Jack's Back! Restoring another piece of American Werewolf history

Hey all,

After our work helping preserve the original lifesized wolf costume from An American Werewolf in London, collector and friend Bob Burns knew who to call when another prop from the film, the puppet of the character Jack, also needed some care.

This puppet was used in the classic film and gifted to Bob by Rick Baker. Time however, was not kind to Jack, and the fragile skin of the puppet suffered some pretty extreme damage over the years.

When Bob asked for our help, Brandon and the crew at Propstore's LA branch were kind enough to pick the puppet up, pack it unbelievably well and ship it to our studio (thanks guys!). Over time, the TSD crew would work together to bring a bit of life back to this incredible piece of film history. Patrick Louie performed most of the cleaning, Mike Thomas did much of the conservation and patching and I handled rebuilding the larger missing areas and all paint work.


In addition to our work restoring the face, we created a custom body insert to support the puppet (and specifically, hold the head and neck in place, minimizing stress to the remaining foam elements).

I have to thank Bob and Kathy Burns for trusting us with this piece, and Rick Baker for his support. When we were done, I'm proud to say both Rick and Bob were pleased. Rick noted, "Jack's back!" and Bob said, ""Good Lord, Jack looks incredible! You guys are geniuses!" Thanks to you both and to everyone reading!

For the full story and lots of in depth details and photos, please visit our site where we've got a whole gallery dedicated to the project: An American Werewolf in London - Restoration of the original Jack Movie Prop Puppet for Bob Burns

Folks who follow our Facebook page have seen sneak peeks at this (and other projects) so please visit there and click "like" if you want to see more like this! Tom Spina Designs | Facebook

Best,
Tom


1981



Arrival at TSD studio



Beginning to fill in the blanks after Pat and Mike's preservation work



Jack's Back!

Oh man, that's cool.

Nick

Amazing work you guys do.
Larry

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!!!

That is phenominal!

I would LOVE to see a video of the work you did. I seriously hope you have video documented all these amazing saves! We need to get you your own TV show "Saving Movie History"

Damn Tom that is so friggin cool!!!!

I can't tell did the little dangly piece of flesh survive?

Thanks so much guys.

Apollo, if you mean the little waddl-y bit on his neck, I believe that's only on the first stage (hospital visit) makeup on Dunne. I'm fairly certain by this stage, the dangly bit wasn't a part of it any longer.

Tom

On of my fav movies! This is amazing! Impeccable work!

Once again, simply stunning work! You guys ARE amazing! Easily one of my favorite movies of all time.

Outstanding work, and a great piece of movie history.

To quote Nigel Lythgoe from So You Think You Can Dance.

"Okay then...SHUT UP! SHUT UP! ........I'LL STAB YOU IN THE EYE!"

Mind you he's saying this while in total amazement of what he's just seen.
Kind of like how I feel now....

David

It is so cool to see that someone cares about a old prop from such a great movie. I remember how much I thought it was cool when I was a child growing up on Monster Magazine and seeing the movie for the first time. Bravo sir bravo!!! Looks great!!

Yeah that's it!

Again awesome Bro we are all proud of ya!

TomSpinaDesigns said:

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Apollo, if you mean the little waddl-y bit on his neck, I believe that's only on the first stage (hospital visit) makeup on Dunne. I'm fairly certain by this stage, the dangly bit wasn't a part of it any longer.

Tom

He looks like ****!
Great job dude

Robert

DAVIDYR1 said:

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To quote Nigel Lythgoe from So You Think You Can Dance.

"Okay then...SHUT UP! SHUT UP! ........I'LL STAB YOU IN THE EYE!"

Mind you he's saying this while in total amazement of what he's just seen.
Kind of like how I feel now....

David

Coming from anyone else, "I'll STAB YOU IN THE EYE!" could be offensive... yet you pull it off, David!

Thanks so much to all! This was a true labor of love for all of us and it's great to see folks dig what we were able to do.

best,
Tom

Dynamite work Tom!!!!

Question:

What needs to be done so that the restored piece stays in the condition that you restored it to? Besides keeping it out of sunlight or damp conditions is there regular maintenance that needs to be performed?

The work that you do, both on this post and after reviewing your Facebook group and standard website, are simply amazing. Thank you for your passion to keep these pieces of movie history from disappearing forever!

Thanks all... thanks Terry as well for recognizing our passion. We're glad that shows through in the work

mtpalin, generally speaking, proper care is key. No sunlight, no handling and wherever possible, monitored humidity is ideal. We do take steps to fortify the existing foam and secure it, but it remains a fragile work of art and has to be handled delicately (as all props should!)

best,
Tom

I've been waiting to see this one for a few months now, and it turned out every bit as beautiful as I imagined. Mr. Spina, you do an amazing job at matching the sculpture style of any artist whose work you have to extend or completely rebuild. In fact, your whole team did an otherworldly job on this piece, especially considering its overall condition.

Now that I know items "this far gone" are still salvageable by your shop's standards, have you and your crew ever considered tackling Bob's "Donut Head" T-1000 puppet? That thing's shattered foam skin makes me wanna cry!

Cheers,

Ryan

The Death Curse said:

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I've been waiting to see this one for a few months now, and it turned out every bit as beautiful as I imagined. Mr. Spina, you do an amazing job at matching the sculpture style of any artist whose work you have to extend or completely rebuild. In fact, your whole team did an otherworldly job on this piece, especially considering its overall condition.

Now that I know items "this far gone" are still salvageable by your shop's standards, have you and your crew ever considered tackling Bob's "Donut Head" T-1000 puppet? That thing's shattered foam skin makes me wanna cry!

Cheers,

Ryan

Thanks Ryan! It's nice that folks appreciate that "chameleon" style that you have to assume when working on a project like this. We work VERY hard at trying to match the vibe of the original sculptor's work whenever we do a restoration like this.

And, yes, the Donut could use some care, though that piece has its own challenges. That said, we do plan on working on some more pieces for Bob some day, so one never knows!

best,
Tom

amazing, Fantastic work A true classic

I really do wish there were video diaries of this, i'd watch a show of this caliber every day. it is an art form having to match up pigmentation and sculpture.

If only all prop collectors cared as much for the condition of their items. Just beautiful work, from a classic film.

Thank you so much, guys! We're so passionate about these props and it's just wonderful to be able to help keep them around a bit longer for folks to enjoy!

Tom