Indiana Jones Idol pic

[Tim Allen]

Not sure if this is a new picture or not but a buddy of mine had access to some props and took a shot of this, I had never seen it before so thought this might help some of you Indy guru's

Disregard if this is old

 

[Ghost Host]

Access to where? LFL? private collection?

 

[Tim Allen]

Apparently he may not have taken it now, his buddy did and sent him the photo. Ill get in contact with him asap and find out more info on this item. The only thing I know, is that it was 'claimed' to be one and i quote " of the original 6 fertility dolls made to test the coating for the final film use doll, This is the gold leaf version."

Ill try and get more info as I should have before I posted the picture anyways so I apologize.

 

[ob1al]

Well, it's not a screen used idol unless it's one of the reworked / resculpted ones we know about with the downturned mouth. But the finish looks very strange, unlike plating and more like gold leaf.

What is the source?

 

[Tim Allen]

So basically my friends buddy in the UK has possession of this. Apparently it was a pre-production idol used for testing out how they wanted the gold flake to look, it has subtle differences from the original that was used in the movie but this was all sent in a text so he will update me more word to mouth when he gets a chance to call me.

Till then



-Tim

 

[HeroWorship]

Thought the down-turned mouth was a feature of later variation of idol re-sculpts?

 

[Tim Allen]

Ok will do, Ill get every tid bit of info that I can.

 

[ob1al]

The downturned mouth idol was never preproduction nor seen in the film, afaik, it was a result of the revamp many years later and the basis of the prop featured in the 'Star Wars to Indiana Jones' book, and many fan recasts.

Thanks for sharing the pic Tim, I look forward to any more info your friend can provide. Could be he was sold this with a huge slice of misinformation - it wouldn't be the first time a prop has been misrepresented!

 

[Jedifyfe]

As far as we know the frown idol or "Mr. Hata" idol is a resculpt of the idol given to Mr. Hata for the Japenese Tour back in the 1990's. Your friend was told wrong info. There is no evidence that a Mr. Hata idol ever existed prior to the Japanese Exhibition.

For an interesting read. Check http://www.therpf.com/f45/original-golden-idol-raiders-here-43779/ out

 

[Laser Brain]

I've met quite a few people in the industry over here who claim to have Idols originating from a screen used example, because they've compared it to the photo in 'Star Wars to Indiana Jones' These (or very similar ones) have been passed around between prop makers for years over here. I've never heard of it being described as a pre-pro example though.

 

[Tim Allen]

This is all news to me, I know little to nothing about these but when
I speak with him I'll bounce what info you guys gave me back to him.

Thanks

-Tim

 

[Tim Allen]

Got in touch with the guy that owns the Idol

Here is what he said and I quote;


"I was told that this was one of the pre-production idols. It is covered in gold leaf. Apparently there were 6 original pre production dolls made which were finished in different materials. The final one was steinite, which is now a banned material. I have spoken to a few old boys that I know that worked on Indy and they remember the dolls being made and one in particular was working with the guy that cast them (he also made yodas hut in star wars).

Don't know if this information is useful. I am waiting for a letter from one of the old guys that explains the story of it's history (especially as it is in an old style gold leaf).

I tend not to listen to people that haven't worked on the set and sit reading books and think they are experts (no offence to the guys who gave you information) but I hear all the time from people that think things are not real, like all the kick ass stuff I have. Peas told that the piece were not real, I was there on the sets and got the pieces myself lol. "

 

[Jedifyfe]

Well it seems that he is in denial. Sorry but since this type of idol is on Ebay all the time and since it was NEVER seen on screen, I have to call BS on his story. I am sure it is true that he got it from a person that works in the industry but he was sold a bill of goods that is just not true or can be substantiated.

 

[Tim Allen]

Thats kinda what I was thinking when he sent me that message. I asked him to take some more pictures of the idol if he could but I do not know the guy well enough to stick my nose out and call BS on his info, but we'll see how this plays out.

-Tim

 

[Wolfie]

he's not claiming screen used right? just "prepro"... but still. I'm not really buying it either.

 

[Tim Allen]

Yeah, he wad told it was pre-pro NOT screen used which is pretty obvious.

As more info comes in I'll pass it along to you guys.

 

[kurtyboy]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but is it missing back of the head part?

 

[Tim Allen]

I don't think so, or at least he didn't say. I asked if he could snap some more shots of the idol so we'll see what comes up but it seems the consensus is that it's the "mr hata" idol.

 

[Tim Allen]

Here is a bit more of our conversation taken out of context. I think he realizes that the truth in the prop world is pretty vague when it comes to the true whereabouts of some of these props, as we all know the "experts" at LFL don't actually really know what was screen used and what wasn't, in some cases, in the archives.

........................ In most of the Lucasfilms books it says that there were only a few R2D2's made but a friend of mine (that is one of the best Darth Vader Experts) and is good friends with both myself and Brian Muir, was allowed to go to Lucas' Ranch and take photos (a very rare occurence), when he got there he said he walked along corridor after corridor and at the end of one of them was a pile of R2D2's just laying on top of each other (with photos to show). When he enquired about them, the guy said to him that the Lucas Archive don't actually know what was real and what isn't and just had a lot of stuff stored and because it was the Lucas Archive it was believed to be real.

That is the problem with the whole propS world, unless you actually take something from the set then it is hard to authenticate the originality of it, especially from Lucasfilm productions as people dont know what is real or not and just ask someone from the archives and they agree (as they dont know either). It is a shame really but even the big prop dealers are doing it and it makes me mad. That is why I am getting out of it. I had a nice long chat with Brian and lindsey Muir about the prop business and Brian was saying how many times he see's an "Original Darth Vader Helmet" come up for sale when it clearly isnt. Seeing as he sculpted it and has a certain way of knowing if it is real or not, he should know. Even the original Vader helmet in the LF Archives isnt real.

Just a very dodgy game ...........

 

[ob1al]

It's easy to say something is not screen used or production used. Equally, it's easy and lucrative to say something is.

The owness of truth is on the shoulder of the owner, or seller, to prove their claims and the provenance of the piece.