Screen-used props you've passed up, then regretted later?

There have been two Sentry Blasters from "The Black Hole" up for auction that I've seen. The first was shortly after I got married and we found out that we had brought back a, uh, "souvenir" from our Honeymoon at DisneyWorld so there was no chance of my being able/allowed to bid. Finances and justifying the purchase to my other half prevented my bidding on the second one as well.
 
Ugh ... I'm thinking about two pieces and realizing they're both from the same film: The [deservedly] reviled Wild Wild West. (Yes, I know ... but the production design was pretty cool.)

The first was Dr.Loveless' wheelchair:

View attachment 92101

When production wrapped, the studio did a charity auction and I recall the prop went for all of $3,500! (It cost something like $85K to make.) I was semi-unemployed at the time so it just wasn't an option. An RPF member in Canada has it today.

The other item was a costume worn by a member of Loveless' entourage:

View attachment 92102

Regretted passing on one that closed on eBay for all of $100 but it turned out the seller, Backlot Props, had more (there were maybe nine total). After weeks of eMails with no reply and calls gone unanswered, I reached someone who said they'd get back to me with a price. Another few weeks passed before they responded with a quote of $5,000; I said I didn't want them all and he said that was EACH! Chose instead to wait for another auction, though invariably learned of them only after they had ended, again almost always in the $100 range. Ultimately purchased from a re-organized Backlot for a bit more, though considerably less than the interim owner had asked.

View attachment 92103 View attachment 92104 View attachment 92108

For the heck of it, I also picked-up one of Loveless' private militia uniforms (there are probably a half dozen of these on eBay on any given day):

View attachment 92105 View attachment 92106 View attachment 92107
 
Last edited:
In the late 90's I had the money, but passed on buying, a fiberglass body of the stunt Batmobile (Keaton-style) used in the official Batman Stunt show at the Six Flags Amusement Park. These were stunt-thick fiberglass, made to take a beating. -Sigh-
 
In the late 90's I had the money, but passed on buying, a fiberglass body of the stunt Batmobile (Keaton-style) used in the official Batman Stunt show at the Six Flags Amusement Park. These were stunt-thick fiberglass, made to take a beating. -Sigh-
I remember seeing a similar one of those at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (The short-lived mashup of Geauga Lake and Sea World Ohio). There was a driver hidden inside the hood, lying down, and Batman pretended to drive from the cockpit.
 
For me It was a screen used ape soldier rifle and back ground masks from the first Planet of the apes movie. I did snag two screen used make up appliances that I still have, and a Hawkman helmet from Flash Gordon, but to this day I regret not getting that gorilla mask, especially as the dealer only wanted £25 for it back in the early 1980's.

Rats. :(
 
A WW2 re-enactor supply house called At The Front sold uniforms, field gear and plastic weapons from "Saving Private Ryan" at downright ridiculously cheat prices, even then. I bought some of the stuff but I really wish I'd bought an awful lot more. It was all so cheap, people were buying the stuff and modifying it to use in re-enactments.

I've also had the chance to buy, but turned down:
*Complete Imperial soldier uniform from the crew of War Rocket Ajax from "Falsh Gordon"
*"Total recall" federal guard helmet for just $40 (I still wonder why I didn't snatch that up)
*"Planet of the Apes" rifle housing
*"Band of Brothers" complete T-5 parachute
*"Space Cowboys" space shuttle liftoff-entry suit (I passed because I thought at the time it was probably stolen from the production, now I wonder if it was really from the movie at all)
*"Memphis Belle" (1990 movie) screen-used A-2 jacket
*ROTJ Stormtrooper armor pieces, found by a friend of mine while picking through the California 'Endor' filming site, confirmed by three other friends of mine that saw as he stumbled across them all in one spot
*Apollo space suit from the TV series, "Space"
*"The Story of GI Joe" Burgess Meredith's 'Ernie Pyle' field jacket. It was NOT cheap but man I regret not biting the bullet on that
*BUT MOST OF ALL: "Aliens" screen-used pulse rifle complete metal housing, only missing the shotgun and Tommy gun. I missed that one because the guy wanted a small fortune and I didn't have the money but man do I wish I'd been able to buy that...
 
My god there's so many items from Battlestar I missed but off the top of my head...
-Tyrol Orange Decksuit
-Gaeta Dogtags
-Apollo Flightsuit

And so many more things..... Oh well I'm still looking for pretty much anything Battlestar if any collectors are reading this and fancy selling!
 
the prop store was at c5 and was suppose to have had a screen used scout helmet for sale. i was going to try and buy it, but they guy was reluctant to negotiate the price with me... i should have bought it anyway. kicking myself over it.
 
Back
Top