nstevic01
Well-Known Member
I have always loved Twister, it was one of those guilty pleasure movies. I can literally watch it over and over and never get tired of it. I'm sure I'm in the minority with this, but hey, we all have that movie. That being said, we were walking through Universal Studios a couple of weeks ago and visited the new prop store they have there. Every time we go in, they have a few things here and there from closed rides, but nothing really cool. Not this time...Immediately greeting us when we walked in was none other than the Dorothy II that sat outside the gift shop all those years. This is the one that sat outside holding the stuffed cows.
Now I immediately started drooling. I took dozens of reference photos thinking this was my chance to get started on a long wanted Dorothy build. It had NEVER crossed my mind that I would be buying it, especially after seeing the price tag. That was until my wife said "it will probably end up costing more to build it that its priced at". For the most part, she was right. By the time I sourced all the raw materials, the electronics, and a new welder, I would be well over what they were asking. At that point we walked out of the store and continued our day in the park. On the way back to the car, on a whim, I stopped back in to take a look at it again. After a long family discussion, we decided to pull the trigger and buy.
Due to the size, we clearly could not fit it in the back of my Jeep so arrangements needed to be made. I was aiming for the following Sunday but the back of house staff doesn't work on the weekends so I needed to pick it up on a week day. Ultimately we settled on Tuesday (yesterday) and I made arrangements to rent a trailer. The ride up was uneventful. When we were within a few minutes of the park, we contacted the manager Kevin and he gave us directions to the staff entrance where we would meet up for the exchange. From here, you can actually see the area where the Hogwarts Train moves between the parks. Kinda ruins the magic a little.
We get to the parking lot outside the guard shack and are immediately greeted with a Delorean. Naturally I geeked out.
Anyway, Kevin arrives with Dorothy.
We get it loaded up in the back of the trailer for the trip home.
Stopping off for lunch...The waitresses inside were inquisitive.
Naturally we get looks when driving....but when an Ecto is pulling a Dorothy down I-4, you get some interesting reactions. I REALLY wish I got a picture of this one lady hanging her head out the window with her mouth gaping...It was hilarious.
And here she is, finally at home. We put her in the garage for the time being while I begin the process of sourcing some screen accurate stuff to update it.
So here is where I need some help. I've been in contact with the Wakita museum that has the Dorothy I from when the Jeep is dropped upside down. Linda was kind enough to send me some awesome reference photos of the beacon lights on her Dorothy, the Muskogee College logo, and the Dorothy sketch. I've also been in contact with a couple of sensor ball owners inquiring about selling them, but no dice there. So here is my wish list:
I need 3 or 4 Whelen Cadet CR-12 beacons, in red. There is also a CR212 that has the button on the side for speed selection, but this is an absolute last resort. Im willing to buy the CR-12 in another color as the lenses are still available. So if anyone out there has a lead on the CR-12s, PLEASE let me know.
I need a scan of the Muskogee Warrior image. Apparently this was something made for the movie and doesn't seem to exist anywhere else. The one on the left is what my Dorothy has, and the one on the right is from the screen used one. This may be something I have to recreate.
I also need to find the source for this Dorothy image. I've searched for hours and couldn't find anything close to it. It almost looks sketched. The sad part is, my Dorothy had the picture but Universal had to remove it prior to sale due to licensing issues.
There is also this graphic that appeared on the hero Dorothy, the one that had the armature to open the lid. I haven't seen it on any of the other Dorothys out there. A guy named MJ Junkie from the commancheclub started to make his own but never finished. This also may be something I have to recreate.
I am also searching for a screen used sensor ball. I need to know what the boards inside look like to see if I can find them for sale, or can recreate them. So I would need detailed shots of the top and bottom of the boards. I am also interested in purchasing one if any of you have one for sale.
More to come.
Now I immediately started drooling. I took dozens of reference photos thinking this was my chance to get started on a long wanted Dorothy build. It had NEVER crossed my mind that I would be buying it, especially after seeing the price tag. That was until my wife said "it will probably end up costing more to build it that its priced at". For the most part, she was right. By the time I sourced all the raw materials, the electronics, and a new welder, I would be well over what they were asking. At that point we walked out of the store and continued our day in the park. On the way back to the car, on a whim, I stopped back in to take a look at it again. After a long family discussion, we decided to pull the trigger and buy.
Due to the size, we clearly could not fit it in the back of my Jeep so arrangements needed to be made. I was aiming for the following Sunday but the back of house staff doesn't work on the weekends so I needed to pick it up on a week day. Ultimately we settled on Tuesday (yesterday) and I made arrangements to rent a trailer. The ride up was uneventful. When we were within a few minutes of the park, we contacted the manager Kevin and he gave us directions to the staff entrance where we would meet up for the exchange. From here, you can actually see the area where the Hogwarts Train moves between the parks. Kinda ruins the magic a little.
We get to the parking lot outside the guard shack and are immediately greeted with a Delorean. Naturally I geeked out.
Anyway, Kevin arrives with Dorothy.
We get it loaded up in the back of the trailer for the trip home.
Stopping off for lunch...The waitresses inside were inquisitive.
Naturally we get looks when driving....but when an Ecto is pulling a Dorothy down I-4, you get some interesting reactions. I REALLY wish I got a picture of this one lady hanging her head out the window with her mouth gaping...It was hilarious.
And here she is, finally at home. We put her in the garage for the time being while I begin the process of sourcing some screen accurate stuff to update it.
So here is where I need some help. I've been in contact with the Wakita museum that has the Dorothy I from when the Jeep is dropped upside down. Linda was kind enough to send me some awesome reference photos of the beacon lights on her Dorothy, the Muskogee College logo, and the Dorothy sketch. I've also been in contact with a couple of sensor ball owners inquiring about selling them, but no dice there. So here is my wish list:
I need 3 or 4 Whelen Cadet CR-12 beacons, in red. There is also a CR212 that has the button on the side for speed selection, but this is an absolute last resort. Im willing to buy the CR-12 in another color as the lenses are still available. So if anyone out there has a lead on the CR-12s, PLEASE let me know.
I need a scan of the Muskogee Warrior image. Apparently this was something made for the movie and doesn't seem to exist anywhere else. The one on the left is what my Dorothy has, and the one on the right is from the screen used one. This may be something I have to recreate.
I also need to find the source for this Dorothy image. I've searched for hours and couldn't find anything close to it. It almost looks sketched. The sad part is, my Dorothy had the picture but Universal had to remove it prior to sale due to licensing issues.
There is also this graphic that appeared on the hero Dorothy, the one that had the armature to open the lid. I haven't seen it on any of the other Dorothys out there. A guy named MJ Junkie from the commancheclub started to make his own but never finished. This also may be something I have to recreate.
I am also searching for a screen used sensor ball. I need to know what the boards inside look like to see if I can find them for sale, or can recreate them. So I would need detailed shots of the top and bottom of the boards. I am also interested in purchasing one if any of you have one for sale.
More to come.
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