Molecule8 John Lennon UPDATE 5/10/18 - SCAM COMPANY!

[Tom Day]

This is just the most disturbing and dubious thread.

Who knew the world of dollies could get so dark?

 

[tqumer]

Tqumer - Thank you for clearing up a lot of things and letting us know the in's and outs.

A question for you - if you could take control get everyone paid artist etc would you rebrand the name and wipe Vijay involvement? I mean Molecule8 if Vijay had not done this could of taken off in a very big way.

There's a huge gap in the market which is what got us interested, the body and endo weren't really needed but the license side of things was a huge yes! I'm curious to find out what would happen if Vijay stepped down?

Also according to a personal FB message Wonka is happening do you know anything about Wonka at this point to save more people paying out for something that might be lies?

In the unlikely event that I could get control of the company I think it would need to be rebranded. It would probably be too soon to be done in time for Willy Wonka but I think I would want to have as fresh a start as possible. But it would be a monumental task trying to regain the community's trust with or without a rebrand and I'm far from certain it would even be possible.

On a personal level I couldn’t ever work with Vijay again, too much has happened, I trusted him too much and have been left feeling too foolish to ever be able to do that again. So yes, the only way that I could carry on would be without Vijay’s involvement.

Regarding the endo, this was put out far too soon. It was never supposed to be put out with Lennon when we discussed the company roadmap beforehand. Its true the aim was to develop the figure market but in an evolutionary way, not by trying to be revolutionary.

Vijay became very bullish when he went to LA, I still don't know if he became influenced by someone or something he saw out there or if this was his plan all along and I was just unable to see it.

All I do know is that the way Molecule8 launched promising to change the industry in one fell swoop was not the way that we had discussed it prior to starting the business.

I would revisit the endo perhaps 9 to 12 months down the line and see if it could be produced to the standard it was originally designed to be.

In terms of licenses, I think everyone feels that there is a gap in the market. Hot Toys have brought the collectable figures up to a different level from where they were before HT and despite the complaints that they sometimes get, they have produced some great figures.

They have become very commercial in recent years though, which they can't be blamed for, every business operates to make profits. Marvel figures are great, as are Star Wars and DC but not everyone wants just these figures.

Many of the cool licenses recently, for me at least, are being taken up by companies such as Blitzway.

I would have loved to have done Fight Club for instance, but it would have been nice to see two head sculpts in there, one for each personality, or maybe a head that was halfway between Tyler and the Narrator.

It was a crazy movie, it would have been nice to have something a little crazy like that included with the figure too.

Taxi Driver is perhaps the license I would be the most disappointed to not produce if things go the way that they are threatening to at the moment.

It seems almost trivial now but in the very early stages of the company and before my admin access vanished, I answered some of the questions posted on the M8 forum.

I remember answering a question from a collector about Taxi Driver and as I explained that we intended to try our best to try to do justice to Travis Bickle, one of my all time favorite screen characters, and how the accessories, especially his arm gun rig, would be so important to get right, I remember feeling a real buzz of pride to be involved in the venture that we were embarking upon.

As much as my lost investment, it’s that lost feeling that really hurts about the way everything has happened these last couple of years.

I only know about Willy Wonka from what update material I have been able to get from Vijay which is far from comprehensive. From what I've seen though I believe Wonka is not far from completion but if I were marketing it, I would add a couple of months to the shipping date that the company has put out.

I would say around Feb/Mar time. I could be wrong and it ships at the end of the year but I would much rather be able to ship earlier than predicted rather than to miss another deadline that M8 has promised.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Almost sounds like he was doing a scam from The Producers - "You now own 50% of Springtime for Hitler."

 

[x_dekin]

In the unlikely event that I could get control of the company I think it would need to be rebranded. It would probably be too soon to be done in time for Willy Wonka but I think I would want to have as fresh a start as possible. But it would be a monumental task trying to regain the community's trust with or without a rebrand and I'm far from certain it would even be possible.

On a personal level I couldn’t ever work with Vijay again, too much has happened, I trusted him too much and have been left feeling too foolish to ever be able to do that again. So yes, the only way that I could carry on would be without Vijay’s involvement.

Regarding the endo, this was put out far too soon. It was never supposed to be put out with Lennon when we discussed the company roadmap beforehand. Its true the aim was to develop the figure market but in an evolutionary way, not by trying to be revolutionary.

Vijay became very bullish when he went to LA, I still don't know if he became influenced by someone or something he saw out there or if this was his plan all along and I was just unable to see it.

All I do know is that the way Molecule8 launched promising to change the industry in one fell swoop was not the way that we had discussed it prior to starting the business.

I would revisit the endo perhaps 9 to 12 months down the line and see if it could be produced to the standard it was originally designed to be.

In terms of licenses, I think everyone feels that there is a gap in the market. Hot Toys have brought the collectable figures up to a different level from where they were before HT and despite the complaints that they sometimes get, they have produced some great figures.

They have become very commercial in recent years though, which they can't be blamed for, every business operates to make profits. Marvel figures are great, as are Star Wars and DC but not everyone wants just these figures.

Many of the cool licenses recently, for me at least, are being taken up by companies such as Blitzway.

I would have loved to have done Fight Club for instance, but it would have been nice to see two head sculpts in there, one for each personality, or maybe a head that was halfway between Tyler and the Narrator.

It was a crazy movie, it would have been nice to have something a little crazy like that included with the figure too.

Taxi Driver is perhaps the license I would be the most disappointed to not produce if things go the way that they are threatening to at the moment.

It seems almost trivial now but in the very early stages of the company and before my admin access vanished, I answered some of the questions posted on the M8 forum.

I remember answering a question from a collector about Taxi Driver and as I explained that we intended to try our best to try to do justice to Travis Bickle, one of my all time favorite screen characters, and how the accessories, especially his arm gun rig, would be so important to get right, I remember feeling a real buzz of pride to be involved in the venture that we were embarking upon.

As much as my lost investment, it’s that lost feeling that really hurts about the way everything has happened these last couple of years.

I only know about Willy Wonka from what update material I have been able to get from Vijay which is far from comprehensive. From what I've seen though I believe Wonka is not far from completion but if I were marketing it, I would add a couple of months to the shipping date that the company has put out.

I would say around Feb/Mar time. I could be wrong and it ships at the end of the year but I would much rather be able to ship earlier than predicted rather than to miss another deadline that M8 has promised.

Could you be more specific on Wonka? Were you referring to the prototype completion or the mass product since no prototype has been shown other than those few head sculpt photos

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

[jal76]

What if Tqumer and Vijay are still working together and this is the latest chapter where they pull the good cop bad cop routine. Tquemer wins everyone over and then announces that he has finally wrested control away from Vijay and everyone should support the NEW collector friendly and scam free version of M8 run by our very own Tquemer...all the while Vijay is still running the company and ripping everyone off...just kidding Tquemer I don't really think that is what is going on here...but it would be par for the course with all that has gone on with this thread.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I don't trust one iota of information from anyone in this thread any more. It's gotten ridiculous, and all anyone seems to care about here is getting their Wonka dollie?

 

[hamtata]

Please! No more Molecule8, and please no Molecule whatever. And please let it die, don't re-brand, don't recycle.
Do you know who tqumer is? A stranger. And maybe it's Vijay, who wants to rip you off one more time.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

I understand why some here are hesitant but I think tqumer is legit based on what he has shared. I feel bad for the guy.

 

[SteveU30]

Wow some of you guys are beyond cynical, if tqumer is making this all up then he should be writing novels not posting on a toy forum...

 

[Tom Day]

Wow some of you guys are beyond cynical, if tqumer is making this all up then he should be writing novels not posting on a toy forum...

Er, there's no way that anyone on this thread should receive anyone's trust after what this has become. 'Tqumer' is definitely a real person and can be found on Companies House. He was formerly company secretary at Ignition, Vijays former company. He may even 'seem legit' from his posts here, and hopefully that's the case. However, like any person you only know through a computer screen you should exercise caution when telling him anything about yourself. Amazing that people who are trusted with credit cards need to be told this.

Anyway, everyone should listen politely to him and hope for the best without committing themselves to anything, divulging any personal details, or believing that they will see a Wonka figure anytime soon.

EDIT - there is another option - that for everyone's wellbeing Dave locks the thread and bans all mention of Molecule 8 or anything connected with it thereby denying it the oxygen of publicity. Not saying I support this just that I think it should be considered. Perhaps we could all do with moving on from trash like Vijay.

 

[SteveU30]

Er, there's no way that anyone on this thread should receive anyone's trust after what this has become. 'Tqumer' is definitely a real person and can be found on Companies House. He was formerly company secretary at Ignition, Vijays former company. He may even 'seem legit' from his posts here, and hopefully that's the case. However, like any person you only know through a computer screen you should exercise caution when telling him anything about yourself. Amazing that people who are trusted with credit cards need to be told this.

Anyway, everyone should listen politely to him and hope for the best without committing themselves to anything, divulging any personal details, or believing that they will see a Wonka figure anytime soon.

EDIT - there is another option - that for everyone's wellbeing Dave locks the thread and bans all mention of Molecule 8 or anything connected with it thereby denying it the oxygen of publicity. Not saying I support this just that I think it should be considered. Perhaps we could all do with moving on from trash like Vijay.

That’s fair comment but I think the word ‘trust’ is a bit strong, merely a ‘glass half full’ attitude would suffice.

But alas this hobby is not short of people with empty glasses...

 

[tqumer]

Er, there's no way that anyone on this thread should receive anyone's trust after what this has become. 'Tqumer' is definitely a real person and can be found on Companies House. He was formerly company secretary at Ignition, Vijays former company. He may even 'seem legit' from his posts here, and hopefully that's the case. However, like any person you only know through a computer screen you should exercise caution when telling him anything about yourself. Amazing that people who are trusted with credit cards need to be told this.

Anyway, everyone should listen politely to him and hope for the best without committing themselves to anything, divulging any personal details, or believing that they will see a Wonka figure anytime soon.

EDIT - there is another option - that for everyone's wellbeing Dave locks the thread and bans all mention of Molecule 8 or anything connected with it thereby denying it the oxygen of publicity. Not saying I support this just that I think it should be considered. Perhaps we could all do with moving on from trash like Vijay.

I wasn't actually ever the Secretary of Ignition but I was the Director and Company Secretary at a company called Digi-Guys. It was a small company initially with just a couple of employees and we produced computer graphics.

We actually produced the first CGI versions of the BBC 2 logo and it was for a show called Red Dwarf. It looks dated now but we were actually quite proud of it at the time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrP6wu8BDzo

Digi-Guys was bought out and taken over by Ignition Entertainment and I resigned my positions in 2007. In 2009 the company was rebranded Ignition London and Vijay Chadha became the Company Director.

This all happened amicably and there was no bad blood between us over it, it was just time to move on.

 

[tqumer]

What if Tqumer and Vijay are still working together and this is the latest chapter where they pull the good cop bad cop routine. Tquemer wins everyone over and then announces that he has finally wrested control away from Vijay and everyone should support the NEW collector friendly and scam free version of M8 run by our very own Tquemer...all the while Vijay is still running the company and ripping everyone off...just kidding Tquemer I don't really think that is what is going on here...but it would be par for the course with all that has gone on with this thread.

Well if this was a movie that would definitely be the surprise ending in the final reel!

And don’t think that I haven’t considered turning this into a movie as a way to get my money back!!

There’s a lot of strange stuff that went on behind the scenes that I've been finding out about these last few days, it would have more twists than 'The Mousetrap'...

 

[tqumer]

Could you be more specific on Wonka? Were you referring to the prototype completion or the mass product since no prototype has been shown other than those few head sculpt photos

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

I've not seen a full prototype of the figure yet, just of various components of the whole but as I said the updates I've seen are far from comprehensive, it may be that the prototype is ready.

Why it wouldn't be shown if so is beyond me but so is the logic behind many of the business decisions that have been made.

My advice to you would be to wait, you will lose nothing that way and once the figure is ready to ship, you will have ample time to place your order.

 

[jra81984]

I've not seen a full prototype of the figure yet, just of various components of the whole but as I said the updates I've seen are far from comprehensive, it may be that the prototype is ready.

Why it wouldn't be shown if so is beyond me but so is the logic behind many of the business decisions that have been made.

My advice to you would be to wait, you will lose nothing that way and once the figure is ready to ship, you will have ample time to place your order.

How can anyone even place an order? As soon as Vimal said his peace the Molecule 8 site has been under "maintenance". Is that just Vjay hoping this all blows over?

I appreciate the insight and transparency in regards to the situation.

 

[tqumer]

How can anyone even place an order? As soon as Vimal said his peace the Molecule 8 site has been under "maintenance". Is that just Vjay hoping this all blows over?

I appreciate the insight and transparency in regards to the situation.

I can't say exactly what his thought process is but as I said, he has told me that he thinks he is still the right person to be in charge of the company. I would imagine the plan is for the website to be going back up at some stage.

Whether that actually transpires or not though depends upon a quite a lot of things...

 

[xipotec]

My advice is order nothing from any company that Vijayjay is a part of...

On moral grounds.


Sent from the inside of a giant slug in outer space.....

 

[mr sinister]

Has anyone confirmed Mike Hill got paid for Wonka, though how anyone could even consider ordering it either way is beyond me.

 

[abake]

I've no beef here, as I didn't order the Lennon figure, but I too find it odd that people would even consider ordering the Wonka figure after all that has come to light...
I mean, this guys has ripped off lots of people, including respected artists and his associate. Basically, that means he's a criminal. So how anyone is even thinking of ordering anything from him is quite beyond me.
Now, if M8 pays all the artists it ripped off, and said artists confirm it, well then, I might consider ordering figures from them through third parties, but only then.

Also, I have to say tqumer, I find it odd that you give advice towards purchasing figures from the guy who ripped you off. Maybe I'm missing something, but if all that had happened to me, I would tell everybody to stay far away from such a company.

 

[tqumer]

Also, I have to say tqumer, I find it odd that you give advice towards purchasing figures from the guy who ripped you off. Maybe I'm missing something, but if all that had happened to me, I would tell everybody to stay far away from such a company.

I'm sorry if my post came across that I was recommending anyone to do business with Vijay, I absolutely do not. The question was how asked how people could order, my advice was not to pre-order and, if someone really wanted the figure, they would have ample opportunity to so when it was actually ready to ship.

I really cannot see how Molecule8 can continue to operate until the release of Willy Wonka with Vijay still in charge in any case.

In all likelihood the company will be closed and tied up in litigation for years both by me and by several artists before then.

Again I'm sorry if I what I said came across in any other way.