Antique movie props. Anyone have any?

I have a couple props from a recent-ish action film that I haven't even seen because they aren't really my thing. I was thinking of selling them when I run across them in storage but I was wondering if I should let them "ripen" a bit with age to get a better value? I guess it's a bit of a gamble.

 

Depends completely on what they're from and what they are. If the recent-ish film is a stand-alone flick that didn't make much money or cult interest, sooner might be better. You could also wait until those who were teens when it came out are now adults with money. Maybe a reboot, or a beloved actor who used it has a come-back or passes.

If the movie is a franchise, then you can wait until the next one comes out. If it's a movie that made money/fans then waiting is better BUT these things go in cycles of when the fans age up....and then out.

And of course there's always research. Prop Store is retail. eBay is market. Etc.

 

I was watching a prop piece from Ben Hur that is now gone from the eBay site. I don't know if they just pulled it, or accepted an offer, but dang I really wanted that thing. I hate rich people LOL

 

The only prop I have is from a crime show tv series. I would have had no idea, but it included an identifying slip of paper from the show along with scene info for where used. It was in the drawer of a mid century desk I was looking at. Apparently the desk was rented when the show was filmed (on location in RI), and the prop was left behind after rental.

The funny thing to me, is that it was an envelope and test tube. Funny because it had a big label on it: “DNA Evidence”. As if that’s what a crime lab would put on their envelopes!

 

The seller pulled it....u should hate them !!!

 

We definitely source our evidence bags, tags, stickers, tape, etc. from actual police suppliers. Anyone can buy them.

So if you see something far out of the norm, that's the hand of the director wanting to break the rules to emphasize a storybeat. Make something more interesting visually. I offer my directors the real world thing and I've gotten back "That's not very cool. Let's just go Hollywood on that." Lollll

 

It's truly amazing how much film and TV can inject magic into common items. The character Boba Fett in the Star Wars series had "alien" tools in his suit. They were really medical and dental tools.

 

Lots of creative people in prop making! Now we 3D print everything on big productions, but making things on a budget always requires thinking outside the box.

 

The spaceship in Blake’s 7 was a hairdryer.

 

The original lightsabers in Star Wars were camera flash bulb holders.

 

The automatic doors on Start Trek, low budget if ever there was, were a guy with fishing line if memory serves.

The same model is a hot collectible, and has been for decades. Many an old camera guy has been pleasantly surprised when his flash mount sold for $tupid money.

 

Still are. If it ain't broke... Don't fix it! In all seriousness a lot of special effects are extremely low rent because they work and they keep budgets down. Running a sink? That's a garden hose hooked up with a bucket in the cabinet. Need a car to look like it's moving when it isn't? We have a big grip sitting on a wedged 2x4, bouncing up and down on it.

On my last movie we used fishing wire every day for different effects, including while it was still attached to a fishing rod, because why make something when the sport store covers exactly what you need.

 

Techies reinvent wheels daily, FX guys still use the same things Buster Keaton did if OSHA allows.

 

It takes a special sort of person to do SFX and they are........ Interesting people.

 

I've found my tribe!

 

get em while they're hot ....... & even bugs for @kyratango ..

https://www.maynardsfineart.com/auction/rt242-tv-series-auction-dec-16-2024/

 

I read somewhere that the thing Geordie/Jordie on STTNG, wore across his eyes was made from a comb. Looked cool.

 

nope....hair clip..... Banana Clip...
.my wife had one..

 

Based on one anyway. I knew what it looked like, but never wore one myself.