 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SKIN JOB 66 Community Member

Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 2724 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject: ANOTHER REDISCOVERED PROP !!! (Clay Pipes) |
|
|
Are we going to talk about A GUN, here ? A BLASTER ? AN ÜBER WEAPON ?
Hu... no, I'd like to talk about a prop barely noticed BUT featured in a lot of scenes of Blade Runner : CLAY PIPES !
Clay pipes mainly appear in the "Snake Pit" sequence, but also at the very beginning of Chew's sequence, when he's playing with an eye out of a yellow box...
I've noticed these strange pipes a long time ago but found what they really were last year, during a trip to New York. We went to diner to KEENS (www.keens.com), a restaurant on West 36 street. Here, I noticed hundreds of pipes displayed on the celling, and they looked very similar to the ones in Blade Runner...
Well, they're pipes made of clay. They regularly appear in Napoleonic movies... but also in movies such as The Lord of the Rings, as Hobbits' or Gandalf's pipes !
If you want to learn more about them, please follow this link :
http://www.aspipes.org/faq/faq/clay.html
The original ones had a lot of different shapes and length. The ones featured in Blade Runner mainly are "Church warden pipes". They're the longest ones... 33cms / 13" long ! I've found a guy in Great Britain who makes them, John Griffiths... You'll just have to ask him for a longer red tip than the one he usualy does on his regular Church wardens. I've asked for a 3 to 4cms tip on mines (in order to closely match the screen used ones) and they look GREAT !!!
Go check his site for more info :
http://www.bewdleytown.co.uk/~bewdleytown.co.uk/public_html/claypipes/
If you want to order some, contact John and ask for "Blade Runner Church warden pipes". John is a very nice gentleman, he'll try to answer your request the best he can ! He has a 29 years experience in clay pipes and regularly provides some for the movie industry.
Each pipe costs 6,50GBP, shipping not included. (They're very carefully packed)
Just an advice : Since they are pretty fragile, order 3 rather than 1 !!!
I think they'll be a great addition to Phoenixvader's margarita glasses or Once-bitten's Johnny Walker bottle... Hope you'll like them !!!
Regarding the short pipes, one can be seen in the hand of the asian lady that stands in the background at the begining of the "Animoïd row" sequence. You'll find those easily on www.eBay.co.uk, they're pretty common... but you'll have to paint the yellow tip by yourself !
Here are a few screen-caps to show you where / when they appear in Blade Runner :
 _________________ THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST
Last edited by SKIN JOB 66 on Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:03 am; edited 4 times in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SKIN JOB 66 Community Member

Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 2724 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Here is a photo of a part of my personal BR prop collection, just to give you an idea of the size of these pipes...
 _________________ THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST
Last edited by SKIN JOB 66 on Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
hirohawa Community Member

Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 1067
|
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Good eye!
Great collection you got there. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
svander Community Member
Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 178 Location: Seattle. WA
|
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Awesome find skinjob!!
Your photo looks amazing, great collection! It looks like a shot straight out of the movie!! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
andy Community Guide

Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 6237 Location: Rochester, NY
|
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I had a feeling I was was looking in the wrong places for these. I kept looking for 'Opium' and 'Ivory' Pipes. Thank you. Great work.
Andy |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
Mr_Creepy Community Member

Joined: 24 Nov 2006 Posts: 201 Location: Kansas
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SKIN JOB 66 Community Member

Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 2724 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks a lot for your appeciation, guys, it means a lot to me !
Fred _________________ THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
Nexus6 Community Member

Joined: 15 May 2006 Posts: 473 Location: Off-World Colonies
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
I noticed the clay pipes about a year ago, & bought a handful of them for a project that I have on the bench.
Did you actually smoke yours? If not, how did you achieve the blackened look inside the bowls? The "weathering" looks just right. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
Anson James Community Member

Joined: 31 Oct 2006 Posts: 168 Location: Ireland.
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I used to find them buried in my back garden in London when I was a kid . |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
Once-bitten Banned!
Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 1317
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Very cool.
I have actually used clay pipes on stage, I seem to recall getting them from a muzzle-loading site. The play was "She Stoops to Conquer", a period piece set in a road-side Inn.
One interesting point to the pipes being clay, they break very easily.
At road-side Inns they were commonly kept on the mantle for all to use. Afraid of catching something from the last user of the pipe? No problem. Just snap a bit off the end and you are good to go.
Last edited by Once-bitten on Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:31 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SKIN JOB 66 Community Member

Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 2724 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: | Did you actually smoke yours? If not, how did you achieve the blackened look inside the bowls? The "weathering" looks just right. |
No, I don't smoke (sometimes a good cigar with some good friends, but that's all).
For the weathering / aged look, I simply have burned it with a zippo... As you can see it works very well and you can "erase" it with your fingers if you're not happy with the result ! (I'm talking about the burnt effect outside the bowl)
Fred _________________ THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
nickdaring Community Member

Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 261
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Here are a couple more smoking images.
Nick |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
repdetect Community Member
Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 268 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject: |
|
|
...and did you notice the Boyards paquet clearly displayed on the b&w photo ?...  |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
nickdaring Community Member

Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 261
|
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Sure did. Pretty cool, huh?
Nick |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SKIN JOB 66 Community Member

Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 2724 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
The pipes also appear in The Duellists, Scott's first film... and in Alien, on the label of the "Balaji Imperial", the cigarettes chain-smoked by the crew of the Nostromo... _________________ THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SKIN JOB 66 Community Member

Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 2724 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:03 am Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: | ...and did you notice the Boyards paquet clearly displayed on the b&w photo ?... |
what pack of cigarettes ?
Where ?
I just noticed the girl in that picture !
 _________________ THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
repdetect Community Member
Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 268 Location: FRANCE
|
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: |
|
|
You take the girl...i take the ciggies !!
Actually she smokes a good pipe ! ...i wonder if she swallows the smoke
Not sure our American fellows will understand that last one  |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
svander Community Member
Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 178 Location: Seattle. WA
|
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:49 am Post subject: |
|
|
repdetect wrote: | You take the girl...i take the ciggies !!
Actually she smokes a good pipe ! ...i wonder if she swallows the smoke
Not sure our American fellows will understand that last one  |
I get it...  |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
SCOFFMAN Community Member

Joined: 23 Mar 2008 Posts: 126 Location: Spokane, WA
|
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Heh! That picture did answer one question I had about the Boyards pack... whether or not the labeling on the inner tray was on the bottom or top of the pack... most of the images of the props that you guys have done show it on the top, but it looked to me like it should go on the bottom and this photo appears to confirm that... _________________ Fiery the angles fell, deep thunder rolled around their shores, burning with the fires of Orc. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Author |
Message |
jfuste Community Member

Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 739 Location: Barcelona, Spain
|
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Oh no Fred! ANOTHER ONE NO!!!!!! Just bought a nice shot glasses set, several rare editions of DC in VHS, a bunch of original negatives.....
A very nice info about this!!!! Will take note for near future.... It remembers me (I don't know why) the Indian calumets.... Not made in clay, I guess, but... Well, word comes to my mind!
Thank you for your excellent work! _________________
 |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |