(Revisit Part 1 Here) (Revisit Part 2 Here) (Revisit Part 3 Here)
Summer, fall, and winter were kind of rough months, filled with job hunting, and part-time gigs at a Halloween store and a seasonal chocolate shop. I continued to dabble in prop and costume work with friends, but I had no real leads, and it looked like my time was done at the studio.
In January of 2002, things started to look back up, at least a little bit. Pieces from Blade 2 were starting to come back from Prague, and they needed someone who was familiar with the archives/storage unit to help put everything up. In addition, I was recruited by the person who initially hired me at XFX to help him with his new licensed project, Terminator 2: Judgment Day Endo-skeletons and Endo-arms. Neither of these were particularly exciting, nor did they last particularly long. Archive work, along with a little bit of assistance with some of the models for Dreamcatcher only lasted a few weeks, and the Terminator 2 replica work only lasted until early summer. By mid-summer of 2002, I was back in Indiana, and looking for retail work again.
Still, working out in “Hollywood” was an interesting experience. I met some very interesting people, though I did meet more “stars” when I worked at Disneyland. I was able to pick up on a few skills, though some of them I haven’t actually exercised in what has now been fifteen years. Working on those Battlestar Galactica blasters showed me how to be patient, and remember not to just sand and sand and sand at a seam line. Running and casting Terminator parts out of fiberglass taught me to make sure I’m always using protective gear, because even five minutes with those fumes will mess you up (see picture above, and note that I didn’t make that stupid mistake often). I also made some decent friends that really helped me through some rough spots when I lived out there, and had good times making cool stuff with.
So, when all was said and done, I was able to do the following cool things out there:
- Archives – Clean, organize, and build displays for pieces from Bicentennial Man, Virus, Superman Lives (concept work), Fantastic Four (concept work), The Stand, Red Planet, and more.
- The Tick – I learned how to work with foam latex. Prepping molds, assisting in running the pieces, demolding, and assisted in cleaning and prepping the pieces for seaming and detail work.
- Licensed Battlestar Galactica blasters – I was initially hired because of this job. I was able to learn more about how to work with resin kits, including better sanding and finishing techniques. Plus, I started to get experience with resin casting, including working with dyed resins and using a pressure chamber.
- Blade 2 – I learned so much on this one. I learned more about working with foam latex, I learned how to cast pieces out of expanding polyfoam, I learned vacuforming, and I learned how to run silicone gel appliances.
- Licensed Terminator 2 replicas – I learned even more about resin casting and finishing, especially when it comes to small parts and cleaning seam lines on weird angles. I learned how to run pieces out of fiberglass, and how to sand down and fill in those seam lines using a Dremel and Bondo. I used so much Bondo…
Oh, and a funny thing happened the following February, after I was back in Indiana and working. My parents got a call from the FX studio, because my tax paperwork had been sent back to them, and my emergency contact information was the only working info they had for me. When my folks gave them my new information, I guess they asked how long I had been back in Indiana. It turns out, they had been trying to get in touch with me, to work on another project! Looking at their workload at the time, it was either Cat in the Hat, or Spider-Man 2.
I tell myself it was Cat in the Hat, to make myself feel better.
Tony
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