Last night , I had a rather productive conversation with Holm_737 himself , and have been able to confirm my initial theory ; that he merely used the 98 Proto as a study reference , and it was never directly used for his Kirk sculpt . He also stated that , along with the 98 Proto , he used photos of original 75 Kirks to properly refine his sculpt & get it more toward 75 Kirk territory , rather than looking like a direct 98 Proto casting .
From my understanding of his process , and even the direct comparisons he made during our conversation , he used the 98 proto in the same ways that other artists use photos as reference , or even having a mask in-hand to use as reference .
Because of this , I believe that a lot of the backlash with this particular sculpt came due to miscommunication and or people simply not understanding the process he utilized . He did acknowledge to me that what he said in his initial post wasn’t entirely what he was trying to say , as he’s not a native English speaker .
In his words , “A scanned mask is only for learning — for understanding the sculpt .”
I know this topic is pretty much done & dusted , but I figured I would give some form of update , just to clear the air around this sculpt . To me , it wouldn’t feel right , seeing people still believing that this sculpt is just a 3D scan of a 98 Proto and leave it at that , when the truth is honestly more traditional than a lot of people probably realized , both due to the miscommunication and the community’s lack of knowledge on digital sculpting .
While Holm is certainly a well-known sculptor whose ‘amazing abilities’ in both traditional and digital mediums have given us the SSN Jason, the Fun World Fantastic Faces, and those highly accurate Trick or Treat Studios masks—not to mention the '98 proto—we need to look at the reality of the situation.
To be completely frank, this individual simply 3D scanned the NAG '98 proto and made just enough alterations to ruin the mask’s original accuracy. Anyone is free to hold the opinion that this constitutes great sculpting, but the facts suggest otherwise: it is a clear case of unauthorized replication that lacks both professional ethics and genuine artistic talent.
To go through all this trouble to steal to scan to print to mold and try to offer something less accurate than trick or treat studios kirk it is a little bit goofy …Some random pics of the ToTs kirk converted i found for example it looks 100 times more accurate.
My point was that , based on Holm’s own words , and the photos that he shared with me while we talked , his final sculpt wasn’t sculpted off of the 98 Proto . From my interpretation , which Holm seemed to agree and confirm , he used the 98 Proto as reference . He did scan a 98 Proto , and I have no doubt that he did sculpt in the eyes and digitally remove the hair , as he himself admitted to in his now-deleted post .
The way he described it to me , he compared it to having a mask in-hand next to you while you sculpt . Or utilizing reference photos of a genuine original to sculpt a mask . In his own words , “The model I scanned is also just a lighting and shadow reference for my working method , nothing more .”
I’m not going to try defending him on the other sculpts . The Pretty Woman does look unfortunately like a plain 3D scan of the TOTS version . He did bring up his Part 7 Jason sculpture though , where he said that he did the same as he’s claiming to have done with the OCMC . I haven’t personally looked much into that particular situation , so I’ll leave it at that . I’m merely trying to clear up the OCMC situation , as it seems like a lot of people look at it as just plain 3D scanning and reselling , likely both due to pre-existing stigmas with 3D sculpting due to bad actors who do just scan and sell other sculpts , as well as Holm’s miscommunication . And I don’t doubt that Holm was , at some point , someone who did just 3D scan another sculpt , do a bit of work on it , and claim it as his own , as seen with the Pretty Woman . But , I believe that he has since learned from that , due to his own words ; “Honestly , I will still scan lineage , but I will never just change something a little and call it my own design and hand it in .”
Just my thoughts on this situation , taking all of the available info into account . If something undeniable comes out about Holm that completely debunks my idea of what happened , I’ll happily say I was wrong .
I find it hard to trust the words of someone who is already known to have done shady things. He literally said he has done things against NAG out of spite, and somehow we are just supposed to believe that he went through all of the effort of 3D scanning a mask, digitally removing the hair and then had a change of heart and only used it as a reference?
Even in his own excuse to you, he literally admits that he already went through every step that you would need to do to scan and steal. We are just supposed to believe that he didn’t and take his word for it? If he already had the mask in-hand to even scan it in the first place, why didn’t he just use that mask as a reference? Why would he need to 3D scan a mask to use it as a reference when he already owns the mask in person?
All of this is extremely shady. Especially given that he has already admitted to doing this before and even admitted that he has a personal vendetta against NAG. I think you’re being overly trusting by blindly trusting what he is saying now, considering this whole controversy is negatively impacting his business.
he simply cannot sculpt and continues to steal over and over even claims he 3D scans a mask and prints it just to use as a “reference” is ridiculous. Why would you need to print a 3D scan for reference when you already have the physical mask right there in front of you?
Plus, he clearly stated that he has the “right” to steal from all artists. Every mask maker and collector who owns lineage pieces from any movie should view this guy as a threat to the community. Personally, I blocked him, and I think every collector should do the same. The fact that he isn’t even good at stealing is no excuse. He is still a thief, a threat, and a massive red flag for the entire collecting community.
My personal theory as to why he scanned the mask as reference instead of just using it in person is because it’s simply easier to have it as a digital model that you can compare side by side to your own sculpt than it is to have the sculpt digital , while the reference isn’t . It’s easier to match angles and lighting when they’re both in the same environment , as someone who has experience in digital sculpting .
And I will admit that I am being extremely trusting , likely to an extent that most people wouldn’t be . But , in my eyes , he’s already been honest about everything else about this sculpt . He admitted to scanning the Proto , he admitted that it was done partially in retaliation to NAG . But a lot of the information that I’m bringing up was also brought up with all of that other info . He admitted , in his original post , that , while he scanned the Proto , he only used it as reference . This isn’t him backtracking after receiving backlash for admitting to scanning the Proto and selling his own recasts of it . This was him elaborating on something he already mentioned , specifically because I seemed to be the only one who noticed it . Both of those pieces of info were introduced at the same time .
I could absolutely be putting way too much faith into him , I’ll admit it . But I think we as a community should at least try to listen to what he actually said in regard to the process of producing this mask . Ever since his initial post on Instagram about this project , everyone seems to have focused on “I 3D scanned a 98 Proto” and left it at that , without taking into account any of the other details . I don’t blame anyone for being cautious about trusting him , he didn’t even expect me to fully trust him when we spoke , especially given his prior history , but we should at least hear what he’s saying instead of just cherry picking info and running with it .
Once again , I could absolutely be putting too much faith into him . And I understand why the community at large is hesitant to take what he’s saying at face value , both due to his own history and due to other bad actors who’ve ruined the reputation of digital sculpting as a whole , like Boogyman Creations , who routinely steals other artists’ work by using AI to turn photos into 3D models , and then selling those . But I also think it’s unfair to only focus on part of the situation .
He didn’t print the scan . He used the digital scan as reference for a digital sculpt . He then printed the sculpt to produce masks .
I’ll agree on your take on the whole “having the right to scan anything” part though . That’s a bit far , and I think he should absolutely rethink that thought process .
he admitted that it was done partially in retaliation to NAG
He admitted , in his original post , that , while he scanned the Proto , he only used it as reference.
Don’t you see the contradiction there? He said himself he was doing this out of spite to NAG, but at the same time he’s apparently done nothing wrong and only used the mask as a reference. So what exactly was he doing out of spite to NAG?
I definitely think you are being too trusting. I have been more on the fence here and have waited for all of the information to surface to really make a comment on this. So I am definitely not cherry picking anything. This is exactly how I see it:
Someone who has a known reputation of 3d scanning and stealing sculpts has admitted to doing exactly that with NAG’s 98 proto, has even stated he has a personal vendetta against NAG and was doing this out of spite, has gone through every step that is needed to steal a sculpt such as 3D scanning and digitally removing anything not a part of the sculpt such as the hair (also not needed if you’re simply using it as a reference… but definitely needed if you plan on printing it).
Now the same guy is apparently wanting us to believe that all of this effort was simply to use the mask as a reference. He’s apparently done this to get back at NAG, but at the same time hasn’t done anything wrong to NAG either?
When you step back and look at all of this information, you’d have to really try to make yourself think this man isn’t doing something shady. You are also treating him with some degree as someone who has just tried to do something and perhaps went about it the wrong way and now has ruined his reputation. But that is not the case. He has said himself he had bad intentions against another artist. Just from that statement alone, he has given himself a bad name in this community and makes it very hard to trust him, his work, or anything he says. He brought that on himself IMHO.
I tried to do the same thing, which is why I didn’t step into the conversation right away. But now the dust has settled (partially) it seems a lot clearer to me where things have gone wrong and why.
Nothing wrong with giving people the benefit of the doubt, brother. However, given what he has already publically said himself, I’d err on the side of caution.
I really think we are beating a dead horse here. We are wasting time making excuses for someone who is stealing. Stealing is stealing—whether it is recasting, scanning, or anything else.
This person has zero sculpting background and zero sculpting skills.And we know this how? we never saw anything original nor anything sculpted by him. Only stolen stuff. He came out of nowhere selling fake Fun World masks, and because he found 5 to 10 local supporters, he is now trying to expand. I heard his plan is to ruin the entire hobby by mass-producing stolen masks. Think about that for a second: no legitimate mask maker or artist mass-produces anything this way. This guy is sending molds to local factories in China; he is not only a thief, but he is also lazy.
The real question is: is anyone actually naive enough to hand over their hard-earned money for knockoffs and trust a thief? This is exactly how these scammers operate:
• The Bait: They show off an attractive, high-quality product.
• The Hook: They deliver a few early copies just to build trust and attract a larger crowd.
• The Exit: They take a massive wave of pre-orders, collect the money, and disappear.
This tactic has happened in many horror communities over the years; it is a well-known scam. If you lose your money to him, who are you going to complain to? Everyone will just say, 'You knew this guy was a thief from the start.
