PropShop announces TFA Props!

the Pawn said:

I think Prop Shop bought several very expensive 3-D printing machines, and thought they were the answer to make quick props and then thought hey let's make prop replicas to sell to the public. Since they really did not know anything about the 3-D printing process, when all hell broke loose, they did not know how to handle the mess they had caused.


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I do not think this is the case. I would appear that Propshop was owned or partners with a German firm, Voxeljet, a 3d printing machine manufacturing company http://www.voxeljet.de/en/. The Propshop web site is registered to Voxeljet UK Ltd.
So someone knew a great deal about 3d printing.
EDIT: Here is an article I couldn't find earlier about Voxeljet acquiring Propshop: https://3dprint.com/17503/voxeljet-acquires-propshop/

Trust me when I say, there are a hundred reasons a company can fold and few of them are ever expressed here. Having owned a Motion picture prop & Effects company for 31 years, and been screwed on a partnership creating prop replicas, the reason things fail is usually a very complex series of events starting from a simple issue. The simple issue is not why a firm goes under, but it often is the catalyst.
I picture a scenario something less sinister and more human:
A minor product issue, disagreement or indecision by managements on how to fix problem, additional projects and their issues adding pressure to completion schedules, driven by a lack time or of cash flow, caused by poor cash management or unexpected overhead costs. In the end, twenty small issues line up and the whole thing starts to fall apart. Then at some point you realize either you can't recover, or it will be too costly to recover (Both in $$ and mental energy), so you say close the doors.

But, I have no idea what the real reason was and all of this guessing is quite useless.

Interesting discussion here. As far as I'm concerned, this is why this thread should stay open, for whoever it was that was asking earlier.

edit: and at the same time Imgill comes to the opposite conclusion :lol

lmgill said:

I do not think this is the case. I would appear that Propshop was owned or partners with a German firm, Voxeljet, a 3d printing machine manufacturing company http://www.voxeljet.de/en/. The Propshop web site is registered to Voxeljet UK Ltd.
So someone knew a great deal about 3d printing.
EDIT: Here is an article I couldn't find earlier about Voxeljet acquiring Propshop: https://3dprint.com/17503/voxeljet-acquires-propshop/

Trust me when I say, there are a hundred reasons a company can fold and few of them are ever expressed here. Having owned a Motion picture prop & Effects company for 31 years, and been screwed on a partnership creating prop replicas, the reason things fail is usually a very complex series of events starting from a simple issue. The simple issue is not why a firm goes under, but it often is the catalyst.
I picture a scenario something less sinister and more human:
A minor product issue, disagreement or indecision by managements on how to fix problem, additional projects and their issues adding pressure to completion schedules, driven by a lack time or of cash flow, caused by poor cash management or unexpected overhead costs. In the end, twenty small issues line up and the whole thing starts to fall apart. Then at some point you realize either you can't recover, or it will be too costly to recover (Both in $$ and mental energy), so you say close the doors.

But, I have no idea what the real reason was and all of this guessing is quite useless.

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I agree it can be a much more complex issue....but overall, based on the reporting of their issues on set w/ TFA and Blade Runner...I think it could be best asserted that perhaps Prop Shop was just really way in over their head on this

tubachris85x said:

If that was the case, who the hell in the TFA production thought they would be good to contract for the film?

Were they "buddy-buddy" with someone high up at Pine Wood?

If having high-end 3D printers that seemingly are designed wholly for just prototyping qualifies an entity for being contracted for a film's prop production, then golly, than any joe shmoe with enough $$ to throw at equipment can be a prop maker for a Star Wars film

It'd sure be a shame, if you know, someone else with the actual know-how and skill set to make movie props came along and took that away from them

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I'm not going to comment on the reasons Propshop closed down as the dust is still settling, although rest assured it had little to do with these replicas. I'm definitely not going to come on here and defend James Enright, as trust me when I say nobody has been screwed over in this situation more than his employees.. I am however going to put my head above the parapet and defend the company’s involvement with TFA. Believe it or not, companies like Disney don’t just hand out contracts for films like Star Wars to anybody with a 3D printer. Propshop built props for hundreds of movies over the company’s 15 year history including some of the biggest franchises around, not just Star Wars but also Marvel and James Bond. They employed an incredibly talented team of prop makers, some guys with 30+ years of experience in the film industry. Whilst the guy in charge could be a divisive character, Propshop got the Star Wars gig because the company had a proven track record of good work.

Everybody brings up the broken guns on TFA, and believe me when I say that everybody in the propmaking department knew they shouldn’t have been 3D printed. Unfortunately, you can’t say no to your boss. What nobody mentions is the many, MANY other beautiful things Propshop made for the movie aside from every single gun and lightsaber (which weren’t 3D printed by the way). The Millenium Falcon cockpit, gun bay, chess table and sofa? Propshop did them. X-wing cockpit? Propshop did it. TIE cockpit and wings? Propshop did them. Kylo Ren’s torture chair? Propshop did it. Star Killer base, the Rebel Base, the bridge of Kylo’s star destroyer? Most of what you're looking at was made by Propshop. We spent the best part of a year building things for TFA so to claim nobody at Propshop possessed the “actual know-how and skill set to make movie props” is way off base.

Not to mention the fact that most of the crew has gone on to work on Rogue One, VIII and beyond, away from the company. Every problem with Propshop can be linked back to one person, and unfortunately he was the one calling the shots.

Interesting to hear this, thanks for setting things straight. In my view some of the confusion may have something to do with the way the replicas Prop Shop was selling were advertised. Whether it was the fault of actual marketing or just misinformation being created by the many, many, many news articles that covered Prop Shop's initial reveal, I think many potential buyers became gun-shy when the initial excitement about "the makers of all the original props, making replicas in exactly the same way" turned out to not be entirely accurate. From that point forward it seems that some people may have become more skeptical, leading some to make further leaps like you've discounted as false in your post.

Really interesting to hear more about what Prop Shop did in the films, though it's unfortunate the way things all panned out. Glad to hear many are landing on their feet so quickly.

Well all we need is a reliable company that can take the scans and produce the prop replicas we preordered. I would still go back and order the ones I did not receive hopefully at a more reasonable price and no wooden shipping box to run up production Costs. Maybe Disney will wise up and make better choices on licensing and pricing.


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Seaniiie said:

I'm not going to comment on the reasons Propshop closed down as the dust is still settling, although rest assured it had little to do with these replicas. I'm definitely not going to come on here and defend James Enright, as trust me when I say nobody has been screwed over in this situation more than his employees.. I am however going to put my head above the parapet and defend the company’s involvement with TFA. Believe it or not, companies like Disney don’t just hand out contracts for films like Star Wars to anybody with a 3D printer. Propshop built props for hundreds of movies over the company’s 15 year history including some of the biggest franchises around, not just Star Wars but also Marvel and James Bond. They employed an incredibly talented team of prop makers, some guys with 30+ years of experience in the film industry. Whilst the guy in charge could be a divisive character, Propshop got the Star Wars gig because the company had a proven track record of good work.

Everybody brings up the broken guns on TFA, and believe me when I say that everybody in the propmaking department knew they shouldn’t have been 3D printed. Unfortunately, you can’t say no to your boss. What nobody mentions is the many, MANY other beautiful things Propshop made for the movie aside from every single gun and lightsaber (which weren’t 3D printed by the way). The Millenium Falcon cockpit, gun bay, chess table and sofa? Propshop did them. X-wing cockpit? Propshop did it. TIE cockpit and wings? Propshop did them. Kylo Ren’s torture chair? Propshop did it. Star Killer base, the Rebel Base, the bridge of Kylo’s star destroyer? Most of what you're looking at was made by Propshop. We spent the best part of a year building things for TFA so to claim nobody at Propshop possessed the “actual know-how and skill set to make movie props” is way off base.

Not to mention the fact that most of the crew has gone on to work on Rogue One, VIII and beyond, away from the company. Every problem with Propshop can be linked back to one person, and unfortunately he was the one calling the shots.

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thank you for sharing. im glad you voiced your statement. clears a lot of things up for me. i for one did not know propshop was involved in all that said. very very cool

Seaniiie said:

I'm not going to comment on the reasons Propshop closed down as the dust is still settling, although rest assured it had little to do with these replicas. I'm definitely not going to come on here and defend James Enright, as trust me when I say nobody has been screwed over in this situation more than his employees.. I am however going to put my head above the parapet and defend the company’s involvement with TFA. Believe it or not, companies like Disney don’t just hand out contracts for films like Star Wars to anybody with a 3D printer. Propshop built props for hundreds of movies over the company’s 15 year history including some of the biggest franchises around, not just Star Wars but also Marvel and James Bond. They employed an incredibly talented team of prop makers, some guys with 30+ years of experience in the film industry. Whilst the guy in charge could be a divisive character, Propshop got the Star Wars gig because the company had a proven track record of good work.

Everybody brings up the broken guns on TFA, and believe me when I say that everybody in the propmaking department knew they shouldn’t have been 3D printed. Unfortunately, you can’t say no to your boss. What nobody mentions is the many, MANY other beautiful things Propshop made for the movie aside from every single gun and lightsaber (which weren’t 3D printed by the way). The Millenium Falcon cockpit, gun bay, chess table and sofa? Propshop did them. X-wing cockpit? Propshop did it. TIE cockpit and wings? Propshop did them. Kylo Ren’s torture chair? Propshop did it. Star Killer base, the Rebel Base, the bridge of Kylo’s star destroyer? Most of what you're looking at was made by Propshop. We spent the best part of a year building things for TFA so to claim nobody at Propshop possessed the “actual know-how and skill set to make movie props” is way off base.

Not to mention the fact that most of the crew has gone on to work on Rogue One, VIII and beyond, away from the company. Every problem with Propshop can be linked back to one person, and unfortunately he was the one calling the shots.

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I'll say thanks for that info. I'm actually surprised it took this long for some one to say that. That's a helluva lot of good work to be overlooked due to (apparently) the decision of one tool.

- - - Updated - - -

the Pawn said:

Well all we need is a reliable company that can take the scans and produce the prop replicas we preordered. I would still go back and order the ones I did not receive hopefully at a more reasonable price and no wooden shipping box to run up production Costs. Maybe Disney will wise up and make better choices on licensing and pricing.


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And do so in a time fashion. Not somewhere between 12 months and 12 year.

Anyone have the drop on a scan or mold of the Poe TFA pilot helmet? Dying for a decent sculpt or run.

Did any Poe helmets go out?

I wonder if any of the employees grabbed as much as they could before leaving to sell on eBay or wherever they could.

the Pawn said:

Well all we need is a reliable company that can take the scans and produce the prop replicas we preordered. I would still go back and order the ones I did not receive hopefully at a more reasonable price and no wooden shipping box to run up production Costs. Maybe Disney will wise up and make better choices on licensing and pricing.


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Totally agree on this for many reasons and 3D printing is great for rapid prototyping but properly cast or machined items in my opinion
and personal experience always last longer and have more options for finishing like plating powder coating etc...

I'm thinking most of those items used on set will need to be remade for the next movie.

Its to bad they used the type of machine they did for the printing as it may be one of the more detail oriented set-ups but obviously
those parts were never meant for longevity and why they would use it to produce tangible items for sale is really unfortunate.

I hope I'm wrong and feel free to criticize.

Guys - the reality is high end replica prop demand is so far down on the list of priorities for Disney. In the scale of profitability for Disney, I don't think replica props are a subject in many board meetings. There aren't many of us willing to pay what it cost to produce these items so the company makes money. If you run a company and sell wigits and pay employees, take risk, - wake up call - you need to make profit. Otherwise it's a waste of time or a charity. I think we've been extremely lucky to get what we get regarding nice license props.

Moving forward with us original nerds getting older and newer likes and ideas from a younger generation, I believe demand peeked for these types of collectibles with Master Replicas.

The constant drum beat on these boards complaining about these companies at nauseum (some of it is deserved) doesn't exactly invite someone to invest a ton of capital into a small business to build highly accurate replicas.

The good news is the talent and references seems to keep getting better that fantastic replicas can be found on the RPF board.

Stormy320 said:

The good news is the talent and references seems to keep getting better that fantastic replicas can be found on the RPF board.

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This is kind of where I've landed as well. Looking at things like FieldMarshall's E11 Magnum Opus, it's clear that we're seeing some amazing soup-to-nuts projects lately that rival anything that was ever released officially through MR etc. I'm kind of ok with that...

It will be interesting to see what happens with the high end licensed replicas. Disney has been recalibrating its brand as of late, specifically targeting the wealthy and pricing out the middle class. I live in Orlando and many here have been watching this evolve.

Check out this article for details-
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wa...d-left-the-middle-class-behind/?client=safari

I'm thinking with the investment they've put into acquiring the SW franchise, they're going to regroup and have another bite at the apple.

The shot of Luke's saber in "The Accountant" with Ben Affleck was a wakeup call in my opinion that the wealthy are ready to see high end SW collectibles as another form of entertainment investment.

My two cents...

P.S. I'd rather have a solid vintage, real parts prop or well done fan made artist's piece over a licensed replica any day.

Great article. I had two long conversation with James Enright, president of defunct Prop Shop, for over an hour each. We talked about the pricing of their 8 Star Wars props. Even though I ordered a few of them, I told him that I did not think they would ever sell one MF Cockpit at $1 Million US Dollars. He told me they had two Maybe orders and several inquiries. I also told him that he would never sell 500 of the Vader helmet at $4,000.00. He did ask me what I thought the prices should be and I told him that they were cutting out the middle class, a major collector of Master Replica props, and were only catering to the rich and in the case of the MF Cockpit the super super rich. I even told him that I did not think they would survive, but because they were a PROP COMPANY for the MOVIE INDUSTRY and they were supposed to be making these replica props on the side as made to order props, I never thought they would close down so quickly or completely either.

James did give me the impression that Disney was the one who set the prices of the props but I also heard from another reliable source that James originally wanted to charge more for the 8 initial props as he had an unrealistic view that we would pay anything with Star Wars printed on it for thousands of dollars without considering the backlash.

I asked him directly on how many props they had sold, this was about two weeks before they closed down, and he said "a few" and I told him that they needed to put them on sale and move more numbers instead of keeping the current pricing. But obviously the writing was on the wall and the next thing we knew, they closed their door.

Now whether or not Disney sees the issue with prop replicas and how to fix the issues, I do not know. I do not think they really care about the prop replica business as evident by the number of fan made props for sale on eBay and RPF without them cracking down on those sales. But only time will tell. Again, hopefully ANOVOS or eFX, with their new Sideshow agreement, will start making props at an affordable price again as we all know there is a market for those replica props out there.

MTFBWY and LLAP and Take Care,

Rick


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Compared to all other Star Wars collecting, prop collecting is just a niche, with its good and bad.

I'm wondering how many melted Vaders were produced in the end. I ordered mine pretty swiftly - the day all the press went out and have number 15. Anyone else on here have an edition number?

Paperdandy said:

I'm wondering how many melted Vaders were produced in the end. I ordered mine pretty swiftly - the day all the press went out and have number 15. Anyone else on here have an edition number?

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I have melted Vader #80.


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Heh. Disney can continue to jack up their prices. I'm perfectly happy with the authentic fan-made casts and props - many of which the extremely wealthy will never be able to get their hands on. ...though at times it gives me a little acid reflux when things go quiet waiting for a collectible to get finished - albeit it's nothing like waiting 2 years for a pre-ordered prop that may never come to fruition.