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Welcome to the Movie Props Subforum

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:51 am
by Pauven
As a hard-core movie and TV buff, my enthusiasm extends beyond the screen. There's something magical about being able to hold in your hands life-size replicas of what you see on screen, further immersing you into the fantasy worlds you love to watch over and over. Who among us hasn't wanted a Star Wars light-saber, a Star-Trek phaser, a Hellboy Samaritan, an Indian Jones whip, a Harry Potter Golden Snitch, a Kill Bill Katana, or a Ghostbuster's ghost trap?

My first replica was actually a Harry Potter Elder's Wand that I 3D printed for my nephew Eric several years back. It was a fun project: finding a good model, figuring out how to successfully print it, testing out painting methods, and finishing the project together with Eric so he had a hand in the creation. I liked it so much, I printed a second wand for myself.

My second replica was a Terminator T2 Judgement Day collectible arm that came with the 4K UHD movie. This addition really opened my eyes to the joy of collecting replicas, and gave me some dreams for the future. I love that scene in T2 when John Connor is in the Cyberdyne research lab and they enter the vault with the T-800 severed arm and brain chip fragment. How cool would it be for me to create some type of "vault" (erhm... hallway) where you could browse a collection of movie replicas - perhaps more like a museum but with a sense of secrecy to the presentation. My plans are grand, but it will likely be years before I can show them off - they will be part of a new house build I'm still dreaming up....

But for now, there's no reason for me to delay expanding my collection, and that's exactly what I've been doing. I decided I should share with my fellow movie enthusiasts what I've gathered so far, and allow for all of you to share your prized pieces too.

While I enjoy making my own props, one thing you'll pick up on is that I have a desire for realism, not just in appearance but also experience. 3D printed plastic props that feel like cheap plastic don't appeal to me - so I go to great effort to increase realism through proper weighting of finished pieces, and using real materials for finishes.

For many movie enthusiasts, collecting scale models and figurines is also a big passion - one that I do not share. Respectfully, I ask that contributions be limited to full-scale, life-size replicas only.