Tips on rubber action props?

J

Jim H

Active member
For my current project, I have some real knives that are going to be dulled down. However, for the action scenes where knives are used, I was planning on using a combination of replicas made out of casting resin for some scenes and something softer for others.

I've been looking at different materials. I think some kind of rubber would be best, but the only kind of pourable rubber I could find was pretty expensive - for the amount I'd need, I think I'd have to spend in the $300-$500 range. Semi-rigid polyurethane also seems pretty expensive.

Does anyone have any other suggestions on materials for making somewhat flexible props for stunt scenes? Keep in mind I'm copying existing metal knives.

Thanks.
 
Doc Bernard said:
I am curious on how you are doing your molds. Are you making your own?
Click to expand...

Yeah. I was planning on using plaster, actually. Cheap, and these knives are simple and I don't need any fine details. I'm probably going to use petroleum jelly as the mold release.
 
Jim, I know what you mean- I keep wanting to explore rubber replicas of my best weapons but am put off by the large initial outlay.

Please keep us posted on how you proceed. I tried using plaster and petroleum jelly as the release when I was attempting to make a mold of M-16 magazines. I really didn't do so well but it's probably more operator error than the fault of the material.

Best of luck!
 
I made a plaster mold of a knife with the assistance of an aunt of mine who is a sculptor. Came out pretty good, but I think if you want a really accurate replica a silicon mold would probably be better. This is just for the knife that will be swung around, so it doesn't matter too much.

Anyway, I found a place that sells something called PT Flex. 1:1 mix, a quart of each (half gallon total of the finished product) costs $60.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_-pB9XuYxc

You can mix it with a form of plastic resin called Easy Flo to make a semi-rigid rubber. Think this is what I'm going to use. A half gallon of both will be about $100.

http://www.brickintheyard.com/

That's the website that sells the products I'm talking about. I'll let you guys know how it goes. The only unanswered question is how I should seal the plaster mold. I'm thinking a spray on lacquer right now, but I'm not really sure.
 
I have a question about rubber prop guns...I recently learned about the brightly colored rubber guns used in training exercises by police and military, usually they are blue or red. They are highly detailed replicas of real world weapons, and while they are expensive occasionally I see them on ebay for cheaper. I've thought about the possibility of buying one of these rubber guns and painting them black to act as a stunt prop. Only problem is I'm not sure how to paint rubber. I painted a rubber cord when I was fabricating a space-y looking laser gun for a short film years ago, and it's still sticky.
 
I know what you mean, VO. Those blue or red guns are usually a harder plastic - the key is to wash them thoroughly with dish soap to get rid of surface oils. It's possible that normal model paint will suffice- can't say for sure as I haven't tried it.

With 'martial arts training' rubber weapons, I believe the trick is to use latex-based paint, not acrylic.

One think to check is the Krylon "Fusion" brand paint. I've used the silver color on a couple of rubber knife replicas. Not perfectly durable, but still pretty good (and easily touched up).
 
stage_armament_solutions said:
I know what you mean, VO. Those blue or red guns are usually a harder plastic - the key is to wash them thoroughly with dish soap to get rid of surface oils. It's possible that normal model paint will suffice- can't say for sure as I haven't tried it.

With 'martial arts training' rubber weapons, I believe the trick is to use latex-based paint, not acrylic.

One think to check is the Krylon "Fusion" brand paint. I've used the silver color on a couple of rubber knife replicas. Not perfectly durable, but still pretty good (and easily touched up).
Click to expand...

Thanks for that tip! I'm definitely going to have to figure out something with the paint, since all of my replicas will be painted. Not too worried about the plastic ones, but I have been wondering what to do about rubber.

Slight update, too: I got in my materials. Bought a full gallon of the plastic resin (since I'm also making pure resin knives as well - I think I might need even more, actually) and the half gallon of the PT Flex rubber stuff. I'm hoping to make my first rubber knife this weekend. In total, it looks like I'll need about 7 or 8 rubber knives. I have about a gallon of liquid to work with, so that should be more than enough.

I'll update with pics and such when I get the first one done!
 
No pics yet, but I thought I would post an update. Doing the 50/50 mix yielded a knife that was way too floppy and flexible. It'd probably be OK for a shorter knife (like a pocket knife) or something, but not for the bowie knife I intended. I ended up using pure resin, and the bowie in plastic is flexible, but not floppy. The other prop, a dagger, is actually too floppy even in resin! I have to figure something out to mount on the resin copies to stiffen up the blade a bit.

We're getting ready to paint them, and when we've finished that I'll post a few pictures.
 
I know a certain prop service that uses flexible wire as a stiffener inside the resin. Bend over the end of the wire for safety at the "sharp end"
 
We use cheap Airsoft weapons. They are so dirt cheap that it would make no sense to build rubber guns.

This set comes for under $40 and with a bit of paint they look real good.
We usualy take the guts out and place some lead wights in them.

FGHGGHGG.jpg


Just search for "Airsoft" on ebay.

Frank
 
But still, from a firearm standpoint, you can't beat airsoft! I've been using them for years, and no one has ever questioned them.
 
Well in all fairness, I did bring up rubber guns.

My problem with the cheap airsoft guns is they look like crap - they completely butcher whatever real world model they are based on. For instance the market is flooded with these Tec-9 airsoft guns with the huge extended "stainless-steel" barrel. To my knowledge, there's no gun that looks like that. Also every gun is bristling with these picatinny rails with an assortment of laser pointers and all this needless crap. Just in case you want to add a massive but functionless sniper scope to your shotgun. BTW, I don't think any pump action shotgun loads from a box magazine.
 
LOL, I didn't want to say anything, but yeah, the cheapo knockoffs are very unrealistic. You can't really pull off any close-ups of the guns, as you will see exactly what it really is, plastic.

Though on the shotguns, yes there are a number of them that utilize a clip-style mag.

The props I use, I usually spend 100 minimum on each. I have spent 300 on each of the better ones, and getting ready to drop 700 on a pair of M60's. Many of mine are "licensed" and have full trademarks such as "Glock, Armalite, Barrett, etc." That's where it gets a bit pricey. But for those amazing ECU's of the guns, Trades are a must.

Warning!!!!!!!! Shameless plug follows>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And then, if you cannot afford to buy them, you could always come to me. I rent weapons strictly to the Indie Market, so I keep my rates low. And I can train your cast to realistically handle the weapons, even if they have never held/shot a weapon before in their life.
 
Last edited:
While there are shotguns that load from a box magazine, there are to my knowledge, none that load from a box magazine AND have pump action (actually there are but they are extremely uncommon). It's typically either-or. the point of pump action is that it loads the next round from the tubular magazine under the barrel. However a lot of airsoft guns have the pump action with the magazine and I've seen plenty of videos where the magazines were left in, automatically denoting them as a cheapo airsoft gun. Just remove the clip. You only need it if you're going to be shooting actual airsoft pellets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top