UPDATE! Enter the Specter Studios Custom Props Contest Give-Away

Update:  The winner of the custom prop contest is Ed Schrecengost!  It was a tough decision coming down to two contestants.  However as much as I lovede the Youtube video that Kat had made, the baseball bat ultimately goes to Schrecengost for his zombie baseball team haunted hayride idea which sounds like real ghoulish fun.  Congrats to Ed.  Ed if you would please email me at kidschlocko(at)yahoo.com and send me your name and address so that Specter Studios can send you the prop.  Many thanks to everyone who participated.

Specter Studios which has been creating some amazing custom props and masks has joined Lost in Schlock to give away one of their own custom props.  A prop which is valued at $45 dollars.  The prize is a ultra realistic baseball bat which is made from soft foam and latex materials which has a dowel rod core for support.  It is incredibly realistic which includes a nice faux wood grain finish to add to it's realism.

The baseball bat is one of the the many cool and ghoulish custom props one can find at Specter Studios.  Their site can be found at http://specter-studios.com/cart/ and you can become a fan on Facebook by clicking on the like button on their page at http://www.facebook.com/specterstudios 

The Rules of the Game:

To enter the contest just comment below and tell me what kind of project you would use the prop and how.  The project can be a home haunt, a haunted attraction, or even your own indie horror movie.

You can only enter the contest once.

The person who comments below with the best project will win the contest and the winner will be announced on May 25th.  So be sure to return to this page on that day to see if your name has been chosen so that I can get your contact info so that Specter Studios can send you the prize.

All contestants must be within the continental U.S. only.  (those in Alaska or Hawaii cannot enter)

For a better look at the prop and for more details be sure to check out Specter Studios website at or go directly to the prop's own page.

Good luck!

Make a Wall of Weapons for Less than Fifty Bucks

Here is another AMAZING Stiltbeast tutorial on how to inexpensively crank out a multitude of hand weapons for less than fifty bucks.  There are also some great tips to weather a prop to be found in the vid.  Enjoy!

(via The Haunter's Digest)

Also see Stiltbeast Studios

My Summer Slaycation

I am in the middle of working on a horror short film so posts here will pretty much light till August.  For those interested I have been keeping a journal of sorts of the film's progress here.

One of the challenges is that because this is a shoe-string budget, I cannot afford Airsoft's prices on machine guns or even rental fees.  I've tried toy shops but the guns are either too science fiction or too pricey.  The internet and places like Ebay are not much help either.  So what do I do when I need assault rifles?  I build them out of cardboard and paper mache.

When in doubt make it out of paper mache

I made a template using a image of a assault rifle found on the net and ran it through Rasterbator.  I then cut out sections of the gun out of cardboard and glued styrofoam in between the parts.  At the moment I am now in the mache phase.

The guns may look cheap but the trick is to keep the shots involving the guns wide and fast.  The less time the guns are on-screen the better.

How to Build a Flamethrower the Backyard FX Way

Yet another cool weapon build tutorial from Backyard FX on how to make your very own flame thrower:

Prop Hammer

Here is a good starter tutorial on making a realistic prop hammer from foam.  The same techniques can be used for larger weapons such as baseball bats and hatchets, etc.

Build a Cardboard Tec DC9 Prop

Another cool use for recycled cardboard can be found with this tutorial on how to make a realistic Tec DC9 gun.  Full details here.

NOTE: As with all tutorials on building prop guns, safety first. Don't be a idiot and go outside waving a fake gun around It may be fake to you, but to others it might not be. Your neighborhood police officer is not a psychic. He or she will not always know if you are making a movie. Always keep that in mind. Know your state laws and get permits or police aid whenever needed when necessary.

Make a Foam Latex Crowbar The Easy Way

In numerous films or stage productions when a weapon is used in a stunt or is thrown at an actor, more often than not, it is a foam rubber casted copy.  This is obviously done for safety reasons.  To make a foam copy of a weapon the most commonly used technique is to build a plaster cast over the prop and then fill the mold with foam rubber. 

The weapon copy is then painted to match the original as close as possible to achieve realism.  As good as a technique it is, it still can cost a bit of money for a weapon that may only be used for a meere fifteen seconds of actual screen-time.

However, over at Backyard FX is a cool tutorial on how to make a foam latex crowbar cheaply and without the trouble of making a plaster mold and all the mess associated with it.  The same skills shown on the tutorial can, with a bit of practice, be used to make other foam weapons.  As a word of caution, whenever you are using fake weaponary of any kind always use extreme caution and make sure that every inch of the prop is safe.  Lawsuits and deaths can but quite the damper on a film project.

How to Build A 1950's Raygun

Perfect for the next Buck Rogers

Here is yet another fantastic tutorial on how to build a 1950's era inspired ray gun.  The perfect thing for anyone into cosplay or wanting to make their own pulp serial webseries.  Full details here.

Inspiration: The Dollar Store Lightsaber Contest

Much like the dollar store laser gun this prop is equally cool.  The Replica Prop Forums had a contest to see if anyone could build a Star Wars inspired lightsaber using only parts found from a dollar store.  Here is the winner:



It's amazing what can be found at the dollar store these days

Full details on how it was made found here.

Build a Foam Meat Cleaver Replica

Here is a cool tutorial I have stumbled upon on how to build a prop replica of a meat cleaver using foam and a bit of prop weathering know-how. 

Go here for the full tutorial.

Chest Impale FX Trick

Although this year's Halloween is now a fading memory, here is a cool Halloween tutorial from the folks over at Indy Mogul on how to create a chest impale effect.

Inspiration: Mass Effect M8 Avenger Assault Rifle

I am constantly amazed at the brillaint props and costumes that come out of Volpin Props.  This includes the now famous Big Daddy suit and the Daft Punk Helmet. 

Adding to the list of awesome is a replica of the M8 Assault Rifle from the game Mass Effect.  Go here to see the step-by-step process that went into the making of this cool prop. 

Go here to see more.

Inspiration: Fallout 3's A3-21 Plasma Rifle

For fans of Fallout 3, you gonna dig this.  Someone has made a amazingly cool replica of the A3-21 Plasma Rifle.  There is a Flickr album of the step-by-step process of how the Rifle was made.  Check it out.

BUILDING A GUN FROM ORANGE JUICE BOTTLES

BUILD A FUTURISTIC CARDBOARD GUN

For something built from cardboard this prop build is rather damn impressive. Full details over here.

A QUICK LASER GUN PROP TUTORIAL

I posted this back in May but thought it was worth repeating for any one in search of a no-budget laser gun for their Halloween costume or low budget sci-fi flick.

CREATING REALISTIC METALLIC TEXTURE

Since I'm on a how to weather props kind of roll, here is yet another brilliant tutorial on how to create textures on a object to give it a much realistic metallic appearance. Check it out.

BUILD YOUR OWN FAKE RETRACTABLE BLADE PROP

Snkkt! You too can now have a retractable blade weapon for your next assassin flick with this neat tutorial. The best part, it's friggin cheap and easy to do. Check it out. (Indy Mogul)

STEAMPUNKED NERF GUNS

Man, I dig these guns so much. I am new the whole Steampunk genre, but from what I have seen it closely relates to the imagery I have in my mind for what science fiction settings should look like. I hope that makes sense.

Here is the link to the site where the pic is from. Alas however, sadly there is no tutorial to be found on how to make these bad ass puppies. But I do know that when spring hits and dollar stores start putting their water guns on shelves, I am making myself some Steampunk-esque weaponary. Tutorials or pics will be posted here for sure. Stay weird!