Opinions wanted: The best 1:1 T2 Endoskull?

blaynescott

blaynescott

New Member
Hi everyone,

A friend mentioned that I should join this community forum, and the content here is fantastic. Tons of talented, knowledgeable people all around.


I'm looking for information/suggestions on what 1:1 scale TERMINATOR 2 Endoskeleton skull is the best to source out/purchase.

I can't convince myself to spent 1/3 of a years salary on a full sized Endo, but I would love to own the skull. It's an iconic image from my childhood that I can't get enough of. :)

I know there's been a few different producers of these skulls, and some appear to have different sculpts (?).

Suggestions and opinions are welcome!

Thanks everyone,
-Blayne

Custom Toys & Action Figures
Online Portfolio of Blayne Scott | Fashion, Art, Music & Toys |
 
I'd be interested in hearing what the T2 experts have to say on this as well.

I know there seem to be many slight variations of the skulls out there.

Has anyone ever done a comprehensive review of all of them side by side?
 
darthwhitey said:
I'd be interested in hearing what the T2 experts have to say on this as well.

I know there seem to be many slight variations of the skulls out there.

Has anyone ever done a comprehensive review of all of them side by side?
Click to expand...

I do not have all of them. I am not an expert. I will soon have a majority of them. I plan to take a group photo of the 13 (soon 14) I have.

This person would be safe to ask: Lars "DVDBirger" Ramstad's Terminator collection

I do not have the Timeless Collectibles versions. I do have all the 1:2 scales, the 1:4 one as well. My personal favorite is ICONS. I have the "Beagle Bill" version.
 
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Icons then Sideshow.

Icons was more accurate but its harder to find these days and costs more money.

Thats what Ive gathered from RPF forums ;)
 
For me the Sideshow Version is the best! I'm not saying it IS or IS NOT as accurate as any other version but I think it as the best pose with the head angled slightly downward.

You can also take the chip out which is a bit of a gimmick but I like it!
The eyes also die faint when switched off, another nice touch in my opinion.

4338977524_bb16239641_z.jpg


4339003406_b31f1c8ea0_z.jpg


4339000158_770c2eac3a_z.jpg


4338983158_beeb212d8a_z.jpg


The Combat version is the best (so I think) but the clean version is the most sought after and is very hard to come by now. I have seen quite a few badly finished Combat Editions so if you do get to buy one try to get a good look at it first. For the money I would get the Combat over the Clean.
 
Icons/Timeless Endoskull is the classiest one to get. It has that "museum" feeling to it, and it's rarest of all officially licensed endoskulls!
Comparing it to other endoskulls, it has the best teeth, and also, eyes are closer to what we see on screen (even tho, not entirely screen accurate!)
It looks like this:
IMG_0381klein.jpg

Nic_icon_Scull1.jpg


HCG/XFX/Toynami Endoskull would be closest one to what we see on screen! Teeth are hit/miss with this one (I've seen some really bad teeth, and some quite decent).
This Endoskull comes in two "forms" Clean and Battle Damaged. Battle Damaged is considered to be a bit more rare/harder to get.
There are also two versions of this Endoskull. First one had simpler nameplate (T2 & Terminator 2 Judgment Day logo) and sound feature (yeah, these skulls play sound when button is pushed) was T2 War inspired theme. (some atmospheric music, and sounds of plasma rifle firing). When button is pushed, music plays and eyes light up for about 10 sec.
v2 of skull, is a bit "updated"..Basically, it's the same skull, with blue LEDs installed in base, nameplate changed a bit, and sound feature is playing actual T2 movie theme. When button is pushed, music plays, and eyes and base light up and for about 30 sec.
This is how v1 looks like:
6162857.jpg


v2:
SOV0006.jpg


Sideshow Endoskull is the only licensed skull that isn't directly pulled from any molded screen used skulls, but actually resculpted and reworked at Stan Winston studio!
It is considered to be idealized representation of the Endoskull, and not direct replica!
Some parts that are changed include CPU port (that is much larger then on any other replica, and screen used pieces),oversized and quite ugly CPU, teeth (of higher quality then HCG/XFX/Toynami, but still, lower teeth are ridiculously long).
This is most favored/preferred skull of all, because it's easiest to get, and it has really nice presentation!
It also comes in Clean version (discontinued, and quite rare, hard to come by) and Battle Damaged version (open run, still in production, and easy to get).
This is how it looks:
t3.jpg

t2endoskull02tk0.jpg


Few comparison shots....
ICONS on left, Sideshow on right:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2682943239_75b3cc9500_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/2682951729_c67df09773_o.jpg

Sideshow on the left, HCG on right:
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m253/MKUltra_01/Copy1ofIMG_0375_edited.jpg


Price-wise, some rough estimate would go like this:
Icons/Timeless go for $1000+ (sometimes a lot more) when one actually shows up
HCG/XFX/Toynami go for $450-$650
Sideshow Clean go for $900-$1000+ depends on your luck..it can be found cheaper, but it usually goes for a lot more!
Sideshow Battle Damaged go for $480+



Hope this helps.....if you have any more questions, feel free to ask ;)
 
That was an amazingly helpful post! Thanks!!

I'm curious if anyone's gone to a dental clinic and had a new set of teeth comissioned for their Endo props. Those super long teeth are the only detracting feature from the idealized Sideshow endoskull.

Also: Does anyone know which model the people at:

Character Dynamics, Ltd.

Used to create their animatronic Endoskull? From the wording on their website, they're made it themselves - it it looks closer to the Sideshow version than anything, but hollowed out/pistons/servos added.
 
No problem ;)

Friend of mine replaced teeth on his Toynami/HCG endoskull with dental acrylic teeth, and it looks much much better, however it's a really hard custom, and I don't think it possible to pull off without damaging (scratching) chrome at least a bit.
If you try to replace SS versions teeth, I think that would leave the skull with the gap between teeth, I haven't seen anybody do this type of custom on it.


The animatronic Endoskull you asked isn't SideShow for sure, it might seem like it, because head, in the picture, is in the same position (at the same angle) as SideShow bust on most pictures, however CPU post is the first giveaway, it's proper size, not oversized, so that means it can't be SS.

Judging by the teeth, it's HCG/Toynami/XFX endoskull..or skull from Lucas Francis Endoskeleton kit (same molds as HCG/Toynami/XFX)..These have specifically positioned teeth that match the look of the skull in that picture!
 
M1/Japan Endoskull kit, original and unbuilt:

In case anyone's interested, I have pics up on Flickr of the M1/Japan Endoskull kit here:

Terminator EndoSkull Endo Skull 1:1 scale vinyl & metal model kit; 1991 M1 Japan - A Holy Grail Endo kit! - a set on Flickr

As has been mentioned previously, the teeth seem to be a big part of making or breaking an Endoskull. The M1/Japan kit has molded-in choppers, and I am pretty dang sure that I would never be able to paint and finish them to look 1/2 as good as nice set of acrylic pearly whites. If - a big if - the kit get's built I'll cut the vinyl teeth out and replace with dental-quality acrylics --- and not tooo long on the bottom ones, either!

There's also pics of a pretty well done knock-off (likely of the M1 kit!) that I bought before getting the M1/Japan kit. It has the LEDs for the eyes, which the M1 kit did not come with - according to the instruction sheet, you could buy it as an option.

Neither of these kits are for sale..... :cool.

hope you enjoy them,

wolff
 
Does anyone know the production numbers for the endoskulls like how many they made for the hcg versions? like version 1 and the updated new version 2 endoskulls?

Thanks
 
Bringing this thread back, as the topic came up in my own build thread. I'm confused as to why some people seem to think the Icons skull is more accurate? to my eye, the shape is way off, and a bit of digging on google seems to confirm that

"This was the first Endoskull replica to be marketed.
Unlike other mass-production replicas from other manufacturers that followed, the Icons Endoskull was finished one by one. The chrome plating quality is one of the best.
The drawback is the shape of the skull; since it wasn’t based off of a prop mold but molded from scratch, the shape is somewhat unnatural. Also, the eyes are made of red resin and not translucent, so it doesn’t look cool when the eyes are not glowing. As the M1 kit designer himself has mentioned, the inner mechanics on the side of the skull were copied from the M1 kit without consent.But Icons does deserve the credit for being the first one to market a life-size skull that maniacs worldwide had longed for.
I received a B-grade model from a Japanese collector that didn’t have the chrome finish, but I was amazed at the high level of detail."

From - http://t-800.jp/web/en/collection/11-scale-t800-endoskull-icons
 
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PBraddock said:
Bringing this thread back, as the topic came up in my own build thread. I'm confused as to why some people seem to think the Icons skull is more accurate? to my eye, the shape is way off, and a bit of digging on google seems to confirm that

"This was the first Endoskull replica to be marketed.
Unlike other mass-production replicas from other manufacturers that followed, the Icons Endoskull was finished one by one. The chrome plating quality is one of the best.
The drawback is the shape of the skull; since it wasn’t based off of a prop mold but molded from scratch, the shape is somewhat unnatural. Also, the eyes are made of red resin and not translucent, so it doesn’t look cool when the eyes are not glowing. As the M1 kit designer himself has mentioned, the inner mechanics on the side of the skull were copied from the M1 kit without consent.But Icons does deserve the credit for being the first one to market a life-size skull that maniacs worldwide had longed for.
I received a B-grade model from a Japanese collector that didn’t have the chrome finish, but I was amazed at the high level of detail."

From - http://t-800.jp/web/en/collection/11-scale-t800-endoskull-icons
Click to expand...

The Icons head is known to have a "squashed" look to it; the skull is closer to circular in shape (viewing head-on), and less oblong. This was due to a casting method deficiency I read about or was told about that resulted in the vertically "squashed" head.

My personal Terminator skull is a genuine (not Asian re-cast) M-1, built by me, filled with resin, and plated by ArtCraft. If you're not aware of who they are (were?), do some homework! :D

The M-1 is about 80%-90% full scale.
 
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I'm pretty sure I have a picture of yours saved in my ref folder!

PHArchivist said:
The Icons head is known to have a "squashed" look to it; the skull is closer to circular in shape (viewing head-on), and less oblong. This was due to a casting method deficiency I read about or was told about that resulted in the vertically "squashed" head.

My personal Terminator skull is a genuine (not Asian re-cast) M-1, built by me, filled with resin, and plated by ArtCraft If you're not aware of who they are [were?]), do some homework! :D

The M-1 is about 80%-90% full scale.
Click to expand...
 
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