Lost in Schlock: Top Ten Personal Faves of 2010 That You Should Check Out

Since everyone seems to be doing their own top ten lists for 2010, I thought that I would share a top ten of my personal fave tutorials and links for the year. 

10.  Monster Mud - Admittedly, I first mentioned this devilish concoction in 2008 .  However, in 2010 there was a huge spike of home haunters and prop builders wanting to know the recipe who found their way here.  So, it has a special place on my list for 2010.

9.  How to build a Weeping Angel - for most who know me, I am a huge Doctor Who fan and avid viewer of it's latest incarnations.  The Weeping Angel from the most recent seasons has to be one of the Doctor's creepiest monsters to date and a personal fave of mine.  Therefore, this tutorial on how to build a replica of the Weeping Angel certainly earsn a spot on this list.

8.  How to Build a Paper Mache Cave Wall - as vast as the internet is and the information it holds one of the hardest tutorials to find is how to build a fake interior of a cave. Who wouldn't want to build a interior cave set!?  They are so friggin' cool!

Also since it uses paper mache it's far safer than the infamous cave set that Bob Burns and friends had built for one of his annual Halloween haunts.  The cave that Bob Burns built involved gallons of rubber cement glue and foil and lots of inhaled fumes.  You can imagine how they begun to feel after hours of inhaling the glue.

7.  Build a Rocket Pack - This tutorial from Backyard FX just brings happy thoughts of serials like Rocket Man or the comic book The Rocketeer.  It is certainly one of the funnest props to build and who wouldn't want a rocket pack!?

6. How to Build a Aliens Power Loader - This tutorial is one of the coolest uses of left over styrofoam that I have ever seen and is an amazing build.  In fact it was a tutorial that was so hip it spawned a second tutorial and a Alien Queen Replica how-to for the completest out there.

5. Edible Raw Meat - One of the coolest tutorials to come out this year was the one on how to make edible raw meat.  For every cannibal or zombie movie or any film in which there is raw meat that needs to be safely consumed there is always the question of how it's going to happen.  Now the answer can be found in the form of a neat video tutorial.

4.  Steve Johnson on Youtube - For a movie and FX geek like me, Steve Johnson on Youtube is super awesome.  Each video shares a treasure trove of information on how some of the puppets and VFX were pulled off in many favorite cult films including Ghostbusters and Fright Night, and also contain some behind-the-scenes stories and humor as well.  It is one of the coolest channels on Youtube today and deserves a spot on my list.

3. Tombstones on a Dime - There is a large number of tutorials out there that show you how to build a fake tombstone but there are fewer decent ones that show you how to pull it off on a zero budget.  Dave Lowe (prop maker genius) has a turorial on how to recycle a Fed-Ex Box into a cheap tombstone that actually looks good and is even weathered nicely.

2. Articulated Wings - Finding tutorials on articulated tentacles or hands is easy, but finding a tutorial on articulated wings is nearly impossible.  This is why I dig this tutorial and fully appreciate it.  Besides, who woudln't want wings that can actually unfold? 

1. The RPF Dollar Store Lightsaber Challenge - this was one of my fave links for 2010.  It embodies what I Iove about creating props for low-budget films: it's cheap, uses found parts, and looks brilliant.  It is hugely inspirational on what can be done for only a few dollars and a bit of ingenuity.  It certainly earns a top spot on my list.