Cool treasures going under the hammer at Prop Store's Rick Baker live auction...

This Friday May 29, 2015, our friends at Prop Store will be hosting a live auction featuring the works of the legendary makeup effects artist Rick Baker. Nominated for an outstanding twelve Oscars, he's taken home seven Academy Awards for work on films ranging from 2010's The Wolfman, 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas, 1997's Men in Black, 1996's The Nutty Professor, 1994's Ed Wood, 1987's Harry and the Hendersons and 1981's iconic An American Werewolf in London.

Mikey alien costume from Men in Black

Now preparing to retire from the film biz, he's auctioning off amazing items from his career-spanning creature collection. Here's a selection of the amazing prop masks, puppets and costumes that caught my eye that are up for grabs.

Included in the auction which takes place at 11am Pacific Standard Time on Friday is this 'Mikey' costume from Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black. This original on-the-run reptilian alien, who was voiced by John Alexander, is expected to sell for $20,000-$30,000.

Hammerhead alien from Men in Black II

Another alien piece I love is this 'Hammerhead' alien from the 2002 sequel which is expected to fetch $6,000-$8,000.

Personally I love that these full-size creature props exist, as I think modern cinema relies too heavily on CGI effects.

Frozen Frosty thug statue from Batman & Robin 

Another prop which made me chuckle was this frozen 'Frosty' statue from 1997's Batman & Robin. In the movie sequel from Joel Schumacher, this full-size henchman character, played by Joe Sabatino, was frozen in place by Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Mr. Freeze' villain.

If you like this prop, which could be yours for $2,000-$3,000, be sure to check out more original film costumes and props from Batman & Robin on display here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Mechanical Bat Gremlin and Daffy Gremlin puppets from Gremlins 2

Next up are two fantastic puppets from a comedy horror franchise I love and the 1990 sequel, Gremlins: The New Batch.

This follow-up entry by Joe Dante was much more of a parody than the original and I personally loved when the 'Bat Gremlin' bursts through the window to make the Batman sign (because everyone was still in awe of Tim Burton's 1989 movie and Batman logos were everywhere from t-shirts to fridge magnets).

Being auctioned as different lots, this mechanical bat Gremlin is expected to go for $6,000-$8,000, whilst the 'Daffy' marionette Gremlin puppet will set you back $4,000-$6,000.

Harry and the Hendersons head, hands, feet and muscle suit

In 1987's family comedy Harry and the Hendersons, the infamous 'Bigfoot' befriends a family after they knock him down with their car returning from a vacation. This hairy creature costume won Rick Baker an Academy Award and now you can own a piece of history for as little as $6,000-$8,000.

The Grinch Santa costume worn by Jim Carrey

People are forever asking if the costumes and props I feature on this blog are for sale, and sadly I say that I only feature exhibits that I come across on my travels.

One of the most frequent requests, especially around the Holidays, is for The Grinch's Santa suit worn by Jim Carrey, so now yes, you can actually own an original costume from Ron Howard's 2000 Oscar-winning live-action movie. This ensemble is expected to sell for anything from $6,000-$8,000, so maybe it's time to write that letter to Father Christmas now.

In addition to these top picks, the auction will also have an eclectic mix of authentic items from films like 1984's Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, 1988's Gorillas in the Mist, Michael Jackson's iconic Thriller music video and Moonwalker fantasy movie, 1995's Batman Forever, 2003's The Haunted Mansion, Tim Burton's 2001 Planet of the Apes, 2004's Hellboy and more besides.

Be sure to check out the PropStore website for full details of this exciting event and how to own a true collectible from one of your favourite films.

Sci-fi and fantasy props at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas...

Welcome to this first installment of movie props, costumes and memorabilia photographed on display at the Planet Hollywood Cafe in Las Vegas on April 7, 2011. For today I've decided to collect together all the fantastic sci-fi and fantasy props found around the movie-themed restaurant.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze head

First up it seems only fitting to have a trio of props from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, considering he was one of the original celebrity backers who founded Planet Hollywood alongside Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Sylvester Stallone.

Batman & Robin movie poster

Here is his 'Mr. Freeze' head bust from 1997's critically mauled Batman & Robin. Apparently the prosthetic make up and costume for the frosty villain took six hours to apply each day.

Conan the Barbarian sword prop

Next is Arnold Schwarzenegger's sword from 1982's Conan the Barbarian, the film that kick-started his blockbuster career.

If you're a fan, be sure to also check out this Wheel of Pain miniature model from the original Conan the Barbarian movie.

Conan the Barbarian movie poster

Thirdly, here's a futuristic prop from another of Arnie's movies that is currently being remade, Total Recall.

Electronic nose tool prop from Total Recall

In the 1990 movie he starred as 'Doug Quaid', a construction worker in 2084 who discovers he's actually a secret agent freedom fighter from Mars.

Total Recall movie poster

Next up is another sci-fi movie prop, this time courtesy of Disney's original 1982 Tron movie.

Jai Alai arm game prop from Tron

Jeff Bridges used this type of Jai Alai arm prop fighting in the gladiatorial games in the computerized mainframe world as the titular 'Tron'.

If you like this be sure to check out original costumes and props from Tron: Legacy, the 2011 sequel that took 28 years to make it to the big screen.

Tron movie poster

In Ridley Scott's 1985 movie, Legend (one of Tom Cruise's earlier movies), Tim Curry starred as the demonic 'Lord of Darkness'. This is a giant sword prop from the fantasy adventure movie.

Lord of Darkness sword prop from Legend

Also take a look at Tim Curry's Lord of Darkness creature make-up on display.

Legend movie poster

In John Carpenter's 1981 movie, Escape from New York (set in the futuristic 1997), the Big Apple is a massive maximum security prison and Kurt Russell's fugitive 'Snake Plissken' is given 24 hours to find the President who has crash landed on Manhattan Island.

Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken machine gun prop

from Escape from New York

This is Snake Plissken's machine gun prop from the sci-fi movie.

Escape from New York movie poster

Next up are some creature effects, first from the 1990 comedy horror, Tremors.

Tremors worm creature head prop

In the movie Kevin Bacon and the natives of a small isolated Nevada town try and defend themselves against strange underground worm-like creatures that attack and kill them one by one.

Tremors movie poster

Next up are two puppets used in the Gremlins movie sequel, The New Batch, from 1990.

Gremlin puppets from Gremlins 2

In this movie the reptilian critters wrecked havoc in the building of a media mogul in a much more comedic film than the original.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch movie poster

Next was this squashed messenger prop from 1988's ghostly movie, Beetlejuice, which starred Michael Keaton as the titular eccentric character.

Flattened Messenger from Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice movie poster

Planet Hollywood had lots of different weapon props to ogle over, from futuristic guns to ancient samurai swords.

Assault rifle from Starship Troopers

They included this assault rifle used to kill giant insect aliens in 1997's sci-fi war movie, Starship Troopers.

Starship Troopers movie poster

Also on display was this raygun from 1984's sci-fi comedy, Ice Pirates, where water is a scarce commodity in the future.

Futuristic gun prop from The Ice Pirates

The Ice Pirates movie poster

In the 1986 fantasy action movie Highlander, starring Christopher Lambert as a long lived Scottish swordsman 'Connor MacLeod', Sean Connery played a fellow immortal 'Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez'.

Sean Connery's samurai sword prop from Highlander

Ramirez helps Connor adjust to life as an immortal when they meet in the 16th century and explains his katana was made by the Japanese swordsmith father of one of his wives.

Highlander movie poster

Finally for this collection of movie props, is the Joker playing card used by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 movie, Batman.

Jack Nicholson's signature Joker playing card from Batman

If you're a fan of the Caped Crusader, be sure to also check out Michael Keaton's Batman costume and Batmobile on display here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Batman movie poster

Who knew there was more to Vegas than gambling, strippers and hangovers.

Planet Hollywood Las Vegas

Be sure to check back soon for even more cool movie memorabilia on display at the Planet Hollywood Cafe in Las Vegas.

Gremlin animatronic puppet on display...

Who could have thought that a creature as cute as the fluffy Mogwai, 'Gizmo', could metamorphosize into the scary, reptilian monsters that terrorised the sleepy town of Kingston Falls in the first Gremlins movie.

Actual Gremlin animatronic featured in

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

This original Gremlin animatronic puppet on display at the Planet Hollywood store in Disney's Hollywood Studios park in Orlando, was featured in the movie sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

Chris Walas is responsible for the creation and look of the Gremlins and Mogwai, but make-up maestro Rick Baker was special effects supervisor on the sequel.

This fantastic creature animatronic was photographed on September 24, 2010.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch movie poster