Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Message in a Bottle

I've finally acquired what is (for me) one of the
rarest and most coveted items of
LOST memorabilia for my collection!

ABC held a contest prior to Season 6 of LOST.
The winners each received a 
"Message in a Bottle".
The bottle contains a message rolled
into a scroll and tied with twine and a
2GB USB fail-safe key.
The bottles were a limited edition of only 815.

I did not win one of the bottles and have been
stalking each eBay listing for one ever since...over three years!
They usually sell for more than I was willing to pay.
But I finally won an auction a couple of weeks ago.

My first response upon opening the package was
"I thought it would be bigger!"
The bottle only stands about 7.5 inches tall.
I positioned it next to my Virgin Mary Statue for size comparison.
 I was also surprised that the bottle has such an amber
color.  I had only seen pictures of clear bottles and initially
thought it was discolored from smoke (monster?) or some other
pollutant.  But an internet search revealed that a number
 of the bottles were the amber color.

The USB fail-safe key is large and made of rubber. 
It contains the first five minutes of the Season Six Premiere.





Jacks' words are on the scroll.

I currently have the bottle displayed next to my Tawaret statue.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: Dishonorably Discharged


Desmond's release from Southway Garrison:
"Lance-Corporal Desmond David Hume, your sentence is hereby
complete and you are now and forever dishonorably discharged 
from the Royal Scots Regiment of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.  
Long live the Queen.  Enjoy you sodding book."


A "Hunter Dan" action figure stamps Desmond's release papers.
He has an appropriate military bearing and is quite a good 
stand-in, with exception of  the lack of a beret.
The counter is a small cardboard box, set on end. I used
the clipboard from the computer room of the Swan playset
and made the stamper with a bead attached to a tiny piece of
craft foam. I made the paper bag containing all of Desmond's 
worldly possessions from a section of paper cut from 
an actual grocery bag. 

Mego Desmond is wearing the blue shirt from his army uniform
and the suitcoat from his gray suit.  They are a close enough match
to the scene wardrobe:


Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: The Phone Number


Let me reiterate:
The keys moments of Desmond and Penny's 
story are very tricky to recreate with no
Mego Penny!

Desmond gets Penny's phone number.
"I won't call for eight years....December 24, 2004. Christmas Eve".

Mego Juliet is standing in once again for Penny.
Most of this conversation actually occurred inside of 
Penny's apartment, but I took creative
liberties since it was easier to fabricate a front door
than Penny's living room.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Fun With LOST Megos: Desmond Impersonates Councillor Kane


I decided to dress Mego Desmond 
as Councillor Kane from
Henry Ian Cusick's new show on theCW
"The 100".

I based the wardrobe on the image of Councillor Kane
on the autographed The 100 poster:



Councillor Kane is dressed in a S.W.A.T. uniform
purchased from Classic TV Toys.
I just wish I didn't have to wait until mid-season to watch The 100.

Fun With LOST Megos: Jungle Juliet


I've been meaning to dress Mego Juliet in
what I call  her Jungle Juliet" look for some time,
but I misplaced the blue shirt for awhile.

Dressing the female LOST Megos is extremely difficult.
The molded hair makes it nearly impossible
to get shirt collars completely in place.
I struggled with tweezers for about 10 minutes, 
working the shirt under Mego Juliet's hair.


Mego Juliet is wearing a white tank from
a Bratz clothes lot I found on eBay,
Her shirt is from Classic TV Toys.
I cut off the long sleeves to about elbow length
 to make them easier to roll up - less fabric bulk to deal with.
The pants are from a Breyers Vet doll. I originally used
the pants to dress Mego Helen Norwood
I purchased several of the rifles from Classic TV Toys.
Two of them occupy the gun racks in the 
Swan Station Playset.


The Adventures of Desmond: Desmond Visits Oxford


I decided the best way to capture Mego Desmond's
trip to Oxford to visit Daniel Faraday would be to focus
on Eloise.  There is no Mego Daniel Faraday 
and none of the LOST Megos 
bears enough resemblance to Daniel, even from behind
to use as a stand-in.

"I'm sorry? How is a rat running through a 
bloody maze so incredible?"

Desmond is dressed in a gray pullover sweater 
from a Bratz Boyz lot purchased on eBay. 
The brown leather jacket is also intended for a Bratz Boyz
figure.  I previously used the jacket for Mego Sawyer
in his *Sideways* reality as Detective Ford. 
The houndstooth scarf is a bit of ribbon, trimmed to size.
I think the ensemble is a pretty close match to
Desmond's wardrobe in the scene:


I constructed the chalkboard from green craft foam.
I used an oil-based Sharpie paint pen to replicate 
Daniel's equations.  Eloise was purchased from Classic TV Toys.
I used the top of of a small cardboard box for the frame
of the maze.  I cut the bottom of the box into strips to construct
the maze panels and covered the cardboard in 
wood-grain contact paper.


Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: Lance-Corporal Hume


Lance Corporal Hume seemed to spend most of his
time in the pouring rain.  However, I do not know
how waterproof Mego Desmond is, so I opted to
allow him to remain dry during his phone call to Penny.

"Penny listen. I'm in trouble.  I think something's happened to me.
I'm confused. I need to see you."

This was a difficult wardrobe to put together
as only US military uniforms are available for purchase.
The older Mego-scale WWI & WWII uniforms aren't
even a close facsimile. I opted for US Navy fatigues 
from Classic TV Toys.  I cut the brim off of the cap and
scrunched the cap down on one side and super-glued
in place to attempt to replicate a beret.

I reused the Bratz phone booth from a previous scene.

Friday, August 16, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: Desmond Breaks Penny's Heart

This scene breaks MY heart as well as Penny's.


Again, I wish I had a Mego Penny to interact with
Mego Desmond.  
"I can't do this. Us. This relationship"

"I can't even afford five quid for a bloody photograph." 

Desmond is wearing an orange shirt and brown suede
jacket intended for Bratz Boyz.  I made the scarf
from a length of ribbon. Desmond is holding THE
photograph, miniaturized to Mego size.
The backdrop is printed as a four-panel poster from an
episode screen capture and applied to a section of
project board.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

"Ben" Painting by Sterling Beaumon

I was astonished at the contents of a package
from my friend Sue H./@jst_thinking:
an original painting by Sterling Beaumon!
(the actor who portrayed young Ben on LOST)

 I recognized the painting immediately.
Sue had received the art as a contribution incentive
from Jo Garfein during the "Austism Speaks" fundraiser
in April of this year. 

I'm not sure if the painting is titled, but I'm calling it
"Ben x 2".  Sterling Beaumon painted it 
during the time that he was playing young Ben.


Closeup of young Ben 

Closeup of adult Ben 

The numbers 

Artist signature 

I am so honored and thrilled
to add the painting to what Sue calls
my "LOST Museum".

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: "Don't I know you?"


I need a Mego Charlie action figure!!!
That being said, I improvised to create
the scene following Desmond's departure 
from Charles Widmore's office.


The backdrop photo was taken by my friend @kiwilostie
on a trip to Hawaii.  It is the actual location where the
scene was filmed.  The British phone booth is intended
for Bratz dolls.  I spent an hour with cotton balls and 
fingernail polish remover clearing away the manufacturer-printed
Bratz grafitti on the window panels.

I found the guitar and case on eBay after a 2 month
exhaustive search.  I didn't like the guitars intended for 
Mego-scale figures and definitely wanted a 
guitar case for Mego Hurley to transport 
the Ankh to THE ISLAND!

I dressed Sawyer in a Union Jack Tshirt as stand-in
for Charlie and cropped the heck out of the photo
to create illusion of Mr. Pace.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Bonnie-Con: The Squickerwonkers


Evangeline Lilly attended Comic Con
to promote her children's graphic novel
The Squickerwonkers.

My friend Pat generously obtained a signed copy for me. 
It is a wonderful story and is beautifully illustrated
by Johnny Fraser-Allen.  

(How AWESOME is that inscription?!!)

The book is the first in a planned series.
It will go next to my Maurice Sendak favorites,
to be shared with to my future grandchildren.
It is so special!

Evangeline Lilly was very accessible to her fans
during Comic Con and I was struck by how
friendly and REAL she is. 
I particularly enjoyed her panel at NERD HQ
with Nathan Fillion - her one-time husband Kevin Callis on LOST.


Sunday, August 11, 2013

Fun With LOST Megos: Skunk Punk Miles

I laughed out loud during Miles' flashback to
his Skunk Punk days during "Some Like It Hoth".


I could not resist attempting to recreate the look.
(FYI I think it is more difficult to pierce a LOST Mego
than a real person.)


 I snipped pieces of clothing fastening hooks
for the rings.  The two studs under Miles' mouth 
are actually little black fingernail jewels.
I used "White Out" to make the skunk stripe.
(yeah I overdid it a little, need to clean that up a bit)
The shirt is from a lot of Bratz Boyz clothes from eBay.

The Adventures of Desmond: Meet Charles Widmore

Let's face it. Charles Widmore was a real bastard....
a condescending SOB, who belittled 
and humiliated Desmond.

"to share it with you would be a waste..."

Mego Charles is actually a random head purchased from
Classic TV Toys that happened to look like Charles Widmore.
The description of the head is "old man with short gray hair".
I popped the head on a Mego body and dressed Charles
in Mego Jack's black suit..

Desmond is dressed in gray suit, also purchased from  
Classic TV Toys.  I used the desk from the Swan Station
Playset computer room.  Desmond's chair is from a lot
of "wrestling figure" accessories purchased on eBay.
The MacCutcheon bottle was purchase on eBay as well. 
(I added the label.)  The two crystal glasses are hand-blown beads

Saturday, August 10, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond - First Flash

"Flashes Before Your Eyes" is one of my top
three favorite episodes of LOST. 

And so the adventures of Mego Desmond
continue with Desmond's *flash* back to
his fall from a ladder while repainting his
apartment to please Penny.


This scene took me some time to construct.
I used small craft sticks, hand-laid and glued to foam core 
to make the wooden floor.  I taped off paint-roller widths
of area on the walls before spray painting red to
replicate unpainted areas.
The paint on the floor was sprayed on as well.
The paint tray pan was make from aluminum foil. 
I found the paint can, roller and brush on eBay.
The ladder came from Classic TV Toys
Desmond is wearing jumpsuit from Mego seamstress Theressa.
(It became a Dharma jumpsuit once the Swan patch was added.)

I think this scene turned out as close as possible to original 
(without ruining a jumpsuit with red paint)

Friday, August 9, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: Desmond Meets Penny

 Unfortunately, there is no Mego Penny (yet).
Mego Juliet is standing in for Penny. 

"Did I say I say I was coming to Carlisle with you?"

Desmond is wearing a shirt purchased on eBay over
a white Tshirt from CCTV.
He is wearing pants from my extra Mego Miles.

The crate of wine was also purchased on eBay.
I added the Moriah Vineyards label.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Adventures of Desmond: "Brotha Desmond"

I decided to recreate the "Adventures of Desmond"
in chronological order.

So we begin with Brotha Desmond.


The monk robe is from a Mego "Friar Tuck".
However, Desmond is much taller than Friar Tuck
so I added a pair of brown pants since the robe 
was too short.  Desmond's robe did not include the shawl
collar, but the robe is made of a cheap nylony fabric,
and the first robe shredded when I tried to remove it.
So it stayed in place on the second robe.
I used a piece of hemp cord as sash for the robe.

I scanned and miniaturized the Moriah Vineyards
wine bottle labels from my collection and attached
to some bottles I found on eBay.  

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Desmond Action Figure!!! Woo Hoo!

I was disappointed
DEVASTATED
that neither McFarlane Toys nor Bif Bang Pow! 
released a Desmond Hume action figure.

so.......I took matters into my own hands:

I commissioned a Mego-sized (1:9 scale)
Desmond David Hume!!!

I made noise about commissioning a Desmond action figure
 for a couple of years. But that was all it was - talk and
wishful thinking.

The more fun I had customizing
my LOST Megos and Swan playset,
the more I realized that I HAD to make it happen!

So I contacted Ada Chan. She is an incredibly talented sculptor.
I previously purchased her mini-sculpts of Jack Shephard,
John Locke, Ben Linus, and Charlie Pace done in 1:6 scale.
And so the process began.

I emailed her multiple photos of 
Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond Hume.
I wanted my action figure to have moderate beard and
medium length hair, to better have him fit in all of the
flashback, flash forward, flash sideways scenarios.
This is primary "look" that the sculpt would be based on:

I also requested that a limited number of duplicate heads
be fabricated. I wanted to make sure that
my friends who owned the Swan Station Playsets
had their own Desmond action figures! 
And one was earmarked for Ian Cusick.
(Everyone should own their action figure likeness!)
Another Desmond action figure is to be donated to 
my charity of choice:  Cancer Gets LOST.
My favorite LOST character should raise a lot of money 
for such a worthy cause.

A few weeks after my initial request 
(and payment in full for original sculpt and duplicates),
I received photos of the preliminary sculpt for approval.





And about a week later, I received a photo
of the hand-painted version for approval.

I was over the moon with joy and excitement!!!

I didn't think it was possible to be any more thrilled
about ANYTHING until the action figure heads
arrived and I was able to assemble my
Desmond Action Figure!

The body was purchased from Classic TV Toys.
Desmond's jumpsuit was made by Theressa, a Mego seamstress.
I commissioned several jumpsuits when Wave 1
of the LOST Megos was first released. I added the
Dharma Swan patch to the jumpsuit.



Sooooooo much more to come.  I have spent the last few weeks
getting ready for Mego Desmond:
 making props, clothes, backdrops....
Moderation is not in my vocabulary.
Get ready to be Desmond-Spammed!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Bonnie-Con: "The 100"

I didn't get to go to Comic Con this year.
I failed in my attempt to obtain a 4 day pass, 
or ANY day pass for that matter. 

But I have amazing friends who are kind and generous,
and remembered me in their swag hauls.
So I am calling these awesome deliveries 
Bonnie-Con
my own personal geek fest.

The first fantastic friend has asked to remain anonymous....
(A third mutual pal would be devastated that 
"The 100" poster ended up with me.)

Henry Ian Cusick will be starring in the new
The CW show "The 100", premiering mid-season.

"Set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization,
when a spaceship housing humanity's lone survivors sends
100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth in hopes of possibly
repopulating the planet."


The poster is signed by:
Isaiah Washington - Chancellor Jaha
Henry Ian Cusick (yay!) - Councillor Kane
Eliza Taylor - Clarke Walters
Matthew Miller- Executive Producer
Thomas McDonell - Finn
Jason Rothenberg - Executive Producer
Marie Avgeropoulos - Octavia Black

I have already framed it!

The autograph-signing wristband was included
 in the care package.