Props for Beginners Thread

[runnothide]

if you have any fairly simple/cheap prop ideas, post them here for beginners.

Interests:
Comic Books, Dredd (Judge Dredd), Marvel, DC, Iron Man, The Avengers, Batman, X-Men, Terminator, Ghost Busters, Star Trek, The Matrix, Tron, Planet of The Apes, Spider-man, Halo, Batman: Arkham City, anything Sci-Fi

 

[runnothide]

fairly simple arc reactor I am Building.
XRobots - Iron Man Arc Reactor prop made from dollar store parts - YouTube!

 

[Archive&Future]

Simple swords or daggers are relatively easy if you have access to the right tools; alternatively anything that could be built up from household items would be easy enough. I can't think of anything right now though :unsure

 

[mikey123mushukl]

Pepakura can be used as a starting point for building your own custon Iron man / predator / Stargate / Rocketeer / Halo / Lord of the rings / etc props.

 

[red4]

I have invented (though probably not the first to invent it) an idea for keeping layered parts aligned for gluing.
I usually struggle to keep parts aligned when I press them together for gluing. They slide around as I tighten the C-clamp. So what I came up with is to drill tiny holes and pin them together. I'm going to make pins out of copper hobby rods. Make sure not to use hollow rod/tubes, because when you hammer them in, they may widen at the point where they touch the hammer, and this may make their installation more permanent than you intend. They should also be shorter than the thickness of the combined layers, so that they don't poke out when you compress the layers for gluing. Once the glue has dried, you can remove the pins or leave them. My plan is to leave the pins in place, and fill the tiny gaps with Aves Fixit Sculpt, then sand it smooth.

Here's a schematic for a build on which I'm going to test my theory. The pin hole locations are already marked out.

The design of the knife is my own.

 

[zodiac]

I made an Arc Reactor from roughly $40 worth of materials.

 

[thd9791]

lightsabers from the big yellow box!

 

[red4]

lightsabers from the big yellow box!

What does that mean?

 

[The Schlitzie]

Junk sabers & also pepakura is a pretty easy starting point and very gratifying.

 

[Weaselhammer]

lightsabers from the big yellow box!

^^This is a great idea. Lightsabers from the Big Yellow Box <-- this is an old site that still works and you can pick a style of lighsaber to build and use his parts list to hit up the plumbing section at Lowe's or Home Depot . Something like this is a great starting point if you like Star Wars stuff.

 

[red4]

^^This is a great idea. Lightsabers from the Big Yellow Box <-- this is an old site that still works and you can pick a style of lighsaber to build and use his parts list to hit up the plumbing section at Lowe's or Home Depot . Something like this is a great starting point if you like Star Wars stuff.

Uh, how do you navigate that site? Is it supposed to be just 1 green page with text? He makes mention of a gallery, but I see no links to a gallery.

EDIT: Nevermind. I had to keep refreshing the page until the Tripod adds stopped hiding the links.

 

[Daemon]

My first prop project was the Predator pistol from Mass Effect based off a similar build one of my colleagues did. I'd highly recommend it for people learning the ropes.

 

[mathew]

Most effects by BFX from indymogul ( rip BFX).

 

[Xxblackbird]

I used to make lightsabers with the aid of Custom Saber Shop parts. Those aren't really that hard. I made a pretty elaborate Mandalorian out of sintra. Also some custom blasters out of old toys. I worked with paper props and did quite a bit of pepakura work. I think all of those things taught me a lot about prop building.

I think the biggest obstacles for new prop builders are the tools. Or, more precisely, the lack thereof.
A lot of the stuff I used to make was found junk held together with whatever glue I could find in the house. And (crudely) covered with craft paint usually applied with bits of paper towels instead of paintbrushes.
I've learned that if you can get ahold of the right tools and materials, entire worlds open up to you.

The first real, big REPLICA prop I made was a Proton Pack.
I had to use a bandsaw and and big pieces of wood. And drills with a ton of different bits. And dremels and fiberglass resin and a lot of new types of glue. I had to learn to measure properly and learn how to tap holes for bolts and work on a fairly complicated LED and speaker setup. Things like planning and spacing and precision that I had never been that concerned about. And I had to worry about mounting everything securely so it could take a beating and still function.
After building that thing I look back on the props I used to make and I see just how far I've come.

I think a few little bits and bobs to tinker with are alright. But I think if you really want to learn how to be a prop builder you should just jump into it.
Research the proper tools and materials and stock up on it, then pick a relatively inexpensive project that interests you and dive into it. You learn by doing new things and challenging yourself.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hi there,

a vintage G R A F L E X 3 Cell flashgun, a vintage TI Exactra 19 or 20 calculator for the bubbles in the clamp, a D-ring+ clip onto the bottom and seven pieces of replica T-track from GINO and voilà ... your very first and screen-accurate Luke lightsaber ANH!

Mind the screen-accuracy bug that comes with though . . . it's highly contagious . . . really!

-Chaim

 

[CB2001]

The most basic props any beginner can do are paper props. I had to do a few for my first digital cinematography class short film. Other "beginners props" are basically anything you can find (much of the props for film and TV, most are found objects).

When it comes to props for building, as someone suggested, Indy Mogul's Backyard FX has a lot of tutorials on building stuff on the cheap and of varying skill sets. In fact, most of what many of those tutorials teach can be applied to other types of props of interest. Basically, the tutorials gives you the skills and techniques that you can use to think outside the box and build props outside of the original intent of the tutorial (i.e. using EVA foam, etc).

There are others who have started similar types of channels and tutorial shows. One person that comes to mind is Jacob, who has done some impressive builds, almost showing most of the same techniques used by Indy Mogul. In fact, he's done some good prop and costume replicas, including a Knuckledragger Outfit from the RIS BSG, DIY sci-fi armor (similar to Indy Mogul's tutorial), Malcolm Reynold's gun from Firefly and Warehouse 13's Farnsworth communication device. Here's his channel: William Jakespeare - YouTube

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

What is your definition of "beginner"? Do you mean beginner as in you've never built anything before period or just not a prop? I'm asking because I started out as a modeler so I was already familiar with building things. My first prop build was the Jedi Training Remote, so that would be what I would consider an easy first build.

 

[runnothide]

As in new to building

 

[Bigdaddy]

I built a saber from an old maglite, it was pretty simple, the only power tool I used was a cordless drill. That is the fist prop I did, it wasn't too expensive, biggest expense was TCSS parts (but worth it ). The other one I made was a mini-pipeweed barrel from LOTR, $5 for an old falling apart cask, and thanks to the free paper props forum, the label just had to be printed out. I'd suggest watching your favorite movies and looking for props in them to replicate. You can always search the RPF for a specific prop to get info on how to build it. Good luck and have fun, it seems to be an addictive hobby! :lol

 

[LabApe]

I built a couple sabers based loosely on instructions from that Big Yellow Box site several years ago to make hilts for an entry into the Star Wars fan film awards. I think they look pretty good for generic sabers. IIRC, they came out to under 20 bucks each too... both based on style 4, but made my own way.