[Eug]

Man’s disguise expertly made, but performance key to deception - thestar.com



On Oct. 29, the unnamed man boarded a Vancouver-bound flight in Hong Kong. He did so disguised as an elderly, Caucasian man. At some point in mid-air, he went into a bathroom and emerged as a young, Asian man.

Authorities later said they were tipped to his remarkable disguise by his hands, which looked too young for the rest of him.

He apparently had an accomplice: a 55-year-old U.S. citizen who slipped him a boarding pass once he’d passed security. The man passed a security check at the gate using the boarding pass and an Air Canada Aeroplan card as ID.

A mask of this quality would start with a “lifecast” of the man’s head. From that “negative” image, he would then sculpt a “positive” bust of his own skull and face.

He would then have had to build the mask around the bust using silicone. Subsequently, the mask would be painted in order to achieve a lifelike hue. Eyebrows, eyelashes and the hairs on the head would have to be individually punched through the mask.

“It’s quite tricky,” said Gibson-Harris, a 25-year veteran of the special-effects business who’s worked on TV shows such as The Lost World and movies such as An American Werewolf in Paris.

“The mask used here was obviously a silicone mask that had been expertly created over a cast of a person’s head, giving it its form-fitting shape,” said Paul Jones, a Toronto-based special effects expert who’s worked on The Resident Evil series, amongst other sci-fi and fantasy features. “The softness and ‘deadened’ quality of the silicone would allow movement of the persons face inside the mask to translate to the outer skin without the aid of glue.”

I'd love to see that mask up close. It looks very realistic in the blurry picture, but nonetheless I'm surprised it fooled so many people. Nice early Halloween trick though.



Get ready for a surprise!

[The Final Dakar]

Yes! I was hoping someone would post this. Best asylum ever.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I'd love to see that mask up close. It looks very realistic in the blurry picture, but nonetheless I'm surprised it fooled so many people.

I feel the same way about every time the guys in jackass would go old. Maybe part of it is an unwillingness to be wrong. (Cue Austin Powers "It's a man, baby!")

[Eug]

I will say I didn't understand either of your posts.

[-Q-]

I'm assuming he wants asylum as a special effects artist, because his work was really quite impressive. But did he think no one would notice the transformation?

[andi*pandi]

Well obviously he took off the mask halfway through the flight. Why do that unless he wanted attention? Presumeably he could have continued til landing.

[andi*pandi]

Well obviously he took off the mask halfway through the flight. Why do that unless he wanted attention? Presumably he could have continued til landing.

[ort888]

Oriental Pearl Cream?

[ghporter]

Hands are always a give away for age. But usually it's the other way around; someone who has "had some work done" looks in their 30s but their hands still look in their 60s.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Hands are always a give away for age. But usually it's the other way around; someone who has "had some work done" looks in their 30s but their hands still look in their 60s.

I bust prostitutes for this all the time.

wat

[SpaceMonkey]

So what happened to the old guy?

[The Final Dakar]

Lo Pan? I think Kurt Russell was the Air Marshall and things went downhill from there.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I bust prostitutes for this all the time.

Makes sense since a bust doesn't go below the shoulders.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Lo Pan? I think Kurt Russell was the Air Marshall and things went downhill from there.

It's all in the reflexes.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

Well obviously he took off the mask halfway through the flight. Why do that unless he wanted attention? Presumably he could have continued til landing.

Maybe, but either way he would still have had to remove the mask before passing the immigration/customs booth. He apparently didn't have any other ID, except possibly his own. Plus it must have been super hot in that mask, and it's a half day flight. He was going to claim refugee status anyway so once he was on the plane and already halfway to Canada I guess he felt he was home free.

The big mistake here is the agents let him on with just a boarding pass (from his accomplice) and an Aeroplan card.



The requirement is photo ID, usually a passport for international flights.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Eug 

The requirement is photo ID, usually a passport for international flights.

That only applies if you look like a terrorist.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

That only applies if you look like a terrorist someone the TSA people can get away with harassing.

Fixed that for you.

Actually, since 2001, I've always had to show some sort of photo ID at every US airport I've used. My driver's license has worked, as has military ID, but I tend to stick with the passport if I have any reason to think I'll use it on a trip.

Originally Posted by Eug 

Plus it must have been super hot in that mask, and it's a half day flight.

You'd be surprised how comfortable good prosthetic makeup can be. Well made appliances can feel pretty comfortable, and depending on the material, they might not even have an impact on skin temperature. But I don't see anything about the technical details of the makeup, so your assumption could be quite accurate.

I should have mentioned this before, but hands are actually pretty easy to make look pretty old. There are a couple of simple, cheap, comfortable techniques that can make anyone's hands look pretty darn old in just a few minutes. I'm surprised that someone who went all that way to make his face and neck look a certain age didn't take the next, very easy step and do his hands.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Why do I get the feeling that Glenn has some awkward personal information he's not telling us

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Hands are always a give away for age. But usually it's the other way around; someone who has "had some work done" looks in their 30s but their hands still look in their 60s.

And sometimes even those who haven’t had any ‘work’ done. My hands have looked like a 50-year-old’s since I was about 10.

Originally Posted by olePigeon

That only applies if you look like a terrorist.

Really?

I’ve never been allowed to go through a gate without showing photo ID (except one time when I somehow managed to get through check-in, security, and all the way on to the flight with no valid ID—but that had rather special circumstances). When you enter the gate, they’ve always asked to see my passport, both in Europe, China, and the US.

And I don’t look that much like a terrorist, despite my gerontic hands!

Originally Posted by ghporter

Fixed that for you.

I don’t think the TSA harasses that many people on flights from Hong Kong to Vancouver.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

I don’t think the TSA harasses that many people on flights from Hong Kong to Vancouver.

I think some of the TSA's people would harass folks on those flights if they could. For example, I've yet to see a Sikh male NOT singled out for special scrutiny, despite the enormous difference between Sikhism and the "suspect" group's primary religion... I'm just sayin'...

[calverson]

Now if he had a card that said McLovin...

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I think some of the TSA's people would harass folks on those flights if they could. For example, I've yet to see a Sikh male NOT singled out for special scrutiny, despite the enormous difference between Sikhism and the "suspect" group's primary religion... I'm just sayin'...

Yeah, but you know that they're religiously obligated to carry concealed knives. I can see why they're scrutinized by airline security, for valid reason.

[hyteckit]

Probably purchased here:

SPFXMasks - Original Silicone Masks. Choose from our ever growing selection of Silicon Masks!

Some white guy bought the black guy mask to rob a bank a while back.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Yeah, but you know that they're religiously obligated to carry concealed knives. I can see why they're scrutinized by airline security, for valid reason.

Oh, for valid reasons other than the fact that they couldn't possibly get a concealed knife past the metal detector that everyone has to walk through?

Or maybe "concealed knife" entails hiding it up their ass? Or perhaps that turban has magical metal-detector-shielding powers...let's make him take it off!




Total and utter fail on your part. What a surprise.

greg

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Yeah, but you know that they're religiously obligated to carry concealed knives. I can see why they're scrutinized by airline security, for valid reason.

Assuming the TSA folks know anything about what they're looking at, that would be a "valid reason." Except EVERY time I've seen this, it's been AFTER the guy with the Skih turban had cleared the metal detector.

In my experience-location dependent, of course-the TSA people have always targeted people I'd call "easily bullied." Skip the nervous looking skinny guy with no luggage, but pat down the granny and re-screen the 50-ish white woman "randomly."

I have major problems with "public safety workers" being hired at really low wages and with almost no real training on WHY they need to look at certain behaviors or populations. Unless there's an active strategy in place to make the whole process appear not only random but psychotic, it's a major Bad Thing.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

Oh, for valid reasons other than the fact that they couldn't possibly get a concealed knife past the metal detector that everyone has to walk through?
. . . .
Total and utter fail on your part. What a surprise.

Hey, just pointing out a fact. I've enjoyed speaking to a Sikh couple and getting to know about their beliefs, but it's a fact that they're obligated to carry concealed knives around, a fact that I imagine could raise red flags with airport screeners. If one of my religious obligations were to carry a concealed knife, I wonder how I would deal with that requirement in heightened security zones where concealed knives are not permitted. It's actually a question I didn't consider until reading Glenn's comment, and I know it's a fact that probably isn't too well known to many. I can empathize with people of other religions who have to balance their religious observance with the standards of the rest of the world because it's something I have to do at times.

I wasn't trying to be offensive toward Sikhs, so your jerk-ass reply was gratuitous.

[andi*pandi]

They're obligated to carry knives? I did not know that. Must go google purpose.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Hey, just pointing out a fact. I've enjoyed speaking to a Sikh couple and getting to know about their beliefs, but it's a fact that they're obligated to carry concealed knives around, a fact that I imagine could raise red flags with airport screeners. If one of my religious obligations were to carry a concealed knife, I wonder how I would deal with that requirement in heightened security zones where concealed knives are not permitted. It's actually a question I didn't consider until reading Glenn's comment, and I know it's a fact that probably isn't too well known to many. I can empathize with people of other religions who have to balance their religious observance with the standards of the rest of the world because it's something I have to do at times.

I wasn't trying to be offensive toward Sikhs, so your jerk-ass reply was gratuitous.

I spoke to many conservatives, and it's a fact they're obligated to carry concealed guns base on their beliefs.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Hey, just pointing out a fact. I've enjoyed speaking to a Sikh couple and getting to know about their beliefs, but it's a fact that they're obligated to carry concealed knives around, a fact that I imagine could raise red flags with airport screeners. If one of my religious obligations were to carry a concealed knife, I wonder how I would deal with that requirement in heightened security zones where concealed knives are not permitted. It's actually a question I didn't consider until reading Glenn's comment, and I know it's a fact that probably isn't too well known to many. I can empathize with people of other religions who have to balance their religious observance with the standards of the rest of the world because it's something I have to do at times.

I wasn't trying to be offensive toward Sikhs, so your jerk-ass reply was gratuitous.

Great reply - ignore my devastating point about the metal detectors and re-state your own dumb comment.

I'm "jerk-assed" when it's called for.

[Arty50]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I think some of the TSA's people would harass folks on those flights if they could. For example, I've yet to see a Sikh male NOT singled out for special scrutiny, despite the enormous difference between Sikhism and the "suspect" group's primary religion... I'm just sayin'...

I was just reading an article on this. Sikh's have had a special agreement with the TSA to conduct private screenings for their turbans. The TSA just changed the rules for them however, and it lead to a huge outcry.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

Great reply - ignore my devastating point about the metal detectors and re-state your own dumb comment.

You're a real trip. Dumb indeed.

I'm "jerk-assed" when it's called for.

Suit yourself.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Hey, just pointing out a fact. I've enjoyed speaking to a Sikh couple and getting to know about their beliefs, but it's a fact that they're obligated to carry concealed knives around, a fact that I imagine could raise red flags with airport screeners. If one of my religious obligations were to carry a concealed knife, I wonder how I would deal with that requirement in heightened security zones where concealed knives are not permitted. It's actually a question I didn't consider until reading Glenn's comment, and I know it's a fact that probably isn't too well known to many. I can empathize with people of other religions who have to balance their religious observance with the standards of the rest of the world because it's something I have to do at times.

I wasn't trying to be offensive toward Sikhs, so your jerk-ass reply was gratuitous.

You are aware that wearing a kirpan is subject to a great deal of interpretation in Sikhism, with use ranging from wearing a full kirpan, to a small kirpan-shaped pendant, to realizing that it's original purpose (as a defensive weapon) is no longer relevant.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Black or white
With us or agin us
Freedom or Communism


Big Mac's World®

[ghporter]

Think we can get back to the whole "masquerading as someone else to seek asylum" concept here? I know my tangential post didn't help, but it was at least about a related concept. Suggesting that a member is only capable of binary concepts, simply because that member points out a fact related to part of the discussion is completely OFF TOPIC.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by calverson 

Now if he had a card that said McLovin...

AND HE'S BACK!

Did you marry that girl or what?

[Eug]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americ...ane/index.html

A passenger on the Air Canada flight in which a young Asian man boarded disguised as an elderly man says she tried to warn the crew about the mask but was rebuffed.

Nuray Kurtur-Balas said she approached three flight attendants before take-off from Hong Kong, but nothing was done.

Kurtur-Balas said she was returning from a business trip in Hong Kong and first noticed the man when she was walking to the restroom before the flight took off. She said she was 10 rows in front of him. He was sitting in a middle seat near one of the restrooms, she said, and the crew was trying to get him to stand up so another passenger could get to her window seat.

"The lady was trying to get to her window seat, but he wouldn't move," Kurtur-Balas told CNN. "He wouldn't move or understand what people were saying. Two flight attendants were trying to talk to him. I was standing there trying to go to the restroom. Finally, he stood up, and he came towards me and I just showed him with my finger where he was supposed to sit."

When she left the restroom, she said, she noticed that he was wearing a mask and that his hands appeared much younger.

"It wasn't a real person's skin. It looked plastic," she told CNN. I said to the flight attendant, 'Did you check out that person's hands? They seem like they belong to a 20-year-old kid. There are no wrinkles.' She said 'good observation.'"

[Eug]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

Probably purchased here:

SPFXMasks - Original Silicone Masks. Choose from our ever growing selection of Silicon Masks!

Some white guy bought the black guy mask to rob a bank a while back.

Yup. You are correct, the mask is indeed from that company.

Disguised Chinese asylum seeker wore Hollywood mask - The Globe and Mail

SPFXMasks owner Rusty Slusser said while he's proud the mask was sufficiently detailed to fool authorities, he's not happy about the way the mask, which retails for $1,259, was used.

“Our mask is super realistic, but going through airport security is a bit of a long shot. I would never have guessed,” said the 39-year-old business man, who's been in the special effects business for 26 years.

Mr. Slusser said it's not the first time someone has used one of the company's masks, which are sold around the world, for criminal purposes.

He said a man allegedly wore one of SPFX's masks earlier this year in a series of Ohio bank robberies.

“They were looking for an African-American man and it turned out to be a white guy,” Mr. Slusser said.

SPFXMasks products have been featured in horror films such as “Revamped” and “Hallow's Point,” according to the company's website.

BTW, here is a video of how to put on the mask.

And here is one of their customers:

(Link NSFW)