Looking for a reference on a puppet maker!

[pd0062]

Hi Brett,

I ordered two puppets from him in 2010 for my wedding.

I had the same problems regarding lack of contact, not committing to a shipping date but I did see photos of them on his website and get copies via e-mail as well. It took a long time and some assistance/intervention from my credit card company (I didn't think the puppets were going to come) but I eventually got them.

If you want to private message me, I'll send you some photos of the finished puppets.

Phil

 

[RealBrettHansen]

Thanks Phil. I'm glad you finally received them. This is the only time I've seen any resolution to any of the various stories about people's experiences with Mike.

Most of what's written focuses more on his Muppet "renditions", and all the copyright infringement issues. But there really isn't much about his custom made puppets from people's designs.

I paid for mine in October, and, after much patience and contact, this is the week that he actually said that work would begin on my puppet. So hopefully I receive it soon.

Yes, I'd love to see the images. However, I'm not too sure how to private message on this site. Were you happy with the final result? Good quality?

 

[Toby Aylward]

Hi there Brett. I can add some input to "Creature Clones". I purchased a Ernie rendition back in August 2012. I have yet to recieve anything. It is beyond frustrating. Everytime I ask for an update or picture of the progress, he never answers my questions. Just vague answers. Always claims he is "busy", is "ill", etc. Unfortunatley I don't believe we will get what we paid for, but I sure hope I'm wrong. Message me if you want more details or questions. Cheers!

 

[RealBrettHansen]

This is extremely disheartening to hear. I ordered my custom puppet in October 2012. I can't believe you're still waiting on yours from August!

The last time I contacted him, he said that his latest job was a four puppet order of "The Golden Girls" which was due to ship on Feb 10. Mine is supposed to be the very next order. Sure enough, the photo of the Golden Girls puppets has appeared on his Facebook updates. And I've kept quiet for a week after that date, because I've probably come across as impatient enough.

But still... This puppet I designed is the face of my new business and the star of my show. Until I get it, I'm unemployed. I've stupidly registered this puppeteer business and based the whole thing around this puppet! Even my logo! I've made this very clear to him. The whole thing lies in his hands. I feel like a complete idiot for putting so much trust in this guy. He has always said, "I'll keep you posted", but NEVER emails unless I email first. I don't know what to do.

The PayPal refund protection thing against undelivered orders only lasts 45 days from purchase. After that time, he's got my money and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm in Australia too, so there's nothing I can do legally because I'm outside of the USA. SO frustrating!!! Where's my purchase?!??

 

[Toby Aylward]

This is extremely disheartening to hear. I ordered my custom puppet in October 2012. I can't believe you're still waiting on yours from August!

The last time I contacted him, he said that his latest job was a four puppet order of "The Golden Girls" which was due to ship on Feb 10. Mine is supposed to be the very next order. Sure enough, the photo of the Golden Girls puppets has appeared on his Facebook updates. And I've kept quiet for a week after that date, because I've probably come across as impatient enough.

But still... This puppet I designed is the face of my new business and the star of my show. Until I get it, I'm unemployed. I've stupidly registered this puppeteer business and based the whole thing around this puppet! Even my logo! I've made this very clear to him. The whole thing lies in his hands. I feel like a complete idiot for putting so much trust in this guy. He has always said, "I'll keep you posted", but NEVER emails unless I email first. I don't know what to do.

The PayPal refund protection thing against undelivered orders only lasts 45 days from purchase. After that time, he's got my money and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm in Australia too, so there's nothing I can do legally because I'm outside of the USA. SO frustrating!!! Where's my purchase?!??

 

[Toby Aylward]

Well, we've clearly established this guy's a liar. In his last e-mail he even has the nerve to say to me "You must think the world revolves around you". I was pretty choked. I'm trying to explian to this guy that I'm waiting 6 months! Sadly, I as well paid this guy in full, so you're not the only guy in the same prediciment. He NEVER e-mails me first either, I ALWAYS have to contact him, and he gets *****. What a scoundrel! Anyways, I'd like to keep in touch. Perhaps you will get your puppet eventually. Keep me posted. my e-mail is tobyaylward@gmail.com. Cheers.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

A friend of mine got a puppet from Creature Clones. He sent Michael Lisa the design of the puppet and paid for his services in January 2011 if I recall correctly. He didn't get the puppet until early 2012. It took him threatening Creature Clones with a lawsuit for him to get his act together. I'd certainly never get a puppet from him.

If you are looking for a puppet builder, I still reccommend Russ Walko 100%, I haven't gotten a puppet from him in a few years (though hopefully that will change soon since I won't have to worry about car payments for a while ) but he's a great guy nonetheless. Much better than Creature Clones, and probably a lot cheaper too for a high quality product.

 

[RealBrettHansen]

Wow, I would imagine Russ Walko's prices would've gone up significantly in the last few years though. He did those Simpsons puppets, puppets for Peewee Herman, and the alternative Avenue Q ones too!

 

[RealBrettHansen]

Ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to let you know that after I put a bit of pressure on and demanded a refund, I finally did receive the Creature Clones custom puppet, six months after I ordered it! I was emailed a photo the Friday before last, and then the puppet arrived last Friday.

The quality is fantastic, and it's exactly what I wanted. It sucks that I had to start getting nasty though. I wonder if I'd have received it at all if I'd just stayed silent. The squeaky wheel gets the grease I guess. Six months is a bit too long to wait though. The wait certainly set me back a few months in my business. But I'm starting to get back on track again now that my character is here.

If you do wish to design a professional puppet to be built by Creature Clones, prepare to wait six months, and keep in regular contact. He replies to your emails, but he doesn't make the first contact. You have to keep onto him. Not a bombardment of emails, but maybe one every 3-4 weeks.

Toby, have you received your Ernie yet?

 

[WillyThePig]

Just out of curiosity, is it legal to sell -- say -- a replica Star Trek phaser (not a master replica or official version, but a scratch-built fan replica)? And, if so, how is it any different than selling Muppet replicas? Is it the difference between a copyrighted prop vs. a copyrighted character? Or is it that Disney/Henson is more protective of the Muppets than Paramount is about Trek?

I don't support Muppet replicas, especially when they're custom jobs and the makers charge tons for them. I just know that replicas from other shows have run rampant for years and I've never heard anything about them being illegal, but Muppet replicas are automatically flagged as contraband.

if it resembles copyrighted work and it is not officially licensed by the company, than odds are its probably not legal. its okay to make things like this for yourself but if you are making money off someone else's designs than its illegal because its basically stealing...and if word gets around that people are selling things like this and a lawsuit begins, odds are they will not win against a billion dollar production company that can afford a team of lawers to defend their work