11-23-2022

Due to the high volume of fake PayPal scams and fake invoices and claims I will no longer except any other form of payment than the PayPal buttons on this page or and snail mailed personal check. When you check clears the bank I’ll send you your order.

Raising my prices and why 3-8-2023

 steveneill  Uncategorized  March 8, 2023 2 Minutes

Yesterday I had to order rubber to fill more mask orders. I have been buying from the same company for years. They are old friends and the last time I bought rubber a few months ago it was around 180 dollars.

I have two choices. Either pay and have it shipped or drive into town which is a long drive and pay the same in gas not to mention the stress and the loss of a day. It is brutal driving into LA. Worth your life. That’s just the way it is and losing a day is losing money too.

Shipping has gone up a great deal and by the time it is delivered to the studio is nearly 300 dollars for 5 gallons of rubber. That will make about 7 masks if I really stretch it.

I started doing the math again and found that on the average it costs me about 110 dollars a mask in materials alone. Then 25-45 dollars for shipping. On the average about 30 dollars. I could make them out of thinner rubber as most cheap mask makers do. Then they would rot in a few years. Mine will last for decades. 

And then there’s the labor. I take a lot of care in finishing and painting my masks. It’s all being done by me, not in China. It can take me up to 8-10 hours to finish a mask. Why 8-10? Because some have hair and hair takes a long time to lay on.

I’m a well known Hollywood makeup effects artist, filmmaker and creature actor. And I sign all my work.

I have heard I charge too much for my masks and I can get the same thing from another company for 50 dollars. But it’s not a signed hand made Steve Neill mask and they rarely look authentic if they are recreation of a classic monster or creature. 

I have been under-pricing my art for years. People have been buying my masks and reselling them online for what they are actually worth. The Studio has been relying on charity to pay for rent and utilities. I can no longer afford to give my work away for basement bargain prices. I am charging reasonable prices for Artisan labor. I will never get rich doing my art but I at least want to pay the rent.

So I am starting today raising the prices of my masks to reflect these costs and the worth of my labor to produce them. Everyone is raising their prices to me from rubber to shipping. I just have to pass that along.

Anyone that has recently made and order will not pay more. But at some point today I will be changing the prices.

about the masks

Here you will find a number of masks sculpted by Steve Neill of characters you will recognize as favorites you’ll want to collect.

All made from thick latex and hand painted to last years. Some of the masks we are making will glow in the dark such as our upcoming Galaxy Being.

Currently we offer the Sixth Finger Mask Steve made over 10 years ago. This can be worn or you can place glass eyes into the mask for display only.

Steve is in progress of making the Galaxy Being that glows in the dark which will be our next offered mask. Prices will vary based on size and complexity of the mask.

We will be updating this page soon.

Sinbad Cyclops Mask Pre-order

I’m currently in the early stages of sculpting one of my favorites from the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, the Cyclops.

This will be a thick rubber display mask for your collection and mine. If you want to wear it can be worn by cutting little slots on the side of his eye.

I am taking pre-orders for this large display mask now.

The Keeper display mask

  I am just starting the Keeper today 5-19-2022. This will be a life size bust of the famous character.  Although a display bust it might fit some people. the eyes would have to be cut out to do this. 

This bust-mask will have the eyes sculpted in and open.

Estimated time until finished and ready to ship, 4 weeks.

I am taking orders. As most of you know I make little profit from these masks after all the labor and materials it takes to make them. These masks keep the fun and creativity at our studio moving forward. And they have helped keep our doors open for years.

These will be signed and numbered.

Rough sculpture nearing finish.

Thanks for your pre-orders!

Spock Ears without the shadow box

These ears are cast in very thick latex. They are painted and signed by Steve Neill. Made from molds from the original masters these are the same ears used on Nimoy in STMP. Steve sculpted these for Fred Philips.

Price included shipping.

 Orangutan Mask 3-22-2022

Here’s some pictures of finished orders of the mask and the sculpture in clay before the mold.

New Gorilla half Mask

Update 2-24-2022

The mask is finished and now available. We start shipping the first masks next week. Thanks for your pre-orders that helped fund this new mask!

Watch the mask being created in this 10 part series of videos on Youtube. The video below is the complete playlist.

Apes half mask

This half mask is sculpted to resemble the ape appliances made for the movies and TV show. I worked briefly for a few days on when I first came to Hollywood. It was an amazing time as I got to meet John Chambers, Roddy, and so many other amazing people on the famous Fox back lot and stages.

Planet of the Apes has always been near and dear to my heart. I first saw the movie in high school and it so captivated me I started studying how the makeups were done. I wanted to make myself up as an ape. By 1971 I accomplished that and started making appearances as a chimp. I even flew on a jet to LA for Ape Con in full makeup and costume. You could never do that today!

I made appliances and sold them at conventions and made friends and fans up as apes. All this lead to my getting in the makeup union and working on the TV show. The apes are what launched my long career.

Since I’m now recreating marvels from my career to offer to you, Planet of the Apes was a natural. If these masks are popular enough I’ll do the Orangutans and Gorillas.

This mask is made to add to your collection and be displayed. It’s made to look like makeups, not the background masks. It can be worn but it may not fit everyone. One size only.

Made of thick latex, hand painted, and hand laid hair by me you are getting a bit of ape history when purchasing one of my masks. Each one is signed inside.

Sightings Grey Mask

This mask is a replica of the mask I created for the 1990’s TV series “Sightings”. This was the first grey alien mask ever created. Many were sold from the screen used mold back in the early 90’s and some still exist today as I have seen them for sale on eBay and fans have sent me pictures of theirs they still own.

I have over the years bee asked to bring them back. I had made several types for the show but this one was the first and most used.

The eyes on these masks are vacuum formed clear tinted plastic you can see through.

Salt Vampire is here

We are taking orders for the Salt Vampire. They have hair and a fur collar as per the original. I worked from a lot of pictures of this creature this picture told best the story and how the eyes were placed above the actors eyes and you could see through the deep slots under the eyes. This was typical of Wah Chang’s designs.

Here is a picture of the actor Sandy Gimple with my mask at Star Base Indy. Thanks to Paul Wood for sending me these pictures and showing her my work.

Here’s what he had to say about his experience meeting her and her reaction to my mask:

Hi Steve. I wanted to let you know that your/mine Salt Vampire mask was a HUGE hit with Sandy Gimple last weekend at Starbase Indy.

She asked me for your information so she could order one for herself!  She said she had never seen one so well done. She had a HUGE smile on her face the whole time she was looking at it.

I had a placard made for her to sign to be displayed with the mask. Similar to the one I had made for Clint Howard’s Balok mask.

I have included some pictures we took of her with the mask and some with all “Three” of us. Feel free to use any of the pictures for your blog/site.

Balok Latex Bust

This is a studio scale bust of Balok. The sculpture is based on the actual prop which still exists. The owner posted many pictures of the prop that showed the bust from many angles and it was surprisingly different looking in the raw. Camera effects and lighting played a big part in the look.

All bust will be signed by Steve Neill. We are taking pre-orders and the masks will be available next week(week of 8-18-2020). This is the sculpture only in clay which is being molded today(8-13-2020).

Ebonite Mask

Made from thick latex, epoxy glazed eyes and signed. This is a large mask, studio scale as are all our latex replica masks. Not a modernized version but sculpted close to the originals as possible. The eyes and mouth can be cut out so this mask could be applied to your face and worn just like the Chameleon mask. Price includes shipping.

Ed French made this up and had it on Face Book. I never knew John Anderson was the actor in the makeup. Thanks Ed for this little piece of history.

“But Something is There” Visitor mask

This mask was sculpted by my dear friend Paul Butcher while working on my film, “But Something is There”. These are cast from the screen used mold and signed by the writer director.

The film can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/284193410

Cast in thick latex this wearable mask has vacuum formed tinted eyes.

Sixth Finger Mask

Steve actually was a friend of John Chambers and apprenticed with him in his early career. He always loved John’s creation and wanted one for himself when he sculpted this mask over 10 years ago.

This is a large mask, wearable and available with rubber painted eyes glazed with epoxy or cut out to wear.

Werewolf of London

I made this mask back 10 years ago now and we are offering it again. It makes a nice display mask and is the Henry Hall replica based on pictures from the film. Comes fully painted with hair.

A finished mask for display made recently. Teeth have been upgraded and it comes with the scarf fabric around the neck.

Chameleon Mask

Based on the original rough sculpture this is a pretty close match to the actual masks. I had one once back in the late 70’s and I remember how rough they were. I tried to duplicate the rough sculpture resisting the urge to modernize it and clean it all up keeping the charm of the original. These are made of thick latex and you can cut the mouth open and where it as a makeup with a little glue and color around your mouth.

It’s here!

The mask are available. This one was painted today.

Frank Monster latex headpiece

This headpiece I made based on the original Jack Pierce latex cast. It has the brow piece attached to it and hair. It’s all painted up and ready for you to slip on, glue down, and make up your face to match. Makes a great collectable display piece too.

Seemore updated mask

I original did this design for a show in the 70’s called “Star Struck” We are bringing this mask back.

Spock Ears

These are cast from the original masters made back in 78 for TMP. They are the actual sculpting Steve made for the ears based on a set of unused originals Fred Phillips gave me to match exactly from the original series. Originally made in foam rubber these castings are made in very thick latex for collectors. Signed by steve and in a shadow box.

Klingon Forehead Piece

Steve sculpted many klingon forehead prosthetics for Star Trek 6. He created this headpiece as a replica to one of his favorites. From this mold latex castings are being made you can wear of display. Although the originals were foam rubber, foam rubber doesn’t last long before it rots. These thick latex castings will last much longer in your collection.

Deadpool?

Steve made this mask as a base for his Deadpool costume. Base meaning it would have had fabric applied to it. It was intended as an under structure. However fabric look was added to it so it could also be a display mask or worn.

Ape prosthetic in Polyfoam rubber

The apes basically launched Steve’s career back in 1971 when he first made his own makeup based on the movie. over several years he perfected it and made many appearances at conventions, charities and more. It eventually lead to Steve being hired by the industry. So it has always been a first love.

Westworld mask?

Steve created this mask in the early 70’s as a costume mask. This picture was taken of him in the early 70’s standing in front of his Toluca Lake apartment. We are thinking about making a new updated mask if there is an interest. Please let us know if you do.

Galaxy Being

Started the sculpture yesterday based on the actual screen used mask pictures. This mask will be available next week.

Update 3-8-2020

This was harder than I thought because the original mask pictures that Bob Burns had were wrong. How? The mask had distorted so badly over the years before it crumbled away it was a bad guide to go by. 

Others had made a version of the mask in the past that were sold and they were also more of an artist impression than accurate. That’s not to say mine is anymore accurate but I think it’s closer.

What I found on Youtube was footage taken from the show someone had reversed back from negative to positive which gave me a better view of the mask worn by the actor and a variety of angels. This showed me how off I was and the other masks were created in the past.

In the pictures where it is wet are not finished. The dry pictures are the finished sculpt. Today I make the mold. They are for preorder currently and are selling already.  I’m excited to get this one out of the mold!

Masks are now available to ship 4-10-2020

Eye of the Beholder prosthetic

These are cast in latex from the foam latex mold that was done by John O’leary while he was interning with us back a few years ago. I found the mold and always loved that Twilight Zone episode. I thought it might be fun to offer it (and later on some other simple latex cast prosthetics) that unlike foam rubber can be re-used and collected.

Travis Walton Alien Bust

Thick latex cast on a base. Signed. Approximately 10 inches tall.

Communion Bust

These bust are thick latex cast and mounted on a base. About 11 inches tall. Authorized by Whitley Strieber a long time friend and signed by artist Steve Neill.

Star Child

This is a recreation of the Star Child Liz Moore sculpture used in 2001: a space odyssey. It’s studio scale and made in cast resin. This is a large piece and made to look like the actual prop, not as it did on camera where it was highly processed with a wide angle lens, diffusion, and effects. This is how the original appeared in person and not to be confused with the 2010 version which was inaccurate.

This is the same model as many of you have seen on Tested with my friend Adam Savage.

Moon Watcher

This is another recreation of the famous Moon Watcher from 2001: a space odyssey created my Stuart Freeborn. The skin is made from Silone rather than foam rubber which will last longer. The lips move and it has an under skull in fiberglass with resin teeth and a tongue. Punch and hand laid hair.

Also owned by Adam Savage and worn by him(see video) I am making a short run of these available for the serious collector.

Here’s a picture of Dan Richter the actor who played Moon Watcher at our studio wearing the mask for the first time in over 50 years.