll have to look in the Fantasy section. Female Falconer.
Aitna http://www.aitnamodel.com/catalogue_dettagli.asp?reparto=Fantasy&id=155
All three are direct representations of the same artwork by Larry Elmore. http://www.larryelmore.com
Co-incidence? Of course! :innocent:
If we are talking about that try checking out the Arabic girl with a Falcon on the following three sites:
DarkSword Miniatureshttp://www.darkswordminiatures.com It\'s in the Masterworks Parkinson section.
Assassin Miniatures http://www.assassin.de/Shop/Englisch/index2.html You\'ll have to look in the Fantasy section. Female Falconer.
Aitna http://www.aitnamodel.com/catalogue_dettagli.asp?reparto=Fantasy&id=155
All three are direct representations of the same artwork by Larry Elmore. http://www.larryelmore.com
Co-incidence? Of course! :innocent:
The fianna thing came from a picture of a garage kit in the Japanese modelling magazin called Hobby Japan.Paolo Parente just copy the stuff,and designed the fianna.I don\'t have the magazin at home(it\'s at my parents place),but i found a picture of the animation Neo Ranga
Now let\'s talk about originality...The one ripped off is not the one you believed
lol
the one in the middle
http://www.animewallpapers.com/wallpapers/neoranga/
Now let\'s talk about originality...The one ripped off is not the one you believed
lol
the one in the middle
http://www.animewallpapers.com/wallpapers/neoranga/
The Reaper Warlord line of Orcs were obviously inspired by Rakham\'s Orcs. Compare Reaper\'s pre-Confrontation orcs to the post-Con orcs, and you\'ll see what I mean. The Rakham sculptor\'s have raised the bar...it\'s nice to see other companies try to come up to that level. 
As the first (Darksword) mini has been modeled dirrectly on the Elmore art work, has been painted to match and is advertised as such - I don\'t think you can call it coincidence
I can\'t get the link to the Aitna model but don\'t think the Assasin mini has any resemblance to the Elmore art other than the figure is female, is holding a sword and a falcon.
- the pose is different and so are the clothes worn.
There is a danger that once you start looking you will see similarities with all figures - are all minis with spears ripping each other off (I just re-read that and it could be a pun
) or any female on a horse is a rip off of Belladona (or some earlier mini)Having said all that - bad Reaper bad!
How about this upcoming Saint Celestine miniature from GW. http://us.games-workshop.com/games/40k/witchhunters/catalog/celestine.htm Don\'t you want to compare it to Pythia of Azel? There\'s alot of differences, but something about the way Saint Celestine has been sculpted just reminds you of Rackham. I think the figure has been sculpted more elongated than normal for GW. It just seems like a larger figure than normal. Of course it may just be a trick of the eye. I will buy it when it comes out.
darthfoley
Active member
Originally posted by paint me
The Reaper Warlord line of Orcs were obviously inspired by Rakham\'s Orcs. Compare Reaper\'s pre-Confrontation orcs to the post-Con orcs, and you\'ll see what I mean. The Rakham sculptor\'s have raised the bar...it\'s nice to see other companies try to come up to that level.
Or saddening to see them copy a style one personally can\'t stand...all depends on your POV.
Scottdsp748
New member
Having seen the saint celestine model in person, I noticed one thing...the body is only a slight resculpt from the seraphim sister superior (so it isn\'t elongated at all from normal GW standards). I think that while there may be some degree of Rackham influence poking its way into other lines, its unavoidable considering the impact they have had on the mini scene. I think alot of the warmachine (non-jacks of course) minis show alot of Rackham influence as well. I really don\'t see this so much as something to get pissed about as a true measure of the impact Rackham has made on the miniatures community as a whole.
New influences keep the hobby interesting even if they make some people mad...
-Scott
New influences keep the hobby interesting even if they make some people mad...
-Scott
J
jean_genie
Guest
I have to say that what bothers me the most out of this whole situation isn\'t what actually happened, so much as how people have reacted to it. I\'ll explain with a related example, so as to prevent any accidental personal attacks
I can\'t tell you how many people I\'ve met that thought that The Ataris wrote Boys of Summer, and Don Henley did the cover(it\'s the other way around). Or those that thought that Marilyn Manson\'s cover of Tainted Love two years agowas original, and had never even heard of Soft Cell. Usually people just assume that the first version they hear is the original, and anything they hear afterwards must be a cover. This situation is pretty much the same. Sort of.
Rackham has made these models and styles immensely popular (well, relative to the hobby). But what\'s to say that Reaper\'s sculptor\'s hadn\'t been sitting on those greens for a year or two? It\'s very unlikely, but you should stop and think about the possibility before you start making accusations. It was pointed out that the new GW Seraphim is just a resculpt of an older one .... so wouldn\'t that make Rackham\'s the copy, if anything? More importantly, isn\'t it possible that Rackham got their ideas from somewhere else themselves, as was mentioned? Maybe someplace somewhat obscure? Most people don\'t even know that even the Soft Cell version of Tainted Love is a cover of a 60s soul record - and those are the people that were blasting the Manson fans just two years ago. So just try to be a little reasonable, okay? I could probably point out ten ways in which Rackham has drawn from other companies, so let\'s not deify them too much.
And for God\'s sake if you\'re going to get up in arms about something, try to choose your battles a little more intelligently. The Reaper \'fianna\' is similar only in pose really, since there are a ton of minis of babes with big swords anyway. At least the Shaynys (sp?) knock-off actually looks like a copy.
I can\'t tell you how many people I\'ve met that thought that The Ataris wrote Boys of Summer, and Don Henley did the cover(it\'s the other way around). Or those that thought that Marilyn Manson\'s cover of Tainted Love two years agowas original, and had never even heard of Soft Cell. Usually people just assume that the first version they hear is the original, and anything they hear afterwards must be a cover. This situation is pretty much the same. Sort of.
Rackham has made these models and styles immensely popular (well, relative to the hobby). But what\'s to say that Reaper\'s sculptor\'s hadn\'t been sitting on those greens for a year or two? It\'s very unlikely, but you should stop and think about the possibility before you start making accusations. It was pointed out that the new GW Seraphim is just a resculpt of an older one .... so wouldn\'t that make Rackham\'s the copy, if anything? More importantly, isn\'t it possible that Rackham got their ideas from somewhere else themselves, as was mentioned? Maybe someplace somewhat obscure? Most people don\'t even know that even the Soft Cell version of Tainted Love is a cover of a 60s soul record - and those are the people that were blasting the Manson fans just two years ago. So just try to be a little reasonable, okay? I could probably point out ten ways in which Rackham has drawn from other companies, so let\'s not deify them too much.
And for God\'s sake if you\'re going to get up in arms about something, try to choose your battles a little more intelligently. The Reaper \'fianna\' is similar only in pose really, since there are a ton of minis of babes with big swords anyway. At least the Shaynys (sp?) knock-off actually looks like a copy.
Originally posted by jean_genie
..... The Reaper \'fianna\' is similar only in pose really, since there are a ton of minis of babes with big swords anyway. At least the Shaynys (sp?) knock-off actually looks like a copy.
Burn him for making me read this much!!!
But you are correct, double blasphemy on Reaper
Scottdsp748
New member
I\'m probably going to bring the proverbial scheißestürm upon myself with this one...but here goes...
I actually like the \"reaper knock off\" better! That cloak is kick ass and really looks like it would be a challenge to paint well, but if done right could look really sweet. So go ahead...flame away! Just don\'t vote snipe my mins because then I would have to restart that thread for the five hundred sisty three thousand four hundred and fifth (or is that sixth) time! :bouncy:
-Scott
I actually like the \"reaper knock off\" better! That cloak is kick ass and really looks like it would be a challenge to paint well, but if done right could look really sweet. So go ahead...flame away! Just don\'t vote snipe my mins because then I would have to restart that thread for the five hundred sisty three thousand four hundred and fifth (or is that sixth) time! :bouncy:
-Scott
I probably care.
But I\'m not sure.
We really aren\'t talking about direct rip offs here anyway. These are style rip offs. And they might just as easily be tributes. For all you know the one artist was paying tribute to the other.
For my 2 cents I\'m kind of glad someone has ripped off Rackham. They have some great ideas that, in my opinion, are obliterated by ridiculous proportions. Fiana is Dolly Parton up top and Calista Flockhart down below. If her back doesn\'t break from the weight of her boobs, her legs will. The reaper mini looks a lot more realistic to me. Fiana has a great face going for her, and a nice upper torso. But there ends her appeal. Pixie stick legs and dwarfen fingers ruin the rest of her.
As for the theif, I have to say I prefer the Reaper mini. I noticed the similarites to the Rackham when it first came out, but I still like the Reaper mini. I think enough has changed for it to be a different work, and original in its own right, if not better.
Someone needs to take Rackham\'s good ideas and shave away the crap. It could easily be argued that Reaper is ripping off Rackham, but I think their ideas are different enough to be considered original. Three cheers for Reaper.
barkel
But I\'m not sure.
We really aren\'t talking about direct rip offs here anyway. These are style rip offs. And they might just as easily be tributes. For all you know the one artist was paying tribute to the other.
For my 2 cents I\'m kind of glad someone has ripped off Rackham. They have some great ideas that, in my opinion, are obliterated by ridiculous proportions. Fiana is Dolly Parton up top and Calista Flockhart down below. If her back doesn\'t break from the weight of her boobs, her legs will. The reaper mini looks a lot more realistic to me. Fiana has a great face going for her, and a nice upper torso. But there ends her appeal. Pixie stick legs and dwarfen fingers ruin the rest of her.
As for the theif, I have to say I prefer the Reaper mini. I noticed the similarites to the Rackham when it first came out, but I still like the Reaper mini. I think enough has changed for it to be a different work, and original in its own right, if not better.
Someone needs to take Rackham\'s good ideas and shave away the crap. It could easily be argued that Reaper is ripping off Rackham, but I think their ideas are different enough to be considered original. Three cheers for Reaper.
barkel
Here is the inspiration for the exalted mini:
And last Gencon, when we talked to Bobby Jackson about the jumping cloaked guy he was working on, and pointed out the similarity to the confrontation mini, he explained to us his concept really came more from the pose (see arm position and crunched legs) than the overall look, so the similarity is indeed coincidence.
As for the warlord orcs, I think the concept came from an attempt at exaggerating the tusks. Compared to the Confrontation orcs who have huge bodies and tiny legs, the Warlord orcs are quite proportionate. If there is any Confrontation influence on Reaper (or other) sculptors, it is a tendacy for closer attention to detail than anything else.
Please also note many reaper sculpts begin their concept in the minds and pens of their product line coordinator and 2-d sketch artist...
When you look at all the barbarian sculpts where Conan was an inspiration, you notice they are all similar looking are they not? If the concept is good, there will be numerous companies carrying the concept onto a miniature. I hardly think Reaper should lose any respect for doing what\'s in their and our best interest.
And last Gencon, when we talked to Bobby Jackson about the jumping cloaked guy he was working on, and pointed out the similarity to the confrontation mini, he explained to us his concept really came more from the pose (see arm position and crunched legs) than the overall look, so the similarity is indeed coincidence.
As for the warlord orcs, I think the concept came from an attempt at exaggerating the tusks. Compared to the Confrontation orcs who have huge bodies and tiny legs, the Warlord orcs are quite proportionate. If there is any Confrontation influence on Reaper (or other) sculptors, it is a tendacy for closer attention to detail than anything else.
Please also note many reaper sculpts begin their concept in the minds and pens of their product line coordinator and 2-d sketch artist...
When you look at all the barbarian sculpts where Conan was an inspiration, you notice they are all similar looking are they not? If the concept is good, there will be numerous companies carrying the concept onto a miniature. I hardly think Reaper should lose any respect for doing what\'s in their and our best interest.
Ah, yes. Originality, especially in artistic ventures, is always a sicky thing. Did French Impressionists rip off the Romans by reusing poses from architectural friezes in some of their paintings? Did classic composers rip off people by using the occassional traditional folk tune as the basis for parts of thier compositions? Did Led Zeplin rip off many blues artists by lefting entire songs and having them credited as their own? Is West Side Story just a rip off of Romeo & Juliet? Ic ould go on and on. There appears to be a very fine line between \"insopiration\" and \"pilferring\"
