I think this might be legitimate? If it is, it reveals a few big things.
Just base observations on if it's real... It looks old— and to my knowledge, the conical section of the centrifuge holder (between the disks) is a rather new edition to replicas, with some folks doubting it at first, same with the bottom of the can being the actual cut off bottom of the can (which I haven't seen anyone actually try to do) so I don't think this is an early replica. And if it is, it's spot on to the prop we see in photos from Universal and the backlot archives. Plus, the can is the right era/design. The only difference I see is the odd segment that's jutting out from the top disk... but I actually think whoever owned this prop may have put this on upside down, and used a grub screw to keep it in place. You can see this little pin on the top, and then a hole on the top of the conical section of the lower pin that seems to line up with it— but it really is hard to tell without a more head on view between the disks.
A few revelations from this— One is that the disks that hold the tubes are two separate pieces— something I sort of suspected while looking at up close photos where you can see a bit of a lip where the conical section of the bottom disk meets the central tube.
We also get a look at more of the labels! Which is always exciting!
And then a couple things it may reveal, but it's hard to tell. First, it looks like the base that the tubes slot into might be free spinning?
A lot of replicas have the base secured into a visible open track on the central mechanism with a grub screw so that you can twist the base, and not just the disks, to make it pop up. This also allows all the holes to always be aligned. In the movie, you can see Dodgson spinning the base to pop it up (and later it's much harder to tell with Nedry) BUT, Dodgson also has his thumb pressed against the top disks, so it's hard to tell. But, if the base holes aren't lining up with the holes on the top discs, it might mean that the base is not connected to the central mechanism, and does not actually trigger it to pop up. But whoever owned this also assembled the top disks wrong, who knows!
Excuse this tinfoil hat talk, it's 3AM and I just really wanted to dive into this before bed.
And finally, one of the most interesting things about this that I did not see coming is that the can might have a spun insert for the top of the cryo to screw into.
I've gutted a fair share of Barbasol cans, and maybe it's time to crack open my own vintage can to see if the inside matches this, but I don't think they usually look like this? This looks like a spun metal part inserted into the can, and that central hole looks like it may be threaded. It's hard to tell how far inside the can it actually is, but it may have been a failed (or successful) attempt to make the cryocan actually screw into the Barbasol can. Maybe this revelation is not at all new to people, but that would explain the threading on the very top of the central tube. I thought Dodgson and Nedry were just miming unscrewing it, but maybe there was an actual threaded aspect to at least one of these props. Or, again, it could be a failed attempt, and that threading just a vestigial part of the prop.
This is way longer than I expected. Forgive me, I love it when any of my favorite props suddenly go up for auction and we get brand new photos.
Just base observations on if it's real... It looks old— and to my knowledge, the conical section of the centrifuge holder (between the disks) is a rather new edition to replicas, with some folks doubting it at first, same with the bottom of the can being the actual cut off bottom of the can (which I haven't seen anyone actually try to do) so I don't think this is an early replica. And if it is, it's spot on to the prop we see in photos from Universal and the backlot archives. Plus, the can is the right era/design. The only difference I see is the odd segment that's jutting out from the top disk... but I actually think whoever owned this prop may have put this on upside down, and used a grub screw to keep it in place. You can see this little pin on the top, and then a hole on the top of the conical section of the lower pin that seems to line up with it— but it really is hard to tell without a more head on view between the disks.
A few revelations from this— One is that the disks that hold the tubes are two separate pieces— something I sort of suspected while looking at up close photos where you can see a bit of a lip where the conical section of the bottom disk meets the central tube.
We also get a look at more of the labels! Which is always exciting!
And then a couple things it may reveal, but it's hard to tell. First, it looks like the base that the tubes slot into might be free spinning?
A lot of replicas have the base secured into a visible open track on the central mechanism with a grub screw so that you can twist the base, and not just the disks, to make it pop up. This also allows all the holes to always be aligned. In the movie, you can see Dodgson spinning the base to pop it up (and later it's much harder to tell with Nedry) BUT, Dodgson also has his thumb pressed against the top disks, so it's hard to tell. But, if the base holes aren't lining up with the holes on the top discs, it might mean that the base is not connected to the central mechanism, and does not actually trigger it to pop up. But whoever owned this also assembled the top disks wrong, who knows!
Excuse this tinfoil hat talk, it's 3AM and I just really wanted to dive into this before bed.
And finally, one of the most interesting things about this that I did not see coming is that the can might have a spun insert for the top of the cryo to screw into.
I've gutted a fair share of Barbasol cans, and maybe it's time to crack open my own vintage can to see if the inside matches this, but I don't think they usually look like this? This looks like a spun metal part inserted into the can, and that central hole looks like it may be threaded. It's hard to tell how far inside the can it actually is, but it may have been a failed (or successful) attempt to make the cryocan actually screw into the Barbasol can. Maybe this revelation is not at all new to people, but that would explain the threading on the very top of the central tube. I thought Dodgson and Nedry were just miming unscrewing it, but maybe there was an actual threaded aspect to at least one of these props. Or, again, it could be a failed attempt, and that threading just a vestigial part of the prop.
This is way longer than I expected. Forgive me, I love it when any of my favorite props suddenly go up for auction and we get brand new photos.
