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Robby the Robot from the classic film, Forbidden Planet, is one of the most recognizable Science Fiction icons. This 10" model is an electronic, walking robot from Trendmasters. To use it in the shoot, I had to cut the remote cord which led to the control box. I did it cleanly, though, so that if I wanted to reattach it, I could. I think I paid about $10.00 for this at KB Outlets. Robbie is wielding a blaster pistol he came packed with, though it's hard to see.


When the Lost In Space movie came out, Trendmasters released some great vintage LIS toys, including this 10" model of the B-9 Environmental Robot. This robot was originally designed for Lost In Space by the same person who designed Robby (above).


This articulated toy of Astro Boy is quite cool. It's a bit of an inside joke, as very few Americans know Astro Boy, yet us Canadians grew up with him. I'd watch him every Saturday morning into my teens. This was one of the first examples of Anime.


The Fantastic Four's Thing, Ben Grimm. Ben was struck with cosmic rays, transforming him into the Thing. He was unable to reverse the transformation.


This is a great 10" Borg figure by Playmates Toys. Highly detailed, but not terribly well articulated, he has huge oversized limbs. In the episode "Locutus" Captain Jean-Luc Picard was captured by the Borg and assimilated. In the second part of the two-part episode, Data defeated the Borg by giving them a low level command that shut them all down.... SLEEP! Laser beam and lens flare created in Photoshop.


This is a hand-made balsa model of the TARDIS from Doctor Who. I put a flashlight inside to light it up. I made this model back around 1988, and I still have it. I recently made a 1:6 scale version from foam core for use in an up-coming photo story based on the popular UK TV show. The TARDIS I built never had a light at the top, so I faked it in Photoshop. In actual British Police Boxes, these lights were used to alert patrolling police officers to emergencies. They would see the flashing light and run to the box where they could call in and see what's up.


Hicks originally had a Hall of Fame body, a very badly articulated figure created by Hasbro to commemorate the original GI Joes. A bad idea from start to finish. Heads made for the Star Wars line of 12" toys, as well as Hicks and other heads intended for HOF bodies were always a little too large. Still, the likeness to Michael Biehn is pretty good, though. Also, he looks like my cousin Darren Brown. GI Jane is the first female GI Joe in decades. Earlier female Joes were not well known, and their bodies not nearly as articulated as Joe himself. This version, however, rivals the CC Joes, and is a desirable figure for most Joe collectors. She was introduced as a helicopter pilot, and came out in 1996 in time with Meg Ryan's film, Courage Under Fire, in which she played a female helicopter pilot. The Robert E. Lee figure was intended as a pair of figures with Ulysses S. Grant. While I bought Lee at WalMart, and was able to find another Lee head online in the Sandbox, I only recently got a Ulysses S. Grant figure. For some reason he was much harder to find.


The likeness to Lee is a good one, though pictures I've seen of Lee are less smooth. The pictures I have seen show a more craggy face. Still, this head sculpt is one of the finest I think Hasbro has ever produced, and the best since the original Joe face. This sweater is a nice one, but the seam at the back of the turtleneck made it impossible to keep it folded down. So throughout this shoot, the back sticks up. My mother's sweaters are much better. Click here to see her catalog!


The Iron Giant, one of my all-time favorite films, produced several great toys, including various sizes of Iron Giant. This story manages to make use of all of them. The glows in the eyes were placed in afterwards in Photoshop. The glows in the eyes were placed in afterwards in Photoshop.


Great angle on this shot. Shot way down low, this one uses the Iron Giant that came with the video release. Note the large rivets and low detail. The previous shot uses my highest-detail Giant, and then I pull the switch here.

Previous Page | Next Page Sconces are made of plastic easter-eggs, the rounded half, cut in half, painted silver inside, green outside. The silver is meant to diffuse light upward. GENETRIX - just a random name to imply genetic research. Though the picture doesn't show it, the X is a double helix of atomic spheres. Light flare looks like something from Photoshop or Lightwave, but is actually how it appeared. Behind the sconce is a TapLight light. The moulding is plastic wall moulding painted semi-matte black. The moulding is plastic wall moulding painted semi-matte black. This door is cut into the foam-core for realism. It is non-functional, but looks real enough. Details on its construction can be found on the "Behind the Scenes" page. Click here to see how it was constructed. This is a model of the Pulse Rifle from the movie Aliens. It was part of a "Hicks vs. Aliens" 12" figure set produced by Kenner around 1997. This is a Classic Collection GI Joe with the head of Corporal Hicks, wearing the Marine outfit that came with the "Hicks vs. Aliens" toy set. Click here to see a larger picture of the set in its box. Glow added in Photoshop later. Note the green color of the glow. Green means he is not on alert. Glow added in Photoshop later. Note the green color of the glow. Green means he is not on alert. PEZ was invented in Austria in 1927 by Edward Haas III. The name comes from the German word "phefferminz" abbreviated. I thought this was a cute reference, considering the size of the Giant Robot that Hicks was led to believe would save the day.

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