Rockfaces
As SDCC closes its doors for another year and fans slowly digest/debate the vast amount of cool stuff shown and/or on offer, SUPERMANIA presents another exclusive on a revelation at the show you may well have missed –
Peeping out modestly on display at the Propstore Of London’s very busy booth was this pair of exquisitely sculpted portrait heads from Superman II. Mounted on a handsome black plinth with the movie title (inscribed Mount Rushmore Zod & Ursa) the display is so fresh it has yet to be listed on Propstore’s website. While it seems evident exactly what this piece is and its purpose, a keen-eyed fan familiar with the specific scene from Richard Lester’s Superman II may notice these are full head casts and appear different from the final miniature (where all three Supervillians are integrated into the rockface.)
Unlike the giant foreground miniature of Abraham Lincoln (read about its rescue from the Pinewood Studios skip here) these heads are no more than 10″ tall and even though they have been painted to resemble construction from blocks they lack the dark detailing seen in the final shot.
So what do we really have here? Its well established Propstore had a great relationship with the late, great Stuart Freeborn and these could well be his masters for the final miniature. While it seems clear they are original sculpts (as opposed to lifecasts) in plaster(?) It remains entirely speculative until Propstore releases the details of this fine piece when it finally comes up for sale at what will surely be a price worthy of its villainous subjects…