Hi everyone, I'm Fred from France.
I knew building and hosting an Icons Museum would be controversial. It's been a hobby of mine the past 17 years to try to acquire rare prototypes or replicas Icons produced and to historically document the company. Which regardless of what happened R&D over 68 props (each one had unique requirements and problems....some went through various versions....3 or 4 different resins etc) and did deliver over 70.000 replicas and was there at the beginning of the industry. This year is the 27th anniversary of Icons being founded in 1995 and the 22th of its sad demise.I've had to gather stories, anecdotes, memories etc. from employees, collectors, business associates and the multiple founders over the years, many never having been interviewed before, to try and piece things together. There was a lot of false rumours I've been able to debunk and new facts that turned up that were cross-corroborated.
If there is any incorrect information on the blog, questions or revisions etc. please let me know. I would be more than happy to make changes where needed if the information can be substantiated with my sources.
I hope some will enjoy the blog. It has been a labor of love, regardless of the controversy surrounding the company. To me, Icons was a pioneering company which had a tragic end. I want to acknowledge the positive aspects of the company and set the truth straight where possible. Especially the emphasis on the quality of Icons replicas and the talent of its artisans and its marketing etc.
I'm always looking for new additions to the collection (nothing is for sale here), so please let me know if you come across anything, including photographs, videos, concept artwork, artifacts etc.
Best regards,
Fred
Hi Fred,
ReplyDeleteI recently inherited a ICON Batman and Robin piece. I was hoping you could answer a question for me. They made 500 pieces and they all say Limited Editon ###. But my piece says Limited Edition AP4, any idea what that refers to?
Hi. Yes, before to realease the standard, numbered edition of a replica, companies often HAVE to make samples of that replica, to show to Studio execs, for them to accept the production run of the following numbered pieces. So APs (or Artist Proofs) are generally the first made models, and they are finally offered to Studio Execs, Company execs or given to people (artisans or advisers) who helped on making the replica possible. But they are the same product than the following standard numbered replicas.
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