Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Indiana Jones and the Grail Tablet

The grail tablet was one of two markers left by three brother knights of the first crusade. The third night who was dying of extreme old age tells his story to a Franciscan friar, that he, along with his two brothers, Richard and the Grail Knight had set out to find and protect the Holy Grail of Jesus Christ.  Which they did in the temple of the sun in the canyon of the Cresent moon in Halay. 150 years after finding the grail two brothers started their journey back to France leaving the grail knight to guard the relic. The grail tablet was one of the markers left by one of the two returning brothers. The other was Sir Richards's shield buried with him in the catacombs of Venice.  Both markers were there to describe the location of the Holy Grail. The tablet was made of sandstone, made in the Middle East, and was found by Walter Donovan's people who digging out there for copper in the mountains north of Ankara, I believe.x

According to Indiana Jones, It used an early Latin text. Which was probably from the mid 12th century that was during the second major crusade during the fall of the county of Edessa. I got this piece from Propland

2000 which has a store on Etsy and they are based out of Spain. Link in the description. Ordered during the peak of the pandemic, it took about 3 weeks to arrive due to the new quarantine rules going into place. My question is how well did this item stand up to international travel and then storage until it eventually arrived. Wow, I'm impressed, there is a lot of paper and this resin cast is wrapped in some very sticky bubble wrap. This box looks a bit beaten up, however, my tablet looks like it is in good shape. Jesus over at Propland2000 kept in contact with me to let me know how my prop was progressing and then over the course of shipping the product until it finally arrived.

In the movie, the Last Crusade, without the top half, Indy still tries to translate it. As shown at the beginning of the film, Indy knows several languages by the time he was 14 such as Greek. He pours a bit of water on top of the tablet to clean it and still tries to translate it. Now it translates something like this. .whoever, or who drinks the water I shall give him, says the Lord, will have a spring inside him welling up for eternal life. Let them bring me to your holy mountain in the place where you dwell. Across the desert and through the mountains to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, to the temple where the cup that holds the blood of Jesus Christ resides forever."―




Now, this piece is a resin and fiberglass casting. It was painted and weathered. and has a hollow back which helps with shipping costs.  This prop measures 20,07” x 18,50” x 1,18” width Centimetres 51 cms x 47 cms x 3 cms width

Okay, there is something weird wrapped up in bubble wrap and taped to the back. Okay this is a fertility idol, Thank you very much

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Dune, Arrakis, Desert Planet - Unboxing the Crysknives of the Film and Mini-series

It's 2020 and a new adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic is scheduled to come out at the end of the year.

Right now Denis Villeneuve director of "Sicario," "Arrival," and "Blade Runner 2049" takes a crack at this epic story which is expected out on December 18, 2020.

This is a great way for people who missed out so far on the Dune experience to check out the material, either on the big screen or taking a look at the older materials or even reading the books.  c

Before I get into the two previous screen adaptations I want to talk about what  Dune means to me personally.

At the time I was 15 years old, I lived on the South Coast of California.  Beautiful beaches, nice weather year-round. I had Friends, Family, a paper route, there were girls and I was getting ready for High School ---  then all of a sudden.  Well, it seems like it was all of a sudden to me...

My dad moved my family out to the California Mojave Desert.  

I was devastated.

My best friend gave me a book to help in through this terrible time.  The book was Dune.

I remember telling him that I thought it was boring and I could barely get through the first 25 pages. 

He told me to read the first 100 pages then tell him what I thought.   I did and I told him and then for the 30 years, I read that book at least once a year.  Along with that, I read Dune Messiah and Children of Dune as well.

zzOf course, I read all of Frank Herbert's books.  "God Emperor of Dune," and "Chapterhouse of Dune."  I went on to read Destination Void and that whole series. I sought out the "Encyclopedia of Dune,". "Eye," and "Heretics of Dune."

Then David Lynch directed the DeLaurentis Production of my favorite book.  While I thought that Lynch's version had some good ideas and some not very good concepts I certainly hated the pronunciations of the names in his film

I could go on

Then there was Sci-Fi's mini-series  "Frank Herbert's Dune" in 2000 and 3 years later saw "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune" with James McAvoy as Leto the second

This too had some good ideas and some not so good.  I could do a whole video on both of either of these. story renderings.
While some of the characters may change genders in the upcoming film, however, one of the "main character" and the largest is SHAI-HULUD or the great sandworms of Dune.


These leviathans of the desert had segmented rings that essentially had a life of their own,

They had rings of teeth at the eating end of their bodies

The somewhat indigenous desert people known as the Fremen.

These Fremen, akin to the bedouin of the Arabian Penninsula controlled the desert and the planet is 80 percent desert.  

Therefore they controlled the planet.  

As a Fremen, they had a consecrated knife, made from the teeth of the sandworms.

So we are going to take a look at two different knives, both made of worm teeth.

Well not really.


The funny thing about this box is that I actually bought this off of Etsy and not eBay.  The seller, James Arnold of ReelArt out of Florida does sell these on eBay as well. Each of these knives is sold separately but I figured that I would just get one from the film and one from the mini-series. Why just one of each? Why would I get two?

Etsy Reel Art 
Dune Mini-Series Crysknife: https://etsy.me/3fKv4iv
Dune 1984 Film: https://etsy.me/3eqloJN

Now, personally, I am excited that Villeneuve is directing Dune.  I was tripped out by Arrival, Sicario was all too real considering I used to live somewhat near the border. And Blade Runner 2049 pretty much was food for thought when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. You know Cylons and all.

I plan on seeing this film with an open mind.  

Now although neither of the two previous versions had everything that I was hoping for, I do understand how hard a story like Dune is to bring to the big screen.  The fact that he is planning to break the story into two films will hopefully allow him to tell a complete story, or at least he will get the chance to tell that story.

This makes me think that the studios are going to have to rethink how they track the profit of a film and how they make decisions on what films get a sequel or not.  The world is changing and HAS been changing and unfortunately, the way we used to do things may not evolve as "THEY would like

Now looking at some of the photos I can see that there are some of David Lynch's design elements peeking through in this film.  Look at the stillsuits. Very similar to the 1984 film  They just need the Jubba cloak, IMHO

I am thinking that the choice of actors is interesting. I mentioned that there is a couple of characters whose gender and ethnicity were altered.  In the case of Liet Kynes --- Sharon Duncan Brewster of Rogue 1  will be taking over for the recently passed Max Von Sydow. and Zendaya will play Chani.  

Considering how well I think that worked with Battlestar Galactica, I am hopeful.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Dark News Update

Today, I want to talk about some movie release updates and what you can watch in the meantime.

So, last week I let you know of the Summer Blockbuster Release schedule
And I asked the question, ARE YOU READY TO RETURN TO THE MOVIE THEATERS IN SPITE OF THE PANDEMIC? 

Those who did answer did so with a resounding NO!

I think the Studios heard me because they pushed back the release dates to August.  I probably should have put up a disclaimer, and Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all dates are tenative

So what are we to do NOW!\

I tell you in a moment, but I want to address something very quickly,

People ask me, Rob, why do you claim to have a constantly racing mind?

Well, because I do, and do you wanna know why?

xxxBecause of films like "Memento," where  Leonard, a guy with short term amnesia, tries to avenge the murder of his wife. Or was he? He is helped by Cypher from the "Matrix," or is he? The movie flows backward and forwards, and while it tells a fascinating character study and of human nature, it confounds the brain, leading to many sleepless nights contemplating the film structure and humanity itself

Then there is "Donnie Darko." Jake Gyllenhaal's Donnie faces a rabbit from the future, family issues, his issues with sleepwalking, adolescence, the impending end of the world. You know, crap like that

Then there is "Inception," the dream traveling, time-bending and questionable narration by a possibly unreliable narrator who travels through people's dreams to plant an idea that the sleeping individual believes is his own. 

All of these films I watched many times just trying wrapping my head around the many currents that time may flow, does flow, and where it ends

Now, the film, "Tenet," the word itself is a palindrome, as of our last discussion was set for June 30th, that got pushed back until August 12th, and I'm guessing that will change as well



Again, all dates are tentative due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tenet another Christopher Nolan film deals with time inversion, I'm not sure what that means, but this sci-fi film sure does look interesting

Damn you, Christopher Nolan. DAMN YOU

ARE YOU READY TO GO BACK TO THE THEATERS? If so, what precautions should they take to ensure your safety, or is that YOUR responsibility?

So what do we do NOW

Well, lucky for us, or those of us who have Netflix, "Dark:" Season 3 just dropped on Saturday, June 27th

What is "Dark," you ask?

Well, it's a German-produced web series that follow four families in the small yet fictitious town of Widin Germany. 

First, there are the Kahnwalds whom the main character is Jonas Kahnwald, an older teen still in high school whose father hangs himself at the beginning of the film, which is on June 21st, 2019 




Jonas goes away to a psychiatric institute for the summer.  In the meantime, his mother, Hanna, a woman in her 40s, starts having an affair with Ulrich Nielson, a man she's had a crush on since she was in High School

While he is gone for the summer, Jonas' girl-friend Martha Nielson takes up with Jonas's best friend Bartosz Tiedemann.




Oh, by the way, Martha's dad is Ulrich, (the one having an affair with Jonas's mom, Hanna.  Ulrich is also a police officer who is investigating the disappearance of the High School drug pusher, supplier, party favor guy Erik Obendorf

Jonas, Bartosz, Martha, her older brother Magnus, and her younger brother Mikkel along with Franziska Doppler, whose mother is the police chief and Ulrich's boss decide to go to a cave in the woods near the towns nuclear plant, where else kids go to get high to see if they can find Erik's stash.



As the kids get closer to the cave, weird sounds start emanating from the cave, and their flashlights start flickering, of course.  Chaos ensues, and they scatter,  Jonas realizes that young Mikkel was left behind, goes back calling for him but can't find him

Later, Ulrich and Katherina, his wife, the kid's mother, and the principle of the High School are devastated, and Ulrich now has two kids to find, and one is his son

Worse yet, when Ulrich was a rebellious teenager, his younger brother went missing in 1986, which is a 33-year time difference. 

Family drama ensues. Mikkel is the talk of the town, Ulrich breaks up with Hanna, oh beware of a woman scorned, and things get weirder for the town of Widin

Mikkel woke up in 1986. Not sure what to think, he ends up at the hospital where Ines Kahnwald, the attending nurse, helps the kid and eventually decides to adopt him

Oh, oh, you know means. 

Soon after that, "the Stranger" delivers a package to Jonas that contains Michael's suicide note and instructions on how to access the wormhole in the caves

There's a wormhole in the caves?

The nuclear reactor went live in 1953 oh yeah, 33 years

Jonas tries to go back to 1986 and bring Mikkel back, but the stranger tells him that he would form a paradox and erase himself


Did I forget to mention back to the future?

Turns out that the stranger is Jonas from guess when?
33 years in the future.  2052

Ulrich, while searching for his son Mikkel, find a fresh body in the woods. The boy cannot be identified, but Ulrich knows who it is? It's his brother Mads who disappeared in...   wait for it, 1986

It turns out that the is a man who dresses like a pastor, who is kidnapping the kids and is trying to do time-traveling experiments with.  Either sending kids back to from 1986 to 2019 or from 2019 to 1953.  

Confused, don't be.  That was only season 1

Season 2 is just a strange, yet still pulls you into the story and where the hell is this thing going?


All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again?

Don't worry about this film being produced in Germany with a German cast, The audio is in English dubbed very well by American actors

My intention was not to give a complete rundown of this series but to get you to at least take a look at Dark as they will do a full recap at the beginning of this new and final season


Friday, July 17, 2020

Indiana Jones and the Cross of Coronado

In this article, we are looking at The Cross of Coronado from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

If you're new here, I cover film, sci-fi, horror, action-adventure, and the historical genres as well as props and cosplay.

The Cross of Coronado is an artifact that only appears in the first scenes of the 1989 George Lucas produced, and Steven Spielberg directed blockbuster.

Far more importantly, the cross helps to establish the mindsets of Father and Son in the early days and how their stories or motivations have changed over the next 30 years.

Indiana, an altruistic teen, looking out for the public good who believes that historical artifacts should be shared with the world and not in the hands of the private collectors.  Indy later turns somewhat mercenary. So, by 1935, we find Jones willing to sell the ashes of Emperor Nurhaci to crime boss Lao Che for diamonds to eventually moving closer to wanting more than material objects to something somewhat spiritual as he does in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  
It also shows how Jones's succumb to their obsessions and tend to lose themselves to them.  

The Cross of Coronado does all this within the first half of the first act of the film.




The year is 1912, Somewhere in the southwest desert, Indiana Jones is a teenaged boy scout. His troop is out for some cave exploring. 



However, Indy and his friend have left the scouts behind to go exploring on their own.


 They enter a cave only to find that there are treasure hunters already in the cave.   


One man dressed in a leather jacket and a brown fedora. He could pass for Indiana Jones from a distance. He and his gang have just come across a 400-year-old artifact --  The Cross of Coronado.  Indy tells his friend that this is the cross that Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico gave to Coronado in 1512/  And it belongs in a museum.\

He sends his friend back to get the sheriff to do what ... I don't know after a long-drawn-out chase on a train that is transporting a circus to their next town.  The gang, lead by the man in the leather jacket and the fedora chase him towards the back of the train where he finally gets off and escapes the railroad and runs back to the house where he and his widower father live.\

It is revealed that Jones Sr. was intent on his passion project as he writes in his diary.  The Grail Diary. Moments later, his friend from the boy scouts whom he sent to get the sheriff arrives blowing his trumpet to announce his arrival.  The sheriff walks in with the treasure hunting gang behind him. 

Do you still have it? The sheriff asks Indy.  Indy gives it to the sheriff, who tells him that it was reported stolen earlier that day. Roscoe, the bowery kid, runs out to give the cross to a man in a white Panama hat. 

The man in the leather jacket and brown fedora takes off his hat and places it on the young Indiana Jone's head and tells him. "You lost today, but you don't have to like it. Next thing you know, we are out in the middle ocean in the midst of a storm. 

Indy looks up just in time to get a punch in the face.  We can see the man with the white Panama hat come down from the bridge area to the main deck to reclaim his cross.  Indy tells him that the cross belongs in a museum ---- again. 

The sailors go to throw Indy into the raging sea and leave him to drown.  But of course, he escapes their clutches as the boat is thrown from side to side. Indy goes after the man in the Panama hat as he climbs a set of stairs.  Indy grabs him, and the Panama hat man loses the cross, and as it is about to slide off the deck, Indy grabs it. Indy still has a fight on his hands. As he is fighting, cargo is starting to break free. Once again, Indy breaks away and climbs to the top of some crates and grabs a cargo line and swings out over the ocean and into the sea. In the meantime, knocking over several large oil drums that catch on fire and crash onto the deck. 

Indy lands in the water as the cargo ship, the Coronado sinks into the deep.

Back at the college where he teaches, professor Jones is finishing a class when Marcus Brody arrives. Indy concludes the sale of the cross to the National Museum, where Marcus is the curator.  And that is the last we hear or see of the Cross of Coronado.\

The Amazon seller where I got this piece is the  Costumebase,


Now, this piece of art is made of a metal alloy, plated, and comes with a 3 feet long gold chain which is attached with a  gold plated jump ring. Now this Cross measures 8"x 6" (21cm x 15.5cm) and is 3/4" (2 cm) thick and has 12 artificial pearls & 4 artificial aqua gems. Now, the makers used a sketch from  "Lost Journal of Indiana Jones" for the back inscription.


The Cross of Coronado was a jewel-encrusted golden crucifix with a chain. It was believed to contain a piece of the real cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján was born in 1510 and died in 1554. He served as the Spanish Governor of the Kingdom of Nueva Galicia. He was also an explorer and conquistador who, in 1540, based on an overly embellished report by Friar Marcos de Niza, who was the first European in what is now the State of Arizona.

Fray Marcos de Niza at the age of 44 in 1439 traveled north from Mexico to Arizona and up to Hopi and Navajo area and over through the present-day New Mexico over to the Zuni peoples saw the city of Cibola one of the Seven Cities of Gold.

In 1540, reports brought back from explorations made by the shipwrecked explorers Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and confirmed by missionary de Niza convinced Viceroy Mendoza of the presence of vast riches to the north, located in the so-called Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola.

Reaching the area in question, Vasquez de Coronado found simple pueblos but no gold.  Not wanting to call the expedition a failure -- the conquistador pushed on to Kansas, and the Texas panhandle in search of another fool's errand based on the rumor passed on to him by a native they called the Turk to a wealthy civilization called Quivira.

During his expedition from time to time, he would get into fights with the native American peoples and would slaughter many.  Upon ending the voyage and returning to Nueva Galicia, he was eventually brought up on charges of war crimes but was absolved.

Many on the internet ask the question, is the Cross of Coronado real.  The answer is no. Coronado did not go to Utah but bypassed it into New Mexico, According to Indy fandom the cross was given to him by Hernan Cortez have the cross to him in 1521. However, Vasques do Coronado was only 11 at the time and still in Spain.



That being said, the cross may have been based on the cross of Emperor Justin, the second, Eastern Emperor of Rome. The cross, called "Crux Vaticana," or the Vatican cross was given to the people of Rome by the Emperor sometime around 568 or 569 AD.







Costume Base https://amzn.to/2D0J5ul

Monday, June 1, 2020

The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows

Every time I watch Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate," I find myself more and more fascinated by the lore behind the main plot device in the film.  That device is "De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis" or better known as  "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows.." Like other fictional grimoires, I find this one especially intriguing.  Woodcuts within are devious and yet tend to hold one's attention.  I decided that I had to have this book in my collection.

I looked around the internet and prices range from $40 to $400 depending on the quality that you may be looking for. I looked both on Etsy and on eBay. After doing a general Google search, I found one result that caught my eye.  That result was from an online, on-demand bookseller. Lulu.com. Weighing the options, I decided to purchase it there.  Here is a link in case you wish to check it out.

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/aristide-torchia/the-nine-gates-of-the-kingdom-of-shadows-boris-balkan-version/hardcover/product-1jw8ygg.html 

Get The Ninth Gate BlueRay (Affiliate Link)

https://amzn.to/2NuWCfK


While no means a faithful weathered copy of the film prop. I decided that this would still be a nice addition.

Unboxing the devilish book.




What makes this book so notorious?  Throughout the film, "The Ninth Gate," Roman Polanski, sets the film up by introducing us to the main character Dean Corso. Played by Johnny Depp, one might say that he is the protagonist, however, I leave that title for his character is reserved as the jury is still out.  

Dean Corso is a book buyer, seller, and authenticator.  He is summoned by Boris Balkan who is fiendishly played by actor Frank Langella ("Dracula," "Lolita"). He wants Corso, to "authenticate" his copy of the "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows.." It is at this point that Corso reveals his knowledge of this book which is a surprise to Balkin. Corso, "Sure. Venice, 1623. The author and printer was Aristide 
Torchia, burned by the Holy Inquisition, together with all his works. Only three copies survived."  Thus signaling that the book must be evil as it's author must be evil.
However, Balkin believes that only one copy is real.  

Thus. Dean Corso sets out on his quest.  The first person on his list to interview is the widow of the former owner. Liana Telfer, a young woman in her mid 30's oozing sexuality,
in comparison to her husband Andrew Telfer who must have been at least twice her age. 
Who quietly wrote a letter and hung himself on in his study a few weeks before, which takes place at the beginning of the film. She seems to be a bit surprised that her husband has sold the book. After some pleasantries, they get down to business. Of course, she wants to know who owns the book currently. She mentioned that her husband bought the book in Spain while they were on vacation.  While Depp's character didn't get all the information he was looking for, he did realize that there was something that Telfer was hiding. This would not be the last time the two meet. 

Conducting the next part of his research takes place at the library, which is where Corso gets a glimpse of the mysterious Green Eyed Girl. Like a subtle case of Deja Vu, she is there, and then she is not. Unnerving he continues consulting the arcane tomes until it is late at night.  Arriving home only to find it ransacked, he decides that something evil is afoot. 

Death will soon follow. At this point, Corso is sure that the book means trouble and it needs to be kept safe.  He decides to hide it with his book broker (fence?). 

Once again Corso encounters Telfer, she shows up at his place and promptly seduces him.  She wants the book. This scene alone is hilarious and one of the few times that humor is injected into this serious dark film.  Certainly, a scene to look for when watching this film.

Bernie is killed apparently for the book, but it was well hidden. 

This film plays out much like a detective novel. Corso is the sleuth, yet he already seems sets up to fail. Much of this film takes place in Europe as Polanski is unable to come to the United States due to his statutory rape conviction. 


 "Books of this type often contain little puzzles."


The Book
In Toledo. Spain, Corso meets the Ceniza twin brothers, who clue him on the mysteries of the book and more importantly, the woodcuts in the book. As Pablo, one of the brothers, says, "Books of this type often contain little puzzles."

Like the woodcut reproductions in the Lulu.com version, the books are signed either by the original author and printer, Aristide Torchia, or by his supposed co-author Lucifer. This was notated by the initial "LCF."















Corso also finds out, contrary to Liana Telfer's insistence that it was her husband's favorite book, that it was actually she who wanted it. Now he understands the fierceness in her eyes when she attacked him after the seduction back in his apartment.

The book that this film is based on "The Club Dumas," written in 1993 by Spanish novelist Arturo Pérez-Reverte. His book is very detailed and has a lot to do with the French writer Alexandre Dumas (of the "Three Musketeers," "The Corsican Brothers," and "The Count of Monte Cristo Cristo" fame). Corso's search for  De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis ("Of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows").takes him to  Madrid (Spain), Sintra (Portugal), Paris (France) and Toledo (Spain).

Let me know what you think of the film, the Lulu book and, or my video on the subject.

Movie Data

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror
Year:   1999
Starring:  Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Frank Langella, Emmanuelle Seigner
Director:  Roman Polanski
Producer(s)  Roman Polanski
Writer(s):  Arturo Pérez-Reverte, John Brownjohn, Enrique Urbizu, and Roman Polanski

Rating:  R

Monday, May 25, 2020

Mandalorian Beskar Steel

Back in the 1980s, no one, not even George Lucas, would have imagined that the character of Boba Fett, let alone the Mandalorians whose armor he wore, would become as popular as he is now 40 years later. Actor and direct Jon Favreau have produced for Disney, whom George Lucas sold his company to has developed a new popular series that only can be seen on Disney's streaming channel.  That series is "The Mandalorian."  Consider the lone gunman traveling from town to town in the United State's old west, and you have the basis for the show. Think of Clint Eastwood in any of Sergio Leone's Italian westerns where Eastwood's character has no name and neither addressed nor introduce. Only speaking when necessary and who is intelligent and quick with his revolver.



eLike the "Man with no name," "The Mandalorian" is a reluctant hero. He doesn't go looking for people to help. No, he is just looking for the next bounty.  As he like other Mandalorians, he is a bounty hunter. Not necessarily the most honorable of professions, but it's a living. Not to spoil the show if you have not seen it yet, I will just say that Favreau creates a mysterious character, but it is also a character that one can actually get to know and understand.



Now on to the "Beskar" or Mandalorian Steel. Supposedly Beskar has a high tolerance to extreme forms of damage. Like the Man of Steel, Bskar can withstand a direct blaster shot and can deflect a lightsaber hit, or in other words, it is the most durable material that exists.  It was so strong, that it is used to make their recognizable armor.

When I decided that I wanted something from "The Mandalorian" series, I tend to start small and work my way up to more elaborate and more expensive props or costumes. My search for Beskar Steel gave me over 135,000 results. I initially purchased a resin Beskar ingot, which is an excellent looking prop. But after that, I also decided that I wanted something a bit more substantive.


I found prices for ingots ranging from $12 to 110 dollars.  I eventually found an artisan on Etsy that had ingots that seem to be around the correct size and thickness.  Now in comparison to the resin ingot that I had purchased, I did notice that there was a difference in on the back.  Whereas the resin version has two cutouts on the back top portion.

 


As far as the Mandalorian Disney Plus series goes: I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Not a superhero character in the least, he is the character that we can relate with. Although his character arc is not new.  A mercenary loner who decides to fight for what is right. I'm thinking Pale Rider, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly motif. I am looking forward to the second season.


Thanks for taking a look at this article and please subscribe to my YouTube channels and most importantly, please take care of yourself.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Indiana Jones Satchel Bag Unboxing

I am starting my Indiana Jones collection.  The collection will comprise of both costuming, gear, and props.  As a young adult in the 1980s, I found the intrepid archeologist not only intriguing but with a look that was inspiring.  To start off the collection I decided to start small.  Although present in all of the films, it is usually obscured by the jacket or the whip. I am talking about Indiana Jones' satchel bag.



While the first three Indiana Jones films take place in the 1930s, the bag that he carries and uses to carry his treasures was actually a WWII surplus gas mak bag.  More specifically it was the British MKVII bag.  There were actually a few manufacturers of the bag usually in green canvas but sometimes in white or yellow.  During the war, both the infantry and the police wore this mask.  

Most of what one sees when looking at Indiana Jones is the leather strap over his shirt but the bag in many shots the bag is under the jacket. However, in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, Professor Jones wears it over the jacket.



The bag comes with a canvas strap, which is usually the same color as the bag, however, in the film, it was replaced with a leather rifle strap.  You can order the bag with or without the strap.  Mine cost me an extra $12. Once the package is opened, you will need to cut off the canvas strap and replace it with the leather one.  There is a slight trick to getting the right look to it.

After removing the Chicago screw on the end that has the loop, run that part through the left side of the metal ring, and then through the strap buckle.  Give yourself some room for adjustment (about 18 inches depending on how tall you are) and then with the secure the strap loop onto the other metal ring by replacing the screws.  Once you have it on, you can make further adjustments to the strap.  Just make sure that the strap goes from right to left and the buckle should be right about your sternum.

Here is a demo on how to do this in the video below.

 

While I buy my own products with my own funds, here is a link to What Price Glory's website and to the actual bag that I bought.  I ordered this right as the pandemic was realized and this still came in about a week. http://onlinemilitaria.net/products/1914-The-MK-VII-MARK-SEVEN-Indiana-Jones-Bag-ORIGINAL/

Thank you for looking and please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Rob