Bidding for this lot will end on Thursday, September 4th. The auction will begin at 10:00AM PDT 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 Friday, September 5th or Saturday, September 6th.

A hand-fabricated master pattern for a Spinner, two unfinished Spinner castings, and a set of molds for a 4" Spinner model miniature 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 futurist Syd Mead and built by model maker Bill George, the high-tech vehicles were known by their generic name "Spinner," which Mead described as being a vehicle that directs air downward to create lift.

This lot originates from the collection of Entertainment Effects Group (EEG) chief modelmaker Mark Stetson. It consists of a gray master pattern casting hand-fabricated by Stetson's molder builders and used to make the rubber molds from which all of the Spinners used in filming were generated; a white Spinner casting made by production; a yellow Spinner casting made from the original mold after production; and two untrimmed vacuum-formed plastic canopy pulls, which together demonstrate what the two-part mold and buck would be used by production to create.

Also included are various molding elements designed to be used together to create a Spinner model miniature, including: a two-part rubber mold for the main body of the 4" Spinner vehicle; an open-faced mold engraved "Blade Runner" for the Spinner's cannons, which were ultimately unseen in the final cut; and a dome-shaped buck for creating the clear plastic canopies of the Spinner. The lot exhibits discoloration, a buildup of grime, and a split down one half of the two-part Spinner mold. Dimensions: (approx.) 5" x 6" x 3" (12.75 cm x 15.25 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.