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A screen-matched light-up Zorg Industries "rocket launcher" ZF-1 from Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) demonstrated the high-tech power of his unfolding ZF-1 pod guns when he tried to exchange them with the Mangalores for the elemental stones. The sequence was achieved with a combination of stop-motion animation and computer-generated effects. The shell's camouflage paint pattern and black paint marks on the metal housing screen-match to shots where Zorg demonstrated the rocket launcher function.
Iterations of the flashy extraterrestrial weapon at various stages of opening - including closed static versions, partially opened versions, and fully opened versions which displayed the guns' advanced artillery - were created by armorer Simon Atherton. This fully open version is constructed from a combination of fiberglass, plastic, and resin built around a machined aluminum core, hand-painted with yellow and brown camouflage patterns, and padded with textured rubber on its back handle.
The pod gun features a yellow rocket, five poison gas dart launches on each side, a blaster cannon, a liquid nitrogen spray nozzle, metal mesh plating along its body, and a red launch button. The button illuminates via a battery pack concealed on the weapon's interior. Adornments on this ZF-1 have been altered after filming the rocket launcher shot - including the addition of the poison gas dart and their cover plates - and the telescoping rod at the top of the weapon is missing. Following production, this ZF-1 underwent sympathetic restoration to components damaged by age and handling, with replicas of the cover plates on the top and both sides, a net launcher cap, an ice cube launcher, and a screwdriver-like tool on the front added to complete the weapon. It exhibits some grime on its metal components, minor fractures throughout, and paint flaking from use and age. Dimensions: 30" x 10" x 6.5" (76.25 cm x 25.5 cm x 16.5 cm)
Contains electronic components; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.
Estimate: $60,000 - 120,000