The Blaster is also known as the LAPD 2019 Blaster or the PKD. It was created by prop manager Terry Lewis with specifications by Ridley Scott. Lewis had it built by a gunsmith who assembled a hybrid gun from the Steyr Mannlicher Model rifle and the Carter Arms Bulldog revolver.
Renowned Hollywood gunsmith Branko Wolfheart is credited for engineering the realistic-looking prop that we know as Blade Runner Decker’s trusty Blaster.
The T-800 Endoskeleton
The Terminator robot is one of the most recognizable bundles of metal and circuitry known to the big screen. Few sci-fi movie props are more sought-after. Director James Cameron tapped Stan Winston Studio, his longtime collaborator, to design the T-800.
Made mostly of chrome-finished resin, movements are partially controlled by cable-controlled puppets. The eyes light up in red and are wired to a hidden switch.
Blade Runner (1982) - Blaster Gun: $270K
Harrison Ford’s Blaster gun from “Blade Runner” was expected to fetch between $100-150,000. Its actual selling price of $270K almost doubled estimates.
The weapon was used by Ford in Ridley Scott’s epic cult classic sci-fi. Blade Runner employs the Blaster to take out “replicants,” futuristic humanoids intent on sabotaging humanity. The handgun was sold in 2012 at the Profiles in History auction. Private collector and television producer Dan Lanigan won the bid.
The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Cowardly Lion Costume: $3.1M
Dorothy's pal, the Cowardly Lion, has a special place in many hearts. But what most fans do not know is that the costumed actor Bert Lahr wore a lion costume. It weighed 60 pounds and was made from a lion’s pelt, real lion hair, and skin! A PETA atrocity, we hear the collective roar. Even the tail was real.
Needless to say, it was miserably uncomfortable. It was also unbearably hot. The mask precluded any eating. This actor could have used some workplace protections. It was a different time.
Cowardly Lion Costume
The costume fell into the hands of a “Wizard of Oz” crew member. He thought it would make a great Halloween costume. It was thrown into a bag and sat decaying in an attic. Years later, it deteriorated so much that it took 21 experts two years to restore it.
Cara Varnell, textile conservation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, led the project. The lion costume auctioned at Bonhams for $3,077,000 in 2014; it went for a million dollars more than the ruby slippers. The Cowardly Lion costume was one of two used in the MGM movie.