Bidding for this lot will end on Thursday, March 26th. The auction will begin at 9:00 AM (PDT) / 12:00 PM (EDT) / 4:00 PM (GMT) and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Wednesday, March 25th or Friday, March 27th.

A Tyrell Corporation pyramid pattern etching sheet and canopy pull with a pair of panel model miniatures and unfinished Spinner castings from Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) and residents of polluted 2019 Los Angeles drove Spinner vehicles through the crowded airways.

Designed by Douglas Trumbull, the Tyrell pyramid and other aspects of the futuristic LA cityscape were visualized with ornately patterned model miniatures created by Entertainment Effects Group (EEG) chief model maker Mark Stetson. The sprawling Hades Landscape seen during the opening sequence required an expansive combination of miniatures, matte paintings, and pyrotechnic effects composited into the finished frames.

This lot originates from the collection of Stetson. It consists of one etched brass sheet featuring mirror rows and various grated-like textured panels; two cast resin model miniature panels featuring details such as pipes, hatches, fans, and storage tanks mounted to a board; two white resin production-made Spinner castings; and an untrimmed vacuum-formed plastic canopy pull. The brass is hole-punched along one edge. This lot exhibits tarnishing, a crack and adhesive residue on one of the spinners, discoloration, chipped paint, and exposed resin. Dimensions: (largest) 8" x 11" x 3" (11 cm x 28 cm x 7.75 cm)

About Mark Stetson

Visual effects maestro Mark Stetson's singular run in Hollywood began in 1978. After graduating from the prestigious Art Center College of Design, he immediately began a position as an effects props and miniatures artist for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, for which his responsibilities included building such memorable vessels as the workbee, the Constitution-class shuttlebay, and a studio model of the Enterprise itself. After filming concluded, Stetson continued working as a modelmaker, and later model shop supervisor, for Entertainment Effects Group (EEG), hand-making miniatures and other groundbreaking optical effects for acclaimed productions like Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, and Brainstorm under founder Douglas Trumbull.

By 1989, following a stint as model shop supervisor for Richard Edlund's Boss Film Corporation - including positions on such blockbuster productions as Die Hard and Poltergeist II, among numerous others - Stetson had founded his own effects company, Stetson Visual Services, Inc. Over the next 35-plus years SVSI became known for producing pioneering effects sequences for dozens of hit films, running the gamut from action classics like Total Recall, Waterworld, and The Fifth Element to acclaimed franchise installments like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and Superman Returns to cult comedies like Coneheads and The Hudsucker Proxy. Stetson's work in this period earned him three Academy Award nominations (and one win), two BAFTAs, and the Visual Effects Society Awards' Founders Award for innovations in the field.

Today, Propstore is proud to offer a hand-picked selection of memorabilia from the personal collection of this once-in-a-generation talent. Accumulated over nearly five decades in cinema, these lots represent a wide range of production materials, including ornately detailed model miniatures, hand-drawn artwork, and rare behind-the-scenes photographs, as well as Stetson's own production paperwork and crew gifts. Stretching across different eras, genres, and styles of production, the Mark Stetson Collection is nothing short of a testament to one of the world's most successful and imitated living visual effects artists.