4
Jul
Baby Dinosaur Head Prop Restoration
Conservation of a dinosaur head prop from Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
This large latex prototype Baby dinosaur head prop from the 80’s movie, Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend arrived to our studio a bit deflated. In a story showing the importance of researching these artifacts, our client initially thought it wasn’t Baby at all, but research turned up this very head in the background of rare behind the scenes footage! Over the last 30+ years the lack of support for the head had allowed the latex material to deform and resemble more of a deflated basket ball than a dinosaur. Time caused the material to become rigid and inflexible. Our client wasn’t sure if there was much we could do with this prop to restore it to it’s former glory, but the movie prop restoration team at Tom Spina Designs is never one to shy away from a challenge.
Artist Patrick Louie started by gently working the prop head back into its original shape. The process was tricky and time consuming but well worth it in the end.
Before the project began, as we do with all of our conservation and restoration projects, we had a discussion with our client about their style preferences. This client prefers to focus on conservation of their pieces rather then full restorations. Samantha Martino worked on the inside to add patches and reinforcement for the skin, with special care to support all areas which could pose a potential problem to the structure in the future. Then Melissa Ocampo, carefully painted only the small areas that had been patched leaving the original material untouched.
With the conservation process completed, Maria Teran was able to create a custom archival insert to help the fragile piece hold its shape over time, as well as make it more visually appealing for our client to display. It made for a dramatic before and after, and we were thrilled to have helped save this bit of 1980’s movie history!
Have an original movie or television prop in need of restoration? Email or call today and let’s discuss your project!
Haven't seen this movie yet?
