Here are some pix I took of the superbly sculpted Billikin model kit version of James Arness as he appears in "The Thing from Another World", the original Howard Hawks film version, unleashed upon the world back in 1951. That being said, this fantastic garage kit actually came out in 1984, just two years after the incredible John Carpenter remake / successor which of course was simply titled "The Thing" (which is also what they oddly chose to put on the base of this kit instead of the full title!) While being a bit out of my budget, unfortunately, I still made sure to get some nice close-ups of everything because there doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of anything related online. I'm also guessing there were multiple versions of this kit produced, one created in a much heavier, solid resin state, and another (like this one) in a more lightweight and seemingly hollow, recast style. The real highlight of the sculpt here is clearly the hands and the head, with those (eeeek!) giant pulsating veins being unusually unsettling! The stand seems a little basic, until you remember the wooden planks from the climax of the original were constructed into a makeshift electrical trap, where they lure the evil space vegetable to its doom, reducing it to a pile of ashes.
Yeah, that's a really amazing model. Thanks for taking all the pictures. I don't think I've ever seen this one before.
ReplyDeleteAlso because of this I looked up the history of the billikin, the popular and impish namesake of the model and toy company. Since they seem to be everywhere here, in statuary gracing stores and shrines and restaurants, I'm delighted to see they originally come from Missouri. I should have known.
All good things come from Missouri ;)
ReplyDeleteWell I see google decided to change everything in the blogger window. Maybe a giant space carrot possessed them, too?
ReplyDeleteOne thing I always liked about this movie is how close to but distinct this monster was from the Universal Frankenstein. That's a really nice sculpt of it, too!
They captured the menace of the original Thing with all its horrifying detail.
ReplyDeleteThis could be an angry brother of Lurch from The Addams Family.
Since The Thing From Another World fed on blood, could Audrey Junior from Little Shop of Horrors be its cousin?