Never feed them after midnight - Mogwai Restoration

[TomSpinaDesigns]

Hey all,

Updated the site this week with a pair of restoration projects. Both 1:1 Mogwai puppets used in the film Gremlins 2. These were built by Rick Baker's shop for the film and it was very cool to be able to work on them.

Each required relatively minor work (compared to some of our other projects!) but as always, rebuilding the missing areas in ways that blend in with the existing textures and aged colors is a challenge.

Daffy's hands were in rough shape and if you look in the one pic, we were sent some of the chunks that fell off his left hand... we incorporated as much as we could back in place. The client also requested the eyes be opened which required carefully removing the face and accessing the servos underneath.

And, as usual, we didn't want to go "too far" with either. A certain amount of wear and age really adds to the authenticity of the piece and we never want restoration to do away with that "screen used feel".

Please visit our Movie Prop Restoration page for more projects like these two.

Also, you can now follow us on twitter if you'd like to be kept informed about site updates (and get sneak peeks at upcoming projects).

Mogwai pics below.

best,
Tom

 

[Jedifyfe]

I am always amazed at your restorations. You have the talent to make it look like these props haven't aged at all without taking away from the original feel. I would love to see a documentary on how you do this!

Brad

 

[slave1pilot]

Poor poor Hoggle.


well done once again Tom

 

[obiwan2]

Tom, your talents are incredible, my friend!! :thumbsup

 

[MooCriket]

Great job:thumbsup

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Seamless restoration at its best. Very clean execution. True masters of the craft.

 

[Betamin]

You do great work, Tom! It has to be cool to work on pieces of movie history like that.

 

[LDR]

Nice job! Looks great.

(unlike Hoggle)

 

[LDR]

Just a quick question, with this type of restoration where latex etc has broken down over the years, will it again start to break down after restoration. Or will the restoration you do stop this?

 

[Apollo]

Awesome as always you Wizard of wonder!

 

[zorg]

if i ever needed work done your name would be top of the list :thumbsup

another great job tom

-z

 

[TomSpinaDesigns]

Thanks guys! Everyone loves a crazy mogwai!

Just a quick question, with this type of restoration where latex etc has broken down over the years, will it again start to break down after restoration. Or will the restoration you do stop this?

Without going into too much detail, for foam latex pieces like these, one of the most important things we do is take steps to strengthen any broken/exposed areas prior to any patching/resculpting. We also often (depending on client preferences) do what we can to slow the process in general for the overall piece (such as adding sealer as an additional moisture barrier, added surface strength and UV protection). There's no definitive answer because every piece is so different, and there is always the chance that a piece will need to be revisited, but we work hard to ensure these bits of history last as long as possible.

Often, the pieces when they get to us are as dry as they'll ever be, with skins that have already shrunken as much as they will (making it less likely that further cracks will appear after our work is done).

Further, old foam gets extremely dry and fragile, making it prone to breakage. A good percentage of the breakdown seen on pieces we work on is physical damage from storage, handling or improper support, rather than straight deterioration. While deterioration alone can cause serious cracks and more... it's often the fragile state of the deteriorated foam that is the biggest concern.

The good thing is, the owners are always aware of how fragile these pieces are and with proper display and care after our work is done, these pieces of history have a much better chance at retaining their "beauty" for years to come.

Hope that helps answer your Q!

best,
Tom

 

[howlingwind13]

Incredible as always Tom.

mike

 

[jdebord]

Fantastic!

Jason

 

[LDR]

Thanks Tom, superb answer.

Its great to see these pieces of history being looked after and brought back to their former glory.

Shocking to think how many other pieces from classic films have been lost or destroyed.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Jet Beetle]

Wonderful job Tom!!

That Daffy looks like he'd be a handful = there's much craziness in his eyes!

 

[Ghost Host]

Nice work Tom.

 

[philippes]

Fantastic!

Some day soon, I'm going to hire you to restore my Predator 2 hero holster leg.

Phil

 

[mbmcfarland]

Awesome work as usual, Tom!

I know of somebody who is working on a Gremlins 2 Mohawk restoration right now as well. I wonder, why so many gremlins all of the sudden?

Mike

 

[Guardian Devil]

I wonder, why so many gremlins all of the sudden?

Somebody correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think Propstore recently acquired a whole bunch of stuff from Rick Baker - which meant a whole bunch of mogwai of various sizes, designs & functions aswell as quite a few American werewolf in London bits and pieces too - among other things