My MST3K Collection

I've been collecting MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 merchandise since I was first exposed to the show.

 I have two copies of the Episode Guide. One was an autographed version and one was not. 
 Both are now autographed several time since my trip to BEST BRAINS and meeting Mary Jo, Mike,
 and Bridget at Gen Con '96. I was their official guide/body guard for the show and managed to 
 pick up a few other goodies as well....

Like this badge from the show that year. It belonged to Mr. Nelson, as you can see. 

The best thing from Gen Con that year was a thank you postcard I got from Mary Jo Pehl! She's a heck of a nice lady. In fact, she sent me tickets to go to the MST3K ConventionCon ExpoFest-A-Rama 2 Electric Bugaloo in Minneapolis. 

 The convention was held over Labor Day weekend and was loads of fun. My wife and I drove to
 Minneapolis from outside of Janesville, Wisconsin and spotted dozens of cars along the way
 sporting bumper stickers proclaiming "Movie Sign" and "Hi-Keebah!". So we knew we were
 heading in the right direction. I found several neat shirts in Gypsy's Bargain Basement and got to
 look at the prop museum. A really great time was had by both of us. Want to see the actual convention guide? 
Click here.

This is the press kit for MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE. It came with six slides of the guys riffing on THIS ISLAND EARTH, behind the scenes shots, and the host segments. Scans of the slides can be found in the Pictures part of the page. If you want to read the entire press release package, click here.

  The next bit is a novel by Vivian Schilling, who many of you should recognize from episode #1001
 SOULTAKER. The novel is a signed hardcover and includes a brief bio of its multitalented author.

Gary Glover wrote the bible of bot building with this booklet. Inside, you'll find complete instructions
 along with photos showing you how to build Gypsy, Tom Servo, and Crow. This is a must have        
 item for any potential bot builder. Unfortunately, it's out of print. That means you need to find a
 person willing to part with theirs cheaply or bid for one on ebay (where they sell for upwards of 
 fifty dollars). Ouch!

If you can't find the Bot Building Booklet, look for MODELER'S RESOURCE. This highly specialized magazine (available in better hobby shops) is running a series of articles by Gary Glover on building Tom, Crow, Gypsy, and perhaps other bots and props from the show. To date, only issue #31 contains MST3K info, but Gary promises more in the months to come. As a bonus, this issue talks about the terrific MST3K model kit shown on the cover.

Moore Creations, Inc. makes a really cool set of statues. Limited in number to 5000 each, these are really neat and among my favorite MST3K related merchandise. Of the two, I think Crow looks the best, but Tom is no slouch. If you're going to build bots, you need these statues, if only to have a guide to look at.

    I also managed to pick up the tiny pewter versions of Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, also created by Moore. While the detail is not as sharp as the larger statues, they are pretty neat looking. They are the only MST3K-related collectible that my wife allows in amongst her statues and figures in our living room.

One of the first things I bought when I began collecting all things MST3K was this watch. I had to replace the band, since the one that came with it was too small for my massive wrist, so it's probably worthless now, but I still like it and wear it occasionally. 

This is the jewel of my collection. I pray that my wife never learns how much I paid for it. Yes, I bought an actual prop on ebay. This is the Observer Dictation Recorder from episode #805. It is made from the shell of a transistor radio(?), and various model parts hot-glued together. a good sneeze will cause it to explode into its component parts. I plan to build a shadow box display case for it eventually. Anyway, here it is in all its glory....