Movies have a way of inspiring people, and fans often take their love of film to the next level, with that devotion manifesting in very cool ways. When you combine a love of an art form with technical skills, some truly awesome replicas are created; some are so perfect that no one would think they were anything but authentic props from film sets. As a celebration of the handcrafted revolution that anchors our new documentary series, Human, take a look at some of these awesome fan-made props from Jurassic Park to Star Trek that take authenticity to the next level.
A Jurassic Park Ford Explorer
Christopher Orgeron of Houston took his fandom to the next level when he modified a Ford Explorer to be a movie-perfect replica of the Jurassic Park vehicles. He found a first generation Ford Explorer on Craigslist and did all the work himself, including installing the era-appropriate interior computer screens. An interactive CD-ROM!
A full-scale Millennium Falcon
Star Wars fans are some of the most dedicated ever, and those nerds are organized. In a project that will likely take many years, fans started a quest to build a 1:1 scale model of the Millennium Falcon by collecting spare parts. There’s a touch of madness to this one, but that’s part of the beauty.
An Iron Man Suit with moveable parts
Jerome Kelty is sort of a real-life Tony Stark and has designed and made a wearable Mark III Iron Man suit. The suit is high-functioning, with moveable parts like shoulder rocket pods, hip pods, back flaps, a forearm missile and an opening-closing helmet. The coolest part may be that it’s all controlled by radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in the gloves. Cosplayers tend to go all in with their designs, but this is really next level.
A real KITT from Knight Rider
Detroit resident Chris Palmer spent three years, five Trans Ams, and tons of specialized parts to achieve the look of KITT, the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from the classic ’80s show Knight Rider. Palmer even went on to found the Great Lakes Knights Car Club to interact with other enthusiasts and plan for future projects.
A functioning Star Trek phaser
While it may be useless against alien forms, this homemade Star Trek phaser gun is powerful enough to pop a balloon. This replica is based upon a model from the early seasons of the show. Never underestimate what a fan can create in their garage with a little scientific knowledge and some determination.
(Via Imgur, Truck Trend, the Full-Scale Millennium Falcon Project, IGN, Hagerty, the Daily Mail)
