Colonial Rocket Launcher

The Colonial rocket launcher, also known as the rocket-propelled grenade launcher, is seen only once during the show’s run. It is seen during Season 3’s “Exodus, Part I” when a Colonial Marine fires it into two Centurions who ambush a meeting between Colonial Military personnel and the New Caprica Resistance at Breeders Canyon.

This piece will be available for the first auction and is actually a modified PVC pipe toy rocket launcher facsimile with hinged handle/trigger with trigger guard. The piece includes non-functioning sight. Unextended length 27″ long x 10″ x 6″. Extended length 38 3/4″.

Munitions Key

In the Miniseries, a scene that is later deleted has Commander Adama destroying Galactica’s munitions as part of the decommissioning ceremony. When shot, Adama uses the munitions key in the Weapons Room (off the CIC) to remotely detonate the munitions.

However, it would not be until Season 3’s “The Eye of Jupiter” until this prop sees the light of day, as Adama opens the munitions key storage box and removes the key before arming the nuclear weapons, themselves aimed at the algae planet.

Here are the contents that are inside that box. Note that while the munitions key and the FTL key look similar, the FTL key is one piece without any glowing lights. And no, when you go to bid on the prop, just remember that it won’t arm any nukes. Sorry.

Colonial Raptor flight manual

Here’s a pretty cool prop that you’ve never seen on screen, or at least up close—or in whole. It’s a Colonial Raptor flight manual that was created in the Miniseries. Below is a photo of the cover for the small handbook.

And for the more astute fan, you’ll note that after the attack in the Miniseries, Boomer asks Helo to tear pages from her flight manual. This is the untorn version, obviously.

Cylon Resurrection ship model

Who says officers in the Colonial Fleet can’t play with toys? And by toys, we don’t mean guns. We mean models. Small scale models.

One such model is that of the Cylon Resurrection ship that Kara Thrace took pretty pictures of with a certain camera attached to a certain ship. Of course, based on that someone on the ship—ok, the props department—whipped a model up so the bored people in the situation room can play with it. And they have to move it with sticks, since touching of the models by hand are verboten. (Except if your the Old Man, then you can throw the models around in frustration, particularly if you’re planning a rescue op from Cylon-occupied New Caprica.)

The model itself is made of plastic, with a clear plastic stand, durable enough to take being moved repeatedly by bored officers whose recreational activities are rapidly dwindling in the face of equally dwindling supplies. (Not everyone is a pyramid or a card player, you know.)

As you see it on screen…

Wireless walkie-talkie

As part of William Adama’s gear, which is stowed away in a bag, he has a wireless walkie-talkie that he uses to communicate to Galactica after the Guardian baseship leaves the planet.

The walkie-talkie has seen uses well before “Razor“, and is used when portable communication is needed. One of the earliest appearances of this device is in Season 1’s “You Can’t Go Home Again“, when Kara Thrace is forced down on a planet after tangling with eight Cylon Raiders in the previous episode, only to find it smashed upon landing. Later, in Season 2’s “Valley of Darkness“, Lieutenant Gaeta attempts to warn the other ships that they’ve been boarded by Cylons using a similar walkie-talkie. Further, Thrace (her again!) uses this walkie-talkie on Cloud Nine, when terrorists hold Lee Adama, Anastasia Dualla, Billy Keikeya and Ellen Tigh hostage in the episode “Sacrifice“. There are a few other instances of this prop showing up throughout the series, but you’ll have to hunt for those…

Gaeta uses the walkie-talkie in “Valley of Darkness”.

Kara Thrace using the walkie-talkie in “Sacrifice”.

Young Adama using the walkie-talkie, learning that the Cylon War has ended.

The walkie-talkie from its rarely seen front-view.

There’s also more information on Future-Past.com about this prop. Check it out!

Pilot suit parachute

In keeping with the whole Young Adama from “Razor” motif, we’re featuring the parachute that Adama uses when he ejects from his Viper during Operation Raptor Talon. Of course, the actual prop isn’t a full-fleged parachute, but it’s pretty cool.

Young Adama free falling, before deploying the parachute.

The front of the parachute.

The back of the parachute with rip cord and straps.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more cool “Young Adama” stuff… some of it you may have seen used in the series before! Same Battlestar time, same Battlestar wireless channel.

Raptor flight suit watch

Raptor pilots typically wear a watch around their wrist when donning a flight suit. Up until now, this small item was never captured correctly by the camera, as you can see in this fuzzy-screen cap here. (The watch here is worn by Kara Thrace in “Razor”, and presumably a non-functional version.) The versions I discovered last week are functional.

As you can see below, the functional version of the Raptor watch is connected via a remote control, which also helps to power the watch. The absurdly long modified telephone cord allows the on-set people to control the output of the watch when the watch is active, particularly during live-action scenes when it is necessary to control the output of the device. It has both a countdown function and a regular time feature. A neat addition to any flight suit!

Raptor hull breach plug

Yes, it’s the weekend. (O.K., it’s almost ending as I write this. Still, it’s the weekend.) So for today—Monday—we’re featuring the Raptor hull breach plug that Karl “Helo” Agathon uses in the Miniseries.

After shrapnel from a missile (intercepted by their Raptor’s last swallow) punctures the hull of his and Sharon “Boomer” Valerii’s Raptor—not to mention Agathon’s thigh—he applies a very cool device known as the “plug”. Yes, that’s the name this prop is given. The plug is able to seal the breach, and allow them to land on Caprica for repairs, and to pick up some pesky survivors along the way (including an annoying little runt and an equally annoying weasel named Gaius Baltar).

Helo seals the breach.

A closeup shot of the plug from our reference photos. The metal plates you see underneath are holders manufactured for the prop.

Recon camera

On the first day of cataloging the props, Santino—the awesome props guy who works for the equally awesome Ken Hawryliw—set aside some very cool props. One of them is a prop you’ve seen back in Season 2.

In the penultimate Season 2 episode “Pegasus“, Lee Adama gives Kara Thrace a recon camera in a duffel bag as part of a surveillance package. As Kara Thrace has been removed from Pegasus’s recon mission to find out about an unknown Cylon ship, she is able to use the Blackbird and this camera to take pictures of said unknown ship.

By undertaking the mission and jumping back to the Fleet, she is able to avert a crisis between Pegasus and Galactica, after Adama refuses to have Cain execute Galen Tyrol and Karl “Helo” Agathon.

Mighty little camera, eh?

A reference photo of the actual prop. Note that this is not the photo that will make it in the official catalog… that picture will be 10 times better.

The camera mounted on the Blackbird in “Resurrection Ship, Part I”.

Lee showing Kara the camera before sending her off on Blackbird in “Pegasus”.

Also, on a related matter (to the auction in general), the Original Prop Blog interviewed Alec. It is a 30 minute interview, which you can listen to here.

Raptor concept designs

Since you’ve seen the Raptor in yesterday’s post on the Cylon basestar interior, we may as well continue on that tangent.

With the Raptor being the mainstay military transport and support vehicle available to Galactica and, later, Pegasus, the ship is modeled after real world military helicopters, namely the Apache.

These designs show a more complicated model of Raptor, however it is very close to the final product that we get to see on screen both in CGI and the physical, full-scale models used on the show.

These are pencil drawn and shaded designs by Ken Rahebl (familiar with that name yet, folks?) on vellum, and said originals will be available in the auction.

And the final product, that you get to see in every episode…