Executive Replicas 2001 Space Odyssey Astronauts

[slikkerias]

Clavius Base suit has been announced for pre-order. Now I can stop the hints. https://www.executivereplicas.com/p..._YPKl8MZVgLJX1A8GfBscm8oF1tST7q8ETR0Rl9rAaWrM

Wow looks fantastic! ...but the price is - excuse me - insane! As much as Bowman and Poole. And those had bodies and sculpts... and were already too expensive. I probably need to get this anyways, but the price is not ok.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Wow looks fantastic! ...but the price is - excuse me - insane! As much as Bowman and Poole. And those had bodies and sculpts... and were already too expensive. I probably need to get this anyways, but the price is not ok.

Yeah... price isn't in my hands. I was surprised too, but what the hell... we only live once.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Price is nuts, especially as there's no body and head sculpt.

I don't need it that bad. Hopefully I can eventually get it on a sale like I did with Poole.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Based upon things I heard, I don't think this is caused by greed.
I think it's due to a series of unexpected and expensive difficulties throughout production.

A) hyper-inflated fees for renewal of licensing,
B) the need to find and pay new talent in 3D modeling,
C) new tooling of many parts from scratch.

I know the price is harsh, but it's a miracle this thing is happening at all.
Here's an idea: If a person can afford to purchase two, (double-ouch)
wait a couple years, then sell one of them here or elsewhere for $600...
That would provide a net return of $200. (After they are sold out and gone,
I have no doubt that they will be selling for $600 or more.
I saw a Dave Bowman on eBay a few months ago- it sold for $725!!!)

 

[FlyAndFight]

I appreciate all of the work and time that you invested in getting these products as accurate as possible. That is commendable and collectors appreciate that dedication. I hope you were appropriately compensated as well. So I hope that the following is not taken too negatively but as the thoughts of a typical collector.

So the plan to overcome the expensive outfit set is to double-down? Buy "2" and then flip one in a couple of years?...

I'm sure this one, like the previous figures will eventually rise in value in the secondary market but I'm not willing to throw approximately $800.00 (with shipping) at this and I'm a big "2001: A Space Odyssey" fan. Perhaps if I only collected 2001 items, this would be a no-brainer at any price.

Of the three reasons that you listed for the exorbitant price, I can understand option "A" but the other two reasons are being addressed by every other 1/6 scale figure company in business. That license must be quite costly.

Again, I've been eagerly awaiting for this figure for years but the fact that it doesn't include a figure and Dr. Floyd's head sculpt for the price point is quite discouraging. I'll be hoping that it will eventually go on sale for at least $100 bucks less and then perhaps grab one then.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Note: I'm just a researcher, and sometimes sculptor. I'm freelance, and a collector just like you. I do know that the licencing fees are high, and because this project was on hold for a long time in waiting for the license renewal, I think Warner Brothers probably held the licence hostage while demanding an even higher fee. Having already invested considerable funds into the project, ER had no choice but to pay the ransom... and Warner knew it. That is my theory.

 

[abake]

I'm a big fan of 2001, but I haven't had the funds to get these figures. I wish I did, but it is what it is.
Congrats to any who can afford these.

 

[spindrift]

I missed Poole but have two Bowmans- any chance Executive will reissue those two? I'm in for the Clavius suit despite the price. I'm sure not a lot being made at all....

 

[nexus]

I’ll be picking up the Clavius Base suit, but yes the price is crazy. I still wish they’d produce a Moonwatcher

 

[jrice73]

Gotta get this Clavius Suit so I can put it with the 1/6 scale Monolith that I have to recreate that famous scene in the film.

 

[jrice73]

I’ll be picking up the Clavius Base suit, but yes the price is crazy. I still wish they’d produce a Moonwatcher

Totally agree on the price and the Moonwatcher.

 

[The_Darkness_Predator]

Yep. I would buy a 1/6 scale Moonwatcher.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Re: Moonwatcher - Now that the license has been renewed, anything can happen...

 

[BACON!]

Can anyone suggest an alternate (more poseable) figure to fit in the space suit? I have found the fabric is quite thick (polyurethane?) and requires a figure with stiff joints. Of course getting the right neck, wrist and ankle positions to fit in the suit is crucial too.

Has anyone tried displaying one or more suit on the supplied stand? If I were to get the silver suit, that is probably what I would do with it

 

[spindrift]

Chance of the 1/6 Space Pod(the proto looked nice)??

 

[Anthrapoid]

Can anyone suggest an alternate (more poseable) figure to fit in the space suit? I have found the fabric is quite thick (polyurethane?) and requires a figure with stiff joints. Of course getting the right neck, wrist and ankle positions to fit in the suit is crucial too.

Has anyone tried displaying one or more suit on the supplied stand? If I were to get the silver suit, that is probably what I would do with it

Your question seems a bit confusing; On one hand, you're asking for a body suggestion. On the other hand, you said you would probably be displaying the silver suit empty on the stand.

My suggestion for a good body would be the Phicen M31 seamless rubber. The steel skeleton has really good solid joints. When you pose it, it stays posed. That's the body I used for my Mad Max (Road Warrior) custom. They are engineered very well.

Another suggestion, something that I'm going to do to my own Clavius suit (after I get another M31 body for it) will be to wrap some thin flexible packing material around the arms and legs, to bulk-out the suit and make the limbs rounder, as it looked in the film. Maybe I'll try heating the suit with a blow dryer and massaging the seams a bit, so they're flatter and look more to scale.

 

[BACON!]

Your question seems a bit confusing; On one hand, you're asking for a body suggestion. On the other hand, you said you would probably be displaying the silver suit empty on the stand.

My suggestion for a good body would be the Phicen M31 seamless rubber. The steel skeleton has really good solid joints. When you pose it, it stays posed. That's the body I used for my Mad Max (Road Warrior) custom. They are engineered very well.

Another suggestion, something that I'm going to do to my own Clavius suit (after I get another M31 body for it) will be to wrap some thin flexible packing material around the arms and legs, to bulk-out the suit and make the limbs rounder, as it looked in the film. Maybe I'll try heating the suit with a blow dryer and massaging the seams a bit, so they're flatter and look more to scale.

Thanks for the info. What I forgot to say was that I already have Bowman & Poole and would like to replace their bodies evenually. The idea of wrapping them to bulk them up sounds interesting. Do you have any idea which Phicen body was originally used for Bowman & Poole?

 

[Anthrapoid]

Thanks for the info. What I forgot to say was that I already have Bowman & Poole and would like to replace their bodies evenually. The idea of wrapping them to bulk them up sounds interesting. Do you have any idea which Phicen body was originally used for Bowman & Poole?

All this time working for the company, and I never asked what kind of body was used for Dave and Frank. (I know it's not the M31 though, because that's a solid, heavy elastomer body with some heft.)

The packing material I'm using is pictured below. You can find sheets and rolls of it on eBay. I'm going to cut it to fit each separate segment of the arms and legs so it doesn't affect the joint action, then just tape it to itself. That will make it a bit of a hassle to get the suit on over it, but the result will be worth it.

 

[DeadLeaves]

I've used plumbers tape (teflon tape) to bulk figures, makes it easy to get clothes over.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Plumbers tape is great- but it's overkill for this job. The foam padding is fairly smooth on the surface; it would slide into the suit easily. It's the bulk and increased diameter of the wrapped legs and arms that would make it a tight squeeze. I have a trick for that though: I'll attach some lengths of string at the ends of the wrist and ankle padding. Then I'll feed the strings through the sleeves and pant legs, then I can pull them in-- like threading a needle.

I'll experiment with thicker and thicker layers of padding until a good filling shape is achieved. Then I'll tape them with small bits of clear postal-grade packing tape, (that type seems to be the stickiest) and make the final insertion.

This is all simple stuff. The hard part is getting a Haywood Floyd head sculpt. I have researched the earphones, mic, and cloth bonnet worn inside the helmet. Now it's just a question of either sculpting it myself, or having a much more professional job done by Ulli Pekka at 'From Russia With Love'.

If enough of us get together and commit, Ulli Pekka can produce an amazing 3D-rendered sculpt at a fair price split between all of us. I would like two variations, so Haywood Floyd can be displayed without any head gear too. I would love to make a diorama with Floyd sitting on the moonbus in the window seat, with the surface of the moon visible out the window, drinking coffee, eating his ham sandwich, looking at the monolith photos. (I meticulously reconstructed them, see below)

During the process of reconstructing these, I discovered that there are NO surviving flat images of the original prop photos used in the film. The bottom two I had to reconstruct from scratch just by referencing the film. However, the top two are a different story. I knew Kubrick must have used real fly-by photos of the moon taken by Ranger 7 in 1964. Therefore, I had to search through literally hundreds of genuine photographs of the surface of the moon, and I eventually stumbled upon the actual photos that Kubrick used. I isolated the areas that were printed in the prop photos, then I reconstructed the survey graphics on top of them... just like he did.