When buying a screen used how can you be totally sure it is Screen Used ?
obviously a COA is given to prove this but again how does that determin it's authenticity.
I'm thinking of buying a screen used item that i have come across but as im not able to view before i buy i am a little sceptical.
That's the trick is'nt it.
Most of my pieces I knew the seller or could examine them in person.
It's only Screen used if you can match it in a scene
Exactly. Screen used has become a popular term for 'original' or 'production made' ...doesn't actually mean used on screen I'm afraid.apollo said:
Screen Matching is the only way to confirm the item available is the one you see in use on the film.
CoA's are very nice, but your own research into the item is what matters the most
theres a guy in the uk selling an episode one screen used item on ebay - his description is "this was juggled by jaja binks"......quite how a cgi character juggled that specific prop is beyond me - more likely it was an item sat on a shelf in the background amonst 100 other bits of junk that you would struggle to see on film and one like it was cgi juggled.
screen used tends to be exaggerated sometimes tho - the only real way to be sure imo is buy from a reputable dealer - but you will pay the price for it
take the screen used aliens forced perspective eggs that run on ebay such alot - always seem to be listed on ebay.....but suspicious how so many of these alien eggs survived and not many other items from the movie did, and yet these small eggs were pulled from a skip where they would certainly have gone right to the bottom - not convinced they are genuine myself - in fact id go to say he has resin casted them.
look into it and do some digging, dont be afraid to ask questions - if its legit the seller will have no problem with you asking anything
3rd party coas imo dont mean alot, loa mean nothing imo too, if its backed up with studio documents then i have more faith in a real item - you get what you pay for.....always remember that - if its too good to be true it usually is
Last edited by who45; Oct 23, 2011 at 2:20 PM.
While I have no experience with screen used items, it seems silly to rely solely on a COA. If someone went to lengths to forge an item, forging a COA is nothing. As was mentioned, screen matching seems the most reliable method. If that's not possible, I personally would pass instead of gamble.
Actually i've kind of misled this thread and i do apologise about that
the item im interested in is actually an original & Authentic Stunt Film Prop that comes with a COA i totally mis-read the mail
I'm not sure how that changes things?
'stunt' items are also screen used movie props (or not!) and often have more chance of being screen matched due to the likelyhood of it being used more than a hero version and having telling scratches, dents, marks, weathering etc
ahhh well that makes me feel a little less stupidGuardian Devil said:
I have highlighted this quote because it bears directly this little story and I in no way diss who45's wise words of warning.. I purchased a couple of these eggs off ebay about 18 months ago and whilst I never met the seller in person I spent a good long while chatting to him by phone and he seemed very genuine and knowledgable. When the eggs turned up they seemed to be simple enough resin casts, painted black with a white powdery residue, they didn't look much like the Giger designed eggs as they have a folded rather than a dimply appearance to their surface. The opening or lips of the eggs have a gritty finish to their edges and the cast even has the remains of a seam. if I am honest they were fairly unimpressive to look at, though I cant imagine what I expected. I was probably skeptical but hadn't paid a lot for them so put them away in the loft and chalked it up to experience.who45 said:
Anyway, I was recently checking out Propstore's site and there it is, a very similar looking egg, so I dug out mine for comparison. Their pics are of a good quality so there's plenty of detail and though the propstore's egg is cast in a yellow resin, the surface detail is completely identical to mine, even down to the partial seam. Now I can not say for certain my eggs were not recast, but I would bet a months wages that they came from the same cast as the propstore's, the dimensions quoted are also bang on. I know that Steve at The Propstore would never market a prop that he was not able to verify, so at this point I am very hopeful that these eggs have indeed come from The Queens chamber miniature. Oh!, did I mention that Propstore's egg is up at £550.00, and blow me I have two of em. Needless to say that I have not returned my eggs to the loft but am proudly displaying them.
That guy was also offering tiles that supposedly came from the Alien v predator aztec chamber walls, they had a face hugger design on them that I was able to spot on the screen, they were about a tenner each and he said that he quite a few. Of course, having been unimpressed by the eggs I did not buy any. Doh!.
After all this, maybe they are not genuine, but the guy claimed to be in the film industry. He spoke to me length and very intelligently on camera work, lighting effects and frame composition. I must admit, I find it difficult to believe that this fella would have gone to that kind of trouble to rip me off for less than fifty quid, he also put his address and postcode on the exterior packaging.
Anyway, food for thought. All comments gratefully received.
Last edited by Aviationartist; Jun 25, 2012 at 1:44 PM. Reason: additional info
I don't believe those black 'Aliens' eggs sold on eBay were original. (i) they did not match any reference photos of eggs used on set and (ii) there was one sold every week for months, just too many to count.
Most often copies are pulled from the original mold and may have been on set but still would be difficult to determine if they were actually used on film. You have so many people on set too, things go missing all the time + those who recast.
They do match on screen dude. The propstore sale shows images of the chamber and you can make out certain details, honest, check it out. I probably should have mentioned that in my earlier post. But like has also been said, I cant deny the possibility that they are recasts.aliensarchive said:
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