EFNY Snake Plissken MAC 10
- Thread starter Hirohawa
- Start date
MFP 2020
Sr Member
I don't have access to the info right now, but as long as you promise to follow through with the project, I'll give you what I've been able to dig up. (I'm pretty good with the research; it's the actual doing of the project where I fall down.) It's not definitive by any means, but it should get you close.
MFP 2020
Sr Member
Holy stupid. I spent all that time putting a post together, and then I closed the window. GAH! Let's try this again.
My original intention was to build a slightly smaller version using a cheap spring airsoft MAC as practice, then build a more expensive one. I haven't finished the first one, but here's the info I gathered.
Snake’s MAC-10/9
I started researching the costume and the gun. I haven’t been able to find a definitive source for the gun and all its accessories, so I’ve been piecing the info together myself. As I learned more about the gun, I realized that the few replicas I’ve seen have been close, but not completely accurate. So I decided to build the most accurate firing airsoft prop replica that I could (that is, short of using a real firearm, the most accurate replica, period). I would love to build a real one, but until I live in a free state, I’ll have to settle for airsoft or a non-firing replica.
Snake’s gun is a MAC-10/9—a full-sized machine pistol chambered in 9mm. It may have been built by and rented from Stembridge Gun Rentals. Syd Stembridge is listed in the credits as “weapons advisor.” IMDb - Syd Stembridge
(I wonder if the original still exists. My fantasy is that it's at Independent Studio Services and I can rent it to take pictures and measurements.)
Hector de la Rosa had posted an item on his site about Snake’s gun having been used in an early episode of “The Greatest American Hero,” and that was very helpful in trying to identify the correct scope base and rings. It appears with a backward-mounted Leupold scope (not necessarily one used in EFNY), and depending on the scene, with or without a shoulder stock and a barrel extension sticking out the front of the suppressor.
The suppressor was (and still is) a challenge, because it’s different from the Werbell/Sionics two-stage suppressors which have a short first stage and a longer second, as opposed to Snake’s suppressor, which has a longer first stage. Snake’s suppressor also has a silver collar where it mates to the barrel. So my thinking is that it was a custom piece by Stembridge, meant to mimic the Werbell design. There’s a screw head on the underside of the body near the collar. There are also screws or screw holes on either side of the front stage. (Maybe they pin the extra barrel extension in there. Which would mean that it was built with the extension but removed for EFNY, in which case maybe it makes appearances in earlier movies or TV shows with the extension.)
(I intend[ed] to have my suppressor lathed and drilled from a solid piece of aluminum tube stock.)
The collapsible wire shoulder stock was removed and a sling (which looks like it may have originally been a purse strap) was attached to the rear of the receiver with a ring through the rear sight hole.
Snake’s holster, which he uses only until he takes the gun out for the first time and never uses again, looks like a custom design (although it appears to have a round raised logo on it) that holds the MAC-10 in the main part of the holster and has a retainer and strap on the front for the suppressor. (Visible in the scene where he goes with Hauk to the medical station.) I believe he carried the scope in the long pouch shown on the table, attaching it after attaching the suppressor. (Not exactly a recipe for accuracy, but the scope is completely pointless in the first place. And the way the scope rings attach to the mount, he would have needed at least a screwdriver to secure the rings. The mount is shown attached to the suppressor and a different ring-less scope is shown on the table.)
I asked some questions over at one of the firearms forums I used to frequent, and got a little bit of info and a lot of attitude. They seem to think there were two different guns; I think that because EFNY was a low-budget movie, they rented one gun and that was it (there is an obvious difference between the scope on the table and the scope on the gun, though). I’m wasn't sure they even used a stunt prop (Snake seems a little too concerned about where he puts it after he takes it from the Duke when they're fighting) but since seeing the photo of a rubber stunt MAC in the previous post, I watched some of the movie again and in at least once scene—where he's climbing out of a building and the gun is swinging wildly around on the strap—the suppressor droops, so I'm sure that's the stunt.
Suppressor (custom step-down w/silver collar and scope mount): Bowers? (Bowers is the only one I’ve seen with a silver collar, but they never responded to my email.)
Scope mount (Leupold or Redfield) and rings: The scope base is a rifle type with a cutout (so that the mount doesn’t interfere with the loading or ejection of rounds), which leads me to believe that the suppressor was cobbled together with whatever parts happened to be laying around the shop.
Scope: leaning toward Weaver classic rifle scope (Lyman Challenger looked fairly close) The scope ON THE TABLE is probably a Leupold. That’s all I can tell.
Sling: (leather, is it a purse strap?) 1” silver rings, 3/4” strap. Looks like it’s attached to the rear sight with a silver ring. Two adjusters, four rings.
Scope base: Leupold or Redfield rifle base and rings. **It’s one of the offset ones, with the cutout on the right side.
From the firearms forum Q&A:
Yes, the base is a Leupold or Redfield std type with dovetail front ring and windage adjustment rear screws.
The scope on the table is a Leupold fixed power. You can tell because of the famous Leupold trademark "Gold Ring" on the objective lens bell.
The one Mr. Bling (The Duke) is holding in post #5 appears to be a cheap Japanese or Chinese fixed power scope judging from the huge trademark crest on the eye-piece bell. (Or maybe its just the finish scraped off? Hard to tell.)
It appears to be the same length or just slightly longer than the suppressor. Low profile turrets. Leaning toward Bushnell based on the shape of the target turrets (adjustment knob covers): crenellated, with a concave center. Could also be an old Weaver. May have a crest (spade?), definitely has silver ring around objective bell. Weaver K-6 Classic looks pretty good.
So that's all I have. Hope it helps. I look forward to seeing progress pics and your finished replica.
My original intention was to build a slightly smaller version using a cheap spring airsoft MAC as practice, then build a more expensive one. I haven't finished the first one, but here's the info I gathered.
Snake’s MAC-10/9
I started researching the costume and the gun. I haven’t been able to find a definitive source for the gun and all its accessories, so I’ve been piecing the info together myself. As I learned more about the gun, I realized that the few replicas I’ve seen have been close, but not completely accurate. So I decided to build the most accurate firing airsoft prop replica that I could (that is, short of using a real firearm, the most accurate replica, period). I would love to build a real one, but until I live in a free state, I’ll have to settle for airsoft or a non-firing replica.
Snake’s gun is a MAC-10/9—a full-sized machine pistol chambered in 9mm. It may have been built by and rented from Stembridge Gun Rentals. Syd Stembridge is listed in the credits as “weapons advisor.” IMDb - Syd Stembridge
(I wonder if the original still exists. My fantasy is that it's at Independent Studio Services and I can rent it to take pictures and measurements.)
Hector de la Rosa had posted an item on his site about Snake’s gun having been used in an early episode of “The Greatest American Hero,” and that was very helpful in trying to identify the correct scope base and rings. It appears with a backward-mounted Leupold scope (not necessarily one used in EFNY), and depending on the scene, with or without a shoulder stock and a barrel extension sticking out the front of the suppressor.
The suppressor was (and still is) a challenge, because it’s different from the Werbell/Sionics two-stage suppressors which have a short first stage and a longer second, as opposed to Snake’s suppressor, which has a longer first stage. Snake’s suppressor also has a silver collar where it mates to the barrel. So my thinking is that it was a custom piece by Stembridge, meant to mimic the Werbell design. There’s a screw head on the underside of the body near the collar. There are also screws or screw holes on either side of the front stage. (Maybe they pin the extra barrel extension in there. Which would mean that it was built with the extension but removed for EFNY, in which case maybe it makes appearances in earlier movies or TV shows with the extension.)
(I intend[ed] to have my suppressor lathed and drilled from a solid piece of aluminum tube stock.)
The collapsible wire shoulder stock was removed and a sling (which looks like it may have originally been a purse strap) was attached to the rear of the receiver with a ring through the rear sight hole.
Snake’s holster, which he uses only until he takes the gun out for the first time and never uses again, looks like a custom design (although it appears to have a round raised logo on it) that holds the MAC-10 in the main part of the holster and has a retainer and strap on the front for the suppressor. (Visible in the scene where he goes with Hauk to the medical station.) I believe he carried the scope in the long pouch shown on the table, attaching it after attaching the suppressor. (Not exactly a recipe for accuracy, but the scope is completely pointless in the first place. And the way the scope rings attach to the mount, he would have needed at least a screwdriver to secure the rings. The mount is shown attached to the suppressor and a different ring-less scope is shown on the table.)
I asked some questions over at one of the firearms forums I used to frequent, and got a little bit of info and a lot of attitude. They seem to think there were two different guns; I think that because EFNY was a low-budget movie, they rented one gun and that was it (there is an obvious difference between the scope on the table and the scope on the gun, though). I’m wasn't sure they even used a stunt prop (Snake seems a little too concerned about where he puts it after he takes it from the Duke when they're fighting) but since seeing the photo of a rubber stunt MAC in the previous post, I watched some of the movie again and in at least once scene—where he's climbing out of a building and the gun is swinging wildly around on the strap—the suppressor droops, so I'm sure that's the stunt.
Suppressor (custom step-down w/silver collar and scope mount): Bowers? (Bowers is the only one I’ve seen with a silver collar, but they never responded to my email.)
Scope mount (Leupold or Redfield) and rings: The scope base is a rifle type with a cutout (so that the mount doesn’t interfere with the loading or ejection of rounds), which leads me to believe that the suppressor was cobbled together with whatever parts happened to be laying around the shop.
Scope: leaning toward Weaver classic rifle scope (Lyman Challenger looked fairly close) The scope ON THE TABLE is probably a Leupold. That’s all I can tell.
Sling: (leather, is it a purse strap?) 1” silver rings, 3/4” strap. Looks like it’s attached to the rear sight with a silver ring. Two adjusters, four rings.
Scope base: Leupold or Redfield rifle base and rings. **It’s one of the offset ones, with the cutout on the right side.
From the firearms forum Q&A:
Yes, the base is a Leupold or Redfield std type with dovetail front ring and windage adjustment rear screws.
The scope on the table is a Leupold fixed power. You can tell because of the famous Leupold trademark "Gold Ring" on the objective lens bell.
The one Mr. Bling (The Duke) is holding in post #5 appears to be a cheap Japanese or Chinese fixed power scope judging from the huge trademark crest on the eye-piece bell. (Or maybe its just the finish scraped off? Hard to tell.)
It appears to be the same length or just slightly longer than the suppressor. Low profile turrets. Leaning toward Bushnell based on the shape of the target turrets (adjustment knob covers): crenellated, with a concave center. Could also be an old Weaver. May have a crest (spade?), definitely has silver ring around objective bell. Weaver K-6 Classic looks pretty good.
So that's all I have. Hope it helps. I look forward to seeing progress pics and your finished replica.
Last edited:
sdplissken
New Member
Fantastic info!! Much thanks for the research!!
MFP 2020
Sr Member
You guys like LEGO? Snake Plissken's MAC-10: A LEGO® creation by John Fink : MOCpages.com
More ref.
robstyle
Master Member
The reason much info from Stembridge is so hard to come by is the original paperwork was "lost" when the inventory was being gone through. If one were to know where that paperwork is I suppose they would be able to get more info. Im told ISS hanst much an idea of what they bought from the already cherry picked Stembridge inventory yet one person who did the cherry picking did have that paperwork when doing so. There was lots of infighting going on at the end of Stembridge so its no surprise things were "lost".
A few more pics
MFP 2020
Sr Member
If anyone is still following this thread, Replica Guns Direct is now selling a decent-looking MAC-11 replica: Replica MAC 11
Samhain2000
Member
Attachments
Mr Webber
Master Member
Wow, thanks for that, from where i am, pretty cheap as well.
MFP 2020
Sr Member
Sweet. I've been looking for an excuse to go to Vegas. Thanks!
Samhain2000
Member
Unless you are planning on stealing it, I don't think it's worth a trip.
If you are planning a heist, PLEASE wear your Snake Plissken outfit, it will make for an incredible read.
If you are planning a heist, PLEASE wear your Snake Plissken outfit, it will make for an incredible read.
SnakePliskn
New Member
I used an Air Soft Mac 10 and I bought a cheap scope from Walmart. It worked out great. Really, the hard part was the silencer. I ended up ordering plastic tubes from the internet and had to use a 3D printer to make gaskets to fit them together and also to make a mount that would attach to the air soft gun. I also 3D printed a mount that I could glue on top of the tubes to mount the scope. It was actually fairly challenging, but I was pretty happy with the end result. Although my one complaint would be that the air soft Mac 10 is a little small compared to the actual .45 caliber Mac 10 that Kurt Russell carried around in Escape from New York. I am including a picture here, but you can see the whole thing in action in my fan film "ESCAPE FROM LAS VEGAS" on YouTube. 
The M10 used in the film is not a machine gun. It's a M10 in 9mm made by RPB Industries. It's an open bolt semi auto pistol. To make it fire in automatic they either changed the trip in the fire control or changed the bolt to a shaved down one to clear the trip. When Isaac Hayes was shooting, the armorer just replaced the modified parts with the original parts for semi auto firing. This is why the ATF stopped the manufacturer of open bolt guns. There's no selector on the left side of the gun. Only the machine pistols had the selector. I have this pistol. Just need to build the fake suppressor and source the scope and mount. Should be fun at the range.
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