And what body part did they sell to pay for it? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blake-039...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 :eek
Oh no! This is going to open the proverbial can. lol Finally sold eh?. Note the bit about the documentation - "All paper work comes with it to prove it's history(see last picture)" Um what last picture.
I think the real question is - "And what part of their brain did they leave behind when they decided to buy it?" :facepalm This is NOT the original screen-used large Liberator model. At best, this is a very-well-made REPLICA, built by a well-known industry professional that MAY have a very small amount of the original studio model incorporated into it. If you were given the front deflector off the original large USS Enterprise filming model, and you built your own Enterprise to the same size to go "behind" the original piece you had, would "your" Enterprise be the "original"? No, and this is what's happened here. Don't get me wrong, it IS a superb model, but as a REPLICA it's worth about a tenth of what its new owner paid for it. Oops! :$
That's pretty much the consensus position, as I understand it. I'd love to have more stuff by him; he's one of my heroes, but isn't it enough just to tout the model as built by him? That's a marketable piece of provenance in itself - people do trade in his models. Le sigh!
For those still in doubt about what got sold on ebay recently, here is something to ponder, a couple of photo's of Martin Bower supposedly restoring 'the liberator' whilst 'The Liberator' is still on the bench behind it! The original screen used 3' Liberator is still safely with Mat Irvine. An extremely nice replica (with possibly incorporated a couple of small screen used parts) has been sold, or maybe not, on ebay recently.
