Farscape-themed lapel pins
These 1" wide lapel pins were made in a cloisonné
process using colored enamel and a reflective black nickel
surface. Here's how the pins' maker describes the process:
Cloisonné lapel pins are die-struck from a
copper/bronze surface because softer metals give a more
detailed impression. A die is created to imprint your design
into the metal. Next, the outline of the lapel pins and any
cutouts are made with a separate mold.
To finish your Cloisonné lapel pins, colors are
hand-filled with a powdered glass-like mixture. Each color is
fired - one at a time - onto your lapel pins at 1,600 F for
two to four minutes. This two-step process ensures that
bleeding of colors does not occur on your lapel pins. It also
helps colors on your lapel pins to last and keep their
brilliant hue.
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1.
The first of twelve designs is the Peacekeeper insignia,
which made its first prominent appearance during Aeryn's
sparring match with Matala in the episode Back And Back And
Back To The Future.
The Farscape design team
based the Peacekeeper insignia on a 1920 Russian propaganda
poster entitled Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge. In
fact, much of the look of the Peacekeepers has its origin in
early Soviet art. But whatever its origins, it's a simple and
striking visual. And
what better way for Scapers to identify ourselves to other true
fans than to wear our own Peacekeeper colors? |
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2.
The second pin is a really great rendering of something that's
either one of Moya's DRDs or a reject from Silent Running; I'll
leave it to you to decide which.
I can say how wonderful it is because I had absolutely nothing
to do with the way it turned out. The original drawing was the
work of a very talented Scaper artist. Me, I have trouble with
stick figures.
But back to the pin. The body of the DRD is several shades of
yellow enamel. All of the fine detail is reflective metal
wire. Note that the pin is DRD-shaped with a flat surface;
the 3D appearance in the picture is a tribute to the skill of
the artist, the pin's maker and possibly the photographer. |
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3.
Pin number three is an artist's rendering of Peacekeeper Officer
Aeryn Sun, as portrayed by the amazing Claudia Black. The
drawing was created by a Scaper artist for a large series of
Wanted: Farscape Season 5 posters. Sadly, we
didn't get a season five, at least not yet. But we do get to
celebrate the Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars miniseries, no small
accomplishment for a collection of fans who refuse to admit
defeat.
Much like Officer Sun herself. Who looks, at least in this
illustration, a bit like Modesty Blaise. (A fine thing, in my
humble opinion.) The pins portray Aeryn using violet and white
enamel and a dark reflective nickel. The nickel looks black in
the photograph but is much more dramatic in real life.
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4.
Pin number four is a teeny tiny rendering of the communicator
badges worn by Moya's crew. The version worn by denizens of the
Uncharted Territories is much larger and bulkier than this
one. Which is just more proof of Crichton's assertion in
Crackers Don't Matter that humans are superior! Then
again, their comms actually work. Mine just look really good.
(Better than this picture. Photographing reflective gold
surfaces is a lot harder than you might think.)
The comm badges are 1" long and are plated in gold, with accents
in grey and black. They're every bit as beautiful as they are
nonfunctional.
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5.
Pin number five portrays Moya, the living ship at the center of
Farscape. The design portrays Moya as she enters Starburst, a
leviathan's method of interstellar travel. This graphic was
provided by yet another talented Scaper artist. It is plated in
gold and measures 11/4" long and about
5/8" high.
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6.
One of these pins is not like the others. (Cue the Sesame
Street music.) Although some of the other pins look three
dimensional, pin number six actually is. Hand cast in
pewter, it's an amazingly detailed replica of a pulse pistol,
hand weapon of choice among Peacekeepers and those who just want
to look like them.
This is also the galaxy's first environmentally sensitive
pistol. The pin's makers are proud to use pewter that's free of
lead, cadmium and antimony. And their electricity all comes from
renewable sources: solar, wind and hydro generation. Just the
thing when you need to waste a bunch of nasties but don't want
to generate excess waste in the process.
About 7/8" long and
1/2" high.
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7.
Pin number seven is Rygel XVI, Dominar of the Hynerian Empire
(deposed). The talented Scaper artist who created this version
of His Eminence used as his inspiration a cartoon called The
Fairly OddParents. I think Rygel looks rather good as an
animated character.
This Rygel is mostly cloisonné, with a dark nickel
outline and silk screening for the detail on his collar, cuffs
and medallion. He stands 7/8" high and is
about as wide as he is tall.
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8.
Pin number eight is a cartoon rendering of Luxan warrior Ka
D'Argo, courtesy of the same talented Scaper who gave us the
Rygel design. Like Rygel, he's a cloisonné pin with some
small silkscreen detail, in this case the tattoos on his face
and chest. D'Argo stands 1" high (the pin, not the warrior) and
7/8" wide.
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9.
Pin number nine is a Peacekeeper Identity Chip, which is what
passes for security at Gammak Bases and other important (yet
somehow easily infiltrated, at least at first) military
facilities. A proper Ident Chip is 21/2"
high and 11/2" wide, or a close
approximation in whatever Sebaceans use for measurement. This
version is half as high and wide: 11/4" by
3/4". It's mostly reflective silver
metal, with black and red detail. It's also a lot brighter and
shinier than the picture.
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10.
Pin number ten is John Crichton, an astronaut. Who was shot
through a wormhole and, well, you probably know the rest. This
rendition of IASA's lost scientist was provided by Scaper from
California's Gold Country.
Crichton's features have been silkscreened onto a
cloisonné pin, with dark nickel outlines. He's
11/4" wide and about the same height.
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11.
I can take even less credit for pin number eleven than for the
others. This one owes its origin to the Mad Hatters, a group of
devoted fans of War Minister Akhna, the imperious and
frightening Scarran portrayed brilliantly by the neither
imperious nor frightening Francesca Buller. Or maybe they're
just Fran fans in general, whichever of her four (so far)
Farscape roles they may prefer. The design was provided
by the same artist who gave us the Aeryn pin. Here it's been
silkscreened onto a hard surfaced enamel pin whose edges and
back are plated with gold. The pin is
11/4" high and 1" wide.
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12.
Pin number twelve is Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu, just plain
Sikozu to her friends (assuming she had any). The product of
the feverish brain of yet another talented Scaper, she's
portrayed doing something incredibly spoilerish from Farscape's
last season. The gold plated pin is 1" high and
5/8" wide.
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Each pin is $2.50 U.S. (#5 is .25
more.) There's a small shipping charge per order based on the
destination address. The form below uses PayPal's shopping
cart, letting you place an order with a credit card. And all
without the horror of entrusting valuable financial data to a
shady character like me. You'll need to have Javascript enabled
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are unable to use Paypal, would prefer to pay by check or money order,
are interested in large quantities, have questions about the pins or
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