Another BSG Fan’s Dream Come True

This guest blog comes from Kelly Long:

I owe many great experiences to Propworx. I worked at the second auction as a member of the Colonial Fleet. I met Luciana Carro, “Kat”, while working at the show. I had the opportunity to present to send her a set of season 2 and 3 base sets of Battlestar cards. I also attended Dragon Con, where I mentioned that I hoped she had received and enjoyed the cards. She did a double take and said “that was you!?” I said yes, that I was at the Propworx auction, in duty blues, and my call sign was Plasma. She immediately remembered me and proceeded to hug me!! She said that she was very grateful for the cards and thought it was a very sweet thing. One fan dream attained.

I attended the first auction as a normal fan and asked desperately for a Battlestar prop as a gift from my family—I never want or ask for anything but I had finally found something I wanted. I ended up with Geata’s personal computer. As mentioned earlier I worked at the second auction, and while working at the auction, who could avoid the temptation to bid? I bought a couple of items include the set of Dualla’s personal effects containing the ball and jacks from Earth. I also obtained a book of Pythia from the show via this site! All these items were lovingly—as a fellow fan you can probably guess the extreme measures—packed up for the guests a Dragon Con.

While getting autographs at the walk of fame I asked Alessandro Juliani if I could bring his character’s computer to the photo op I had purchased and he was fine with that. I went up looking for McClure’s line to get her autograph and confirm what my roommate had told me (my roommate—who had the headset-had also— asked about my props) that I could bring her dogtags and the ball and jacks from Earth. She said “I don’t have a line” somewhat in a mock of dismay. I said that I was eagerly waiting for her autograph and to speak with her. She seemed very excited that I had purchased her dogtags and wrote on my autograph to “Take frak’n good care of my tags for me!” I thought this added so much personality to what could have been something so general. To answer your question, yes, I almost cried. I proceeded to get the other cast members autographs and speak with them. Mary McDonnell was my final quest, I waited for hers last since her line was the longest. I asked to salute her and in all my excitement to salute the President—I was dressed in my flightsuit best—I forgot to ask about Pythia and had to hope she would be as gracious as the others.

The photo op arrived before I could believe it, although the lack of sleep could have really been messing with my perception of time. I brought all the items with me in a box. Mary McDonnell was my first photo op and I asked if she wouldn’t mind holding my book of Pythia from the show. She agreed and graciously held it. I took a couple photos, Kate Vernon and Aaron Douglas, before McClure. I held my breath waiting for it since I was hoping she would recognize me. I walked up and handed her the dogtags and the ball and jacks from Earth in the bag. She put the tags on and then said one minute and proceeded to pour the ball and jacks out into her hand! Insert sharp inhale on my part and a deep internal scream for joy. I was just hoping for the bag to be seen, what she did was way above and beyond anything I expected and I could not have been more grateful. It will be a welcome picture to display with them. Gaeta offered a serious face as though he was reading “his” personal computer, which I absolutely laugh at to think that it is this prop I own which led him to do that. I should add that Froggy’s was great for putting up with my requests. Thank you Propworx for the opportunity to own a piece of a show so great it is monumental and enjoying the history of my own I made with it.

Have an experience relating to our auctions that you’d like to share with Battlestar Props’s readers? Then contact us!

Dee’s Headset: A BSG Geek’s Dream Come True

Our first guest blog, by BSG fan and Propworx customer Yvonne Lee:

As most of you know by now I’m officially a BSG (Battlestar Galactica) geek.  I spent way more money than I really had on props from the Propworx auctions on eBay that ran from January to July of this year.  One of my most prized items is the headset worn by the character Dee.  I was excited to get something from a main character that was used on screen multiple times AND it didn’t cost me an arm, leg AND kidney LOL!

I recently went to DragonCon in Atlanta and the opportunity to meet the actress that portrays Dee, Kandyse McClure.

I was lucky enough to sit in the first two rows of the first main panel featuring most of the cast.  Someone in the audience asked if the cast members wished they had kept something for themselves instead of allowing it to be auctioned.  Kandyse mentioned that she made sure she got the pictures used in her final scenes because some of them were actually photos of her family members. After thinking for a minute she stated that it would have been nice if she had kept Dee’s headset.  At this point I was practically jumping up and down in my seat I was so excited.

Later that day I stopped by her table in the Hall of Fame and told her that I had her headset and asked if she would mind signing them later.  She was very gracious and seemed genuinely excited that someone would actually spend money on a prop that was used for her character.  So I come back later with the headset (and other props for other actors to sign) and asked if she would mind putting the headphones on and let me take a picture.  I had never opened the bag so I gave her the honor of being the first one to open it.  She put the headset on and had so much fun with them.

She was sitting next to Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh) and tapped him on the shoulder and said “Hogan, Hogan.. look what I have.  I have Dee’s headset again.”  She was as excited as me.  She goofed off a liitle by talking into them like she did for a sound check before filming.  Then I asked her to give me at least one serious look while wearing them. I was amazed that she seemed to be having just as much fun with all this as me.  She seemed flabbergasted that her character had so many fans that were so dedicated that they would spend money just to have something associated with her character. I do have to admit I now a have a girl crush on Kandyse McClure .

There are some people in my family and some friends who think I’m a little crazy for spending money on props but moments like this make it all worth it.  I was able to get a key prop from a main character and the actress herself was excited that someone who was a real fan was able to get it.  Kandyse did sign the earpiece and I know there are a lot of people who collect props that say you should not get the actor to sign the actual prop but to me that makes it more memorable. I collect props from BSG for my own enjoyment not with any intention of ever reselling it.  I really wanted to have a tangible story to go along with the prop that would make it meaningful.

So Say We All!

Rockets Away!

Ok, one of my favourite episodes of Battlestar is Season Two’s “Valley of Darkness.” I think this episode is brilliant because its very dark, visually and story wise.  The Galactica is under sige by the Cylon’s, and they’ve discovered their enemy has gotten alot tougher to kill since the first Cylon war.  Regular bullets bounce off these guys like nerf balls.  The only thing that will put them down is an explosive round… hurray! We have two left!!

So here we have a green military amunition box with two explosive rounds (there not real, not real ebay!  Dont de-list us!!!) that are ready to blow a Cylon centurion to bits. Lee found a box like this in the weapons locker with only a few rounds left, and passed them out between himself, Kat, and the rest of the armed group.  (Sorry flyboy, you got frakked up) Together they stopped the Cylons from reaching the ships critical systems—and venting all the atmosphere.

You can pick up this awesome piece in next weeks auction!

Tonights the Night!

Yup, never fear, the auctions will go up starting tonight at 10pm eastern standard time. Lots of goodies for you all, and really really not much left, so get bidding! Also, dont forget to check the store for lots of buy it now goodness, we have alot of cool stuff up there, dont miss out!  The Cylon War painting and Auction Two patches are still able to be ordered as well, but are running out quickly.  Time is of the essence people!

So the fun item of the week is a set of Cylon handcuffs, the locking kind!  So if you havent figured me out yet, I had to try this (after locking damian in them and making him first lol) and getting out of these cuffs is tough!  Especially if someone (damian) locks yours really tight and you cant move at all!

These cuffs are from “Home part 2″ and were marked as backups, so its unknown if they were used on screen.  They are very heavily weathered and come with a key (dont loose it!!) so you can do what you will with them, and still get out after!  Cool yes?  We thought so, we even had Kellie from shipping give it a go!

Hope you all had a great fun filled fourth of July, we all sure did! We are back in our offices and shipping is rolling on the orders so if you havent paid, you need to get on that quick! If you have any questions related to shipping, combining shipping, how to pack things awesome, please contact curtis at support@propworx.com.   Until next time!  Erin

The Best Cast in the Biz

When Ronald D. Moore reimagined Battlestar Galactica, he realized one way to distance it from the typical trappings of space opera was to hire top-notch actors. He envisioned casting Oscar-caliber actors like Edward James Olmos (1988 best actor nominee for Stand and Deliver) and Mary McDonnell (1990 supporting actress nominee for Dances with Wolves). Surprisingly, both actors saw past the science fiction title and realized therein lay defining roles of their careers.

But having seasoned veterans ground the cast was not enough. The rest of the BSG ensemble needed the “chops” to stand toe-to-toe with Olmos, McDonnell, and veteran character actor Michael Hogan. The fact BSG actors continue to be in demand shows that Moore and fellow executive producer David Eick assembled what Entertainment Weekly calls “the strongest ensemble cast of the past decade.”

To wit:
• Katee Sackhoff will be on the Fox hit 24 this fall
• Jamie Bamber plays Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin on Law and Order: UK (side-by-side with Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman—Yowza!)
• James Callis plays the titular role in the upcoming Sci Fi Channel original Merlin and the Book of Beasts
• Tricia Helfer has guest starred on Burn Notice and Chuck, as well as the forthcoming Fox series The Human Target
• Grace Park co-stars in TNT’s series The Cleaner
• Aaron Douglas plays the lead in the new police drama The Bridge
• Tahmoh Penikett is part of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse

And the list goes on…

I’ve had the privilege of meeting most of the above actors and happily report they are some of the nicest I’ve encountered in my 16 years of working in “the business.” As the Propworx eBay auctions draw to a close in the next few weeks, now is the time to pick up that special memento used by your favorite BSG cast member. Who knows, if you go to Comic-Con or Dragon*Con you may be able to get him or her to sign it for you.

Thomas

Admiral Adama’s Dog Tags

Hey guys,  before I get to the awesome that is the Adama tags, first I want to let you know we are still apparently having a few email glitches, so if your responses are slow that’s why.  You all know I love chatting with you so dont think I’m ignoring you!  We are working on it but please be patient, we are working on it!  In other news, our store will be online in a few hours!  How awesome is that?!  Have fun but dont forget, we are still doing regular ebay auctions, so keep bidding, it keeps the Battlestar’s lights on!

Now, on to a Blog, which is written by Damian. Adama’s Tags anyone??

Ebay is Back!

That’s right, all of you who were wishing/praying/crying, cry no more!  We are back with some fantastic auctions, some of which were chosen by you!  I had gotten some questions and requests and I’ve done my best to put those items up, so dont let me down guys, lets see the bids!

One of those items requested are Hotdogs tags.  Now I originally thought we did not have another set of these, but I went rampaging through the character bins, and voila! Hotdogs hero bin, with a set of tags.  Sweet!  These are a great set, and the last for Hotdog, so get um while there hot!

Another item I picked special for a few of the girls on the board.  That’s right Cain fans, this one is for you!  This week we have the gym bag for Helena Cain, Admiral of the Battlestar Pegasus.  This gym bag was not shown on screen, but is still a great item for the Cain-atic in your life!

Finally we have a few different paintings by Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, from her time aboard the Demetrius.  These are fantastic pieces, some done on canvas, some on file folders, all showing Kara’s growing obsession with finding Earth.  She was so engrossed in this mission, she painted on everything, the canvas, the bulkhead, file folders, you name it and she painted on it.  Hey, we sold her painted up bdu’s at the live auction, where is that guy/girl?  YOU NEED THESE!!  See, look how helpful I am!  Well, at least I’m not calling his/her house…ooo, good idea..

Anywho, these and more can be yours this week, lets see some good bidding everyone!  Remember, how you guys bid influences what I put up, so make sure you get the good stuff up there!  Also, I love the chatter I’ve seen on the boards, and I do look for the stuff you guys ask for (see all above stuff!) so keep up the comm traffic!  Hope you all had a great weekend, and I look forward to our last few weeks of auctions.  So say we all!

All About Lee…

Ever wonder what goes into a Colonial military jacket? (girls please don’t drool too much, there are no pictures!) Today we will take a look inside Captain Lee “Apollo” Adama’s personnel file, and get some inside information!

All military files give basic background and education information, and Lee’s is no different.  Lee’s date of birth is 432:979:021and his home at the time he entered into the service was Balmorin, Caprica.  He is listed as having won several commendations, including the Silver Eagle, and the Golden Falcon.  Lee also contributed to the Cylon war veterans education assistance program, which is very much in line with his character, he always tried to help people.   Lee’s file states that he is an excellent pilot and a highly respected CAG.    I would say the only negative in his file is that he apparently has not had a dental appointment in a while (his file says he has not had an examination within 90 days of placement) but all in all, a good officer.

Now that you know a little more about Lee, you can bid on his file, which will be available in the first auction after our live auction next week. WE STILL HAVE SOME COOL STUFF!! Dont forget, this week is NOT the last Ebay auction, so keep checking our site for updates, and make sure you log on and bid in the live auction starting Friday May 8th!   We now also have a twitter!  please follow us for my ramblings about life at propworx at: https://twitter.com/Propworx

Like a Razor…

While Admiral Cain was only on the show for a short time, she seems to have developed quite a following, (yes, I mean all of you people emailing me!!) and since you’ve asked, we have this week a set of ‘Hero’ tags worn by the Character of Helena Cain.  These tags are a plastic set, usually worn while the actress was speaking, so as not to make noise.  These tags are weathered and feature the Colonial Phoenix symbol, with H. Cain written below, as well as her serial number:  Ser. 886931

Admiral Cain, leader of the Pegasus crew and for a short time, Admiral of the fleet.

I know all of you die hard Cain fans are reading this, so make sure you bookmark this auction!  We have very little Pegasus, and in particular, Cain stuff left, get it while you can, and make sure to be at our live auction in a week, we have a few very cool items from Cain, Kendra, and all your favorite Pegasus crew members.

C-Buc’s Rule! Pyramid Ball up for Auction

Pyramid, the colonial sport we first get a glimpse of in Season Two’s “Resistance” in which Kara and Sam go one-on-one in the Buccaneers makeshift Pyramid court.   The audience starts to get a picture of what Pyramid is like, as well as learning that Kara was scouted for the pros, but taken out of contention because of a bad knee.  The most important part of Pyramid, besides the players of course, is the Pyramid ball.  The game is played by getting the ball into one of the scoring backdrops.  We saw Kara demonstrate this (much to Anders surprise) in their pickup game on Caprica.  We later see Kara bouncing the ball off the deck of the Astral Queen, before Lee takes it from her.

A Pyramid ball is slightly larger then a softball, and about as soft as a soccer ball.  Each ball is painted black with red stripes, and most have quite a bit of weathering from use.  Each ball measures about 4.63 inches in diameter.  This is a great item and can go in any display case, or on a desk. If in need of a way to ‘motivate’ people, and add a little BSG flare, toss a Pyramid ball in their direction!

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