Just my 2 day scratch build of the Dredd smoke grenade. I kind of did a quick build of the smoke grenade to fill out my belt gear. I know it lacks perfection and I only had other members estimates of proportions and a few bad photos to work with. Yeah, I know where it doesn't completely match canon but I think it will be fine for a background item. Hope it inspires others to make their own. Mine is completely made of acrylic rod and abs plastic with a couple metal parts. My only boo hoo was when the saw I used, to cut grooves in the rod, quit working before I was done. While my material cost was almost negligible, the saw was a casualty.:cry
Dredd smoke grenade build
- Thread starter Ray48
- Start date
Thanks Uridium, I guess it will do. I just look at a lot of the belt stuff as filler bling. It's the overall look that counts. Some folks want each item to be a showcase, stand alone prop. I admit to getting carried away, in the past. I built a Hellboy Samaritan a few years back,that is darn near perfect, after a while, you realize it's a lot of work for something that is worn seldom, and leaves the holster rarely since the cons take a dim view of waving them around. I only put this one up as an encouragement to others that some accessories are not that time consuming, add a lot to your look, and don't cost a lot. I actually thought about making an even simpler version that would have taken just a couple hours. I have a US military inert grenade with a similar hand release. It just unscrews from the bottom. (the pull ring and pin was taken from that.) I would have drilled a hole for the threaded part, in a length of wood dowel and epoxied it in place. You can get away with faking the grooved part with black pinstripe tape, drill the vent holes, paint and your done. In the end, I decided to go bigger because it didn't take a lot longer and the top of the real grenade and handle length is different. Only us Dredd fanatics would have known.
2007brandony
Well-Known Member
Consider me encouraged! Great job on this prop!
Thanks 2007brandony, I hope others take this on, it is surprisingly simple. By the way, though I chose to use an actual grenade ring and pin, the screen used prop seems to use a standard cotter pin and probably a ring bent around a dowel of about an inch or so. It also looks like it is aluminum wire. The look of metal but easier to bend since it doesn't have to be functional. I'd bet, if you actually pulled the pin, using that ring, it would turn into an oval and separate from the pin. A real grenade ring is made like a key ring. It is double wound where as the prop had a non-welded gap which would potentially allow the ring to pull free. 
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Sure, but let me make clear, I'm not saying it is correct in size. I only had photos and the measurements provided by others. The measurements they provided was 4 and 1/4" tall with the cylinder 1 and 1/4" in diameter. That said, I ended up with it being 1/4" taller because of the several add on components at the top. Oh well, I think it still is in the ballpark. By the way, thank you to Joatrash for putting up his sketch up of the breakdown of parts. He was selling casts of one made by shapeways, for him. He suspended selling them (see junkyard thread) and because he has been busy with other projects, may still not be offering those. That said, his computer graphic depictions are useful. I have compared them to Prop Store pics and my evaluation is that they are 85 to 90% accurate. Little things, and just my opinion, is that each band of holes should be 10 holes around instead of 8. The thickness of part of the top pieces on his rendering are possibly too thick. Apart from that, it is pretty accurate. I advise looking at the photos of both Prop Store images and the digital pics to get the best info. Pay attention to the fact that bands with holes, divided by grooves of about 1/16", are not of uniform width. I could give you mine but I don't think they are as accurate as they could be. I have the top band at about 1/2" as well as the bottom, with a margin of 1/8" below the bottom band. The second band from the top is about 3/8". The next one down I made the same, although it may be between the top two in size. I have thought about another way to build this without trying to cut grooves into a rod as I did. If you have a table saw or another saw, even a hand saw and miter box where you can cut disks, first drill a hole dead center down the length of a 1 1/4" x 3 5/8" wood dowel. Draw a line down one side lengthwise, with a pencil , then divide the piece into the segments or bands as described. Number each segment first. Cut the dowel into the seven different segments.Now you need discs of any material you choose, about 1/16" thick and 1 1/8" in diameter. you could cut them from cardboard, plastic, cork,foam leather or another wood dowel. You might even find metal washers that size; doesn't matter much. Now you are going to replace the disks from the dowel by making a sandwich with six 1/16" disks or wafers, in between each segment. Punch holes in the wafers apply glue to the disks and reassemble them as a sandwich with the thin disks separating the larger numbered sections. Make sure the line you drew earlier is aligned and the numbered pieces are in correct order. Use a long screw or piece of threaded rod with nuts and washers run the whole length. This will serve as a gluing clamp, and may be removed later. Now you should have a reassembled dowel with the grooves circling the cylinder. If you have a lathe, you wouldn't need this step. If, you are working on a kitchen table it may be a life saver. You could also use sandpaper to ease the edges on the wood segments before assembly, as well, If you've done all the steps correctly, even if you didn't drill the center hole dead center or cut the pieces at true 90 degrees, it should look like a single piece and errors should not be very noticeable. Trust me, without a lathe, cutting the grooves like I did will be a challenge. If you want an additional tip, you can apply some filler putty to the grooves and smooth it as I did with your finger. The hardest next part is making the top piece . Mine is made like canon with a flip off trigger handle, but no one says you can't just glue everything with epoxy. You probably aren't going to wave it around at a con anyway.....right?:devil
runnothide
Well-Known Member
what did you use to make this? it looks amazing!
How did you make the grenade pin???
Really looks authentic!!!! Great job....
Hope you could share also the pics per process for us to better understand the process.
Thanks for sharing!!!
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More than one way to skin a cat....I just would wonder if that isn't the long way round the barn. Remember, unless you plan to paint holes on the metal, you will have to drill holes through the sheet metal. It's doable but 40 holes are a lot harder into metal than wood or plastic. Remember also, you have to attach the top pieces as well, which means there will be a hole to cover and fill on both top and bottom. It is not impossible, maybe more difficult. I don't know if you thought about the solder joint.....but joining would be not so strong and you will have to file or sand it smooth. A lap joint would put it out of round. If you insist on using the PVC, I'd consider using a thin styrene plastic, about 1/32" or less; way less trouble to cut. Cutting sheet metal, especially without a professional metal shear, usually results in a distorted edge as well. I'd avoid that like the plague. You can cut and glue the plastic to the pvc way easier, and fill the seam with putty. A tip for people who want to cut bands or strips of styrene easily....1/32" to 1/8" styrene sheet, common at most hobby shops is most accurately and quickly cut with a common guillotine type paper cutter. It doesn't harm the paper cutter, although I have one dedicated to that purpose. By the way, if you don't have a drill press for drilling holes, you can use a leather punch to pre-punch holes in the strips before gluing them to the tubing. Another way to cut even grooves in a wood dowel, if you use that material, and don't have a lathe, but do have a drill press or even a hand drill, is to epoxy a steel pin, dead top center, a couple inches long, (pin can be a nail) drill another hole in the other end and do the same, only this time drill a hole for the bottom pin in a piece of steel and clamp the steel in a vise. Put a washer between the dowel and the steel piece with a drop of vaseline for lubrication. Clamp the free top pin in your drill chuck and use a short piece of hacksaw blade while you spin the drill. Your pins on both ends must be dead center for this to work and the pins must be straight up and down. Make sure you mark the places to cut grooves, and start a groove in each spot before spinning the drill. When I detailed the previous method using two different size dowels, it is a little easier because you don't have to drill the center hole exactly dead center. This method does require precise centering or the dowel will wobble and destroy your effort. There are probably dozens of other ways to duplicate this prop, some easier, some harder. If you have a steady hand and a dremel, you can cut the grooves free hand by following a line on your cylinder. Use a 1/2" circular saw blade and go slowly. You don't have to worry about consistent depth because you can put a dab of modelers putty on a finger and run it around the groove. That will indent it but leave a smooth groove. The simplest way to do this build is to find the right size pvc pipe, a dowel that slides smoothly inside, then you can cut rings to slide over the dowel. I didn't have any immediate luck finding that combination. Whatever you decide, think each step through in your head or frustration will doom your efforts. I've given my best advice, for options I think will work for most people. Most people will find the "pull handle" to be more challenging. If you don't think you can do that......don't bother with the rest. Ha,Ha!:lol
Thanks for the advice... it really help me re think the process and come up with new ideas....
I'm currently looking for parts or alternatives as per your recommendations...
Your idea of covering the whole 1/2" PVC pipe then drillling the holes and groves with a dremel might actually work.. Lead sheets are easy to cut but adding filler would actually help in preserving its form....
I'm currently looking for parts or alternatives as per your recommendations...
Your idea of covering the whole 1/2" PVC pipe then drillling the holes and groves with a dremel might actually work.. Lead sheets are easy to cut but adding filler would actually help in preserving its form....
Sorry Striker, I don't recall answering your question about the grenade pin.....It is a real grenade pin from a deactivated inert military grenade. I believe the movie prop just uses a piece of heavy wire bent once around a mandrel or dowel. In the real world that wouldn't suffice since there is a chance that the ring would separate enough to allow the ring to pull free and leave the cotter pin in place. The real ring and pin are almost inseparable because it is double wound. By the way, you can avoid making a ring by just using a key ring, which isn't quite as heavy , but workable. The pin is merely a long thin cotter pin.
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Regarding the lead...maybe you are just planning on using on hand materials. I personally would stay away from the lead. I favor thin plastic, which is easy to bend and work with: also less toxic. The lead will also make the prop heavier, and if you are planning on wearing this prop, along with the rest of a judges gear, this will make it that much heavier. Weather you plan on using the lead or not, if you are wrapping the pvc with it, I advise cutting the lead into the correct width strips and wrap it with a 1/16" space between each strip. That will give you the grooves. No nead to "dremel" those. That suggestion was if you are using a solid rod. If I had to do mine over, I'd use the acrylic (perspex, I think , in the UK) rod, with wraps of thin styrene, spaced the same. In either case, the DREMEL would not be required and I would simply drill the holes with a standard drill, although, as I said, if you pre-mark hole locations on your lead or plastic bands, a leather punch works fine. these are available for as little as $5 in craft and hardware stores. I don't know how that would work on lead.
Yeah, you could use parts from the real deal.....I only used the pin and ring. The lever and "Bouchon" were not correct to the prop. You could use the lever, but it is about an inch too short. The "Bouchon" (didn't know the actual terms for either, before.) is not at all similar. I did mention in an earlier post that a person could use those parts if you weren't fussy or good at making your own. I chose not to. If you want to obtain an inert practice grenade, lots of military and a place called BUDK.com has them on sale right now for about $12.99 each. If you want a good exploded view of the parts to Dredd's grenade, search the junkyard for Joatrash Dredd grenade. He's gotten sidetracked between the Lawgiver build and his new project, the Oblivion gun. So I'm not sure if he's still offering his Shapeways version, but the digital representation is pretty close to the prop. I think some of the band widths may be slightly different and I think he used about 8 holes per band while I estimate them at 10. Otherwise it shows the parts pretty well. I thank him for the post of those....helped me in my build. I think you will have to build your own "lever" and top trigger or "Bouchon". I used plastic but if I did it again, I'd make a prototype out of card stock, then bend it out of sheet metal. The handle on real grenades are basically just that. One piece sheet metal. Don't refer to mine, because I formed it out of plastic I took liberties with the top shape to make it stronger so it is less squared off than the prop. I may change it later. That is a separate piece so replacing it should be easy.
Just might work out okay. I know a lot of folks who are really sticklers for screen accurate. I have my moments but sometimes close enough is fine. I know a lot of folks that find out the exact color of a helmet or other piece, paint theirs that color and then realize, because the prop was lit differently on screen with unknown camera filters and lighting, it looks nothing like what you saw on screen anyway! I usually go for what I think is convincing to onlookers at conventions. I can state with reasonable certainty, that no one who doesn't have a pair of screen used boots, will have identical boots to Dredd's.
