My Sci-Fi Collection

[ZenithOClock]

Hi,

I'm not sure what the etiquette is here so I'll just jump in and hope I don't land on anyone's toes, I'm sure the mods will let me know if I crack any metatarsals... anyhoo ...

This is my first post in these forums and I picked this one as not only am I a big fan of sci-fi in general I also collect sci-fi memorabilia - lots of it, so in a way this is a post about my collection of collections (if you catch my drift). I've decided I'm not going to post any pictures. I'll see how the conversation goes and post as things come up, after all you might not be interested at all in my collection(s). If you'd like to see something let me know I'll post it - I'll add random items of your choosing if you like for authenticity purposes (keep it simple, I don't own everything in the world).

Here we go...

Sci-fi/horror/fantasy autographs - directors, actors, authors & artists who I admire

Autographs/signatures

Metropolis - Fritz Lang (clipped contract signature)
King Kong - Fay Wray
Forbidden Planet - Gregory Peck, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter
The Planet of the Apes - Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Linda Harrison
The War of the Worlds - Gene Barry, Ann Robinson
Day of the Triffids - Janette Scott
Silent Running - Bruce Dern
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Gene Wilder, Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Denise Nickerson, Paris Themmen, Michael Bollner
Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang - Dick Van Dyke
Logan's Run - Michael York
Hellraiser - Doug Bradley
Excalubur - Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Clay
Star Wars - Kenny Baker (on R2D2 photo), Anthony Daniels
Star Trek - William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, De Forest Kelly, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Grace Lee Whitney, Majel Barrett
Blade Runner - Harrison Ford, Ridley Scott, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Brion James (I own the now famous 'last autograph', listed on many sites), Joanna Cassidy, Jo Turkel, M Emmet Walsh, James Hong, William Sanderson, Ed James Olmos, Morgan Paull (clipped contract signature from another movie), Daryl Hannah
Back to the Future - Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F Wilson
Time Bandits - Terry Gilliam (Monty Python 'feet' sketch and autograph) John Cleese, Kenny Baker (on Time Bandits Photo)
Fifth Element - Milla Jovovich,
Leon (US, The Professional) - Jean Reno, Natalie Portman (both on same glossy), Gary Oldman
Red Dwarf - Craig Charles, Danny John Jules, Chris Barrie, Robert Llewellyn, Norman Lovett, Hattie Hayridge, Clare Grogan, Chloe Annett, Anita Dobson (psiren)
Shaun of the Dead - Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost (I also own a screen-used zombie costume from the film)
Futurama - Billy West, Katey Segal, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, Matt Groening (with hand-drawn sketch of Bender - super rare)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Sara Michel Geller, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head, James Marsters, Marc Blucas, Amber Benson (I also own a production-made latex face appliance for Gentleman 1 from the episode 'Hush' - not used on-screen due to latex bubble on the nose)
Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (Original Radio and TV shows) - Mark Wing-Davey, Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern, Susan Sheridan, Stephen Moor, David Dixon, Douglas Adams (signed 1st edition copy of HHGTTG)

Graphic Novels, Artists & Novels

Signed picture of Batman hand drawn by Bob Kane
The Unteleported Man - Signed by Philip K Dick
H G Wells Signature - On letter - headed notepaper from his London residence
Ape and Essence - signed Aldous Huxley
The Martian Chronicles - signed Ray Bradbury
Enki Bilal - signed print
Moebius - signed print
Charles M Schulz - signed copy of peanuts book
Dr Seuss - signed drawing of Cat in the Hat (first day cover - book day)
Far Side Vol 4 - signed and self portrait (far side style) Gary Larson
Foundation Trilogy - signed Isaac Asimov
Stand on Zanzibar - signed John Brunner
Cities of the Red Night - signed William S Burroughs
Coraline - signed by Neil Gaiman
The Last Continent - signed by Terry Pratchett

Models

Blade Runner Spinner - Medicom 1:24 scale sold with the Japanese blu ray of Final Cut a few years ago
Blade Runner Spinner - Medicom 1:24 custom paint - street paint finish (dirty)
Maria from Metropolis - 18" resin cast statue
Gort (the Day the Earth Stood Still) - resin cast model (12")
Bender (Futurama) - 2 foot tall Shogun model (Japan)
Robbie the Robot (Forbidden Planet) - 15 " Medicom Model - Japan
Back to the Future deLorean - 6" long die cast metal
Red Dwarf Starbug - 10" model - Japan
When Worlds Collide - Rocket Ship
Alien - Original movie 12 " action figure on stand
War of the Worlds - gold Martian ship
Destructor (Futurama) - 12" plastic model
Alien egg prop - scaled 'forced perspective' screen used prop
This Island Earth - Metalunan alien model 7"

I have lots more but much of the rest is in secure storage and I can't get at it quickly.

Thanks for reading, it's been fun sharing. If you have any questions about any of my memorabilia or want to see a picture of it, just let me know.

ZOC

 

[Tom]

Do you have any miniatures? My nephew collected Warhammer and Dragonlance miniatures before he died. The artwork was amazing. His ending collection consisted of anything referencing the Wizards of the Coast.

BTW: Hi - Welcome

 

[ZenithOClock]

Do you have any miniatures? My nephew collected Warhammer and Dragonlance miniatures before he died. The artwork was amazing. His ending collection consisted of anything referencing the Wizards of the Coast.

BTW: Hi - Welcome

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the welcome.

I used to collect and paint an Orc army from Warhammer, I loved it. Unfortunately I have diabetes and as I grew up my eyesight got poor and I could no longer see the detail in the figures, I eventually sold them all. Sorry to hear that your nephew passed, but it sounds like he had a passion for his collection. It must be a family trait, I see you have a passion for collecting films.

I always think its the 'science geek' in collectors that make us collect. Wanting to know about every detail, nuance, inflection in genre and we do it through our chosen medium. If we weren't busy collecting and making things we'd probably discover the Unifying Principle of Quantum and Newtonian Physics.

ZOC

 

[Tom]

If we weren't busy collecting and making things we'd probably discover the Unifying Principle of Quantum and Newtonian Physics.

My Armchair has witnessed many such discoveries and more...

Personally I believe that as the world opens knowledge to more people, the likelihood of some extreme scientific discovery being made in a backwater village in a forgotten part of the planet is more and more prominent.
The secrets of time travel, warp drive or free energy may already be in the mind of a child just now learning how to operate his/her new computer.
I've always believed that a scientist should consider random people's ideas because even though most will not apply something revealed or suggested might lead to a way of thinking that causes a break-through.
I say tomato, said scientist thinks of all the ways a tomato could affect his theory and comes up with slicing instead of breaking which leads to the invention of say, a molecular knife or something.

1 million monkeys typing on typewriters will eventually create a masterpiece. 9 billion humans using ever smarter devices will eventually create anything they set themselves to create.

Children tend to see reality the clearest. They have not had the time to allow life's delusions to sway their thinking. Perhaps the age of the new Einstein will be in the early teens instead of the late 30s.

/Rant over\

I once tried collecting authenticated paraphernalia. I was so proud of my Authentic Star Trek Enterprise Blueprints I tried to contact the authenticator to get all the history of the work. I found out the authentication was nothing more than ink on paper and the seal was something that could be bought at any local trophy store. I called my friend that bought his set at the same convention I did and we compared the authentication, Not only was it the same information, style and placement, the numbers were exactly the same. The James Doohan signature turned out to be a xerox. This lead to me no longer seeking collectables. I am a fan but not a fanatic.

 

[ZenithOClock]

You are right, collecting is fraught with fakes and creative providence(i.e. Made up). I am fortunate in that I have a few connections in the film industry (one of our family friends is a head of a major film studio). I will not purchase anything unless I've personally seen it signed or it has clear and reliable providence.

I work closely with reputable authenticating agencies and I have provided evidence to fraud officers. I am active in preventing fraud like this on the net. I'm happy to help anyone if they have any questions, pass on what I know.

ZOC

 

[Kevin]

@ZenithOClock, Wow, that is quite a collection! I suspect your 'man cave' would make me act like a little kid by walking in and wanting to see everything.

I'm not sure what the etiquette is here so I'll just jump in and hope I don't land on anyone's toes, I'm sure the mods will let me know if I crack any metatarsals... anyhoo ...

Don't worry, we're laid back around here.... the quick rule-of-thumb is that as long as nobody resorts to personal attacks and nobody is posting/doing something that would invite a visit from law enforcement then you're good to go.

Do you have any miniatures? My nephew collected Warhammer and Dragonlance miniatures before he died. The artwork was amazing. His ending collection consisted of anything referencing the Wizards of the Coast.

Tom, I'm sorry to hear about your nephew. Did you ever get the urge to do models as well? Warhammer 40K has a huge fan base but is a curriculum that never caught my attention. The level of detail on some of the models is just amazing.

I always think its the 'science geek' in collectors that make us collect. Wanting to know about every detail, nuance, inflection in genre and we do it through our chosen medium. If we weren't busy collecting and making things we'd probably discover the Unifying Principle of Quantum and Newtonian Physics.

It's kind of like the "Squirrel!" problem that most geeks I know are afflicted with. We start off one path but are distracted by trying to figure out how to do something else or how something works and from that we get distracted by something else and then something else and maybe after some time we get back to the original item. The non-geeks around me like to say it's ADD/ADHD but it's not, it's just an overwhelming sense of wanting to learn.

I will not purchase anything unless I've personally seen it signed or it has clear and reliable providence.

Are there particular auction houses/sites that you'll deal with or are most of your acquisitions done in private? I don't get a chance to go to many conventions these days for in-person deals and these days the internet has made fake merchandise offerings to easy.

 

[sci-fi-dude]

I have some Gerry Anderson collectables....

They are pretty cool. I have the moon base kit and another eagle in its box, so it remain in its box. I also have some star wars collectables including a Vader Helmet, I would like to find a store that sells a cheap full coverage 1970s Cylon centurion helmet. My buddy in Chicago might know of a place that has them.....