IBoba IFettish
New Member
I’ve been into cosplay and crafting since I was a kid, always messing with costumes and props from movies and games I liked. My time in the Marine Corps slowed that down, but one project stuck with me: the treasure map from Muppet Treasure Island. It was for my buddy David, a fellow Marine I’ve known since we trained together at the School of Infantry East. We later served in the same infantry unit—him as a Sniper, me as a Mortarman. This is the story of how that map became my best man gift for his wedding.
David and I bonded early on. We’d talk about movies and stuff from growing up to pass the time. He brought up Muppet Treasure Island once, how he’d pause the VHS as a kid to try drawing the treasure map. It stuck with him for over 15 years. He’s not the crafting type, keeps things simple, so he’d never make it himself. In November 2019, the week of Thanksgiving, we were deployed in Europe with a rapid-response unit. My main post was in Spain, while David was posted in Sicily. We ended up in Baumholder, Germany, for a live-fire exercise. As often happens in the military, things didn’t go as planned—our training got delayed, and we were stuck in a barracks with metal racks, plastic mattresses, and no bedding at all. They’d said we’d get a real Thanksgiving dinner, but we ended up walking a half mile in the rain to a gas station for cold turkey sandwiches and Arizona iced tea. That’s just how it goes sometimes. Sitting there, eating that sad meal, we got to talking about dream movie props. David said that map was his top pick. I figured I’d get it for him someday.
Back at my post in Spain, I started digging. Went on Imdb and found names of people involved in the film’s production to contact, and I got a response from someone I’ll call the Senior Prop Supervisor. Told him I was a Marine and a cosplayer trying to make the map for David. Asked about its size, materials, anything better than my DVD screenshots. He got back to me with some great details: the original map was made in a prop shop at Shepperton Studios outside London, crafted from parchment paper backed with leather hide and tied with a leather string. Deployment got in the way, so I couldn’t follow up then.
Years later, I got out and settled into civilian life. David got engaged, picked me as best man for his 2022 wedding, and I knew it was time. I’d thought about making the map myself—my crafting skills could handle it. Even considered screen-printing something and roughing it up, not sure if it was canvas or leather. But that contact stayed on my mind—why make a copy when the real one was out there? I reached out again, worked out a deal, and bought one of the originals. The other groomsmen chipped in to help cover it. Before the wedding, I framed it in a wooden case, using neodymium magnets to hold the map in place without damaging it. The parchment sits flat, edges curling a bit, with the leather tie tucked to the side. I also had the other groomsmen sign it beforehand, since they’d helped with the cost.
The day before David’s 2022 wedding, at the groom’s family lunch at a BBQ joint in Alabama, I gave him the framed map. I handed it to him, and we took it out of the frame for a quick photo, unrolling the real Muppet Treasure Island map. He got quiet for a second, eyes welled up a bit—he was hit hard by it, never thinking he’d actually hold it. He gave me a big hug, said thanks, and was blown away. Everyone there was impressed, checking it out and asking about it. After the photo, we put it back in the frame, ready for him to hang. It was a good moment between two guys who’d been through a lot together, and a solid way to mark his wedding as his best man—a piece of his childhood I could give him.
David and I bonded early on. We’d talk about movies and stuff from growing up to pass the time. He brought up Muppet Treasure Island once, how he’d pause the VHS as a kid to try drawing the treasure map. It stuck with him for over 15 years. He’s not the crafting type, keeps things simple, so he’d never make it himself. In November 2019, the week of Thanksgiving, we were deployed in Europe with a rapid-response unit. My main post was in Spain, while David was posted in Sicily. We ended up in Baumholder, Germany, for a live-fire exercise. As often happens in the military, things didn’t go as planned—our training got delayed, and we were stuck in a barracks with metal racks, plastic mattresses, and no bedding at all. They’d said we’d get a real Thanksgiving dinner, but we ended up walking a half mile in the rain to a gas station for cold turkey sandwiches and Arizona iced tea. That’s just how it goes sometimes. Sitting there, eating that sad meal, we got to talking about dream movie props. David said that map was his top pick. I figured I’d get it for him someday.
Back at my post in Spain, I started digging. Went on Imdb and found names of people involved in the film’s production to contact, and I got a response from someone I’ll call the Senior Prop Supervisor. Told him I was a Marine and a cosplayer trying to make the map for David. Asked about its size, materials, anything better than my DVD screenshots. He got back to me with some great details: the original map was made in a prop shop at Shepperton Studios outside London, crafted from parchment paper backed with leather hide and tied with a leather string. Deployment got in the way, so I couldn’t follow up then.
Years later, I got out and settled into civilian life. David got engaged, picked me as best man for his 2022 wedding, and I knew it was time. I’d thought about making the map myself—my crafting skills could handle it. Even considered screen-printing something and roughing it up, not sure if it was canvas or leather. But that contact stayed on my mind—why make a copy when the real one was out there? I reached out again, worked out a deal, and bought one of the originals. The other groomsmen chipped in to help cover it. Before the wedding, I framed it in a wooden case, using neodymium magnets to hold the map in place without damaging it. The parchment sits flat, edges curling a bit, with the leather tie tucked to the side. I also had the other groomsmen sign it beforehand, since they’d helped with the cost.
The day before David’s 2022 wedding, at the groom’s family lunch at a BBQ joint in Alabama, I gave him the framed map. I handed it to him, and we took it out of the frame for a quick photo, unrolling the real Muppet Treasure Island map. He got quiet for a second, eyes welled up a bit—he was hit hard by it, never thinking he’d actually hold it. He gave me a big hug, said thanks, and was blown away. Everyone there was impressed, checking it out and asking about it. After the photo, we put it back in the frame, ready for him to hang. It was a good moment between two guys who’d been through a lot together, and a solid way to mark his wedding as his best man—a piece of his childhood I could give him.
