Replica Kilgore Surfboard | APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

Sold Stock #82098 | Sold Apr 11 2018

APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

Replica Kilgore Surfboard

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Our expert's notes

”If I say it’s safe to surf this beach, Captain, then it’s safe to surf this beach!”

A full-scale replica of a Kilgore surfboard from Francis Ford Coppola’s surreal 1979 Vietnam masterpiece Apocalypse Now. A very limited run of 90 collectible boards were made by Channin Surfboards of California in 2006.

During the iconic beach napalm scene, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) instructed members of his squadron to either surf or fight. Surfers rode the six-foot swell on custom Kilgore boards amidst bombings and the chaos of battle. Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) grabbed one of these boards lying against a helicopter before knocking over a fellow soldier and boarding a boat.

The Kilgore surfboard is made from fibreglass and painted with the distinctive Yater Reynolds design seen in Apocalypse Now, defined by dark grey colouring and a red lightning bolt trim.

On the top side, ‘Lt. Col W.M. Kilgore’ is printed near the nose – below this, the familiar ‘Airmobile’ and Kilgore horse shield crest logos are printed in orange and black. A green and cream ‘Yater Santa Barbara Surf Shop’ logo appears near the tail, and the board has been hand-numbered ‘22/90.’
The design is repeated on the underside, except for the Yater and numbering elements. At the tail end the board features a long black skeg, which is wrapped in protective ‘Second Skin’ rubber sleeve. It is accompanied by shipping paperwork and a signed A4 colour photo of designer Reynolds Yater.

During the initial run, some of the revenue from the boards was donated to Vietnam veteran rehabilitation program "Outward Bound Wilderness" as recommended by Apocalypse Now screen writer John Milius.

With no discernible marking or staining, the surfboard remains in excellent condition.

Materials: Fibreglass, Foam, Wood, Rubber, Plastic.
Size

Item size: 109.45" × 24.41" × 13.39" (278cm × 62cm × 34cm)

This item is located in London.

This item is located in Los Angeles.