Zephyr’s BSG Props Round-Up

Foo Dogs

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:53:55 -0700

Keeping with the Chinese mythology theme that has emerged. Here is a foo dog from Adama's quarters:

A more complete description would note that foo (fu) dogs are imperial guardian lions that typically keep watch over the entrances to palaces, temples and tombs. A pair consists of one with a globe or ball under its foot (the male) and one with a baby foo under its foot (the female). I'm guessing Adama has a matched set since two of them are present in his quarters.

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Title Wave! Caprica Fiction Exploration

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:02:06 -0700

In Season 1, Act of Contrition (the episode with all the nuggets), there are some scenes with Boomer and Helo back on Caprica. They go into a cafe-looking place chasing a Colonial radio signal and find a hidden door behind a book shelf. Some strategic freeze frames have provided some of the titles of these Caprica novels:

Oberst - William Harrington
Puppet on a Chain - Alistair MacLean
The Final Diagnosis - Arthur Hailey
Raise the Titanic! - Clive Cussler
Black Swan - Day Taylor
The Warbirds - Likely by either Jeremey Flack or Richard Herman
Daughter of Silence - Morris L. West
The Angry Tide - Winston Graham

So, those are some of Caprica's bestsellers!

Booksboomerweb

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More Japanese Samurai Armor

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Fri, 04 May 2007 11:59:06 -0700

This goes hand in hand with the mask covered earlier. Found this Samurai kabuto helmet hanging out in the background:

Greenhelmet

In a sneaky move, they removed the decorative piece from the front. But I think that this helmet and the mempo mask from earlier, are likely a set available from Paul Chen/CAS Iberia (makers of the afore-IDed Roman helm):

CasiberiaAH2083

This particular set is designed after the helm of Oda Nobunaga - a famous and brutal feudal ruler, samurai and conquerer who lived in the mid-1500s.

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Intercom IDed

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:11:01 -0700

These wall intercoms are located around the Galactica:

Growler

Let me tell you, these are pretty hard to find. Unless you happen to live near an old Navy port or some other place with navy surplus galore. This is a US Navy LS-541/SIC intercommunications station made by Audio Equipment Co. Inc. It's probably about 1960s vintage. Here is the one I have, it's the LS-542/SIC model with two rows of switches (for a total of 20 stations - I guess that means my personal battlestar is bigger than theirs).

LS542

I've already removed the speaker cage, but to make it more correct, I'd have to install a new speaker cover under the inside ring to match the one on the show. These are substantial pieces of equipment. Heavy and tube-driven. It looks like they probably removed the face plate, left the guts behind and mounted the front piece on the set walls. Here is a pic from the manual that shows the LS-541/SIC next to the LS-542/SIC:

Page from Manual

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Nekkid Greek Statue

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:16:35 -0700

Going on the available information gleaned from this miniseries screencap from Gaius's pad, this looks like a statue of a Greek discus thrower. It is not a reproduction of the famous discus thrower sculpture that has the figure in motion. I guess it's kind of a pre-throw position. No word on whether a fig leaf is present 'round front.

Minigaiusdiscus2

Three cheers for Greco-Roman references!

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Miniseries Mayhem!

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:02:25 -0700

Adama's quarters was a bit different in the miniseries. There seem to be some decor there that maybe doesn't appear later on. I suspect that these puppies are a couple of fencing masks:

fencing masks

Fencing is formalized dueling. These particular masks don't have the white trim that is more typical of modern masks. Could be vintage, leather-trimmed.

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Tang Dynasty War Horse

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 21:11:27 -0700

Did they have horses on Caprica? Apparently. Found this statue (possibly bronze or bronze-like):

tanghorse

Horserear2

It's a Tang Dynasty-era Chinese war horse. Similar statues can be found pretty easily through a Google or eBay search. Haven't located this exact one, yet. I suspect it's because the set designer/set decorator/prop master has a personal grudge against me and likes to use items that are either extremely hard-to-find or that are one-offs. Thanks a bunch, set person.

Never mind...I love you, set designer/set decorator/prop master. You've put together a very interesting collection of items. Even better, they all seem to have reasons for being there. It's not like you just grabbed whatever popped up at a local Vancouver rummage sale. Helmets off to you!

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Mempo (menpo) Samurai armor

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:29:09 -0700

Big thanks to my brother for making a quick ID on this one. Take a look:

Mask

Mask2

Yes, it looks like bristly dark blob. But it's actually a Japanese Samurai armor mask worn over the lower part of the face. That bristly hair thing is in the mustache area, there's a scary open mouth with teeth below it. Here's an example of a similar item done by CAS Iberia/Paul Chen:

AH2015mempo

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Erawan, 3-Headed Elephant

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:59:09 -0700

Erawan (also known as Airavata) is the three-headed elephant that is ridden by the god Indra from Hindu mythology. The image I have of this wall hanging or tapestry in Adama's quarters is woefully undetailed, but it just might be Erawan, who is sometimes depicted wearing crowns:

Elephant

A little more info. Indra is the god of weather and war. So that would make Airavata a sort of Battlestar of Mythology. Here is an image from Novica.com of a Thai painting the shows Erawan:

Erawan

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Taking Measurements

nobody@vox.com(Zephyr) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:42:54 -0700

Got to love the parallels between space ships and sea ships. We all know Adama likes to work on his model ship. He also has a variety of nautical items around his quarters. One of my favorites is this sextant - a nautical navigation tool:

SP32-20070425-172838

It is a brass reproduction of a C. Plath sextant that would have originally been made in Hamburg, Germany (though I don't know that that's where the repro is actually made). The actual size is rather large, nearly a foot in diameter. Plath has been known as the Cadillac of sextant makers and I think they are still in existence as a company in some form.

A sextant is particularly fitting because it is a astronomical instrument that measures latitude and longitude by measuring the altitudes of the sun, moon and stars. Sextant brass repros can run from $20 on up to several hundred while professional sextants can run into the thousands.

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