So, if you’ve taken the Blob Tour, by now you’re asking, “Who is this Wes Shank, anyway? And why do I care what he says?”

Well, quite simply, Wes Shank is the The Caretaker of The Blob.

We first met Wes at the BlobFest 2001 and, although he was quite busy, we had some time to talk with him and his wife. They were able to direct us to many of the locations used in the movie.

Wes brought his “foster child” (and other souvenirs from the movie) to the BlobFest, and we were able to take this picture.

During a quiet moment I asked Wes, and was actually allowed to touch The Blob. Most people (and I was one of them) believe the prop to be quite soft like Jello. Actually it was very firm. Wes explained that when they needed it to “perform” it was heated with lights to make it more pliable. It was placed on miniature sets with a camera set on one end. When The Blob needed to move towards, the camera, the set was tipped forward, when The Blob needed to move away from the camera, the set was tipped backwards. The Blob itself is made of silicone and was originally clear, just like The Blob in the movie before it ate the old man.


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