Icons Mary Poppins Flying Umbrella Prop Prototype

Unseen for more than 20 years, the Icons - Mary Poppins umbrella prototype was the first to be presented to the Walt Disney Corporation, as a prototype for licensing for a 1:1 scale prop replica.

Disney borrowed the Icons umbrella and referenced it to make their first (lower-priced / less detailed) replica, as at the time, they did not know where the original "Hero" prop was and were totally unfamiliar with the Film & Television prop replica market.

Icons' head of  R&D Peter Greenwood tracked down the original plaster "Buck" (or sculpture master) for the prop Poppin's umbrella parrot handle, from the estate of the prop master on the original film. It was a first generation, plaster casting. The original buck was cast from a mold taken off of the original parrot-head sculpture, created by a member of the productions Art Department.

The umbrella portion of the prototype was made in the U.K. by an umbrella company, which was very difficult to track down. The fabric is old-fashioned and very thick, with nice quality accents. The parrot handle features inset glass eyes and amazing, detailed paint job. Very reminiscent of the screen-used original.

The picture below is a concept advertisement for the Poppins umbrella replica, with some Disney's annotations.

Icons T-shirts

Depicted here is an original and quite scarce Star Wars : Men Behind The Mask's World Tour Original Prototype T-shirt. 25 years ago in 1995, Icons secured the first Star Wars 1:1 scale prop replica license and was trying to find unique ways to promote Star Wars and the upcoming 20th anniversary in 1997. 
At the time there was no yearly "Star Wars Celebration" Convention and Lucasfilm refused to grant a license to any company to produce Star Wars conventions including Creation Entertainment.
In 1993/1994 Icons co-founder James Latta had co-produced / co-promoted a quarterly convention called "The Back to the Past Show" which was held in Pasadena, California. Actor David Prowse who had wore the Darth Vader costume in the first Star Wars trilogy was a featured guest at one of these events and had appeared on Jim's weekly collectibles television show "The Sci-Fi Trader" which aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. 
Prowse mentioned to Jim that he was aware of the location of several other Star Wars supporting actors who wore masks & costumes in the original trilogy. Now mind you at the time there was no announcement of a new Star Wars Trilogy being produced.
Latta came up with the concept of locating Star Wars actors who wore unique masks and costumes in the trilogy and put them out on tour. Dubbing the concept "Star Wars : Men Behind The Masks". 

So, under the supervision of Latta, Icons created, produced, sponsored and coordinated a 160 City Worldwide Tour of the supporting Actors from Star Wars, fully sanctioned by Lucasfilm LTD, in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of Star Wars.
The tour would feature David (Darth Vader) Prowse, Anthony (C3-PO) Daniels, Kenny (R2-D2) Baker, Peter (Chewbacca) Mayhew, Jeremy (Boba Fett) Bulloch, Warwick (Wickett) Davis, Maria (Greedo) de Aragon, Michael (Bib Fortuna) Carter, John (Lobot) Hollis and many others.

Just prior to the start of the production of this T-shirt, the Star Wars : Men Behind The Masks logo was changed (see above) to remove the words "Star Wars" following the announcement that Pepsi-Cola had secured the rights to all of the Star Wars characters in a billion dollar marketing deal.

"The Blue Shirts"...because everyone had one on (Al Zequeira, Alan Payne, the Fab & Design guys...), that's how Icons staff was called in 1996, when Icons debuted at Comic Con, after a year in secrecy. No one knew that the company was premiering at the show (upset many bootleggers...LOL).
I think only 8 to 12 of these were produced. They were made for trade-shows/conventions. The Icons logo is metallic gold. Very good quality.

This is the Icons "saber construction crew" T-shirt. Made especially for the guys working on the assembly line of the first-time ever Star Wars authenticated and licensed lightsaber replica made by Icons. Few of that one were made. Also shown is the concept art drawing for that T-shirt, designed by Daren Dochterman.

That is one of the first T-shirts made at Icons. You can find pics of Mike Moore and Steve Horch wearing them during photo sessions at Skywalker Ranch, during Icons prototyping period in 1995, when studying some pieces from Lucasfilm...very rare item (with first and never seen after Icons logo) and a piece of history :-)

Those are two Icons Collector Society T-shirts. They were sent to customers who subscribed to the ICS.

This is a gift from Mike & Nancy who received their Icons B9 robot........

Icons Concept Art Drawings

Here are some concept art drawings from Daren Dochterman and Tone for the "I Dream Of Jeannie" bottle....really vibrant colors, amazing work !!!

Here's a rare Icons Lost in Space Jupiter 2 original ink cutaway design schematic drawing master, detailing the amazing interior of the Spacecraft, as it was intended to be manufactured by the legendary and controversial Film & Television replica company.

This drawing was hand-rendered by Artist Tone Rodriguez in black ink on thick white Artboard, with corrections in white-out, over 21 years ago in 1999. This piece was not only utilized as a reference schematic for Licensing approval, Product Development and Fabrication, but also the master for a limited run of black and white copies, which were sent to Icons customers.

This is another concept art drawing made by Tone, for the Icons T2 Endo-rifle replica. That rifle was supposed to measure an impressive 33 inches long by 15 inches high, wearing a custom battle-worn paint finish. The Endo-rifle rests on a sculpted future war base of simulated scarred rock. 

Tone Rodriguez was discovered at Icons as a deliver driver. Once his extraordinary talents were seen, he became Icons Conceptual Design Artist for Product Development and Licensing. Tone went onto become a popular Comic Book Artist, the industry he still works in today.

Here are some concept drawings made by Artist Daren Dochterman, dated 1995, for the Icons Star Wars line.....

Icons Rocketman/Commando Cody Helmet Prototype

Rocketman, King of the Rocket Men comes from the classic heyday of the serial. It was made at the time that serials were starting to die out due to a combination of waning interest and the pitifully low budgets caused by Wartime shortages. And certainly, King of the Rocket Men is among one of Republic Pictures more routine. Rocketman was at least one of the few superheroes original to the serials, combining the then popular serial themes of the masked superhero - Batman (1943), The Phantom, Zorro etc - along with that of the flying ace hero - Ace Drummond (1936), The Masked Marvel (1943).

The origins of the Rocket Men date back to 1940 when artist Jon Small created a comic book character known as Bulletman. In 1949, Republic Pictures first introduced it's famous flying suit in King of the Rocket Men. It proved to be Republic's last top-notch serial production.

By the early fifties, science-fiction was becoming increasingly popular among matinee moviegoers. To answer the call and because Republic Pictures clearly decided that having expended the money to make the Rocketman costume that they would get the maximum usage out of it, they reused it in three subsequent serials : Radar Men from the Moon (1952), this serial offered a space age spin as well as a new character, dubbed Commando Cody. Radar Men utilized much of the stock flying footage seen in King of the Rocket Men, with a few new take-offs and airborne close ups thrown in.

Later that same year, Republic released two more adventures showcasing the well traveled rocket suit. As the serial era began to draw to a close, the Studio attempted to break into the low budget, juvenille-oriented television market. Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe was produced in twelve complete episodes without cliffhanger endings. Although it originally aired theatricaly, most remember seeing it during a 1955 T.V. run. After the first three Sky Marshal episodes were in the can, the Studio shifted gears and began filming the third and final flying suit serial, Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952). And of course, more recently, 42 years later, artist Dave Stevens breathed new life into the jet-powered hero with his character in Disney's Rocketeer (1991) - a film that had a larger budget than just about every serial ever made put together.

I was told that Mike Moore, Vice President of the Icons Fabrication & Design Group and one of Icons co-founders, had access to a "Hero" helmet used in filming and could therefore have a mold made off of it....which was rare to be able to do. This replica prototype is made in fiberglass with the addition of other materials (metal hinges, mouth grill, smoke lenses...). First time advertised.....I didn't know this one even existed until I saw it !!!

The Rocketman helmet at Icons in the conference / showroom, with James Latta, Jonathan Harris and Douglas Conway....

Icons Star Trek Replicas Prototypes

Icons in-house special effects team, the Fabrication & Design Group broke new ground in the collectible industry with its exquisite prototyping of Icons products and its supervising of the manufacture of each Icons limited edition.

Each Fab & Design artisan had an impressive list of film and television credits under his belt. As a division of Icons, the Fab & Design team has contributed props, set pieces and/or wardrobe to such popular science-fiction television shows as Star Trek : Voyager, Star Trek : Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5 and Third Rock From The Sun.

"We're very proud of our Fabrication & Design shop" exclaimed James Latta. Most especially of the Star Trek : Deep Space Nine cross over episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". Icons F&D built replica Tricorders, Communicators and Phasers for the episode as well as set pieces for a replica bridge including a Captain's chair, the full-size helm control and bridge chairs.

Paramount Pictures was so impressed with the quality of the replicas it contracted Icons to replicate new Star Trek artifacts for the History of the Future Museum at the Star Trek Experience attraction Las Vegas Hilton.

Icons R&D molded and mastered over 30 Star Trek prop replicas for the Star Trek Experience. That's where most of the Master Replicas and Roddenberry props came from (yes, Icons too...). They were R&D, reverse-engineered and molded at Icons in 1996 by Icons staff, using Icons materials and equipment on Icons dime.

The Master Replicas Star Trek TOS Communicator, Phaser and Tricorder and TOS Klingon pistol and STTNG Phaser (by HMS) were all R&D and mastered at Icons expense (private funding) in 1996 and 1997. Same Icons blood running through these prop replicas. Why ?...Because HMS is owned by one of Icons co-founders, Mike Moore. This has been a closely guarded secret for many years. As V.P. of manufacturing and a co-founder, Mike was in charge of making every Icons product from 1996 until the end of 1997, when Doug Conway ousted him :-(

Icons Batman Forever Sonar-Batcowl Prototype

Here is a 1:1 scale authentic replica of the original Sonar Batcowl worn by actor Val Kilmer in the feature film Batman Forever.

This extraordinary display piece was produced by Icons Authentic Replicas in 1997. It was intended to be sold in Warner Brothers Gallery Stores before Icons closed their doors forever. Icons also produced, in conjunction with Warner Bros Gallery's, 1:1 scale replicas of the Batman's Batarang and Robin's Redbird, which were sold out not long after release.

What is amazing about this piece, besides its striking appearance, is unlike foam or latex which dries out and eventually disintegrates, this Batcowl was cast directly from the original Bat-shop studio mould in fibreglass. It will never rot or decay !!

It was prototyped by one of Icons talented fabricators (Jeff White), who is now a Walt Disney Imagineer. The paint finish is awe-inspiring. It appears like it is an automotive metal flake custom paint job. Very illustrious and sealed with a lacquer finish that makes it look like it was painted yesterday. If I remember correctly, the paint was a kind of "Luminescent black".

This piece drew many compliments while it was on display at Icons legendary memorabilia replica conference room from 1997 to 2000. It has been in Jim Latta's private collection for over 5 years. It resides now in a private collection in London, United Kingdom.

Icons "The Ten Commandments" Tablets Prototype (1996)

Here is my most prized possession... 

The Prototype #1 of only 1 set made... 

Here's an astounding, rarely photographed or ever seen, prototype from the pioneer in Film and Television Studio Licensed prop and miniature 1:1 scale replicas, Icons Authentic Replicas...a set of authentic "Moses Tablets" replica molded directly off of the production-used originals seen in the classic Biblical Epic The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston (Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes, Omega Man, Soylent Green...) who portrayed Moses and Directed by legendary Hollywood mogul Cecil B. DeMille. 

This amazing display piece, consists of "2" first-generation cast replicas of the prop Tablets actually used in the film. Icons had only 24 hours to conduct the molding process of the originals, as the Tablets were enroute to Christie's Auction House in New York City. 

Access to the screen-used originals was provided by the Cecil B. DeMille Foundation to Icons R&D and Prototype Fabrication Department. 

After molding, the originals were express-shipped to Christie's where they sold in excess of $68,000.00 USD at auction, a world-record at the time. 

The replica castings were prepped and then painted by an independent custom paint & finish artist, who had been utilized for various Television projects by Paramount Pictures (the Licensor of The Ten Commandments), including working on various incarnations of the Star Trek TV franchise. The simulated stone-like paint finish on the original prop Tablets and the engraved "Pre-Canaanite" lettering (which preceded Hebrew) was meticulously replicated on the Icons prop replicas with fine-art results. This was done on all surface areas of the Prop Tablets. 

A massive, custom-made, display case was then fabricated for The Ten Commandments Tablet prop replicas, with custom-made Plexiglas mounts which gently hold the Tablets in place, in the museum-quality display case. Which has an over-sized custom wall-mount hanging bracket. 

The displays all-metal, over-sized plaque features both the Icons Authentic Replicas logo and Paramount Studios logo and reads "The Ten Commandments", "PROTOTYPE". This was a proposed Icons licensed replica display that sadly was never realized by the visionary company. 

In Icons 5 years in business, only "1" of these "dream replica displays" was ever produced. And only "1" set of Tablets were ever cast, prepped and finished at Icons. 

This is the actual, legendary prop replica display which was on exhibit in Icons memorabilia adorned conference room from 1996 to 2000.

The Tablets at Icons in the conference / showroom....