# A thief in our midst



## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Fellow modelers - 
It would seem we have a thief in our group. His member name/username here on HobbyTalk is Painter X. His real name Carleton LeGrant. In mid May I was looking through the swap and sell section, and found a post by him with some figure kits. He and I swapped a few emails, after which we agreed on a deal; $120 for a resin kit of The Grinch and Mary Lou Who. It's one I've been looking for for awhile.
We discussed payment, and even discussed how we had both been burned on various deals. Thinking I could trust him, I sent him a western Union MO for $120, for which he acknowledged receipt. Here we are, nearly three months later, and no kit. Yes, I know I should have used PayPal, or some other means, but as I said, we discussed that we had both been burned in the past, and it felt as if there was a level of trust based on that mutual experience.
Through numerous emails back and forth, he has given me nothing but excuses. He's busy, he's out of town... He has promised he will ship it Friday, Monday, Thursday... He even said at one point he had dropped it off to be packed and shipped, and that if I hadn't received it by Friday to let him know.
After it didn't arrive I emailed him, and he replied he would give me a refund. I replied that I doubted that would happen, he said 'Believe it'. He told me he would repay me as soon as he got paid in two weeks. That was three weeks ago. In an email yesterday, he told me I had to wait until he got a consignment check, sometime at the end of the month. I'm done waiting. Not that I care in the slightest bit, but what I do next he will not like, at all; this post is a small part of that plan.
He is also on Facebook, under his real name, and on other FB pages, such as Figure Model Kits and Facebook Scale Model Society. It is long past due for people like this to be stopped of getting away with stealing money from other modelers. It serves the hobby not one bit, and only serves to build mistrust.
His email is [email protected]. If you are in the market for kits, and you happen to run across his name or email, DO NOT make any deals with him, whether buying or selling. You will indeed regret it. 
I would like everyone who reads this to please copy and paste it to every modeling site you frequent, and there are many. Maybe it will prevent another modeler from losing their hard earned money.
If anyone has any doubts to the validity of this, I have copies of every email exchanged between us to verify my claim.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

PS - This is the URL to his For Sale post. http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=409841. It is on page 3 of the model swap and sell.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I could be mistaken but wasn't Painter X banned from here ?


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

His profile is still active as of this morning-
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/member.php?u=35768

His For Sale Post ironically says he is getting out of the hobby on the 'collecting side'- guess he has found a new one now...

Thanks for the heads up - things happen in life which cause well meaning plans to go astray, there is a difference between that however and a serial excuse monger.


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## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Disco thanks for the heads-up. Yea it's no fun getting burned on model deals. 
I had it happen for 150.00 a few years back.

As for him being banned, It's quite possible he was put on a temporary 'time-out" for one infraction or another

But honestly - you should never trust a guy with that evil looking an Avitar. Take mine for instance. There's a face you can trust.


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## Buc (Jan 20, 1999)

deja vu!

might have helped to have done a search on painter x. Too bad 
you're not a mbr of Jesse's Garage Kit forum. Lots of info there on
this asshat.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Buc said:


> deja vu!
> 
> might have helped to have done a search on painter x. Too bad
> you're not a mbr of Jesse's Garage Kit forum. Lots of info there on
> this asshat.


Link?
Sounds like an interesting place but "Jesse's Garage Kit forum" did not return much


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## BobbysMonsterModels (Mar 8, 2014)

I myself am also a huge toy collector. I learned my lesson years ago. I never deal with anyone online anymore, as far as trading/swapping/selling/etc…..If I buy something, I buy from an established company, that has a high seller's rating.

Years ago, when I had toy fever, I use to hang out at spawn.com (Todd McFarlane's site). There were alot of regulars that hung out there. It truly was a really fun forum to post at. Anyway, there was this one guy who was really popular on the forum there. His name was Peter Peeker, and everyone loved him. He had more posts than anyone there. He was a long-haired, rock'n'roll rebel sort…loved drinking his beer, carrying on with forum regulars. Honestly, he was very entertaining and funny. I posted some of my latest toy hauls, and he saw some things he wanted, so I obliged to help him out. The agreement was a "trade". He had some things that I wanted as well. So, I went out and bought the stuff he was looking for, and shipped it off to him. And guess what? He never sent me my stuff. He did the same exact thing that this guy is doing to you. Lots of excuses…blah, blah, blah. Eventually, he disappeared off the forum…some excuse about his girlfriend kicking him out. So, yeah, I got ripped off too, and I learned that no matter how much you trust someone online….you can't, period. I'll never make that mistake again.


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## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Peter Peeker?? Oh man the Jokes could just create themselves.


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## karvin (Jan 4, 2008)

I am happy to say.. thus far Ive never been burned.. buying or selling.. I have one practice that i use.. if you want an item from me.. ill list it on ebay with your name as the description..and you pay by paypal.. If i want your item.. you do the same.. if your not willing.. then deal is done.. yes, 15% or so gets lost in the fees.. but you can include that in the price.. and really its a small concern to have complete piece of mind that you are getting exactly what you paid for..or your money back in good time


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## Jesse321 (Apr 9, 2011)

Buc said:


> deja vu!
> 
> might have helped to have done a search on painter x. Too bad
> you're not a mbr of Jesse's Garage Kit forum. Lots of info there on
> this asshat.


42 pages of it ... this asshole has been a single handed bubonic plague on our hobby for *YEARS!!*

He's been banned from just about every forum in creation, he's been banned at the Clubhouse under multiple alias'.


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## Jesse321 (Apr 9, 2011)

Richard Baker said:


> Link?
> Sounds like an interesting place but "Jesse's Garage Kit forum" did not return much


I haven't been on this forum long enough to post URL's yet.


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## Jesse321 (Apr 9, 2011)

I guess you have have 5 or more posts.


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## Jesse321 (Apr 9, 2011)

I guess I made it.  

So here's the thread: 

http://www.garagekits.us/forums/showthread.php?5056-Painter-X

You have to be a member to read it though. 

www.garagekits.us


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## Jesse321 (Apr 9, 2011)

Richard Baker said:


> His profile is still active as of this morning-
> http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/member.php?u=35768
> 
> His For Sale Post ironically says he is getting out of the hobby on the 'collecting side'- guess he has found a new one now...


He's been "getting out of the hobby" for years now too. I have emails from producers he's contacted about buying pieces as recent as a month ago.

Funny how that works huh? 

I've warned everyone that's asked to stay away from this f**kwad.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Yeah.
We banned him like 8 years ago, or something like that.
Besides the straight up ripping people off, he's also painted recasts, then sold them as originals.

Nothing but trouble.


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

So Disco58, are you saying your unhappy with the guy?

LOL, not making light of your plight, I think it's hilarious what you've done here. If I was ripped that much money I'd yell it from the mountain tops too!

Maybe if enough folks expose the scum-bag he can be killed off like a weed.

I truly feel what goes around comes around. We can only hope that some BIG MEAN guy gets taken and then finds him.... and gets his money back and then some....

Carl-


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

I had a similar experience with one Roy Shetley of Sevierville, Tennessee, who went by the username Coffee Addict. He never paid me for two kits I shipped to him -- just kept emailing excuses. At least I've learned my lesson: Always get the money up front.



hal9001 said:


> I truly feel what goes around comes around. We can only hope that some BIG MEAN guy gets taken and then finds him.... and gets his money back and then some....


We could always send Tony the Enforcer to his home . . .


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## pem1 (Aug 29, 2013)

I've NEVER understood what compels people to conduct themselves in this manner. If they put as much effort into conducting transactions honestly as they do dis-honestly...

Mr. LeGrant - if you're reading this, *now* is the time to make this right. I would have suggested that you come on to this board and explain your side of the story, but it would appear that it's well past that. 

For some reason, it appears that you're chronic at this sort of thing - do the right thing and either send this fellow back his money or send him his kit.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate the condolences, advice and link to Garage Kit. Unfortunately I didn't even know that site existed. I am awaiting registration confirmation as I write this.
I had looked at LeGrant's Facebook page, and all seemed legit enough. I had googled his name, and it came up with his FB page, business odds and ends, but not much more. I just took it at face value that he was OK. had I checked further I may have found a reference to Garage Kits.
So I guess it's pointless to post on other modeling sites, but who knows, maybe I'll hit one that hasn't seen his evil face as yet.
Speaking of faces, one thing I did think odd, but not completely unknown, was that there were no pics of him on his FB page. One would think a businessman would want to be recognized. In light of his reputation, now I understand.
I am just getting back into things, after a divorce, the loss of a house, and having my life turned upside down two years ago. When I gave it up I was more into sc-fi (mostly StarWars) aircraft, armor and whatnot. There was a complete wholesale of interests, to the point of simply handing over about 200 kits to our local IPMS club, and saying goodbye. My interests had turned to resin figures, but as we know, they can be a bit pricey. So I've sat out since then, trying to get my life back together. This would have been my first kit purchase since then.
Unfortunately, the problem with garage kits is they are always very limited runs; there might be 75 of any particular kit if you're lucky. That means for anything that's no longer being cast, you have no choice but to buy from an individual, rather than a company. This has made me more than a bit gunshy. For me, I guess it means there are a few I want that are going to have to be scratched off the list. I don't want to go through this again.


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## Jesse321 (Apr 9, 2011)

You were approved this morning. :wave:


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I will say that I have been buying, selling, and trading kits internationally for 30 years and have only had one or two issues. Really only one guy, Key Meyers, who lives on Amy Street, in Houston TX, burned me to any degree. And, he got me via my business not the internet. Oddly he was a really good mail order customer buying over $1000 worth of stuff until I let my guard down and he got me for $50. Strange, really. After the fact I learned the Ken hangs out on all manner of hobby forums pulling his rip off scam.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I registered with GarageKits forum as well and am awaiting final approval. Aside from learning more about this jerk on that site I also want to see what that site has to offer- I am not into figure kits much myself, but loge the GK industry and the creative people who make obscure things available for us.

I have been burned before, but it was not by a sale but by somebody I considered a friend and partner. Those of you who have been at Starship Modeler for a while know the story and I will not go into details here. Suffice to say though no matter how much you communicate with someone online and 'bond' with them it can go south in a heartbeat.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

GK is great. I used to go there until things (like sudden onset eyesight issues) got me out of figure painting to a large degree.


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## starduster (Feb 12, 2006)

I'm really sorry to hear about that rat not paying you that really makes it bad for guys who use only postal money orders to buy models, I've been buying models on ebay for years with postal money orders and never had a single problem with the sellers, I'm up front and I send the M/O asap and I have a 100% positive feedback on ebay. I've used pay pal but never again as I got ripped off by them for a large sum of money and they got away with it, so it's just a gamble I guess. Karl


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I just read 42 pages of posts on GarageKits Forum- jeeze this Carl is piece of work.
Kudos to Jessi321 for stepping up and helping, also spreading the word to others about this guy.

It is a shame this type of thing happens at all, but it shows the strength of the modeling community in how it is dealt with.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

TAY666 said:


> Yeah.
> We banned him like 8 years ago, or something like that.
> Besides the straight up ripping people off, he's also painted recasts, then sold them as originals.
> 
> Nothing but trouble.


It just shows, in every human activity there's a scam for it, especially financial activities. And 8 years later he's still shamelessly performing the same con. 

Paypal is only half safe - as a buyer, yes, you can report the item non-delivered and Paypal will find in your favour if the seller can't prove it was delivered. As a seller, on the other hand, scammers have simply adopted the 'no proof of delivery' rule to get their money back. They rarely pay for registered delivery (for obvious reasons!), but even when they do, they can still scam the system. 
Someone I know was losing a lot of money on items posted to a certain eastern nation where the buyers' repeatedly claimed the items hadn't arrived. When he insisted they pay for registered mail, one buyer again claimed for non-delivery; and when the seller proved the delivery date and signature, the 'buyer' said "that wasn't me" and Paypal again found against the seller, so he lost money and the item yet again.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Just posted this on his profile...
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/member.php?u=35768&vmid=3224#vmessage3224
Mcdee


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Mr. McDee -
Thank you!. I hadn't even thought about doing that I had forgotten that on our profiles others can read various messages.


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## eradicator178 (Sep 3, 2008)

I have been in law enforcement for 30 years and when you think you've seen all the scams someone comes up with a new one.


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## gaz91 (Nov 26, 2007)

Same thing happend to me a couple of years ago, i had $175 stolen from me by SHAWN NAGLE the sculptor, sent 300 plus emails to him, last message i got from him said.....well there's nothing you can do about it, IF ever i meet up with this guy he'll see what i can do about it


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## DCH10664 (Jul 16, 2012)

I guess I have been lucky with online purchasing. I've bought several models, parts, etc. from people right here on HT and never had any problem. Money was always exchanged using PayPal. And the items were always promptly mailed to me. And I had no complaints.
Even on Ebay, I've only had one problem. I was buying some model parts and one of the parts was not delivered. After several attempts to get what I paid for. I filed a claim through Ebay. To my shock, they sided with the seller. But after a strongly worded letter to Ebay, they reconsidered and refunded my money.

But I do appreciate people who post the names and information of those that do rip off people. Maybe there should be a sticky thread dedicated to people who rip off folks. It would help us to keep up with those that are doing bad business.


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## evoo (Jul 6, 2013)

Ten, twelve years ago, a guy who went by the name Lonfan got really greedy when a bunch of PL kits hit Big Lots in certain areas of the country. A naive new member was willing to help out those who didn't have access. Lon is the only one who wouldn't pay up but finally did when everyone on this board (at the time) unloaded on him. I've sometimes wondered if he ever popped up under another name. Who knows.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Having a sticky posting the names of the infamous would not help much because they can always reappear under a new name.
From what I have read people like 'Painter X' never change, he could start posting as Rebecca but would soon resume the same pattern. The trick is to expose them early and get the word out before too many people get hurt. If hounded they will leave gor other hunting grounds.


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