So is that what it takes Rich to get things done? Money? I have talked to Richard Ford (member "Roadrunner000" for those who don't know him) about the Agent X/Cloak & Dagger art project about a zillion times in the past 4 years and he has always maintained that every time he offered you money to get the Agent X project done, you refused. Now you're saying that money is the motivator? I"m confused.
Ok..Let me say first I have no involvement in the Zookeeper artwork so I'm not going to comment on that one. However, since I've been brought into this discussion..I wanted to wait till I had time to think over what I was going to say so as to make my feeling clear on this whole issue in a rational reply.
I'm not one of the so called big players of repro art...we all know who these guys are....I respect all of them and consider some of them to be personal friends and extreme assets to the hobby.
I'm just one collector who had a passion for a certain game and was fortunate to get the films and figured there was a small group of others who would appreciate the art getting done like me.
However, I will say this...when Rich first started involvement in this hobby I was probably one of the first guys to step up and try his work..I also was responsible for getting some others in the hobby to contact him to get some other projects done and help Rich get known in the business...namely DKII artwork...I can't tell you how many people emailed me early on asking if Rich work was worthy of certain projects..I always indicated his work was superb.
I had initially had Rich work on one specific piece for the Agent X project (grey speaker grill overlay)..when I ended up getting the films from Scott Evans with assistance from Darin from Phoenix Arcade. I spoke to Rich and he agreed to take the a look at films...it ended up becoming a collaborative idea of Rich and I to do the entire art package since we had the films for nearly all the art with exceptions of a few pieces which we were able to recreate...
Early on Rich always operated..at least with the early projects in seeing what you wanted..giving you cost and timeframe on production. Sometime you paid up front and sometimes I waited till he was finished and ready to ship...after all he was small potato back then and could usually turn out the stuff reasonably quickly since he didn't have a lot of arcade stuff on his plate...
The Agent X project was a large project never before attempted with so many pieces...9 total. Rich thought with this one was would kind of play it by ear...and I actually paid for several of the pieces when they were ready and shipped as we moved along...but we agreed the bulk of the money to be paid at the projects conclusion because some of the costs had not been worked out or know till we would be done with everything.
Fast Forward and four plus years later we are still trying to get this project done...other big guys found out how good Rich was in producing things and the high quality he put into it...initially, I didn't mind stepping back to let other stuff get done and encouraged it..after all Rich has a business to run...but I also think that loyalty is something that means a lot and after continually being passed over to do other projects some small and some big...I've come to the conclusion that I needed to comment to get this project done.
No longer do I wish to wait for others to finish their stuff..I feel my project deserves to be completed despite what others have paid up front or not...if this requires me to front the rest of the money to Rich to finish then so be it..(Rich is this is case you have my email buddy)...but I don't intend on waiting anymore for others to come in and push this project back any further especially when its so close to getting finished and has been for a long time.
I have people that have invested time and money into cabs and parts related to this project and it simply isn't fair to them to wait anymore..
I have money invested also..the money I paid for certain aspects of the project to get done already and still have the art in my possession since I can't sell till I have complete set...and the recent metal parts I had Takeman reproduced to help everyone out.
To be open I've offered Rich money in past to speed up project but he's a stand up guy and stuck to our original deal as much as possible because he likes to help everyone which stretches himself too thin..other than a few hundred here and there for materials as we went the bulk of money wasn't to be paid till the project was done..but with all the new players involved now looks like I will have to alter the deal to get this finished.
My hope is that Rich is able to finish the art so we can move onto other projects that the big art guys have in the wings..but I feel I do need to speak up and say that regardless of the fact that some of the larger projects that are prepaid usually take precedence I think waiting over four years to have something done should mean something...
I hope I haven't pissed anyone one off but expressed my feelings on the entire thing which I'm tiring over dealing with.
This will be my last major investment in the artwork repro stuff..I might donate to others to do stuff..but this is it for me.
