The 7 foot model of the Nostromo ship featured in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic, Alien, has been the focus of a restoration project by The Prop Store of London. Suffering decades of damage from poor conditions of improper outdoor storage, the piece has required extensive cosmetic restoration as part of its ongoing preservation. [Read more…]
Google is hosting an incredible collection of quality, high resolution photos from the LIFE Magazine archives, dating back to the 1750s. It is estimated that once the archive is digitized, nearly 10 million images will be available. Among these works are photographs related to film and television. [Read more…]
The arrival of high definition format products in the marketplace has been a huge development for original prop and wardrobe hobbyists. The availability of film and television programs in HD is a very powerful tool for research and authentication. [Read more…]
Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs has recently completed the restoration of the original werewolf from “American Werewolf in London“, a piece for which Rick Baker received his first Academy Award. [Read more…]
A little over a year ago I posted a review of a software application called “SnagIt” for the 8.0 version of the software (see SnagIt 8 – Image Capture Software & Electronic Preservation). Now that there is a new 9.0 version of the same software, as well as a solid alternative, “ScreenHunter”, I thought I would revisit the topic.
The July/August issue of Star Wars Insider magazine (#102) has a feature written by good friend Tom Spina as well as related articles of interest to original prop collectors. [Read more…]
One thing many collectors do not consider are the potential (unfortunate) “what if?” possibilities we can encounter in buying and selling original props, wardrobe, and other artifacts from film and television.
In the event a problem arises, it is best that both Buyer and Seller have a common understanding of the consequences and responsibilities.
Also, there are areas in which specifics are often not addressed or clarified appropriately, such as ancillary costs and other details beyond the “purchase price” (i.e. shipping costs, shipping method, etc.).
I recently developed an “Original Prop Purchase Agreement” for one of my own purchases, so I decided to simplify it, convert it into a more basic template, and offer it here as a tool for other collectors to consider, edit, amend, and/or employ however they see fit: [Read more…]
This is another fantastic restoration by Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs. This is Tom’s accounting of his work and process in restoring and creating a custom display for a Leonardo costume from the film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: [Read more…]