I don't recall if I had ever published my shoot with my SPFX Black Senior, but from the very start, it was an abomination. I like black guy masks and after seeing how good it looked, I wanted to get one.
There were multiple bubbles in the mask itself, there were no ear holes, the eyeholes had been cut cock-eyed, and there were thin areas in multiple areas of the mask. Even sending it off to Brian Wright for repairs/corrections made it somewhat better, but at that point, SPFX quality was in the toilet, and I kicked myself for buying it. But it looked decent - not great - after it was haired with brows and stache looking like Danny Glover from "Lethal Weapon".
The final straw occurred when I tried it on at a later point and the silicone oil that Rusty had used as a deadener had leached out of the mask, leaving it stretched beyond wearing. Completely disgusted, I sold it on ebay.
And because I was so glad to get rid of it, I didn't purchase USPS insurance for it. The guy that bought it from me (in Florida, who worked at some adult cabaret) claimed that the box was torn open and resealed, and an empty box was delivered to him. I believed him (stupid, stupid me) and refunded his money, thinking that either ebay or paypal would help me out. Nope. I even contacted the local sheriff in Florida and never received anything back. I'm sure the sonofabitch lied to me and I still curse him to this day. So I not only lost the mask, but I was also out $800 and shipping. I got a whopping $50 back from USPS.
Lesson learned - NEVER sell a mask without insurance.
But I still missed having an older black guy.
Enter Yves Gravelle of Metamorphose Masks.
I love Yves - he is such a joy to work with. I asked him if he could take a "Soul Man" and make it look like my Black Senior. I have a Soul Man of his already and love the way it fits. I sent him reference pics, and after about 6-8 weeks, I received a new mask.
Yves also does beautiful work in hairing masks. He's diversified into hairing and repainting other vendors' masks as well. I HIGHLY recommend him for any revision, repair or hairing mask work you may have.
It's a beauty. Fits great overall, and excellent eye and lip fitment as well. And Yves makes amazing bibs on his masks. He's also upped his painting skills by a magnitude of ten, so the new black guy I got really is an amazing work of art. Here's a movement video that Yves made of the mask before it was mailed out:
I'm extremely happy with the new me (or him), so here are some shots of the "new and improved" electrician, Kaden Ross...
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