Props

When TV shows and movies want to go back in time, they head to an unlikely place, the LES Ecology Center. This Brooklyn, NY urban sustainability organization has found a new use for old E-Waste, operating a prop shop housing thousands of retro gadgets.

Most of the prop sections used to film the assault on the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope have been lost. Hollywood Memorabilia got its hands on one of the few surviving sections. It was previously owned by an ILM employee and a Star Wars collector.

Rooster Teeth’s Master & Apprentice is about a master prop maker and a cosplayer showing us how professional props are made by crafting movie and video game items. Here they make the Giant Jawblade, a great sword from Monster Hunter: World.

(PG-13: Language) “Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough…” A tool. A gag. A clue. CineFix presents its top 10 movie props of all time, be they extremely effective on their own or fully supported by the film itself. And no, the top pick isn’t Rosebud.

Tested visited Weta Workshop to take a look at some of the props they made for the live action Ghost in the Shell movie. In particular, they showed off the Major’s thermoptic suit, as well as the masks and animatronics for the robot geisha.

MudbrainsTvDIY gives us a brief glimpse at an amazing build – he replicated the T-800 arm that Miles Dyson had in Terminator 2. It’s made entirely from cardboard, glue, and varnish. If you’ve got about 7 hours to spare, you can watch how he built it, step by laborious step.

Like Overwatch? Awe Me shows us how to make a floating replica of Zenyatta’s Orb of Destruction using a plastic ball ornament, EVA foam, an electromagnet and an LED. The beauty of this guide is that you can easily spin it off to make other levitating orbs.

Prop Store is auctioning off one of the six Batpod motorcycles that were made for and used in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. It’s in display-only setup and is slightly damaged, but this one-of-a-kind ride is expected to fetch at least $80,000.

Sneaky Zebra offers up an all-out battle for geek supremacy, with its soldiers equipped entirely by awesome and iconic replica props from sci-fi and superhero series, and a heaping helping of VFX to bring them to life.

Julien’s is auctioning off the Colt AR15 rifle and M203 grenade launcher props that Tony Montana used in Scarface. The launcher was handmade for Brian De Palma’s film, but it was reused in Predator as part of Dutch’s gun. So it’s Schwarzenegger’s little friend too.

Herb Lester offers stationery based on six fictional hotels, including The Overlook Hotel (The Shining), The Great Northern Hotel (Twin Peaks) and The Green Man Inn (The Wicker Man). Available individually or as a set. Sadly, no Grand Budapest Hotel.

Wired talks to Shawn Thorsson, whose life changed course after he saw a trailer for the first Iron Man movie. After making a replica of Tony Stark’s suit, Shawn never looked back and has been making amazing costumes and prop replicas ever since.

Profiles in History is auctioning off Han Solo’s weapon of choice. Harrison Ford (and perhaps Mark Hamill also) used this non-firing DL-44 Blaster in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

A perfect copy of the dual-stage linear motor rifle wielded by Matt Damon in Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. This prop is made from fiberglass by the talented craftspeople of Weta Workshop, who also made the original movie weapons.

It’s time to say farewell to Breaking Bad’s many iconic creations – Los Pollos Hermanos, Hector’s wheelchair, Walt’s Aztek, pink teddy bears, and yellow hazmat suits. Or you could take them home forever. Auction runs 9/29-10/8/13.

Harrison Krix of Volpin Props shows off his incredible replica of the Needler from Halo 4, as it goes from concept to completion in this time-lapse. The gun measures 31 in. long, weighs 10 lbs. and is lit by 54 LEDs. Build log on Tested.

Nathan Longest is an animator and digital effects specialist by trade, but he’s also got mad prop-making skills. Here are his replicas of some of the weapons in Team Fortress 2. Contact him for commissions here.

Brian Johnson makes custom Nerf guns “and other object-spitting devices.” He can make both prop and working replicas and is great with steampunk, videogame-inspired and realistic designs.

A jaw-dropping replica of the Digger Launcher – the pistol-sized grenade launcher from Gears of War 3  – made by Ryan Palser and his wife Dena for the Make it Real contest on Instructables.

Designer Chris Myles made this kick-ass replica of the Omni Tool used by Shepard and the other characters in the Mass Effect universe. It’s made of sheet acrylic and has a swing out Omni Blade.

Harrison from Volpin Props is back with his latest creation, a perfect reproduction of Half-Life 2’s gravity gun. But this gun was used for good, not evil, with its sale benefiting Child’s Play.

Harrison Krix of Volpin Props cranks out another awesome build, a perfect remake of Thomas Bangalter’s LED matrix helmet, which should look great alongside his Guy-Manuel helmet. Pics here.

The ultimate toy for Ghostbusters fanatics, Mattel’s Ghost Trap replica is a dead ringer for the one from the movie, and does everything that one did, except catch ghosts – or does it? (Thanks, Isaac!)

Harrison Krix of Volpin Props is at it again. The guy behind the world’s most awesome Daft Punk headgear has built this amazingly accurate Portal gun replica, and is auctioning it off for charity.

Dexter is back. While you wait for tonight’s season premiere, take a tour of the room where Dexter’s various murderous props are stored and prepped for the show. How ’bout that bin full o’ heads?

If you spent countless nights since 2004 glued to your television to find out what would become of LOST’s castaways, now you can own a bit of the island for yourself at this prop auction.

While the full-size replicas have all sold out, you can get your hands on this 1/4-scale mini version of the assault rifle Wikus used to do his first target practice when he’s captured at MNU headquarters.

The limited edition Bat-Cowl replica is cast in fiberglass from the original prop worn by Michael Keaton in 1992’s Batman Returns. A badass cowl if there ever was one. Only 500 will be made.

If you frequent Las Vegas, you might have visited the now defunct Star Trek: The Experience. If you move fast, you can get your hands on a piece of it. The auction ends at 3pm Pacific today, 4/10.

Fans of the original Alien will immediately recognize this chestburster we first met busting forth from John Hurt’s innards in the classic sci-fi pic. This replica makes a perfect desktop pet.