Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource

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Christie’s Withdraws “Prototype” Star Wars Stormtrooper Prop Helmet with Andrew Ainsworth Provenance from Upcoming Auction

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Today Christie’s has withdrawn Lot 136 from their upcoming Sale #5446, a prop attributed to Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and described as a “prototype Imperial Stormtrooper’s helmet“.   There has been ongoing public debate and controversy over movie prop Stormtrooper helmets trading for sale in the marketplace for years, and some of this debate and discussion intersected the legal battles between Lucasfilm and Andrew Ainsworth.  In the auction description, Andrew Ainsworth was named as the source of provenance for the prop withdrawn from the current Christie’s sale. [Read more…]

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The Original Prop Blog 2009 Year in Review: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original Movie Props and Memorabilia

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As was the case in previous years (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial review of my personal views with regards to the hobby, looking back at the top trends, developments, and news stories of 2009. As always, there were a lot of interesting developments and events, and quite a bit to review and consider. [Read more…]

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‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, ‘Return to Oz’, Return to eBay, and Return of The Harrisons (formerly “Elstree Props”) from Retirement?

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eBay seller “unisusu“, who has identified himself as Luke Harrison, grandson of Norman Harrison and son of Paul Harrison, has been selling entertainment memorabilia with Norank Engineering/Elstree Props/”Danziger Collection” lineage/provenance.  Also of interest is the website norank.co.uk, more presumably unlicensed replica props attributed to Raiders of the Lost Ark, a large supply of gold-plated “production made” crew gifts from Walt Disney’s Return to Oz, and other newly produced (presumably unlicensed) “for sale” replica pieces from the same film.   [Read more…]

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Shepperton Design Studios Expands Line of “Post Lawsuit” Unlicensed Replica Star Wars Props

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Following legal battles in both the United States and the United Kingdom over the sale unlicensed Stormtrooper helmets – which resulted in both Andrew Ainsworth’s Shepperton Design Studios and George Lucas’ Lucasfilm Ltd. claiming victory – Ainsworth’s SDS today announced the sale of “E11 Blasters”, that boast “all the features of the most complicated blaster used in ANH“. [Read more…]

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Original Prop Hobby – 2008 Year in Review

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As was the case last year (see 2007 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial review of my personal views with regards to the hobby, looking back at the top trends and news stories of 2008.  As always, there were a lot of interesting developments and events, and quite a bit to review and consider. [Read more…]

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Cross-Hobby Buzz & Questions About Unfinished/Incomplete Stormtrooper Helmet

In October, there was a significant amount of buzz, discussion, and questions about a Stormtrooper helmet presented to hobbyists publicly and described as original and attributed to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.  These debates resulted from the owner of the helmet, “JoeR”, initiating discussions about the newly acquired piece on several original and replica prop hobby discussion forums.  [Read more…]

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Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets Update: High Court Ruling Excerpts on LFL v. SDS Case

Given the British High Court ruling on the case of Lucasfilm vs. Andrew Ainsworth (see Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Full Document from Royal Courts of Justice), and the additional information available from the court documents, I thought it would be a good opportunity to build on the prior OPB article exploring the “prototype” Stormtrooper helmets (see Star Wars “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmets) trading in the marketplace as original and authentic precursors to the helmets used on set and filmed in Star Wars: A New Hope. [Read more…]

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Lucasfilm vs. Ainsworth High Court Ruling: Full Document from Royal Courts of Justice


“Exoray” from the RPF is hosting a full HTML version of the High Court ruling on the case between Lucasfilm and Andrew Ainsworth in the legal dispute over the trademark and copyright of the Stormtrooper helmet and other helmets and armor produced for Star Wars: A New Hope.  I have not had time to review the full ruling in detail, but thought readers would be interested in reviewing it first hand: [Read more…]