What are your most desired obscure props?

My most obscure prop would be the elephant picture/print on Nicolas Cages' wall in Bangkok Dangerous. I have searched high and low for years with no luck. Unfortunately my screenshot turns out black, so nothing to share.

Second would be Jeff Bridges heist mask from Bad Times at the El Royale. Wanted that badly. Great mask worn by an equally great actor.
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I mean... YES?!

Okay, cool. I'll make a basic version of the Ajanti Phurba from the Golden Child and post it. :)

This is a project I've wanted to do for years. I bought a brass Phurba off of Amazon years ago so I could study it and build the Ajanti version. I already had a rough shape, so now I'll just have to flesh out the sculpt.
 
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Heh, been thinking of other props I've been looking for:

Spock's cobalt blue Wine Chalice from Star Trek VI (I'm fairly certain this is a candle holder)
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Oh, and maybe make a working Starfleet boatswain's whistle:
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Less obscure, but perhaps not as popular as some:

The Greatest American Hero Suit Box and Instruction Book
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The Ajanti Dagger from The Golden Child
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Funny you mention the Boatswain Mate Pipe. I just started the new season of Picard and noticed it. I’m in the Navy and thought it was super cool, so I’m replicating it! Mine has an incorporated actual navy pipe and will have lighting for the new Picard lights and the old colors too! At least that’s the plan.
 

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Funny you mention the Boatswain Mate Pipe. I just started the new season of Picard and noticed it. I’m in the Navy and thought it was super cool, so I’m replicating it! Mine has an incorporated actual navy pipe and will have lighting for the new Picard lights and the old colors too! At least that’s the plan.
Nice! I was thinking of much the same approach.
 
For many years, I have sought out references for props that are very unclear or nearly unseen. My list includes:

1.) Centauri's laser from The Last Starfighter
2.) Police pistols from Steven Spielberg's A. I.
3.) The altimeter watch from Gravity

What is on your list?
Do you have a photo of the AI police pistol? Can’t seem to locate a photo by googling.
 
Do you have a photo of the AI police pistol? Can’t seem to locate a photo by googling.


That's very good!


I have a new signature to use now: "One does not simply Google the obscure."



For those not getting the joke; the thing that makes something obscure is that it is difficult to see or identify. Tracking things down requires diligent persistence. Whether is it is Rachael's brocade pattern or some unseen weapon, digging is required.

Some of us have poured over just a few seconds of bad video just to catch a glimpse of a prop. From that we have made amazing builds with minimal information and a lot of networking.

This is how it has been done from the beginning.
 
I'd love to find this handheld countdown timer from Mission Impossible 2, I can't tell if it's a pager or just something in a similar form factor.

Screenshot 2023-02-25 7.12.15 AM.png

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It looks like a TV remote, but I have never seen anything built quite like that. It looks like it goes under a shelf.
 
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Jayne's large rifle in Serenity.

One might not think such a prop could be obscure given the general fandom devoted to this film and especially to the character's Firefly counterpart "Vera," but aside from brief mentions of Adam Baldwin naming the rifle "Lux" as a posthumous tribute to a fan, it seems to have received practically zero interest... which is so weird to me, because it's my very favorite sci-fi gun.

My understanding is that it was constructed at ISS by modifying a standard assault rifle from 1998's Soldier (itself built around an AKU-94 bullpup) and adding a gas-powered barrel, lights, etc. Unfortunately, I've confirmed from multiple sources at the company that it was long-ago disassembled, and efforts to track down either the removed parts or behind-the-scenes photo documentation have come up short.

As far as visual reference, below is all I've been able to find:

Jayne rifle collage.jpg
 
I'd love to find this handheld countdown timer from Mission Impossible 2, I can't tell if it's a pager or just something in a similar form factor.

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The piece under his thumb reminds me of the front of a timer switch, but then the the digital display does not really make sense.
If the display was a practical timer and not CGI or static, the T3 would indicate it can run at least two other timers at the same time (or at least the item the display is out of likely could). The DC has me wondering if it was designed to run on AC or DC (again if it is not just CGI or a static screen).
Do you have any other photos?
 
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It looks like a TV remote, but I have never seen anything built guite like that. It looks like it goes under a shelf.
It does kind of look like a TV remote with that angled surface, I hadn't thought of that. It's small enough and the angle would feel backwards for putting under a shelf, plus with no display-side controls, interacting with it would be hard.

The piece under his thumb reminds me of the front of a timer switch, but then the the digital display does not really make sense.
If the display was a practical timer and not CGI or static, the T3 would indicate it can run at least two other timers at the same time (or at least the item the display is out of likely could). The DC has me wondering if it was designed to run on AC or DC (again if it is not just CGI or a static screen).
Do you have any other photos?
I had the same thought on the timer switch, but I think it's a graphic surrounding something on that surface and not a clickable wheel since it looks elliptical instead of round. Also agreed on the T3 note, that's all I can think of that would represent. DC is actually part of "COUNT DOWN", it's more visible as the scene plays.

Unfortunately, these are the only shots of it I know of, I don't think it appears anywhere else in the movie. Dr. Nekhorvich glances down at it on his way out of the Biocyte building, and after that he just references his watch. I grabbed these using frame advancing on youtube, the first screenshot actually has more detail of the front than I thought I'd be able to get. One frame earlier and it's a different scene, one frame later and it's already zooming in.

The whole thing looks kind of cheaply made, the back surface doesn't seem particularly flat or flush with the rest. There looks to be another button below the thumb and whatever that elliptical graphic is surrounding, possibly a start/stop/reset type button? I bet there's a second button to the right of it for symmetry. But unfortunately none of this speculation has helped me find it so far.
 
The piece under his thumb reminds me of the front of a timer switch, but then the the digital display does not really make sense.
If the display was a practical timer and not CGI or static, the T3 would indicate it can run at least two other timers at the same time (or at least the item the display is out of likely could). The DC has me wondering if it was designed to run on AC or DC (again if it is not just CGI or a static screen).
Do you have any other photos?
Try tracking down garage door remotes. It looks like a combination of remote and mounting hardware.
 
The Herkimer Battle Jitney from Mystery Men. I’d settle for a model since my HOA would probably frown on me parking the real thing at my house…
 
That's very good!


I have a new signature to use now: "One does not simply Google the obscure."

For those not understanding getting the joke,; the factor thing that obfuscates makes something obscure is that it is the difficulty to discern such thing see or identify. Tracking things down requires diligent persistence. Whether is it is Rachael's brocade pattern or some unseen weapon, digging is required.

Some of us have pored poured over just a few seconds of bad video just to catch a glimpse of a prop. From that we have made amazing builds with minimal information and a lot of networking.

Apologies for interrupting this thread. My message is directed solely to drösselmeyer and his lovely comments to me.

As your response to me was awkwardly written, I added some helpful suggestions above.

My Response: That's very good!

I have a new signature to use now. "Arrogance and rudeness are training wheels on the bicycle of life for weak people who cannot keep their balance without them. -Laura Teresa Marquez" For those not understanding the joke, someone can be arrogant and rude when he exposes his pedantic sophistry, as well as his lack of intellect and social skills in order to proffer his unwarranted criticism.

Some of us have pored over the motto of theRPF (see below) for just a few seconds and correctly surmised that: theRPF community is the oldest and most well-known source for information on props. i.e., If you don't want to share a source, I respect that. However, I don't respect a member lecturing me with a fallacious argument, which also contradicts the spirit of theRPF.
Drösselmeyer.png

I think we're done, but feel free to DM me if you feel otherwise. ;)
 
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Danny's crown and golden arrow from The Man Who Would Be King:

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Eowyn's helmet from The Lord of the Rings:

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The Nazca tomb dagger from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

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They're not really obscure, but they're certainly hard as heck to find. I doubt anyone will ever make the first ones. I'm quite surprised the second one hasn't been officially released by Weta Workshop in all these years (I've seen a couple of fan-made ones around, but not good enough for my taste). And the third one, well... it never was at the very top of my "most wanted list" until recently. It now is due to utter exasperation trying to find one for several years with no luck.
Hate to admit that I have never seen The Man Who Would be King but what is the story behind his masonic embroidered shirt?
 
It's not actually a dagger. It is called a Phurba. Phurba - Wikipedia
"Hello, hello, I have been stabbed by a phurba." "What was that sir? A furby stabbed you? Isn't that a toy? Can you repeat?" "A phurba, Phuuuur Baaa, phurba..." "Still not hearing you, do you mean a sheep? Like fur baaaa? Sir, the emergency line is just that, for emergencies." "I have been stabbed with a dagger." "We have emergency personnel deploying immediately. You should have said that sooner."
 
Hate to admit that I have never seen The Man Who Would be King but what is the story behind his masonic embroidered shirt?
God's Holy Trousers!

It's a great film; wonderfully odd. The story behind the shirt is a bit of a spoiler - happy to explain if desired, but if you'd prefer to go in fresh, suffice it to say that Sean Connery and Michael Caine's characters are proud Freemasons, and that comes into play in an unexpected way during their attempt to con a small remote country.
 
Not a prop, but used to make one - a Talbot Toys dune buggy and an obscure knock off doll, used on Tom Servo. The original Tom used the actual engine and hands, so I’d definitely love to find him. Season 1 Tom and his predecessor Beeper are fairly obscure so I’d think they count
 

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God's Holy Trousers!

It's a great film; wonderfully odd. The story behind the shirt is a bit of a spoiler - happy to explain if desired, but if you'd prefer to go in fresh, suffice it to say that Sean Connery and Michael Caine's characters are proud Freemasons, and that comes into play in an unexpected way during their attempt to con a small remote country.
I will take the hint and I appreciate the spoiler alert. I should have this malfeasance remedied within a few days.
 

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