Blake's 7 prop replicas?
- Thread starter Eagle
- Start date
PeterLC
Sr Member
Well I just got the UK releases of the Blake's 7 DVD boxsets and included on the series 1 boxset is the Blue Peter segment with Lesley Judd on how to make a Liberator teleport bracelet and the series 3 boxset has the 1983 Blue Peter segment on how to make a Scorpio bracelet. Yeehah.
Nobby
Sr Member
was that using an old drinks bottle?
I seem to remember having a go at that when i was a kid!
was that using an old drinks bottle?
I seem to remember having a go at that when i was a kid!
Here you go
Blakes7 Bracelet. Make your own - YouTube
Nobby
Sr Member
I would consider doing a run of helmets if there was enough interest
have you had enough interest for a run?
Well, I've now read through all the pages and unfortunately I still have no clue how to build the Liberator gun. XD
Well, that's not entirely true. When I have more free time, I'm going to peruse the EMA Models site: Home page that was brought up earlier and see if I can get a few choice pieces. While of course I'd love to go for accuracy for any build I do, for something like the Liberator gun, I may go a more cheapy route in areas (i.e. not as much detailing in the handle [flashlight, perhaps?] or the barrel and just go with a transparent plastic tube for it). The cord wouldn't be too difficult to put together, since I could probably go to a Goodwill and get an old phone cord or the like. Again, not accurate, but hey, they were on a budget and I could certainly try a budget build, too. ^^
Or someone much more talented than us could make the gun and have a run of them. =D
So, decided to go ahead with a budget build of a Liberator gun.
Items include:
-1x inline phone coupler
-1x phone cord
-1x Flashlight (specifically one from a two-pack I got from Target that had a rubber-grip on it, which slipped off easily)
-4-7x Plastic Shower Hooks (I'll explain the discrepancy below)
-1x transparent toilet plunger handle
-1x 2" PVC coupler
-1x Power outlet box
-1x Power Outlet flat cover
I actually figured the most difficult part of this thing would be a transparent tube for the gun barrel, but lo and behold, I found a toilet plunger at an Ace Hardware with a transparent handle.
And of course stupid me, didn't realize how easy it'd be to get a black phone cord. Mind you, this one's a 25 ft. cord, which is probably more than I need, but I can always cut it down if I needed to. As you can see, I've already started to assemble it - the PVC coupler slipped over the flashlight top VERY easily, and since there's a stopper inside of the coupler, it fits right in place on the top of it and can then be glued down and then unscrewed to replace the batteries in the flashlight.
The phone coupler actually can be split in half on its own, with one half going inside the box and the other just being glued to the other end of the flashlight. Since it's just a box that the cord goes into anyway, I just sliced off the extraneous bits of the power outlet box, sanded them, the box lid can be screwed on top of it.
The shower rings will of course be the transparent rings at the base of the gun barrel, but they're just a teensy bit smaller than the PVC coupler. And here's where we get the uncertainty of how many of the hooks you'll need. The good news is that the shower hooks came from Target and come in packs of ten, so I have plenty to spare. Since I'm not going for a 100% accurate, clean build, as you can see below, I'm cutting up the wrings so that the connector is taken off, then cut part of another ring off to fill the space.
Like I said, not 100% accurate and I think you'll be able to tell if you look at it close enough, but I think it'll be good enough for the budget. I haven't taken an exact count of all the materials, but I'm pretty sure this is less than $30 right here, not counting paint, glue, and some reflective silver tape I'll be putting on for some detailing.
I think the biggest problem I'm going to be running into is the gun barrel being a bit heavy for the glue even after being cut down and possibly heat issues from the light on the glue, but I don't think the light will be on long enough to have much of an adverse effect. I do have some ideas for stabilizing it if need be, including using other pieces of the transparent plunger handle to stabilize it inside the PVC coupler.
Items include:
-1x inline phone coupler
-1x phone cord
-1x Flashlight (specifically one from a two-pack I got from Target that had a rubber-grip on it, which slipped off easily)
-4-7x Plastic Shower Hooks (I'll explain the discrepancy below)
-1x transparent toilet plunger handle
-1x 2" PVC coupler
-1x Power outlet box
-1x Power Outlet flat cover
I actually figured the most difficult part of this thing would be a transparent tube for the gun barrel, but lo and behold, I found a toilet plunger at an Ace Hardware with a transparent handle.
And of course stupid me, didn't realize how easy it'd be to get a black phone cord. Mind you, this one's a 25 ft. cord, which is probably more than I need, but I can always cut it down if I needed to. As you can see, I've already started to assemble it - the PVC coupler slipped over the flashlight top VERY easily, and since there's a stopper inside of the coupler, it fits right in place on the top of it and can then be glued down and then unscrewed to replace the batteries in the flashlight.
The phone coupler actually can be split in half on its own, with one half going inside the box and the other just being glued to the other end of the flashlight. Since it's just a box that the cord goes into anyway, I just sliced off the extraneous bits of the power outlet box, sanded them, the box lid can be screwed on top of it.
The shower rings will of course be the transparent rings at the base of the gun barrel, but they're just a teensy bit smaller than the PVC coupler. And here's where we get the uncertainty of how many of the hooks you'll need. The good news is that the shower hooks came from Target and come in packs of ten, so I have plenty to spare. Since I'm not going for a 100% accurate, clean build, as you can see below, I'm cutting up the wrings so that the connector is taken off, then cut part of another ring off to fill the space.
Like I said, not 100% accurate and I think you'll be able to tell if you look at it close enough, but I think it'll be good enough for the budget. I haven't taken an exact count of all the materials, but I'm pretty sure this is less than $30 right here, not counting paint, glue, and some reflective silver tape I'll be putting on for some detailing.
I think the biggest problem I'm going to be running into is the gun barrel being a bit heavy for the glue even after being cut down and possibly heat issues from the light on the glue, but I don't think the light will be on long enough to have much of an adverse effect. I do have some ideas for stabilizing it if need be, including using other pieces of the transparent plunger handle to stabilize it inside the PVC coupler.
Well, the flashlight portion is probably smaller than a standard gun, which helps.
Ugh... my impatience may have set me back. I want to get this and another prop done with so I can start on a costume project (I prefer to finish one thing before continuing with another) so I primed the gun and box this morning. Then, impatiently, I waited only 12 hours before trying to spraypaint the things. This has caused that weird webbing effect to appear in the paint and while I've wiped it away and painted again, I think I stripped off the primer in the process, which may have set me back even more. If I need to remove all the paint and start from scratch, what is generally recommended as the steps for this and what material should I use?
Sooo I read about getting rid of the paint via sanding, which I did. Since I was impatient and wanted to get stuff done, I used the spare parts I had to assemble another gun piece and just painted it manually. Mind you, my original idea for this project was to have the rings just attached to the PVC coupler, but when I examined the photos again and realized that each ring was separated so they could light up, too, I decided to incorporate that into this one's design. It's kind of flimsy and there's a lot of glue and whatnot that any actually DECENT propmaker would have a heart attack upon seeing, but I like what I've done with it for the most part.
While I've said I'm not going for screen accuracy with this build, I have noticed that the rings are spaced farther apart than they should be. If I go ahead and finish building the other gun (which is easily interchangeable thanks to the phone cord I used, and I also went and got a 12-foot phone cord which looks a LOT better for size), I'll use my original idea as well as spacing them properly.
Now comes the truly difficult part - the gun barrel. Unfortunately, cutting the plunger handle has proven more difficult than I originally anticipated. Oh, it'll cut, but it doesn't want to go quietly. It's actually more difficult to cut this plastic than it is PVC. I don't have a lot of tools on hand, so I'm really resorting to my dremmel. I decided to get a bigger saw blade for the dremmel, hoping that'd work better than the sanding disks... buuut the two-edged sword with that is that now the thing seems to be out of control sometimes and will go off and scratch other parts of the handle that I want to use. Admittedly, I have another handle and I can always go to Ace Hardware and get another one, but it's frustrating and I still have to assemble the wand AND glue it in while making sure it's stable and won't snap off when I set the gun down.
While I've said I'm not going for screen accuracy with this build, I have noticed that the rings are spaced farther apart than they should be. If I go ahead and finish building the other gun (which is easily interchangeable thanks to the phone cord I used, and I also went and got a 12-foot phone cord which looks a LOT better for size), I'll use my original idea as well as spacing them properly.
Now comes the truly difficult part - the gun barrel. Unfortunately, cutting the plunger handle has proven more difficult than I originally anticipated. Oh, it'll cut, but it doesn't want to go quietly. It's actually more difficult to cut this plastic than it is PVC. I don't have a lot of tools on hand, so I'm really resorting to my dremmel. I decided to get a bigger saw blade for the dremmel, hoping that'd work better than the sanding disks... buuut the two-edged sword with that is that now the thing seems to be out of control sometimes and will go off and scratch other parts of the handle that I want to use. Admittedly, I have another handle and I can always go to Ace Hardware and get another one, but it's frustrating and I still have to assemble the wand AND glue it in while making sure it's stable and won't snap off when I set the gun down.
greatwazoo42
Master Member
Still off to a really good start there!
Antinmarple
New Member
Jodo Kast 3
Sr Member
A full sized ORAC....
Now thats the ultimate Blakes 7 prop.
Nice!!
Now thats the ultimate Blakes 7 prop.
Nice!!
Well, the attachments I'm seeing there are for the SHIP guns, and not for the handheld weapons. XD
Can I say, as a new member, I loved Blakes 7 as a kid and still to this day, and I'm now 42, will happily sit and watch the show on DVD...My partner, well she thinks I'm mad!
I am a radio presenter by trade, and have had the chance to interview Paul Darrow on a couple of occasions - once getting very drunk on red wine in his company - splendid fellow!
These props are amazing - you are amazing - and I only wish I had as much talent as you when it comes to props - I take my hat off to you...Those Liberator guns still have me in their thrall!:love
Anyone know where you can get a Scorpio Clip gun?
I am a radio presenter by trade, and have had the chance to interview Paul Darrow on a couple of occasions - once getting very drunk on red wine in his company - splendid fellow!
These props are amazing - you are amazing - and I only wish I had as much talent as you when it comes to props - I take my hat off to you...Those Liberator guns still have me in their thrall!:love
Anyone know where you can get a Scorpio Clip gun?
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