My Icons Quest...

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 25th anniversary of Icons being founded in 1995 and the 20th 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

"Back to the Future II" Lenticular Graphic for Hoverboard

 Small sheet of pink Lenticular for Mattel Hoverboard (1997).

One of the most challenging prop replica prototype projects conducted by Icons from 1995 until 2000 was its Back to the Future II Hoverboard 1:1 scale prop replicas.

Icons Director of Product Development (Rob Klein) was one of the most respected Back to the Future authorities (and general Hollywood memorabilia) archivists and collectors in the Collectors circuit.

The talented and driven Rob Klein oversaw numerous Icons replicas being prototyped and was responsible for being the official liaison between all Studio Archivists and Icons, and oversaw the ascertaining of rare R&D materials, as were used in the making of all of the original props and miniatures Icons was replicating.

One difficult endeavour was tracking down the exact-color pink Lenticular graphic material, used in the making of Icons remarkable BTTF II Mattel Hoverboard prototype replica. An incredible amount of detective work was required and Rob Klein performed admirably and was successful in obtaining a roll of the pink Lenticular material.

Here we have a piece of the remaining material, that was left-over after 2 Mattel Hoverboard prototype replicas were created at Icons in 1997-98.

Though Rob was evidently very low key and humble, he is still one of the most respected authorities in the Hollywood memorabilia industry to this day. And has identified, authenticated and saved countless Production artifacts from being lost to time forever. Including those from Back to the Future, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Grease, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers.