Quote:
Originally Posted by qz33
Glover makes it even better. Tracing both different dates to the cons legitimizes the sigs even more. I would definitely do it.
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so last weekend i met R. David Smith and had him sign the Predator 2 bust. I also Carl Troop who was the main Alien Warrior suit actor in ALL the BIG scenes in Aliens. carl Troop was AWESOME to talk to. CLASS-A dude, same with R David Smith. It was a cute little con.
This is R. David Smith:
dude said he was 6-3 without costume. This shows how
gigantic KPH was without costume.
this is Carl Troop
SO my brother and i went up to David Smith (Predator 2 Stunt Actor) and we were talking about the movie he's a great guy. He was taking about how he is so surprised on how BIG the Predator fanbase is. I told him, aside from Marvel, DC, Star Wars, in terms of the other licenses, Predator is truly one of the biggest American Licenses. I told him about the new Prime 1 City Hunter that depicts him as a one armed predator, he thought i was talking about the NECA battle damaged figure then when i showed him the picture he was like WOOOOOOOOW, people lay that much for this stuff. Im like 100% absolutely.
He then began talking to me about the stunt, on the side of the building that he brought in for, where Harrigan Danny Glove chops off his arms after the self destruct device was activated. He said he was ---- scared of heights...was supposed to be a 3 story drop when he got there it was 12 stories
He said the first drop scared the ---- out of him and after the first drop...after he got a hang of it he wanted to do as many as possible as he was paid for about $10k for each drop. Really interesting. He said he really fiucked up his back from those drops. Also said working with Stan Winston was AMAZING. was so grateful that he took him under his wing. He talked about how cold water was pumped into the suit and it cycled the cold water through the suit as a means of air conditioning (i don't know exactly how this worked). He said it was so damn hot in there.
He said Kevin Peter Hall was just under 8 feet tall in the Predator 2 costume. He said he was just a GIANT of a human being and in the suit he was a legitimate monster. He was so grateful to be a part off the film and all the scenes in the bathroom are him, which is one of my VERY FAVORITE Predator sequences in the series.
Then i told him im gonna be back i have something for him to sign. I walked in with my CoolProps P2 bust facing outwards and everyone in the con was looking at me like I was Pam Anderson from the 90s on the beach in her Baywatch costume, everyone was floored how unbelievable it was. and IT IS, it's a unbelievable piece. That's what funny, us collectors think this stuff is normal - everyday stuff but to other geeks that haven't been bit by the high end poluystone bug look at this stuff like its the Lost ARk from indian Jones. It was really something to see everyones reactions. There all asked HOW MUCH WAS THAT...its UNBELIEVABLE. This high end stuff we collect really is special. Most people can't believe this stuff even exists and we own most of it.
So i walk up to david smith and say similar to what i said to Peter Weller with the RoboCop bust...."mr, Smith, do you remember this guy?" He looked at it and his face was priceless. part shocked, part in love, part dumbfounded, pure happiness with a straight face if that is even possible. He was speechless with a lot of emotion like he was being reunited with an old classmate, or old love. He was just looking at it saying I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS....I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THIS. WHERE DID YOU GET THIS FROM....DID YOU MAKE THIS? I HAVENT' SEEN THIS UP CLOSE IN 30 YEARS. IT'S AMAZING. I SPENT SO MUCH TIME IN THIS SUIT. I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE IT AGAIN AND HERE IT IS. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE.
Then he said "I COULD CRY, this is just AMAZING, this is like a reunion."
What is interesting is that these actors when they are onset, the live and breathe this stuff but when the takes are over...they rarely ever see the stuff again. Similar to a contractor working in a house or on a piece of property then never going to the job site again. I was to thankful to share a very special moment with a person that played my favorite monster of all time. It was truly a full-circle moment for me and my brother. We used to watch the VHS of Predator 2 when we were younger when it first came out. My mother was so upset she at the Jamaican Blood Voodo ritual to the Columbia drug lord scene she hid the BLOCKBUSTER tape and lost the thing ended up costing her like $120 to replace the tape. To give back and share a moment like that with someone that captivated me on screen playing a creature that is SOOOO NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART was a very special moment. Something i will cherish forever.
I hope you guys enjoyed the story.
i really wish i owned the Sideshow 1:4 Alien Warrior maquette, would've been awesome for Carl Troop to sign that....and the dude that played the Lycans from Underworld was there. I asked him if he ever saw the ECC Steve Wang Lycan bust. He had no idea what i was talking about. This stuff we collect and have on our shelves is NO-NONSENSE-SERIOUS ---- that the actors of the movies haven't even seen.