"Icons - Timeless Collectibles" Terminator 2 Endoskull, T-1000 Stabbing Finger and T-800 Brain Chip Prototype

Background on Icons / Timeless Collectibles :

Though Icons successfully shipped over 40,000 studio licensed, authorized and authenticated prop and miniature replicas over the coarse of its 5 years in business (1995-2000), following the sudden departure of the company’s original Senior Vice President of Manufacturing in the winter of 1997 and Icons original CEO / President in the Spring of 1998, the company was left with thousands of unfulfilled backordered products and millions of dollars in debt. Nevertheless, Icons remaining staff managed to fulfill thousands of backordered products and was able to successfully keep the company afloat for an additional 1 1/2 years. Though it was extremely difficult.

With the Dot.Com stock bubble bursting in 2000, and corrupt investment bankers, who only used the company as a mean to attempt to « pump and dump » stock, Icons collapsed into bankruptcy. With little options left, Icons last remaining co-founder was approached to consult on the development of a new Studio licensed, authorized and authenticated prop replica company, Timeless Collectibles.

The Timeless co-founders agreed to fulfill the small number (which was actually much, much less than rumored) of Icons remaining back-ordered products to its customers, provided the necessary Studio licenses could be procured. Timeless achieved much of this in just 60 days. Terminator 2 : Judgment Day being the first acquired. Timeless actually was sincere in their promises to Icons and many of key Icons executives and staff ended up joining the Timeless Collectibles team.

This small up-start company quickly established it’s name brand and placed the same high-standards of quality on their products that were utilized at Icons Authentic Replicas. But, unfortunately, Timeless Collectibles was unable to acquire the next level of funding necessary, in order to facilitate the company’s necessary capital requirements. In just 12 short months, Timeless, like Icons, was also gone….

Larry Taylor (on the right), who worked from the beginning till the end at Icons said that about the Endoskull :

« Boy that piece brings back memories. That was like one of my favorites too… that and the Endoskeleton arm.

Yes, I did have a good portion of time spent assembling these pieces, making sure they were QC for chrome plating, and my part was mostly the entire assembly including the electronics and making the teeth out of dental resin, epoxying them into place, screwing the jaw into position, and then applying epoxy to the pistons to connect to the jaw and the cheekbone.

It was quite a process, but nothing difficult…..and yes, Timeless did basically take over the exact piece that was the R&D by Icons. They might have cleaned it up a little bit and refined it somewhat….but yeah….. nonetheless a very, very cool piece. »

Al Z. who worked on both the Icons and Timeless skulls, did go back in and retool a lot of the detail on the Timeless skull. Mostly the detail line and replacing all of the Allen key screws on top to get them to cast better !!!

Icons Original Holiday Greeting Card

 

This is an original, glossy, Icons Holiday greetings photo-postcard from 1997. It depicts one of the key, original employees of Icons - Al Z., the head of Icons famed Molding & Casting Department, posing with a full size Icons Terminator 2 : Judgment Day Endoskeleton Cyborg / Robot, a full-size prototype Lost in Space B-9 Robot and a full-size Gort Robot, all of which Icons had the studio authorized licenses for. A first for any entertainment collectibles company.

In the background are huge Icons logo boxes. Custom made for either the T2 replica arm, or the Independence Day Alien Attacker miniature.

These were mailed out to Icons customers when the company's growth continued to expand at a rapid rate and Icons had become an internationally respected & branded company, which dominated the licensed 1:1 scale studio replica industry.

The Endoskeleton was molded off of "The Licensing Group's" original Endoskeleton used in the film. They represented the Terminator 2 property as a licensing agency and had an Endoskeleton displayed in their lobby after Carolco Pictures, the studio which produced and distributed T2 went into bankruptcy.

The B-9 Robot was one built by hobbyist and professional engineer and fabricator Michael Davis, who constructed it using parts originally cast from Greg Jein and Mike Moore, prior to Mike Moore co-founding Icons and Mike Davis consulting with Icons on the B-9 project. Some of the B-9 parts were also supplied by Mike Davis from Fred Barton.

The Gort was fabricated using design templates taken off of collector Bill Malone's original Gort (which Fred Barton obtained without Bill Malone's conscent to produce a replica Gort) and sold by Fred Barton (who had no licenses at the time).

This Holiday greeting card is legendary as being the impetus for the "Robot Wars" that followed between Icons and Barton.

 

 

Al Z. playing with the B-9 Robot during the photo session  :-)



Icons Predator Environment Helmet

EL DIABLO CAZADOR DE HOMBRES...

The first edition of the Icons Predator arsenal line. This awesome collector's piece is sure to drop jaws when friends visit your display room. Cast directly off of a Predator helmet created for the film. Constructed of fiberglass and custom airbrushed to match the weathered/battle-hardened look of the screen-used helmet. Boasts mirrored view lens and illuminated tri-laser sight. Comes with the Predatoresque custom wall mount trophy rack (sculpted by David Mosher), which shows you got the best of the Predator....this time !!!

There was "1" very early Predator Helmet that I think Mike Moore painted which was very strange. Solid silver. Like chrome. With an airbrushed crack on the top. That looked like a lightning bolt. I think it was Vince Odoni that perfected the final weathered look in the end. The standard version.

 

Those are concept drawings rendered by Icons Graphic Designer and Illustrator Daren Dochterman, I believe, for a design concept for the Icons Predator Helmet replica and its display rack.

 

Once that concept rack was sculpted, Icons CEOs said "NO". It just didn't have that feeling. That Predator armor spaceship vibe. it was supposed to as if the Predator's may have actually used the wall rack to hang up their helmets on, on their spacecraft. It was supposed to be ever cooler with hoses etc...but Icons had already lost $$$ on that first version, so the line had to be drawn to stop and complete the project. So the 2nd one was a re-design. Daren or Tone designed it.

Those pictures are the base sculpt by David Mosher.