Tag Archives: model

Useful Sites

Props a’Twitter

For those of you who are hip with this whole internet thing, I am on Twitter. You can follow me if you want. It’s not as focused on props as this blog, but I’ll occasionally throw up a link to something of interest to the props community. These are some sites I’ve tweetered about in the past:

  • Vintage Printables – A fascinating (and organized) collection of public domain artwork and graphics suitable for printing (and making paper props).
  • Craft Rooms and Organizing – An ongoing series showcasing the spaces of crafters. It’s a great inspiration for setting up work and storage spaces in tight quarters.
  • Photos of my Models – A photo gallery of Michael Paul Smith’s incredibly detailed models of a mid-century American town.
  • 75 years of Band-Aid – A brief history of Band-Aid with a great gallery of their bandage packages throughout the years.
  • Louvre database – A (still incomplete) database of all the artworks in the Louvre museum.

So if you can’t stand missing out on future links like this, as well as my unparalleled humor, go ahead and check out my Twitter.

Useful Sites

Monday Link-O-Rama

I didn’t do a Friday link-o-rama, so here’s one for Monday. Hopefully I will be back to writing more better articles once we get out of tech for Bacchae.

  • Flower Power – The McCarter Theatre has to clean the uncleanable. Read about their solution.
  • Theatre on a Shoestring – A number of how-to articles on prop making, such as fake cigars, hefty chain, and sugar glass.
  • Model-Making Techniques – David Neat discusses tips and techniques for making scene design models. A lot of this info is also great for prop making.
  • Master of the Movie Prop – An interview with Kevin Hughes, the prop master for films such as Borat, Freddy Got Fingered and Boogie Nights.
Useful Sites

Another Friday Link-o-Rama

I’m on my honeymoon, so I thought I’d save time with another quick list of links.

  • JT Ringer pointed me to this page on Bookbinding which came in handy on a recent project at the Santa Fe Opera.
  • Craftster – In addition to the blog, there is a large community, articles and tutorials, and a wealth of other resources for the crafter in you.
  • Tips and Tricks for Miniature making – Even if you’re not interested in miniatures and model making on its own, you can adapt many of these tips for faux finishing, dealing with small parts, and using molds.
  • This to That – This site is so ubiquitous it feels redundant to list it here, but in case you haven’t run into it yet, it’s indispensable for props. Simply put, you choose the two materials you need to attach together, and the site will tell you which adhesives will work.
Resources

Movie Prop Replicas

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As I’ve mentioned a few websites dealing with film props, I thought I’d point out some communities based around replicating famous props from films. These are great resources for a lot of tutorials, such as vacuforming, casting, and working with fiberglas. They also focus on DIY and inexpensive solutions, so any prop shop can benefit from diving through the wealth of material they have.

The Replica Prop Forum – This is one of the cornerstones of the community, with members interested in props for a wide range of films. It also has discussions about costumes and scale modeling. Since it is a forum, it can take some time to navigate and search around, but it’s worth it.

TK560 – This site has tutorials and guides to building a number of props from Star Wars, Star Trek, and a number of other sci-fi films.

TK409 – Another site with tutorials for making do-it-yourself Star Wars props.

The previous two sites are part of the 501st legion, the “world’s definitive Imperial costuming organization.” It is an organization of over six thousand people who dress like members of the Empire in Star Wars. All of these sites have a plethora of links to other DIY prop and costuming resources throughout the internet.

The Magnoli Collection of Prop Replicas – Indy Magnoli’s collection of prop replicas. Most are based around the Indiana Jones’ movies, but some other films are represented as well. There are a good amount of paper props as well, with descriptions of how they were made.

That’s it for now. Let me know if there are any other sites you find interesting. You can also point out any other communities or groups which would have useful information for prop people.

Tools

Miniature Craftsmanship

I just started looking at The Internet Craftsmanship Museum. It’s a great museum featuring highly crafted miniatures of any number of objects. A large portion of the collection can be viewed online. I like the miniature gun section, although the aircraft are pretty cool, too.

1/3 scale Thompson machine gun by David Kucer
1/3 scale Thompson machine gun by David Kucer

If you want to do your own miniatures, or if you just have extremely limited space for a workshop like I do, you can find any number of tools from either Micro-Mark or Sherline. I’ve been looking at a number of machines from both of these places for awhile.

I’m often tempted to get one of those cheap mini machines, like a tabletop table saw, from any of those discount tool outlets. But then I read reviews for them and realize they’re just utter crap. The tools from Micro-Mark or Sherline are built like real tools, only smaller; they aren’t toys. Of course, this is reflected in the prices. Ah, well.