Latest SD Studios Mailing

[Yogesh Sharma]

Well... I've just received the attached (see PDF file) email from SD Studios.

Absolutely zero mention of the cluster-f**k that he's left the HAL 9000 project in or any attempt of an apology to his customers / backers!

Is Stephen Dymszo for real?!

--YS

[Richard Harris]

So Steve Dymso is selling T-Rex's from Master Replica Groups manufacturer? Shouldn't those be assets of MRG? And used to try and help turn the company around? And what about the Smithsonian Institute being burned in the bankruptcy? They are listed as a creditor. Why is Steve selling these to benefit himself, when the Smithsonian is owed money? 

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[Ihave Noname]

He is a crook.

[jon allitt]

Signing up everyone from the indiegogo campaign to his private mailing list after he's allegedly no longer involved in the business has to be a violation of indiegogo's terms and conditions somewhere.  

https://www.indiegogo.com/about/terms#/campaignownerobligations

Privacy - section h maybe?

[Richard Harris]

Oh that is really interesting. Great research Jon!

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[Adrian Petford]

So, in his latest mailing dated 27th October, Dymszo is once again selling MRG stock:

-2001 Gary Lockwood/ Keir Dulea dual-signature 8 X 10 glossy photo. $100 plus shipping

-HAL 9000 1/6th scale Flash drive 32Gb. With 2001 artwork. $40 plus shipping

-HAL 9000 1/6th scale Flash drive 16Gb. Without 2001 artwork. $25 plus shipping.  

-MRG ½ scale T.rex skull replica. Same as above. Our manufacturer has a few in stock and ready to go. EXPENSIVE! HUUUUGE! DISCOUNTED! E-mail me for price. Serious inquiries only please!

-MRG 1/10th scale T.Rex Skull replica. SAA. $45 plus shipping

While some may be single items from his personal collection, clearly others are not as they are from "our" manufacturer. It's entirely possible they could all be multiples he is selling, even the signature photo.

How is he being allowed to sell MRG assets?

Could someone who has had legal involvement with the bankruptcy court inform them so this could be stopped?

Best wishes to call,

Adrian

[Keith Lambert]

I replied to Dymszo's last mailing to vent my displeasure. He responded saying "I'm sorry you feel that way". How does he expect me to feel when all I got for my $900 was a flash drive and a tin! What a joke.

[Pat Sklenar]

Has anyone, with a better understanding of the legal system than I, shared this information (the MRG stuff SD is selling) with David B Smith or the bankruptcy court?

pat----

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[Rob Hollander]

He is entitled to sell whatever he wants that he personally owns. It has nothing to do the the corporation. The corporation is held responsible; not individuals. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/CAMK-s-0zaOG%3DE6PnbO9ae6vrz%2BEouOYX9U8bFEnLYJRHRtE5RA%40mail.gmail.com.

--

Rob Hollander

310.733.6968 p

818.572.8740 f

rshol...@gmail.com

LinkedIn

[Heiko Fischer]

You got a flashdrive and a tin!!

NOW I feel truly duped, Keith.

Sleepless and Tin-less in Berlin

Sent from my iPhoneX

On 28. Oct 2020, at 17:22, 'Keith Lambert' via HAL 9000 Replica <hal-9000...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I replied to Dymszo's last mailing to vent my displeasure. He responded saying "I'm sorry you feel that way". How does he expect me to feel when all I got for my $900 was a flash drive and a tin! What a joke.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/fe7b9f7f-30ef-41cd-b4a7-ac779e70e436n%40googlegroups.com.

[Adrian Petford]

I also bought a USB drive and the tin!

It doesn't make you feel any better, ha ha.

I joked with a friend who had also followed the project that perhaps if I stuck my HAL 9000 USB stick on the wall with a huge magnifying glass in front of it, I might eventually convince myself I had actually got my $1000 premium product instead of this cheap rubbish!

Thinking back, maybe the fact the "set of 5 HAL 9000 punch cards" in the tin turned out to be five copies of the same card should have raised a few red flags...

At least we can still laugh!

Regards,

Adrian 

[Adrian Petford]

That's true, Rob... and, it's clear from his previous mailings that some of the items Dymszo is selling are indeed his personal collectables as they are unique items.

I raised the question because in his latest mailing he states in relation to the MRG T.Rex heads that "Our manufacturer has a few in stock and ready to go":

[quote]

-MRG ½ scale T.rex skull replica. Same as above. Our manufacturer has a few in stock and ready to go. EXPENSIVE! HUUUUGE! DISCOUNTED! E-mail me for price. Serious inquiries only please!

-MRG 1/10th scale T.Rex Skull replica. SAA. $45 plus shipping

[end quote]

If these are MRG products at the manufacturer, they still belong to the corporation. Surely they should be being sold by MRG as part of their own liquidation?

I suppose Dymszo could have bought them himself to resell but that also raises the question: why is a manufacturer selling MRG products to a third party when MRG is itself undergoing bankruptcy proceedings?

As creditors (whether formally filed or not), I think we are right to raise concerns about why and how he is able to access MRG products at the manufacturer as a third party?

Regards,

Adrian

[thoma...@gmail.com]

FYI:  In the Feb ’21 SD Studios mailing, Dymszo has the unfinished HAL/wall display/table base  prototypes that MR took to shows for sale.  He includes a damaged Nook, unfinished electronics, and the 2001 graphics created for the screen display..   He is floating the price at $3500-$5000.

[thoma...@gmail.com]

Here is the full listing with correct details:

-MRG HAL 9000 prototype. This is the Chinese production prototype molded in glossy black ABS plastic with a brand-new, working NOOK tablet inside. (the original tablet was damaged in storage). It has NO markings, as these would have been added as the final step in production, along with the satin black finish. This includes the wall command console, the magnetic, removable HAL unit, the desk charger/stand and power cord. The removable HAL has a working Bluetooth system and the glass eye lights up. You can connect it to any BT capable device and it will play through HALs speaker! This is the unit that we took to many conventions to show that we WERE actually making these damn things and they WORKED! It responds to over 60 voice commands and displays about 45 different 2001 animated graphics. The control buttons are NOT operational, but I will throw in a set of disconnected electronics boards if you want to build the rest out. (I do not have the knowledge or skills to do this). I can even throw in a set of the pre-printed white dry-transfer labels if you want to paint and finish it off. I only have this ONE unit. NO idea what this is worth. I am thinking in the $3500 to $5000 neighborhood plus shipping. This is the only working production unit in the world. Cash/trades considered.

[Heiko Fischer]

The gall of the guy...

Sent from my iPhoneX

On 3. Feb 2021, at 04:50, thoma...@gmail.com wrote:

Here is the full listing with correct details:

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[Ihave Noname]

We should personally go after him. He is selling our prototype.

And what does the curator think of all of this! In the Netherlands it would be seen as an attempt of liquidation fraud..

Op wo 3 feb. 2021 om 04:42 schreef thoma...@gmail.com <thoma...@gmail.com>

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[Leon Farr]

Received this today to s quick note I sent.

I am sorry, and I certainly didn't mean to bother you. This is NOT a fraud. I'm just trying to carry on with my small business because I am now unemployed and I have to support my family, having left MRG back in May 2020. I had to take out a personal loan to be able to purchase the remaining inventory of MRG from the trustee and I am just trying to recoup the funds so I can pay the loan back.

 

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:

 

I need people to understand that I did NOT create a scam or a fraud here. I and my family worked for this company for three years and we all took a pay cut to work here. We all believed very very strongly in what we were doing and we were excited to get such an amazing product out to the public. Unfortunately, other people had other ideas. We have numerous witnesses and documentation to prove that neither I, nor our employees, had anything to do with this.

 

I created a document summarizing some of the unfortunate events that transpired while I was at MRG, and I have shared it with many people. If you would like a copy, I would be happy to give it to you... just let me know. Hopefully, it will clarify some of what happened.

 

I also worked very hard to make sure that none of this would happen, but my ex-partners had other plans and I was simply out-maneuvered at every turn. These are dishonorable people who had a different agenda (apparently from day one.) 

 

To this day, I do not understand why they would want to intentionally wipe out a successful business and cause so many customers to lose out on the product for which they paid. My mind simply doesn't work that way. All I wanted to do was get the customers the product that they paid for. 

 

I spent three years fighting with people to do that... that's not how I envisioned my career going. And now I am unemployed because of their deliberate (IMO) sabotage. And it is unlikely that the customers will ever see their product. This is a horrible situation and it weighs on me painfully every single day.

 

Right up until the end, I felt very strongly that we were going to complete the HAL project and get them all shipped. We paid engineering consultants and the factory in China enormous amounts of money for design, development, tooling and to actually start production. The money did not go into big paychecks for anyone. All the money went to manufacturing, overhead, and the typical things needed to run a small business for three years.

 

Unfortunately, my ex-partners refuse to communicate with me in any way and I've had to hire a lawyer. I found out that the company filed for chapter 7 on the Internet as many other people did. They didn't even inform me, or give me a chance to input or vote on anything. This is a massive violation of our company bylaws.

 

MRG filed for chapter 7 on October 16^th against all of my efforts to stop it. We had a board meeting back in April of 2020, where I presented numerous plans to reorganize the company and get the product finished. I also clearly stated that I absolutely refused to agree to bankrupt the company. I also clearly stated that I absolutely refused to agree to bankrupt the company. I said that I would not allow MRG to “burn the customers.” One of the partners replied: “Steve, we are going to burn the customers.” The partners insisted on bankrupting the company. I was out-voted and could not stop them, as I was never informed of any subsequent meetings after that date. They filed for Chapter 13 (and subsequently Chapter 7) without my knowledge or agreement.

 

I am so sorry this has happened. I literally have no words to express the pain I feel right now for everyone. If you can get a refund through Paypal, or your credit card company, I urge you to do so.

 

We are working on a plan to resurrect the project. I am waiting from approvals from several people. If we can do that, I will be personally raising the funds to complete the project and get the HALs shipped to all of the customers who we didn’t refund before MRG filed for bankruptcy. (I refunded as many people as I could before I resigned.) My partners had their lawyer send me a letter to stop doing that, BTW...

I will let everyone on this mailing list know as we learn more and if we can move forward.

 

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[Pat Sklenar]

Is anyone aware of ANYone who was refunded?
pat----

On 2/3/2021 8:29 PM, Leon Farr wrote:

...

We are working on a plan to resurrect the project. I am waiting from approvals from several people. If we can do that, I will be personally raising the funds to complete the project and get the HALs shipped to all of the customers who we didn’t refund before MRG filed for bankruptcy. (I refunded as many people as I could before I resigned.) My partners had their lawyer send me a letter to stop doing that, BTW...

I will let everyone on this mailing list know as we learn more and if we can move forward.

 ...

[John Spence]

I haven't heard anything and I filed a claim sending the purchase information from Indiegogo.  I doubt a refund will come as I suspect the funds were otherwise used.  Don't get your hopes up is my suggestion, but at the same time....keep an open mind.

[jon allitt]

If this was an isolated incident... but it's not.. this is a pattern of behaviour going back to the 1990's and a pre-order business model that's unsustainable. If he has plans to fund the manufacture of hundreds of HAL's to make sure everyone who paid money get theirs - where is that money going to come from?

Also - if he's unemployed and no longer has anything to do with Master Replicas - maybe he should update his linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-dymszo-a9ab9770/

[Ihave Noname]

He is a pathological liar.

Op za 6 feb. 2021 om 04:40 schreef jon allitt <jal...@gmail.com>

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