Philip Wise Retires from Rebelsum.com

[Chris Wyman]

For those that may have missed the announcement last night, our Webmaster, Philip Wise, has decided to hang his hat up and retire from Rebelscum.com. Please see his farewell message below and join me in thanking him for his incredible contributions to Star Wars fandom, the collecting community and beyond.

From Philip Wise:

After more than 25 years, I'm retiring from Rebelscum, and I'm delighted to pass the control of the site to Joshua Durazzo, a guy I met earlier this year after two of my good friends sold part of their collections to his company. It can be found on Facebook at Order 66 Toys. He has a team that is full of passionate people anxious to pick up here and move it into the next phase. They travel the world buying Star Wars collections, and then curate them into groups and sell them on Facebook Live events.

It will be a controlled migration to Joshua, so don't expect a ton of changes, other than a resurgence of content, taking advantage of their knowledge and access to the mass quantities of Star Wars collectibles that they come across.

It's been quite a ride for all of us here with you, but I'm also looking forward to having a little more time building things in my New Wookiee Workshop.

philip@wiseacres.com is my new email address, though philip@rebelscum.com will work for some time as well.

 

[IronManDS]

In light of Joshua Durazzo - Previous Managing Member for Collectors Saga Texas, LLC (corporationwiki.com), I can't help but think this is a BAD omen for the future of this site.

 

[Real_Scooby]

Just hope the forum will be left untouched, keep it as it is. I would miss something if the new bosses would do trastic changes or completly hook it

 

[Irezumi]

Wish you all the best in your retirement Philip!
May the Force be with you.

 

[DarthPete]

Who's Philip?

...just kidding. Good luck, and you're welcome for all the free content.

So can I run it now, or what? I'm pretty tall...

 

[nintendo2600]

Ouch! Last large forum I was part of that was put under new owners\sold ended up killing the forum that was over a decade strong previous to that. Here is hoping it's not Deja Vu but alas, I've been down this road before.

 

[IronManDS]

Ouch! Last large forum I was part of that was put under new owners\sold ended up killing the forum that was over a decade strong previous to that. Here is hoping it's not Deja Vu but alas, I've been down this road before.

I'm hoping there will be no visible changes to the users. Although I have not posted in the forums much, I've been a member here for 9 years, come often and come to the site itself daily. In posting that info above, I was not attempting to hum mud at the new owner. It was my intention only to provide information for the users here.

I did additional research on the new owner and none of his companies are still active and/or registered with any secretary of state for any State that I could find. (Reminiscent of the Polymega retro gaming system.) I just hope that this great site that has been my go-to for my nerd fix for years remains as it has been. Or, Hell; IMPROVES!! That would be great, as well!

Fingers are crossed!

 

[jimmii]

Posted on a different thread earlier:

"Philip,
I just read that you are retiring from Rebelscum on the home page, and just wanted to say thank you for all you've done for this site & forum. I went from a lurker in the early 2000's to a member, and have enjoyed all the benefits from joining this community ever since. I would never have found so many cool and interesting Star Wars collectibles, conversations, people and events if it wasn't for Rebelscum. Enjoy your retirement, but don't forget about us all.
Thanks,
jimmii"

I'll add:
Attn: New Owners

Please don't get rid of or change the forum set up, it's my only form of "social media".

 

[GNT]

Biggest news of the day, I wish Philip all the best in the years to come.

 

[SWSF Eidolon]

I got started here a ways back using your photo archive catalog of the various figure lines as my primary informer of what was out there and what I wanted to get. Thanks for all your time and work here Philip!

May the Force Be With You!

 

[Real_Scooby]

Me too, want to wish you, @Philip_Wise , all the best for you future plans and I also want to thank you for the opportunity of being part of the Rebelscum-Team for some time
It was around the time between the release of AOTC and ROTS when I was recruited by Jeremy Beckett as News Reporter for Austria/Germany for the then newly started EURO-SCUM section and also helped as forummod. It was a great time and I still carry one of the gifts I recieved, a RS-baseball cap, with proud every day. Unfortunatly I had to quit a few years after ROTS, due some personal issues, some pretty hard times and general lack of interrest in collecting at that time.

Thank you again, Philip, and all the best for what to come. We will miss you

 

[Utinniii]

Thanks for all you have done. You have inspired and allowed collectors an amazing gathering place and a way to both learn and showcase their collections.

 

[deathstar1000]

My best to you Philip! I've had the pleasure of meeting you in person and visiting your shop as well as seeing you at various cons, since the time they were in Plano. Every time someone new sees my collection and says it's big, I stop them and tell them about your museum, LOL!

Can't thank you enough for all that you have done for the collecting community. I've been here for over 15 years and have enjoyed all the great interactions.

But not only that. Thanks for this forum, great friendships have been formed over the years. One of the highlights of Celebrations is seeing my RS buds in person. Wouldn't be possible without this place.

Enjoy your retirement! Now you have more time for Star Wars!

 

[DTMAN]

Congratulations, Phillip.
This will be day long remembered.

Hard to believe 25 years.

Hope you enjoy your new phase.

Thank you.

 

[Trooper31]

Thanks for the great website and the last 25 years. All the best for you in the future.

 

[tk1565]

For those that may have missed the announcement last night, our Webmaster, Philip Wise, has decided to hang his hat up and retire from Rebelscum.com. Please see his farewell message below and join me in thanking him for his incredible contributions to Star Wars fandom, the collecting community and beyond.

From Philip Wise:

After more than 25 years, I'm retiring from Rebelscum, and I'm delighted to pass the control of the site to Joshua Durazzo, a guy I met earlier this year after two of my good friends sold part of their collections to his company. It can be found on Facebook at Order 66 Toys. He has a team that is full of passionate people anxious to pick up here and move it into the next phase. They travel the world buying Star Wars collections, and then curate them into groups and sell them on Facebook Live events.

It will be a controlled migration to Joshua, so don't expect a ton of changes, other than a resurgence of content, taking advantage of their knowledge and access to the mass quantities of Star Wars collectibles that they come across.

It's been quite a ride for all of us here with you, but I'm also looking forward to having a little more time building things in my New Wookiee Workshop.

philip@wiseacres.com is my new email address, though philip@rebelscum.com will work for some time as well.

thanx mate for everything over the years

 

[Lobotscomb]

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do from here. Thanks for building this site which birthed a community, where long standing friendships and families have developed. MTFBWY!

 

[archrivals]

It's crazy to think I've been coming to this site since 1997-98.

I get the need to move on and experience new things. Thank you for creating this place where an old school SW fan can speak his mind and enjoy the opinion of others as well. Fear not, I have hope things will remain as they were.

I'll still be here, as this is what I loved since 77..

Scum & Villainy always,
Best Wishes.

 

[CaptainAlex]

Best wishes in your retirement.

 

[Oofa]

I'm "fairly new" to the site, nevertheless: all the best in your future endeavours, Mr. Wise and thanks for all the fish... .. thanks for carrying the torch and providing this forum for us to enjoy as well. Godspeed.

 

[bountyhunter69]

In light of Joshua Durazzo - Previous Managing Member for Collectors Saga Texas, LLC (corporationwiki.com), I can't help but think this is a BAD omen for the future of this site.

I concur, can't say I have ever had good dealings with Order 66 toys.

 

[Dark_Kanos]

Best of luck Philip, you was one of the reasons I kept up with Star Wars for years so thank you for that man. I wish you nothing but the best!

 

[Sarge]

Best of luck in your future endeavors, Phillip! May your sails be full and the wind at your back. MTFBWY!

 

[PrimetimeJedi]

Thanks for the ride Phil. Time flies by when having fun. I wish you the very best in your future endeavors

I've been a part of the forums on and off for the last 20 years. Can't say I am happy about the transition. While I had good past experiences with Jeff @ Order 66 I can't say the same about Josh. With the fiasco about them selling repro weapons at Celebration Anaheim 2015 to the tribute Holographic Leia figure where they took payment right away knowing that they didn't get permission from Disney or Hasbro to make figure and taking months to refund people who ordered them, giving us a run around only to get an attitude over their mess up. Isn't the first time I've gotten an attitude but I made sure that time was the last.

 

[HeatherDurazzo]

Thanks for the ride Phil. Time flies by when having fun. I wish you the very best in your future endeavors

I've been a part of the forums on and off for the last 20 years. Can't say I am happy about the transition. While I had good past experiences with Jeff @ Order 66 I can't say the same about Josh. With the fiasco about them selling repro weapons at Celebration Anaheim 2015 to the tribute Holographic Leia figure where they took payment right away knowing that they didn't get permission from Disney or Hasbro to make figure and taking months to refund people who ordered them, giving us a run around only to get an attitude over their mess up. Isn't the first time I've gotten an attitude but I made sure that time was the last.

While we definitely understand your frustration and appreciate your protective instincts for a site we all love unfortunately it is not all what you think. The celebration fiasco was due to a former employee switching weapons the day before we left for the trip and while it is our responsibility to make sure everything we sell is correct Joshua has never been involved with and does not currently sell vintage in his store. It also seems you are very misinformed as to the nature of the Leia figure. We had a working relationship with Lucasfilm where if it was for charity we were allowed to create limited run items. Immediately after Carrie passed we asked for an extension from around 50 of each item to 250. We were granted that. Unfortunately we were not informed that Disney was in the middle of shutting down Lucasfilm legal and folding it into Disney legal. We then received a letter from Disney after taking the orders that our toy directly interfered with future plans they had. We began the refund process which took approximately 3 weeks total. We paid everything out of pocket due to the fact that the presale money had already been 100% donated to the American heart association. Regardless of all of this Joshua has been working diligently to make sure Order 66 Toys has been run with the community first and foremost and our morals and ethics reflect that.
We also are very cognizant of the importance of this site to the community. We will be working very closely with Philip to make sure everything that you guys love about the site stays intact. We are adding additional resources to to the site in order to become the complete tool box for the community to utilize.

I think the purpose of this thread is to wish Philip a happy retirement after decades of devoted service to the Star Wars community, and while we are the new owners, we will be working with Philip side by side to ensure the integrity of the site stays intact.

 

[Philip_Wise]

Thanks everybody, there's still a lot of work to do migrating things smoothly to the new team. We'll probably make a couple mistakes along the way, but we will do everything we can to bring things along quickly.

I see a couple concerns posted here, some of which is just plain factually wrong. It literally never ceases to amaze me the things some users post so I want to address what you can expect. I personally feed on enthusiasm, and can't abide those looking to rock the boat.

I care more about this transition more than anybody else. You can bet if there's a skeleton in the closet, I already know about it and have been satisfied with the outcome. Can you make everybody happy? No, I don't even try, but I do try to make a lot of people happy.

I have done my due diligence with Joshua. Of all the choices I had for passing the site along, he is by far and away the best option. I am not concerned in the least about the site reputation being negatively affected by him running it. I am very excited by what he's planning to do.

As for the forum, it's being ported to new hosting, which will take it down as much as a day, but there are no planned changes to it. It's an important part of the community, and we both wish it to remain so.

 

[DarthMickeyMoose]

Have fun pal in whatever you do. This is the best SW Site ever created on the net. I still wouldn't give all of this up for Star Trek if I was you but hey what do I know. Best Wishes!

I dedicate this Video to you!
The Simpsons | Season 28 - You're the best around (Sung by Homer) - YouTube

 

[tys1977]

Wishing you all the very best for the future Philip, been a member since back in 2008 and I can't begin to tell you how much I feel 'at home' here, it's an amazing community and it's given me no end of news,info, reference and help over the years...

Thank you Philip,
MTFBWYA mate in all that you go on to do,
Kindest regards,
Mark in the UK

 

[DarthHippie]

Thanks for the years of info Philip! Happy for you.

 

[Sunscout]

Thank you for making the Star Wars Experience enjoyable for all these years.
Good luck

 

[Nibcrom]

Thanks for all the Star Wars news over the years, Philip!

 

[keknivek]

I don't know Philip personally, but I feel like I do. Rebelscum is one of a handful of sites that are daily stops, and because of the work put into these sites I have a few moments of Star Wars escapism a day!

The time and effort put into this site will live on. May the force be with you Philip Wise!

 

[djcos25]

Philip, we never spoke but I also wanted to say good luck and thank you for this wonderful site. I joined in 2009 (then again in 2010 due to losing my login info). I come here many times throughout the day, and I am very happy to see this board will continue. Apart from here, my other dose of Star Wars collecting groups is one main group on Facebook, and a few Action Fleet/Micro Machines themed groups. I consider this site THE place to get my Star Wars collecting fix.

Thank you again!

 

[Tulgah]

And now Philip will change his name to WookieeKid69 and become a regular lurker, occasionally posting obscure Funko Pop reviews…

Seriously, you truly are someone who helped to launch the internet. That’s no exaggeration. It’s been a stunning, miraculous run.

Long live Lieutenant Renz! And thank you.

 

[KeepFrozen]

Ah man I was hoping Banky would make a spectacular return to helm the ship!

 

[Tyranusspotting]

This was the second forum I joined (the first being TFN's Jedi Council Forums in 2002). You've been steering this ship through a changing digital landscape with flying colors! So long, and thanks for all the fi...gures, Philip!

 

[MrPickles]

Sorry for being a little late on this.... Congratulations on your retirement and thank-you for all the many years of providing THE best, virtual-space for SW fans of all stripes & creeds to get together every once in awhile and share their mutual passion for a galaxy far, far away.

Upon looking back... In particular, really appreciated your hand in providing those custom acylic cases for the Master Replicas Jedi Remote & also arranging for that special Gentle Giant Barrie Holland ("You Rebelscum!") mini-bust w/the autographed card. Always loved following your WIP pictures on various projects (especially the Ark) as well.

In addition to this site, your legacy will continue to live on in other SW fan areas too. Your financial investment & creation of The Forcecast podcast show was a seminal event in the fandom. Finding Pete & Jason (and of course later allowing Jimmy to take Pete's place) was simply a stroke of genius, from which the fruit of that decision revealed to a wider audience just how truly fitting your Surname is.

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors, Mr. Wise.

 

[JamesF]

I rarely post here now, but occasionally reminisce about the old days of RS and smile. Good luck with your future endeavours

 

[Kenner76]

All the best Phillip! Thanks for all that you have done for this sight!!

 

[Kylash327]

Good luck Philip! This was the first site i found about StarWars toys back in 98, and its always been the first place i come back to.