Links - Wan-Obi Jedi's Amateur Prop Workshop

Links

The web is overflowing with information, some good, some bad. The following are some of my favorites. I have broken them down into the following categories:

Please also see External Sources for non-wired reference sources.

Community: Prop Message Boards

THE Replica Prop Forums

The mother of all prop message boards. A busy, high traffic, highly-useful message board. It has moved around a little over the years but is currently hosted by our generous patron, Cliff.

There are many friendly people here involved all aspects of prop building, modeling and collecting - just try to avoid the flame-wars and show-boaters. Stay on the inhabitants good side by not making any direct links to specific eBay auctions and check out the FAQ before asking a question. It is the first site I visit every morning and I hang out there as WanObiJedi.

A.S.A.P. (A Site About Props)

A spin-off board from the THE Replica Board. Populated by a subset of the members of THE Replica Board but cleverly subdivided to make finding topics on particular subjects easier. Either the Rebellion or the Empire depending upon your point of view.

The Alien's Prop Board

Specializing in props from the Alien series.

Ghostbusters Prop Board

Prop board for GB enthusiasts - lots of great information and a friendly crowd.

Ghostbusters Message Board

All things Ghostbuster with a lot of great prop information.

R2 Builders

Looking to build your own droid? Here's the newsgroup for you.

The Dr Who Forum

Forum for Dr Who fans. Low traffic but hanging in there.

Star Wars General

Star Wars.com

The official Lucas site.

The Force.Net

All things Star Wars.

Lucas Arts

Makers of great PC games including some all time favorites; Tie Fighter, Rogue Squadron & X-wing Alliance.

Yakfaces realm

Source of news and information for those of us that collect the toys.

Technical Commentaries

Check out the comprehensive Lightsaber page with hypothesis on how they function, fighting styles - a lot more interesting than you might imagine.

Movie Specific Prop Sites

Star Wars
The Parts of Star Wars	Accurate source of information about what the actual SW props were constructed from.
Jawa Tutorial	How to make your own life-size Jawa.
Dark Side	Lightsaber blueprints (varying levels of accuracy).
Boba Debt's Outer Rim	Prop fan and Star Wars blaster expert.
Droid Boy	R2D2 builder.
Graflica	A hardware store ANH Lightsaber with excellent instructions.
Lez Cook's scratch-built Graflex	The most accurate replica Graflex I've yet seen. Lez has found a way to make the button and eye "shoulders" accurately.
Lightsabers Plus	A virtual collection of fan-made Lightsabers.
Obi-Wan's Jedi Academy	Filled with good how-to instructions for costumes and props including what to do if you happen upon a Graflex. Content is frequently updated and well maintained.
Badcard's Imperial Website	Primarily a Stormtrooper enthusiast - instructions on building an imperial blaster from plastic plumbing pipe and from a resin kit.
Definitive How To Custom & Prop Building Site	Great site including step-by-step instructions on making a metal blaster rifle and interrogator droid amongst others.
Hollywood Hardware	Three German collectors and replica builders. These guys built an awesome speeder bike replica and are currently working on a full size STAP battle droid!
Bubba's Barnyard of Star Wars Costumes	Some interesting ideas for cheap costumes & shortcuts.
Ketzer's Site	Incredible German scratch Star Wars modeler - amazing Falcon and Vader revealed mask.
Prop Sites: Aliens
Aliens Archive	Collection of original Alien(s) props. Great reference.
Aliens Collection	Reference for all things Alien
Harry Harris Aliens Archive & Collection	Another original prop collector with a fantastic collection.
Prop Sites: Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters Central	All news Ghostbusters
Proton Charging	All sorts of Ghostbuster information & news.
Ghostbusters Prop Page	Detailed information on building your own proton pack etc.
Prop Sites: Star Trek
Build Your Own PADD	How to build your own STNG or Voyager PADD.
PADD Tutorial	Another PADD tutorial.
Star Trek Props	Japanese collectors site. I can't read most of it but the pictures are great.
Prop Sites: Dr Who
Police Box Website	Want to build your own Tardis? Here's the reference material that you're looking for.
Dr Who Prop Guy	Professional Dr Who prop builder.
Prop Sites: Indiana Jones
Indy Gear	Indiana Jones costume and prop reference site.
Jones Equipment Shoppe	Information on Indy Equipment.
Prop Sites: Miscellaneous & General
MIB	Men In Black reference site.
RAC Props	Great prop information, infrequently updated.
Robot Builders	Information and reference material on building the B9, R2 and Dewy drone amongst others.

Tools, Tutorials & Techniques

How to Airbrush a Helmet

Describes how to paint a motorcycle helmet but could easily be applied to flight helmets or any hard armor.

Sketch Modeling

An MIT lecture on sketch modeling. Useful techniques for modeling in cardboard and foam on the cheap.

Starship Modeler

Great site for the scale modeler.

Patterns, Molds & Casting
A.S.A.P - Pattern Construction, Molding & Casting	"A Site About Props" section on all things resin.
Smooth-on	Commercial site but contains a lot of useful information. Check out their sampler kits for great value.
Polytech	Another commercial site with good information.
Castcraft	Yet another commercial site with good information

Commercial Props

Larbel Plasmablade

Tired of trying to find a mint Graflex flash or an MPP in any condition? Larbel makes limited run replicas of these flashes for around $150. Highly recommended.

Frontier Models

English store that stock garage resin kits of blasters and Lightsabers

Global Effects Inc.

Professional prop makers specializing in space suits. Great to browse, expensive to buy.

Raw Materials

Tandy Leather

Looking for the source of belt and buckle blanks - you should find it here.

Online Metals

Source of metals for the hobbyist and modeler.

Plastruct

Source of plastic for the scratch modeler.

Chandler Supplies

Looking for Orange coveralls to make your X-wing flight suit?

Check 6 Aviation

Source for collectors of flight helmets and parts.

Sportsman's Guide

Dig around and you can sometimes find Russian boots suitable for costuming for $10 and Jawa pouches incredibly cheap.