“Mr. Bond, you persist in defying my efforts to provide an amusing death for you.“ Hugo Drax
Made at the height of a global science-fiction craze in the late seventies, 1979’s Moonraker is probably the most fantasy-laden Bond film. The film’s plot deals with the genocidal plans of Hugo Drax. On the surface a hugely successful global business titan, Drax is, in truth, a madman bent on world domination. The laser prop is first seen being used by an MI6 operative disguised as a monk in a Brazilian field office. Many more of them are later seen during the climatic final battle sequence, both as hand held weapons and mounted onto US Marines’ space walk apparatus. The original props were resin and rubber with no moving parts. They were specially constructed for the film by the EON Productions prop department, and a large number of them were crafted. The body was constructed around a casting taken from an ‘Uzi’ machine gun. Various real world parts, including plumbing supplies, were then added to complete the fantasy look. Laser effects seen on screen were added later during post production using a complex and labor-intensive animation technique known as ‘rotoscoping’. Totally cutting edge at the time the process has been all but been replaced by modern digital effects today. The laser also featured heavily in the films marketing and promotion and is seen being wielded by Bond in the iconic illustrated poster artwork.
The Replica
The Factory Entertainment Moonraker Laser prop replica was created after exhaustive and careful study of the original props in the EON Productions archives, as well as hundreds of reference photographs and original production drawings and blueprints. All the detail on the original has been retained including some of the casting asymmetry on the handmade original, which would not have been visible on screen and a missing trigger. Triggers were deliberately omitted to allow actors wearing thick astronaut style gloves to use the props. This makes the replica visually indistinguishable from the original. However, a heavier weight polyresin and an internal support frame have been employed on the replica to give it more heft and strength than the original. Each finely crafted Moonraker laser replica comes with a museum quality display stand, numbered limited edition plaque, COA, and detailed prop story booklet. Each replica is also presented in a full color box designed to emulate the distinctive ‘Drax Enterprise Corp’ shipping crates seen in the film. Limited to only 500 pieces worldwide
