{"data":{"id":18398,"title":"Portfolio: CC's Conversions","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/18398-Portfolio-CCs-Conversions","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/18398","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/18398","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Portfolio","images":[{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"},{"id":28002,"name":"CCs-Conversions-Helmets.png","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/mnmn0lveymdior\/source\/CCs-Conversions-Helmets.png","alt":"","size":1970394,"mime_type":"image\/png","last_modified":"2021-11-08T18:19:29+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/28002","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/28002\/similar"}],"images_count":7,"translations":{"en_EN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 9.2.\nWHO\u2019S CC?\nMany have wondered who\u2019s the namesake behind CC\u2019s Conversions, the manufacturer of creative custom armor pieces known for their brash embrace of pop culture and highly irreverent aesthetic. The company first made a name for itself by freely incorporating trademarked logos and likenesses into their modded armor. It earned fans and copyright lawsuits in equal measure, but fame and ultimately mainstream acceptance grew along with it. Despite this notoriety, the privately-owned company strove to keep its owners anonymous. First out of fear for legal repercussions and later as a ploy to lean into the growing mystery of who was the fabled CC.\n\nRumors about CC\u2019s identity ranged from plausible to ridiculous. One of the more popular (and generally accepted) stories claimed CC to be the initials of the company\u2019s secretive founder while others swore it to be the name of a designer\u2019s daughter whose doodles atop his armor concepts inspired some of the company\u2019s earliest designs. In 2948, Arbana Brumbaugh, a journalist from the Aremis Post convinced her editors to do a deep dive into the company\u2019s origins, where she easily debunked the most common myths surrounding the company, but ultimately failed to identify the real CC. What began as a simple story turned into an obsession that Brumbaugh chronicled in her bestselling book Seeking CC. Thanks to her diligent and exhaustive investigation, Brumbaugh ultimately discovered that people had been asking the wrong question. Instead of asking \u201cWho\u2019s CC\u201d, the question should\u2019ve been \u201cWhat is CC?\u201d\n\nSTREET CRED\nThe story of CC\u2019s Conversions began in a small shop tucked down an alley in the east side industrial district of Fujin City. When opened in 2943, this shop was simply the public-facing facet as none of the company\u2019s work was done on premises. Instead it operated as a small storefront that opened at odd and inconsistent hours to sell one-off artistic mods done to random armor pieces. CC\u2019s stylish and subversive aesthetic quickly gained a cult following with fans staking out the shop at all hours and lighting up spectrum as soon as the signature CC\u2019s sign switched on. In her investigation years later, Brumbaugh looked into anyone who had rented the storefront prior to CC\u2019s and discovered one of the previous tenants to be a teacher at the Fujin City School for the Arts named Andilar Bree. Though the teacher had since passed, relatives recounted Bree\u2019s close connection to a group of students who in 2941 collaborated on a school showcase called Killer Pop Culture featuring works aesthetically similar to CC\u2019s Conversions earliest known items. Brumbaugh tracked down one of these former students, and after negotiating ground rules, he agreed to an interview.\n\nThe man, who called himself \u2018Mendo\u2019, explained that a collective of seven students started CC\u2019s Conversions after art school. It was a loose organization where members individually worked on artistic mods of second-hand armor and helmets they salvaged from resale shops or scavyards. Initially the pieces were intended only for themselves to wear, but as requests from friends and acquaintances rolled in, the group soon began selling the armor. The true secret to their modding success was an advanced program created by a member who went by the name \u2018Epoch.\u2019 The software would take a scan of an item, like a helmet, and quickly enable the artist to previsualize styles, shapes, logos, and even likenesses pulled from a massive image database to prototype an idealized final product without wasting expensive materials. Epoch called his program Computational Crafting or CC for short. When the collective opened their storefront, it only felt appropriate to name their endeavor in CC\u2019s honor.\n\nBree, who had been mentoring the students in her free time, offered up the shop as a way to sell their art. The group wanted potential buyers to focus on the pieces themselves rather than on who made them, and made a pact that their individual identities would all remain incognito. The added mystery would only further heighten the shop\u2019s mystique. After opening, individual sales were decent but modest when a rare opportunity came along for the group to significantly scale their operations. A huge lot of RSI helmets was available for purchase after a local armor retailer went out of business. It would take almost all their combined profits to acquire them, but with that much stock they would be able to make hundreds of pieces rather than just the typical dozen or so. In the end, it was Mendo\u2019s suggestion to mod them to look like the iconic cartoon character Rory Nova that convinced the group that the purchase would be worthwhile. It became CC\u2019s Conversions first official line and it sold out fast.\n\nThe process proved so popular and profitable that the collective agreed to buy more refurbished or outdated armor wholesale and design lines around it. With this shift in strategy the collective stopped hand modifying armor and shuttered their storefront. Instead, members worked to find discounted armor, mechanize modding production, and find distributors while taking turns with being the artistic design lead. With each new line generating increased attention, the company was no longer an ignorable underground phenomenon. CC\u2019s Conversions had become a success and a flurry of lawsuits over the use of trademarked images followed.\n\nGOING LEGIT\nAs independent artists, the collective had felt free to draw from any source that inspired them. But once the group began drawing media attention for their work, litigation threatened to overwhelm the new company. In addition, some of the armor manufacturers took issue with the modification and mass resale of their pieces. Thankfully, CC\u2019s Conversions was able to legitimize their operations by settling litigation with generous payments or favorable terms on future licensing deals. This display of good faith convinced other companies to sign official licensing deals with CC\u2019s to cash in on the company\u2019s hip style and cultural cache. The company was also able to successfully argue in court that their work was different enough from the base models that it did not constitute resale but were instead mass produced works of art. During this transition period, the company began producing completely original designs, like the Caudillo helmet and Tevarin inspired Aves armor. The success of their bespoke armor pieces proved that the company could achieve mass appeal on its own artistic merits.\n\nStill, CC\u2019s Conversions remains first and foremost a manufacturer of memorable armor upgrades with a pop culture twist. Their business model still revolves around purchasing discounted armor, adding their own artistic flair and never repeating a design, making their armor popular among collectors. The company recently collaborated with soda maker Fieldsbury for a line of helmets modeled after their mischievous \u201cDark Bear\u2019\u2019 mascot. They\u2019ve even expanded into producing replicas from hit Spectrum vids, including two gruesome helmets inspired by the Parasite vid-series and one based on serial killer Neville Lott\u2019s frightful look in The Hill Horror.\n\nThough Brumbaugh revealed the mysterious CC to be a computer program, the company has never publicly acknowledged the claim. Names of those involved in the art school collective were publicly shared by former classmates following the release of Brumbaugh Seeking CC, but the company continues to ignore any request to confirm any of them as owners. Instead the company still prefers to keep fans guessing about who really runs the company and what armor to expect next. This stance doesn\u2019t surprise Brumbaugh, who got Mendo to admit in his interview that \u201cnaming the thing after CC was a way to make the work about the art and not the artist. It didn\u2019t matter who made it, only if the final product was good. The goal was to take something familiar to everyone and remake it in a way that people never expected. And in many regards, we nailed it.\u201d Today, fans of CC\u2019s Conversions who eagerly await their next limited edition run of their armor would have to agree.","de_DE":"Dieses Portfolio erschien urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 9.2.\nWER IST CC?\nViele haben sich gefragt, wer sich hinter CC's Conversions verbirgt, dem Hersteller von kreativen Custom-R\u00fcstungen, der f\u00fcr seine freche Umarmung der Popkultur und seine \u00e4u\u00dferst respektlose \u00c4sthetik bekannt ist. Das Unternehmen machte sich zun\u00e4chst einen Namen, indem es markenrechtlich gesch\u00fctzte Logos und Konterfeis frei in seine modifizierten R\u00fcstungen einbaute. Das brachte Fans und Urheberrechtsklagen gleicherma\u00dfen ein, aber der Ruhm und schlie\u00dflich auch die Akzeptanz im Mainstream wuchsen mit ihm. Trotz dieser Ber\u00fchmtheit bem\u00fchte sich das private Unternehmen, seine Eigent\u00fcmer anonym zu halten. Zun\u00e4chst aus Angst vor rechtlichen Konsequenzen und sp\u00e4ter als Trick, um das wachsende Geheimnis zu l\u00fcften, wer der sagenumwobene CC war.\n\nDie Ger\u00fcchte \u00fcber die Identit\u00e4t von CC reichten von plausibel bis l\u00e4cherlich. Eine der popul\u00e4reren (und allgemein akzeptierten) Geschichten behauptete, CC seien die Initialen des geheimnisvollen Firmengr\u00fcnders, w\u00e4hrend andere schworen, es sei der Name der Tochter eines Designers, dessen Kritzeleien \u00fcber seinen R\u00fcstungskonzepten einige der ersten Entw\u00fcrfe des Unternehmens inspirierten. Im Jahr 2948 \u00fcberredete Arbana Brumbaugh, eine Journalistin der Aremis Post, ihre Redakteure zu einer gr\u00fcndlichen Recherche \u00fcber die Urspr\u00fcnge des Unternehmens, bei der sie die g\u00e4ngigsten Mythen \u00fcber das Unternehmen entlarvte, aber letztlich nicht den wahren CC identifizieren konnte. Was als einfache Geschichte begann, wurde zu einer Besessenheit, die Brumbaugh in ihrem Bestseller Seeking CC aufzeichnete. Dank ihrer sorgf\u00e4ltigen und ersch\u00f6pfenden Nachforschungen fand Brumbaugh schlie\u00dflich heraus, dass die Leute die falsche Frage gestellt hatten. Anstatt zu fragen \"Wer ist CC\", h\u00e4tte die Frage lauten m\u00fcssen \"Was ist CC?\"\n\nSTREET CRED\nDie Geschichte von CC's Conversions begann in einem kleinen Laden, der in einer Gasse im \u00f6stlichen Industriegebiet von Fujin City versteckt war. Als dieses Gesch\u00e4ft 2943 er\u00f6ffnet wurde, war es nur die \u00f6ffentliche Fassade, da keine der Arbeiten des Unternehmens vor Ort durchgef\u00fchrt wurden. Stattdessen handelte es sich um einen kleinen Laden, der zu ungeraden und unregelm\u00e4\u00dfigen Zeiten ge\u00f6ffnet war, um einmalige k\u00fcnstlerische Modifikationen an zuf\u00e4lligen R\u00fcstungsteilen zu verkaufen. Die stilvolle und subversive \u00c4sthetik von CC gewann schnell eine kultische Anh\u00e4ngerschaft mit Fans, die den Laden rund um die Uhr belagerten und das Spektrum anz\u00fcndeten, sobald das charakteristische CC's-Schild aufleuchtete. Als Brumbaugh Jahre sp\u00e4ter Nachforschungen anstellte, um herauszufinden, wer das Ladenlokal vor CC's gemietet hatte, entdeckte sie, dass einer der Vormieter ein Lehrer an der Fujin City School for the Arts namens Andilar Bree war. Obwohl der Lehrer inzwischen verstorben war, berichteten Verwandte, dass Bree eine enge Verbindung zu einer Gruppe von Sch\u00fclern hatte, die 2941 an einer Schulausstellung namens Killer Pop Culture mit Werken mitwirkten, die den fr\u00fchesten bekannten Gegenst\u00e4nden von CC's Conversions \u00e4sthetisch \u00e4hnelten. Brumbaugh machte einen dieser ehemaligen Sch\u00fcler ausfindig, und nachdem er die Grundregeln ausgehandelt hatte, stimmte er einem Interview zu.\n\nDer Mann, der sich selbst 'Mendo' nannte, erkl\u00e4rte, dass ein Kollektiv von sieben Studenten CC's Conversions nach der Kunstschule gr\u00fcndete. Es handelte sich um eine lose Organisation, in der die Mitglieder individuell an k\u00fcnstlerischen Modifikationen von gebrauchten R\u00fcstungen und Helmen arbeiteten, die sie in Wiederverkaufsl\u00e4den oder auf Schrottpl\u00e4tzen erstanden hatten. Zun\u00e4chst waren die St\u00fccke nur f\u00fcr sie selbst bestimmt, aber als die Anfragen von Freunden und Bekannten immer mehr zunahmen, begann die Gruppe bald, die R\u00fcstungen zu verkaufen. Das wahre Geheimnis ihres Modding-Erfolgs war ein fortschrittliches Programm, das von einem Mitglied mit dem Namen 'Epoch' entwickelt wurde. Die Software nahm einen Scan eines Gegenstands, z.B. eines Helms, und erm\u00f6glichte es dem K\u00fcnstler, Stile, Formen, Logos und sogar Konterfeis aus einer riesigen Bilddatenbank vorzuplanen, um ein idealisiertes Endprodukt zu erstellen, ohne teure Materialien zu verschwenden. Epoch nannte sein Programm Computational Crafting oder kurz CC. Als das Kollektiv seinen Laden er\u00f6ffnete, schien es nur angemessen, sein Vorhaben zu CCs Ehren zu benennen.\n\nBree, die die Studenten in ihrer Freizeit als Mentorin betreut hatte, bot den Laden als M\u00f6glichkeit an, ihre Kunst zu verkaufen. Die Gruppe wollte, dass sich die potenziellen K\u00e4ufer auf die Werke selbst konzentrieren und nicht darauf, wer sie gemacht hat, und schloss einen Pakt, dass ihre individuellen Identit\u00e4ten inkognito bleiben w\u00fcrden. Das zus\u00e4tzliche Geheimnis w\u00fcrde die Mystik des Ladens nur noch verst\u00e4rken. Nach der Er\u00f6ffnung waren die Einzelverk\u00e4ufe anst\u00e4ndig, aber bescheiden, als sich der Gruppe eine seltene Gelegenheit bot, ihr Gesch\u00e4ft erheblich auszuweiten. Ein gro\u00dfer Posten RSI-Helme stand zum Verkauf, nachdem ein lokaler R\u00fcstungsh\u00e4ndler Pleite gegangen war. Es w\u00fcrde fast den gesamten Gewinn der Gruppe kosten, diese zu erwerben, aber mit dieser Menge an Vorr\u00e4ten w\u00fcrden sie in der Lage sein, Hunderte von Helmen herzustellen, anstatt nur das typische Dutzend oder so. Letztendlich war es der Vorschlag von Mendo, sie so zu modifizieren, dass sie wie die kultige Zeichentrickfigur Rory Nova aussehen, der die Gruppe davon \u00fcberzeugte, dass sich der Kauf lohnen w\u00fcrde. Es wurde die erste offizielle Linie von CC's Conversions und sie war schnell ausverkauft.\n\nDer Prozess erwies sich als so popul\u00e4r und profitabel, dass das Kollektiv beschloss, weitere \u00fcberholte oder veraltete R\u00fcstungen im Gro\u00dfhandel zu kaufen und um sie herum Linien zu entwerfen. Mit diesem Strategiewechsel h\u00f6rte das Kollektiv auf, R\u00fcstungen von Hand zu modifizieren und schloss sein Ladengesch\u00e4ft. Stattdessen arbeiteten die Mitglieder daran, verbilligte R\u00fcstungen zu finden, die Modding-Produktion zu mechanisieren und Vertriebsh\u00e4ndler zu finden, w\u00e4hrend sie sich mit der k\u00fcnstlerischen Leitung abwechselten. Mit jeder neuen Linie, die mehr Aufmerksamkeit erregte, war das Unternehmen nicht l\u00e4nger ein unbedeutendes Untergrundph\u00e4nomen. CC's Conversions wurde ein Erfolg und es folgten eine Reihe von Rechtsstreitigkeiten \u00fcber die Verwendung von gesch\u00fctzten Bildern.\n\nLEGIT\u00c4T\nAls unabh\u00e4ngige K\u00fcnstler hatte sich das Kollektiv frei gef\u00fchlt, aus jeder Quelle zu sch\u00f6pfen, die sie inspirierte. Doch als die Gruppe begann, die Aufmerksamkeit der Medien auf ihre Arbeit zu lenken, drohten die Rechtsstreitigkeiten das neue Unternehmen zu erdr\u00fccken. Au\u00dferdem hatten einige der R\u00fcstungshersteller Einw\u00e4nde gegen die Modifizierung und den massenhaften Weiterverkauf ihrer St\u00fccke. Gl\u00fccklicherweise war CC's Conversions in der Lage, seine T\u00e4tigkeit zu legitimieren, indem es die Rechtsstreitigkeiten mit gro\u00dfz\u00fcgigen Zahlungen oder g\u00fcnstigen Bedingungen f\u00fcr zuk\u00fcnftige Lizenzvertr\u00e4ge beilegte. Dieses Zeichen des guten Willens \u00fcberzeugte andere Unternehmen, offizielle Lizenzvertr\u00e4ge mit CC's abzuschlie\u00dfen, um von dem angesagten Stil und dem kulturellen Ansehen des Unternehmens zu profitieren. Das Unternehmen konnte vor Gericht auch erfolgreich argumentieren, dass sich seine Arbeit so sehr von den Basismodellen unterschied, dass es sich nicht um einen Weiterverkauf, sondern um massenhaft produzierte Kunstwerke handelte. In dieser \u00dcbergangsphase begann das Unternehmen mit der Herstellung v\u00f6llig neuer Designs, wie dem Caudillo-Helm und der von Tevarin inspirierten Aves-R\u00fcstung. Der Erfolg ihrer ma\u00dfgefertigten R\u00fcstungen bewies, dass das Unternehmen auch mit seinen eigenen k\u00fcnstlerischen Leistungen Massenattraktivit\u00e4t erreichen konnte.\n\nDennoch bleibt CC's Conversions in erster Linie ein Hersteller von denkw\u00fcrdigen R\u00fcstungs-Upgrades mit einem Hauch von Popkultur. Das Gesch\u00e4ftsmodell des Unternehmens besteht nach wie vor darin, preisreduzierte R\u00fcstungen zu kaufen, sie mit eigenem k\u00fcnstlerischen Flair zu versehen und niemals ein Design zu wiederholen, was ihre R\u00fcstungen bei Sammlern so beliebt macht. Vor kurzem hat das Unternehmen mit dem Limonadenhersteller Fieldsbury zusammengearbeitet, um eine Reihe von Helmen nach dem Vorbild des schelmischen Maskottchens \"Dark Bear\" herzustellen. Das Unternehmen hat sich sogar auf die Herstellung von Repliken von Spectrum-Hits verlegt, darunter zwei gruselige Helme, die von der Parasite-Videoserie inspiriert sind, und ein Helm, der dem Serienm\u00f6rder Neville Lott in The Hill Horror nachempfunden ist.\n\nObwohl Brumbaugh das mysteri\u00f6se CC als Computerprogramm entlarvte, hat das Unternehmen diese Behauptung nie \u00f6ffentlich best\u00e4tigt. Ehemalige Klassenkameraden haben nach der Ver\u00f6ffentlichung von Brumbaughs Suche nach CC die Namen der an der Kunstschule beteiligten Personen ver\u00f6ffentlicht, aber das Unternehmen ignoriert nach wie vor jede Bitte, einen von ihnen als Eigent\u00fcmer zu best\u00e4tigen. Stattdessen zieht es das Unternehmen vor, die Fans im Unklaren dar\u00fcber zu lassen, wer das Unternehmen wirklich leitet und welche R\u00fcstung als n\u00e4chstes zu erwarten ist. Diese Haltung \u00fcberrascht Brumbaugh nicht, der Mendo dazu brachte, in seinem Interview zuzugeben, dass \"die Benennung nach CC eine M\u00f6glichkeit war, das Werk nach der Kunst und nicht nach dem K\u00fcnstler zu benennen. Es war egal, wer es gemacht hat, Hauptsache, das Endprodukt war gut. Das Ziel war es, etwas zu nehmen, das jeder kennt, und es auf eine Weise neu zu gestalten, die die Leute nicht erwartet hatten. Und in vielerlei Hinsicht haben wir es geschafft.\" Heute m\u00fcssen die Fans von CC's Conversions, die sehns\u00fcchtig auf die n\u00e4chste limitierte Auflage ihrer R\u00fcstung warten, zustimmen.","zh_CN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 9.2.\nWHO\u2019S CC?\nMany have wondered who\u2019s the namesake behind CC\u2019s Conversions, the manufacturer of creative custom armor pieces known for their brash embrace of pop culture and highly irreverent aesthetic. The company first made a name for itself by freely incorporating trademarked logos and likenesses into their modded armor. It earned fans and copyright lawsuits in equal measure, but fame and ultimately mainstream acceptance grew along with it. Despite this notoriety, the privately-owned company strove to keep its owners anonymous. First out of fear for legal repercussions and later as a ploy to lean into the growing mystery of who was the fabled CC.\n\nRumors about CC\u2019s identity ranged from plausible to ridiculous. One of the more popular (and generally accepted) stories claimed CC to be the initials of the company\u2019s secretive founder while others swore it to be the name of a designer\u2019s daughter whose doodles atop his armor concepts inspired some of the company\u2019s earliest designs. In 2948, Arbana Brumbaugh, a journalist from the Aremis Post convinced her editors to do a deep dive into the company\u2019s origins, where she easily debunked the most common myths surrounding the company, but ultimately failed to identify the real CC. What began as a simple story turned into an obsession that Brumbaugh chronicled in her bestselling book Seeking CC. Thanks to her diligent and exhaustive investigation, Brumbaugh ultimately discovered that people had been asking the wrong question. Instead of asking \u201cWho\u2019s CC\u201d, the question should\u2019ve been \u201cWhat is CC?\u201d\n\nSTREET CRED\nThe story of CC\u2019s Conversions began in a small shop tucked down an alley in the east side industrial district of Fujin City. When opened in 2943, this shop was simply the public-facing facet as none of the company\u2019s work was done on premises. Instead it operated as a small storefront that opened at odd and inconsistent hours to sell one-off artistic mods done to random armor pieces. CC\u2019s stylish and subversive aesthetic quickly gained a cult following with fans staking out the shop at all hours and lighting up spectrum as soon as the signature CC\u2019s sign switched on. In her investigation years later, Brumbaugh looked into anyone who had rented the storefront prior to CC\u2019s and discovered one of the previous tenants to be a teacher at the Fujin City School for the Arts named Andilar Bree. Though the teacher had since passed, relatives recounted Bree\u2019s close connection to a group of students who in 2941 collaborated on a school showcase called Killer Pop Culture featuring works aesthetically similar to CC\u2019s Conversions earliest known items. Brumbaugh tracked down one of these former students, and after negotiating ground rules, he agreed to an interview.\n\nThe man, who called himself \u2018Mendo\u2019, explained that a collective of seven students started CC\u2019s Conversions after art school. It was a loose organization where members individually worked on artistic mods of second-hand armor and helmets they salvaged from resale shops or scavyards. Initially the pieces were intended only for themselves to wear, but as requests from friends and acquaintances rolled in, the group soon began selling the armor. The true secret to their modding success was an advanced program created by a member who went by the name \u2018Epoch.\u2019 The software would take a scan of an item, like a helmet, and quickly enable the artist to previsualize styles, shapes, logos, and even likenesses pulled from a massive image database to prototype an idealized final product without wasting expensive materials. Epoch called his program Computational Crafting or CC for short. When the collective opened their storefront, it only felt appropriate to name their endeavor in CC\u2019s honor.\n\nBree, who had been mentoring the students in her free time, offered up the shop as a way to sell their art. The group wanted potential buyers to focus on the pieces themselves rather than on who made them, and made a pact that their individual identities would all remain incognito. The added mystery would only further heighten the shop\u2019s mystique. After opening, individual sales were decent but modest when a rare opportunity came along for the group to significantly scale their operations. A huge lot of RSI helmets was available for purchase after a local armor retailer went out of business. It would take almost all their combined profits to acquire them, but with that much stock they would be able to make hundreds of pieces rather than just the typical dozen or so. In the end, it was Mendo\u2019s suggestion to mod them to look like the iconic cartoon character Rory Nova that convinced the group that the purchase would be worthwhile. It became CC\u2019s Conversions first official line and it sold out fast.\n\nThe process proved so popular and profitable that the collective agreed to buy more refurbished or outdated armor wholesale and design lines around it. With this shift in strategy the collective stopped hand modifying armor and shuttered their storefront. Instead, members worked to find discounted armor, mechanize modding production, and find distributors while taking turns with being the artistic design lead. With each new line generating increased attention, the company was no longer an ignorable underground phenomenon. CC\u2019s Conversions had become a success and a flurry of lawsuits over the use of trademarked images followed.\n\nGOING LEGIT\nAs independent artists, the collective had felt free to draw from any source that inspired them. But once the group began drawing media attention for their work, litigation threatened to overwhelm the new company. In addition, some of the armor manufacturers took issue with the modification and mass resale of their pieces. Thankfully, CC\u2019s Conversions was able to legitimize their operations by settling litigation with generous payments or favorable terms on future licensing deals. This display of good faith convinced other companies to sign official licensing deals with CC\u2019s to cash in on the company\u2019s hip style and cultural cache. The company was also able to successfully argue in court that their work was different enough from the base models that it did not constitute resale but were instead mass produced works of art. During this transition period, the company began producing completely original designs, like the Caudillo helmet and Tevarin inspired Aves armor. The success of their bespoke armor pieces proved that the company could achieve mass appeal on its own artistic merits.\n\nStill, CC\u2019s Conversions remains first and foremost a manufacturer of memorable armor upgrades with a pop culture twist. Their business model still revolves around purchasing discounted armor, adding their own artistic flair and never repeating a design, making their armor popular among collectors. The company recently collaborated with soda maker Fieldsbury for a line of helmets modeled after their mischievous \u201cDark Bear\u2019\u2019 mascot. They\u2019ve even expanded into producing replicas from hit Spectrum vids, including two gruesome helmets inspired by the Parasite vid-series and one based on serial killer Neville Lott\u2019s frightful look in The Hill Horror.\n\nThough Brumbaugh revealed the mysterious CC to be a computer program, the company has never publicly acknowledged the claim. Names of those involved in the art school collective were publicly shared by former classmates following the release of Brumbaugh Seeking CC, but the company continues to ignore any request to confirm any of them as owners. Instead the company still prefers to keep fans guessing about who really runs the company and what armor to expect next. This stance doesn\u2019t surprise Brumbaugh, who got Mendo to admit in his interview that \u201cnaming the thing after CC was a way to make the work about the art and not the artist. It didn\u2019t matter who made it, only if the final product was good. The goal was to take something familiar to everyone and remake it in a way that people never expected. And in many regards, we nailed it.\u201d Today, fans of CC\u2019s Conversions who eagerly await their next limited edition run of their armor would have to agree."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":20,"created_at":"2021-11-10T02:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"4 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-25 01:53:17","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":18397,"next_id":18399}}