[NO] Baphomet Head by Beast Horizon The item being reviewed is 7 years old and may not reflect the makers current style, or work. General Information Please note that this review is from an older version of the site. The page layout differs slightly from the current version because of this. Reviewer Information Reviewer Twitter: lavendercaina Furaffinity: lavendercaina Relationship With Maker The maker is NOT a friend Prior Experience No, this is my first time commissioning and owning a fursuit. Informed Maker of Issues Yes, I contacted them about the instability of the pillar, and the maker offered to send a diagram of how I could fix it, but never did. Wear Time 12 hours Maker & Project Information Maker Beast Horizon Commission Information Type: Single Piece > Head > Fursuit Style: Realistic Shipped From: USA Species Goat Found in Euungulata (?) Made in Year 2019 Transaction Information 2055 USD paid in a lump sum Filed under $1000 - $2999 as a Lump Sum. Estimated Completion Time (ETA) Accuracy NO - the ETA was passed Date of Review 15 January 2020 Project Timeline Contact Date August 2019 Completion/Ship Date October 2019 Item Completion Time (?) 1 - 3 Months Item Being Reviewed Baphomet Head in a realistic style as a commission. Character Concept Art Photos of Completed Product Head Wear Satisfaction The head is somewhat heavy but this is to be expected with the type of horns and tech that are on the head. The inside of the head did not come padded but instead came with two external pads of varying thickness that attach to the top of the base inside with little squares of Velcro. The wiring for the tech is not glued down inside the head so the wires brush up against my face during wear and I worry about them getting tangled or tugged when putting the head on. The zipper is hard to zip closed without help. The fit is otherwise comfortable. Visual Satisfaction I am very happy with the appearance of the head. I was told that there would be a tongue in the head, but it arrived without one. The teeth also look like they are either unpainted or were painted in a hurry as they are a solid, stark white without gums. However, this is minor, as it still looks acceptable and I like to keep the mouth closed most of the time anyway. The rest of the head is spot-on and looks fantastic. I am especially fond of the eyes – it is not visible in photos, but they are made from an Opal-like substance which makes them look iridescent and ghostly. It is really a stunning effect. Special Attachments and Features The horns are attached by very strong magnets and can be removed for packing and transportation. The magnets are incredibly sturdy and additionally have been fitted with gaskets that keep the horns from swiveling in place and hold them reliably in their correct position. They are easily attached and removed without the need for any kind of help. The main defining feature of Baphomet is a black pillar jutting out of its forehead with a flame at the top. This pillar includes a miniature fog machine and LED lights inside of it to further the illusion of the flame, both are turned on and off via two press-buttons hidden under the fur in front of the ears and are powered by a small portable battery connected via a USB cord. The pillar is segmented; it has been split into two halves that connect together with magnets and the top half can be removed in order to reach and perform maintenance on the fog machine. Both the LEDs and the fog machine all work as intended and provide the desired effect when being used. The magnets connecting the pillar pieces are extremely small – so small that the connection is too weak to keep the pillar upright if I tilt my head even slightly to the side or try to look down at all. The top half will either fall off, or shift and become noticeably crooked and begin to jiggle with any movement. (This crookedness is visible in the first complete product photo in which I am wearing a sweater.) I reached out to the maker about this issue and asked how the pillar could possibly be reinforced, and they offered to draw me a diagram explaining how I could implement stronger magnets – I agreed and asked for this diagram, but I have not heard anything from the maker since and so this diagram has never been received. I will try to reinforce the pillar myself with double sided and/or electrical tape. Overall Product Satisfaction How was your concept art realized? I drew and provided the concept art, and it was realized satisfactorily. The horns are brown in the art and black in the final product, but this is okay as I am happier with the black horns. There was a minor hiccup in production, where the pentacle on the forehead was instead sketched onto the base as a Sigil of Baphomet – but this was an accident and was fixed immediately when I pointed it out. How well does everything fit together and match up? The sewing appears to be sturdy and thorough, I have not noticed any stray threads, fraying, or other such issues. The padding (or rather, lack thereof) leaves a bit to be desired. As mentioned in the Head Wear Satisfaction section, the inside of the head did not come padded but instead came with two external pads of varying thickness that attach to the plastic base inside with squares of Velcro. I tried them both on and the thicker pad proved to be more comfortable for my head, but in removing it one of the Velcro squares came off as they appeared to be poorly hot-glued. I will have to glue it back on myself. Also as mentioned in Head Wear Satisfaction, the wires for the LEDs and fog machine are not glued down inside the head. They brush up against my cheeks while the head is being worn, and I worry about the wires getting tugged and damaged while putting on and taking off the head. There is minimal airbrushing and color variation as the goat is meant to be jet black without any markings, but what there is, looks consistent and natural, as desired. Overall Project Quality I feel neutral about the product I received. It looks great, serves its purpose, and seems as though it will last – but the issues it has for the price I paid leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Ultimately it falls somewhat short of my expectations and due to the issues that I will have to attempt to fix myself, I do not feel that it was worth over two grand. Purchase Process Initial Contact Initial contact was entirely through email, and I initiated shortly before they officially opened their commissions in late August. Maker Response Time Response time was quick during the initial brainstorming and payment stages, with the maker typically responding by the next day at the latest. After payment was sent I was told I would be receiving WIP photos shortly, but further communication halted completely and I was ghosted for almost the entire month of September. I finally heard back September 25th, and communication resumed as normal. On October 2nd I received another email with some photos and three separate ETAs – one for completion, one for final photos, and one for shipment. After this, communication halted again and all 3 of these ETAs were passed without any word from the maker despite numerous emails and even some messages to their various social media such as Twitter and Instagram. I did not hear anything until October 29th when I threatened to go to PayPal and finally received finished photos and was told the project was ready for shipment. Maker Professionalism The maker was professional, friendly, and laid things out clearly when I was able to get ahold of them, but I am unspeakably dissatisfied with their poor communication regarding ghosting, ignoring client emails, and keeping clients up-to-date. Even with the agreed-upon deadline for my project approaching in days, they neglected to contact me and respond to any of my emails or messages until I finally felt as though my hand was forced and threatened to open a claim with PayPal. They overnight-shipped my project at no extra charge which made me feel somewhat better about the situation, but it had become necessary through their own neglect and error. Project Completion Time The project took ~3 months to complete when I was told that it would take 4-6 weeks. I told the maker in August and again in September I wanted the head by Halloween (October 31st) and they assured me on both occasions this would be possible – this deadline was technically met, but barely. I was given 3 ETAs on October 2nd – project completion by October 12th, final photos for approval by the 13th, and shipment by the 15th. All these ETAs were passed without any word or explanation until October 29th, when I finally threatened to open a claim with PayPal due to concern over the radio silence and my deadline fast approaching. Suddenly, my head was magically done, and ready to be shipped. I received it the next day, on the 30th. Rating FursuitReview rates by asking the question: Would you recommend this maker? NO This review has been marked with a negative rating. This means the reviewer would NOT recommend Beast Horizon unless they significantly change their practices. Final Comments The experience with this maker was atrocious due to their poor communication. They were friendly when I was able to get a hold of them but they obviously have some serious problems regarding keeping in contact with their clients and meeting ETAs. I would not be so upset about the missed ETAs if they had kept in contact with me and let me know when things came up or they hit road blocks, life happens, I understand. But instead I was met with complete radio silence and numerous ignored emails and messages. This made for a very stressful experience, let alone a first experience with the fursuit making community. At the end of it all I received a product that seemed to be somewhat rushed despite the maker having ample time to make sure everything was glued down well and sturdy. I would not recommend this maker to others at all. I have heard from other clients of the maker reporting similar experiences as well, so if anything I would advise others to Beware and steer clear of this maker until they can prove that they have cleaned up their act. Are you the maker of this item? Would you like to leave an official response? Click here. In case the button above doesn't work, you can click here to launch the maker response form.
