The Thing (1982) Costume and Prop Research

[Vandalia]

I am a massive The Thing fan, and over the last couple years I've slowly become addicted to sourcing screen accurate props and costume pieces (some more obscure than others). I've been wanting to share my findings to see if anyone else has anything to add. I have a some-what goal of trying to source everything relating to Macready, The Norwegian, Garry, and Palmer. Any little screen accurate knickknacks or bits and bobs that scream "John Carpenter's The Thing" to me I also like to try and source. I'll go through my current collection, and hopefully continue adding pieces over time that I acquire!

(1) Childs and Norwegian Coat

The first of my main discoveries came from the Outpost #31 website, where under the "Cool Stuff" page, had an alleged screen-used Keith David (Childs) Jacket.

I noticed that it still had the tag inside, so I began my search on eBay to locate a close enough logo match.

I eventually did indeed locate the correct brand! Which eventually led me to a listing for a blue coat at a ridiculously good 80$ pricetag... (sadly a current listing is much higher)

The coat I located was virtually perfect!

Here are a few pictures I took of the coat I received. The only major difference between the alleged 100% screen accurate one, is the interior lining is different on the original, with five ridges on the bottom and some kind of interior pocket(?). That being said, I am perfectly happy with my coat, as it appears to be perfectly screen-accurate on the outside. It is perfect for Childs and the Norwegian! As they both wore that same style of coat, as did most of the production crew...

It is worth noting that the Norwegian costume has two versions, the pilot and the passenger.

<- Completely different snowsuit.

<-Correct Coat (The same as Childs)

This coat is absolutely amazing for winter, and makes me totally ready for any mutating monsters I may find...

 

[Vandalia]

(2) MacReady and Norwegian Goggles

For ages, I have been trying to source the incredibly unique goggles for the Norwegian, and it was only after trying to source the goggles MacReady wears, did I noticed that they were one and the same. I counted how many dots were present on the goggles, and both matched. I eventually located the brand through constant searching, and bought a pair.

The brand is American Optical Sure-Guard Safety Goggles.

These were some of my (albeit messy) reference images:

I honestly find it just hilarious how the Norwegian goggles were just some spray painted clear goggles with some masked-off eye holes. These production teams worked smarter, not harder, which is so often the case when sourcing props.

I have yet to make a pair of the Norge' goggles, as I only have the one pair... and I am a bit hesitant on what kind of paint to use. Any help appreciated.

 

[Vandalia]

(3) MacReady's Tape Recorder

I managed to locate the correct tape recorder, the exact model according to the back is 3-5121A. I have yet to locate the exact microphone used by MacReady with my believed correct two-prong connector. Regardless, here is the model I located, with the full intent on erasing the writing, and finding a proper Mic and tape to record some MacReady audios to.

 

[Vandalia]

(4) MacReady's J&B Glasses

This took some insane amount of eBay searching back when I purchased them, as they have absolutely no markings of any kind, no indication of brand, or possible identification. Identified them just off of their iconic shaping, and instantly purchased them. I've been trying to track down the identical bottle of J&B for this scene in particular.

These babies need a bit of a cleaning, but I'd say they're an exact match, taking into account some squishing due to camera lenses.

 

[Vandalia]

(5) Bard-Parker #4 Scalpel
An easy snatch, after a bit of searching... but it was a bit more of a challenge to locate a good enough blade size, so I settled on the #22 blade. I plan on dulling it down, and getting some Petri dishes...

(On one side it says "Made in U.S.A." while the other side says "Bard-Parker" and "4")

 

[Vandalia]

(6) Duofold Long Johns

In my hunt for various screen accurate MacReady pieces, during a rewatch, I realized a significant portion of the film revolves around long johns... Where the crew is quoted as wearing all size large. The brand is explicitly shown in one of the deleted scenes. Duofold Long Johns. Virtually every single character is seen wearing Duofold long-sleeve shirts in heather gray. Including MacReady, Nauls, Palmer, Copper, and Blair to name a few.

MacReady wears both a pair of longies, and a long-sleeve Duofold shirt seen throughout the movie. I managed to snag a period accurate (1980) size large on eBay NOS.

I'm still trying to find a proper fit to me for the "longies" pants, as the only correct pair I've found so far are a size 42. (much too big for me). You can actually see part of Mac's longies stick out when he bends down to check on Bennings (note the top red line).

 

[Vandalia]

(7) Garry's Key Caddy

Looking at some 4k clips of the movie, I managed to track down the key caddy Garry uses to hold all the keys. It happens to be an Evans brand key caddy of a certain print. It's worth noting that the one in the movie may have the sticker slightly damaged in the center, revealing the screw. It can be seen carried by Windows, Copper, and Garry throughout the film, and is a subtle, yet integral piece of the plot.

Just need to throw some keys on it, and its ready to be dropped by windows in the supply room.

 

[Vandalia]

(8) Norwegian Snowsuit

All the Norwegians in the film wear a type of navy blue snowsuit, and I noticed that the Childs/Norwegian parka has the same zipper as the Norwegian snowsuit, so I kept searching for Woods Goose Brand or Woods Arctic gear, and eventually stumbled upon an eBay listing for 60$, an absolute steal, and it was the exact type and my exact size! It has all the right pockets, side zippers, and everything. It's worth noting, that this brand seems to run a bit on the larger side, so a size medium feels more like a large to me, as I am 5'11 and this fits perfectly, as does my other size medium parka.

The only difference seems to be that the covering over the left hood zipper is sewn on a tad higher on mine than the one seen on screen, but I'll probably fix that eventually.

 

[Vandalia]

(9) Palmer's Headset

Palmer's seen throughout the film wearing a set of Headphones for his (yet) unidentified Walkman. I found that they are Panasonic RP-9515, another somewhat rare piece of 80s tech. The listing I purchased, sadly had the correct blue foam replaced at some point in time, but I'll try and find a more correct placement. Other than that minor difference, they are one and the same.

 

[Vandalia]

(10) Palmer's Goggles

Palmer is seen throughout the film wearing a specific set of goggles, and I have identified a pretty close brand to them as Jackson welding goggles. The exact ones worn by Palmer seem to have some sort of metal fastener on the elastic band instead of the plastic one on mine. Only a very subtle difference. There are some other brands with virtually identical goggles.

 

[Vandalia]

(11) Outpost 31's Mylar Glove Liner

Throughout the duration of the film, several key characters wear a very specific glove liner underneath their main black and blue gloves. At first I thought they were entirely unidentifiable... but then I noticed they were actually two-tone, and not only that... they actually were shiny! I managed to track down an NOS listing for 80s Mylar Glove Liners by Jacob Ash Co. I believe these to 100% be the correct pairs worn. Correct in era, and in appearance.

 

[Vandalia]

(12) Outpost 31's Cold Weather Snow Pants

A few notable characters throughout the film wear extreme cold weather pants. The particular version used is CWU-6/P USAF Cold Weather Trousers with the back-fastener. Some CWU-6/P pants have belt loops instead, but when Childs exits one of the machines, you can subtly see some movement of what appears to be the back strap fasteners moving around. Time to get shot in the leg wearing these.

 

[SCREAMINYELLOW]

…sadly had the correct blue foam replaced at some point in time, but I'll try and find a more correct placement…

View attachment 1902981

I’ve purchased some similar replacement earphone foams before off Amazon. Maybe something like these would work?

 

[SCREAMINYELLOW]

Nice scores by the way! Definitely not enough posts on the RPF with found item IDs from The Thing

 

[Vandalia]

Nice scores by the way! Definitely not enough posts on the RPF with found item IDs from The Thing

Thanks! I have lots and lots more on the way

 

[nick daring]

Amazing research and aquisitions! Love it!

 

[Vandalia]

(13) Palmer's Tape Recorder

Palmer is seen throughout the film using a tape recorder, and for the longest time I was having trouble identifying it after locating the correct headset. It seems I was actually late to the party, as My Creepy Effects on YouTube as of two years ago, has located both the correct headset, AND the tape recorder. They have correctly identified Palmer's tape recorder as a Panasonic RQ-J6, so all credit to the discovery of that to My Creepy Effects on YouTube, and I'd definitely recommend watching their Palmer costume making video that they have. Regardless, after finding out what the correct tape recorder was, I managed to find a good listing on ebay relatively quickly, entirely complete and working. It seems they are a bit hard to find, just like the headset.

The correct version Palmer carries has the black Panasonic Stereo to-go carrying case with it.

I mentioned in my Palmer Headset post above, that the listing I purchased had black replacement foam. I only recently managed to fashion some blue foam replicas after purchasing some NOS foam replacements on ebay. It had two black and two blue foams, so I tested the fitting on the black foam, then after it successfully fit, I modified the blue foam. I used the pre-cut hole as the hole around the speakers, and I cut a larger hole into the other side to fit into the headset. The result I am pretty happy with, although I may try and find some lighter and thinner blue foam in the future.

 

[Vandalia]

(14) The North Face Backpacks

MacReady is seen cleaning out the storehouse with his stuff, and I thought it fun to try and locate the correct bag he carries. My friend OutpostPilot452 also wanted one, so I managed to identify it as a somewhat rare North Face backpack. There were two listings on ebay, so we both managed to sneak away with one. I also liked the green bag in the background as well, and eventually correctly identified it as another North Face bag, that one being a structured hiking pack.

Unfortunately for the green pack I bought, it has a very bad smell to it, and a terrible pasty white coating on the inside. I am in the long process of cleaning it, so I don't have many good photos of it at the moment.

 

[Lightning]

(4) MacReady's J&B Glasses

This took some insane amount of eBay searching back when I purchased them, as they have absolutely no markings of any kind, no indication of brand, or possible identification. Identified them just off of their iconic shaping, and instantly purchased them. I've been trying to track down the identical bottle of J&B for this scene in particular.

View attachment 1867239
View attachment 1867245
View attachment 1867246
These babies need a bit of a cleaning, but I'd say they're an exact match, taking into account some squishing due to camera lenses.

Hey, those look familiar. Those are Anchor Hocking barrel glasses from the 1950s

 

[Vandalia]

Hey, those look familiar. Those are Anchor Hocking barrel glasses from the 1950s

View attachment 1914090

Very well could be! While the glasses I own, ultimately are brand-less and logo-less, there does seem to be countless variations of this style of glass. Some are branded, some not, and some have more of a recessed base on the underside, etc. Great to see!