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Search Results for: "tom spina"

Tom Spina Designs – Han Solo in Carbonite Desk

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While this isn’t an original prop-related article, I thought it was a neat piece and worth making a note of, especially since Tom Spina is an important figure in the hobby, as a driving force in preservation and restoration of props (see OPB Featured Interview).

Tom and Richard Riley of Tom Spina Designs created a really cool “one off” piece of functional film art – a desk designed and fabricated for the home theater/office of Mark Hall, lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning group Casting Crowns. The desk features the iconic Han Solo in Carbonite from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. [Read more…]

Tom Spina Designs: Product Line Update – Deluxe Mannequins/Forms

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Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs (see Featured Interview) has expanded his product line of offerings tailored to prop collectors to include “Deluxe Poseable Mannequins and Forms” (male and female, various sizes and colors, and other options). I have always wanted to get one of these mannequins, but never have seen one in person, though I’ve heard they are very nice, especially the ability to display in custom poses. [Read more…]

The Smithsonian Institution Launch Kickstarter Campaign to Raise $300,000 to Preserve Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from Wizard of Oz

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The Smithsonian Institution launched a new Kickstarter campaign yesterday in an effort to raise $300,000 for their preservation efforts with the Dorothy ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz that is in their collection.  After just one day, they’ve already raised over one third of their stated goal. [Read more…]

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015: “Star Wars Original Props and Costumes” Discussion Panel

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From Luke’s yellow ladder A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back to his hero lightsaber from Return of the Jedi, the “Star Wars Original Props and Costumes” discussion panel at Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim ran the gamut of obscure background props to the best of the best.  Participants included Stephen Lane and Brandon Alinger from Prop Store, Tom Spina from Tom Spina Designs, and legendary collector Gus Lopez, creator of the Star Wars Collectors Archive.  Each panelist took us through one of their own “prop story” tales, showcasing the background of one of the prized pieces in their own collection.  Of note was that this was the first public announcement by Brandon Alinger that he owns what is essentially the hero Luke Skywalker lightsaber from Return of the Jedi, which was also used by Sir Alec Guiness in A New Hope as a fighting lightsaber (and not to be left out, it was also a practice dueling saber employed in The Empire Strikes Back).  It was an incredible display of both knowledge and images, and overall it underscored the importance of collectors in tracking down, identifying, restoring and preserving these important pop culture artifacts. [Read more…]

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015: “Secrets of the Cantina” Discussion Panel

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The “Secrets of the Cantina” panel at Star Wars Celebration was one of the events that I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint.  Featuring co-presenters Pablo Hidalgo from the Lucasfilm Story Group and Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs, they delved deep into the mythos of one of the most popular scenes from Star Wars: A New Hope, talking exclusively about those creatures (and ugly humans) that inhabited that infamous bar.  At times playing out like a spoken word CSI: Tatooine, they talked about some of the crazy methods they’ve developed to identify some of the actors behind the monsters, as well as the actors who played parts with make-up but without the masks. [Read more…]