Seriously though, this is just about THE coolest prop replica I have come upon in a long time. It's a fully functional chrome S-Rang from the movie Batman Forever.
Now, many people are not big fans of this film, mainly because it sucked big time, but it always held a place in my heart. What can I say, I actually really liked the suit. I thought it was much better than the ones in the first two movies. But I digress.
Allow me to digress some more. Set the way back machine to about 1996ish. Batman Forever had just hit theaters, and BOY did I want one of these batarangs! I asked a few of my friends in the industry, and one of them mentioned that a store in Santa Monica on Third Street Promenade often sold resin prop kits. I was already familiar with the store in question, as I had spent many long hours drooling at the stuff they had in the glass display cases in back. I made my way down to the store, and sure enough, they had a forever rang kit. I asked an employee if I could open up the box to take a look. Upon inspecting the prop, I snapped the tip off one of the wings! OY! The employee almost crapped himself, and I ALMOST made a run for it. I just didn't want to deal! He called over his manager. I think he hoped he was going to get me in trouble, but instead, the manager offered to knock 20% off the price, since it was broken! WOOHOO! I purchased the thing. I found out years later that it was a fan sculpt by a very talented guy out of New York. However, it was cast in a very weird resin that didn't like being sanded or painted. I did my best to clean up one half of it, and ultimately molded it. My mold was a piece of crap, and it took more time to clean up one of the new castings than it did to clean up the original.
This project was on and off the shelf for upwards of EIGHT YEARS!! It was actually one of those things that always stood out in my mind as one of my longest standing failures. Anytime I would take on a new project, I'd think to myself "Dude, you STILL haven't finished that batarang!!!". It was a sore spot.
A few years ago, a friend and collector on the east coast was ramping up to do a run of chromed rangs, and I was very excited. In all of my sweating over my casting, I spent a lot of time researching chroming techniques, and realized that it was either prohibitively expensive, or technologically difficult. So I was impressed that this friend was going to offer them. However, they never materialized.
Then, out of nowhere comes this dude on the internet going by the name of "Henry Wayne". I first stumbled upon him when he was showing off a prototype for his working Batman Forever belt buckle. I was really impressed not only by his attention to detail, but also the fact that he seemed to have a world of resources at his hands that I did not. I followed him around a bit, seeing what was next. Sure enough, he offered up the beautiful prop replica you now see featured here.
Frankly, I have NO idea how he did it, but it's an amazing piece. The finish is amazing! It swings open and makes a "clank" sound when the two halves lock into open formation. It does the same thing when closing it. So not only is it a stunning piece visually, but functionally also.
My only hope is that Henry continues to contribute to the hobby in such an amazing way. The dude is awesome.