The 1990 film RoboCop 2 introduced the world to one of science-fiction film’s most menacing characters, the Cain cyborg. With a power-hungry psychopathic drug-lord as its human base, and an unscrupulous business as its creator, Cain wreaks havoc on the innocent civilians of Detroit until taken down by RoboCop in a climatic final scene.
Co-created by legendary special-effects animator Phil Tippett, the charismatic Cain was brought to life in the film with a full-size robot prop and several intricately machined stop-motion puppets, all which have survived and live at Tippett Studio.
Explains Cain project head Mark Dubeau, “Going into the project I really underestimated his complexity. It was a bit like working on a Russian nesting doll. The moment you started taking him apart, you’d find engineering hidden beneath for some structural purpose or another. I still can’t believe the thought put into Cain’s seemingly ornamental detail. hat initially seemed like some random “cool-looking” details glued on ACTUALLY WORKED the way you would expect it.The pistons all worked, the shocks compress, the shoulder pivots have gimbals and hinges at intervals … it was stunning and awe-inspiring. Hundreds of parts. Madness.”
It’s from these screen-used stop-motion puppets that Chronicle Collectibles directly produced its licensed RoboCop 2 Cain model. Molded from original masters and one of the original filming puppets, Cain is assembled with a whopping 275 individual parts, with each part individually cast and cleaned for new masters by Tippett Studio. This may be one of the most complex figures ever reproduced for private collectors, and Chronicle Collectibles is proud to be part of its production.
