Ideas for post-apocalyptic gear and weapons

[VilleLeskinen]

Hey guys! First time posting a thread of my own! Jay! I'm Ville from Finland, I'm 30 and I'm an amateur filmmaker and I'm hoping to come a prop maker (not professionally but hey, it's a cool hobby).
At the moment I'm working on the "pre-production" of a indie film, (producing it and making the props) set in the post-apcalyptic world, and I'd really appreciate some feedback and ideas on what to do next. I'm a novice when it comes to propmaking but so far I've made a machete from plywood, a "butchers" axe from insulation foam and some random stuff that may or may not appear in the movie :lol.

At first I thought I wanted the stuff I am making to have almost a medieval feel but after finishing the axe I'm having second thoughts. Now I'd like them to be more modern and in a improvised weapons style. I've been thinking something like common household items made into weapons but somehow I can't seem to grasp what it is that I like. Could somebody give me some ideas for modern homemade weapons that would look menacing? :rolleyes Wouldn't hurt if it was something I could actually pull off :lol!

Also as you can see on the photos, I really need tips for getting a cool old metal look. The axe looks too bright in real life (is there a way to mat it down?) and the machete too dull. I just used random stuff I had to color them so they are what they are.

Thanks for reading this far and hopefully you can help me out! Thanks!

ps. Sorry for the oversized photos.

 

[Durrett]

Have you played Fallout 3? There are a bunch of weapons cobbled together from random junk in that game.

 

[VilleLeskinen]

Have you played Fallout 3? There are a bunch of weapons cobbled together from random junk in that game.

Sure! That and New Vegas. Loved them both. But those weren't actually modern, they had more of a retro-futuristic thing going on. I'm thinking more on what would you make if shtf today? Would you use computer parts, what household items would there be plenty of etc? I mean, in the eighties when the movie genre was at it's peek, people didn't have as much junk as they do now. So even in the post-apocalyptic world today junk should be everywhere. And since there's so much to choose from, I can't think of anything :lol.
Oh boy...

 

[Tallest Jawa]

You could make weapons from stuff in the kitchen. Think of a stick with a set of steak knives sticking out of the side. Or a spiked club made by bending the points of forks all the way then tying the handles all over a baseball bat.

The garage is a good place too. Cut a shovel to a point for a spear. Make a whip or nunchucks with a chain saw chain.

Sporting equipment is a good place to start too. Baseball bats, hockey sticks and even golf clubs are a great base for a melee weapons.

 

[Birdie]

Have you seen the movie Doomsday? There all kinds of everyday items converted to weapons in 'infected' Scotland. Good feature on the weapon design on the DVD, too.

 

[VilleLeskinen]

You could make weapons from stuff in the kitchen. Think of a stick with a set of steak knives sticking out of the side. Or a spiked club made by bending the points of forks all the way then tying the handles all over a baseball bat.

The garage is a good place too. Cut a shovel to a point for a spear. Make a whip or nunchucks with a chain saw chain.

Sporting equipment is a good place to start too. Baseball bats, hockey sticks and even golf clubs are a great base for a melee weapons.

Excellent ideas! Thanks! I was thinking the classic baseball bat with nails but knives or forks sound so much...nastier! :love

Have you seen the movie Doomsday? There all kinds of everyday items converted to weapons in 'infected' Scotland. Good feature on the weapon design on the DVD, too.

I actually haven't. Will do. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Gundytron]

A friend of mine made a hammer flail. That was pretty awesome. In terms of gear, absolutely nothing should match, and very little should be intact. Items that would normally never be associated can be stitched together to make something that would be useful in the post-apocalypse. There's really no limits on awesome for this kind of thing, have fun!

 

[Wes R]

Just about anything you can throw together as an improvised weapon would work i think. I had one book where a girl made a crossbow out of car springs. Heck in a pinch wooden stakes would count. Metal kabob skewers could even be turned into a dagger. I'm thinking I've spent way too much time thinking of stuff like this lol.