Modelguns in Movies ? 2

I recall a similar thread on Marks original MP40 but just thought I would throw this in for discussion .

Has anyone noticed any modelguns used in recent film / TV productions ?

I could not help but giggle to myself reading News Of the World newspaper at the Weekend showing a close up pic of Jason Sratham,s mug with an MGC BERETTA 92 pushed into it in a close up production still from the forthcoming " Transporter 3 "

I always assumed real steel / Deacs or top quality props would be used in such cases to ensure realism ?
After all people seem more aware about guns and how they work / look since being featured so heavily in the likes of computer and console games + TV productions etc .

I suspect many on here find themselves noticing weapons and their usage when portrayed on TV /Films etc . I cannot help myself from being annoyed when they are shown in an incorrect way : either the weapon , how its being used / carried etc / re loading .

Just little things like on " Dead Set " on E4 ( recommended BTW ) recently a woman armed with a BA rifle shot a zombie and I was looking for the bullet hole in the window behind the creature , but it was,nt there and it should have been .

Even watching Band of Brothers recently some of the weapons carried by none main characters looked suspiciously prop like to me . A small criticism of an otherwise SUPERB production .

Anyone else noticed anything recently ??

Carl.

I know what you mean, especially about how firearms are handled in hollywood movies (Tears of the Sun is a great example of Bruce Willis' M4 with an Aimpoint scope fitted backwards!)
Although people are becoming aware and producers/directors are trying to make things more accurate and realistic. There's a great website: www.imfdb.org
It tells you what guns are used in movies with quite a bit of detail and info (depending on the movie)

Some films which require lots of weapons, especially lots of the same weapon (military etc), tend to use modelguns. I think full metal jacket or platoon used model guns for many of its soldiers in the scenes when they were just hanging around or patrolling.
I read on the website that muzzle flashes were added by CGI after filming was finished for one particular movie - i can just picture the actors running around pretending to fire their weapons around the film set! "Bang bang bang bang..."

Welcome to the forums wfalenta

The link you posted up re guns in Movies is a good find, very interesting reading, Thanks for that

It'll keep me in reading material for weeks now

In Full Metal Jacket and Tour Of Duty the standard full metal MGC M16 was used in scenes where the gun was not fired. You can recognize them easily by the locking mechanism using an allen screw between lower and upper receiver. It is located where the forward assist should be located.



I did not notice prop guns or model guns in Platoon. The US Department of Defense declined to co-operate in the making of the film. Military equipment was thus loaned from the Filippino armed forces. That is the reason for using the wrong type of carbine, the M653 M16A1 Carbine (not introduced before 1973) instead of the M609 XM177E1 that was the type of Carbine used in small numbers by US Army officers, medics, RTOs and dog handlers during the Vietnam war. The M16s used in the film were made in the Philippines. In one scene when Elias is changing magazines you can read "Made under license in the Philippines" on the right side of the lower receiver.

Not mainstream by any stretch, but I was gun wrangler in this one:
http://www.starz.com/titles/BULLETSBLOODANDAFISTFULOFCASH
(also available with NetFlix ondemand download)

...and we used a few modelguns: MGC Mac 11, MGC M4, Marushin Uzi.

MadMike wrote:

In Full Metal Jacket and Tour Of Duty the standard full metal MGC M16 was used in scenes where the gun was not fired. You can recognize them easily by the locking mechanism using an allen screw between lower and upper receiver. It is located where the forward assist should be located.

I've got 2 of these, they have been converted to fire custom pfc shells.
I've seen them used in loads of things, even spotted one in '24 Redemption' recently so they are still around.

I have quite a few spares for them if anyone needs any let me know.

Welcome to the forums gf350!

Always a pleasure to greet new members

I might well be interested in spares for my MGC M16... could you send me a PM please listing what you have?

Mine's been converted to use c.p type pfc cartridges rather than the "open" type too.

Haven't used any of the modelguns on this shoot yet, but will this coming Friday:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=122939769&albumId=2226962&page=3

I'll probably at least have my M4 and my XM appear in this shoot at some point. Maybe some others as well.

My film "The Butcher" is being released to DVD by Universal.

http://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Eric-Roberts/dp/B0029WLJHA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1244653692&sr=1-5

It shows it's low budget in places, but I am pleased with the final shoot-out.

http://thebutcher-movie.com/

There were many guns used in the making of this picture, both real and replica.
The gold titanium plated Springfields were the most expensive prop, but we also rented full auto, AK's, Thompsons, MP40's, MAC 10's, FN Fals oh and the Browning 1919 belt fed.

I broke, beyond repair my MGC Thompson, and the shot didn't even make the cut.

This is sort of unashamedly self promoting, but I consider this a friendly board, so forgive a little if it offends.

JJ

Nothing wrong in self promotion and i am glad you let us know its out on DVD as i want to get this, i do like Eric roberts there is loads of guns its made by someone who knows his guns so self promotion is good. Hey, do you think this film had anything to do with stallone enrolling Eric for his expendables film!!

Thanks Claymore,

It's kinda slow moving until about 40 minutes in, my attempt at a mature "old school" tempo, I will not be doing that again. But I wager you will have some interest in the end shoot-out.

Ref. The Expendables.
I think Stallone's plan was to hire a lot of the tough guys from the 80's and 90's to give a certain "character" to his picture, Ken, my editor on The Butcher, just took over editing duties on The Expendables (yes, I'm trying to get a look at it) - just a coincidence, but interesting - our film is a straight to DVD three week shoot, I doubt we're even on Stallone's radar.
I loved John Rambo and Rocky Balboa, so I'm looking forward to this one, too.


JJ

pitfighter wrote:

My film "The Butcher" is being released to DVD by Universal.

http://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Eric-Roberts/dp/B0029WLJHA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1244653692&sr=1-5

It shows it's low budget in places, but I am pleased with the final shoot-out.

http://thebutcher-movie.com/

There were many guns used in the making of this picture, both real and replica.
The gold titanium plated Springfields were the most expensive prop, but we also rented full auto, AK's, Thompsons, MP40's, MAC 10's, FN Fals oh and the Browning 1919 belt fed.

I broke, beyond repair my MGC Thompson, and the shot didn't even make the cut.

This is sort of unashamedly self promoting, but I consider this a friendly board, so forgive a little if it offends.

JJ

Congratulations JJ, on getting another of your Movies released on DVD, Well Done
Absolutely NO offence taken, there's nothing wong with a bit of self promoting when it's deserved
Sorry to read your MGC Thompson got broken and didn't even make it to the final cut, what broke There may be a few spare parts sitting in our cupboards that might ressurect it for you...

It wasn't even a stunt, I had just bought a new drum mag and bolt from Franky too.
A gunman runs from the kitchen of a restaurant into a gunfight - in the main part of the restaurant - it was this chaps first movie, there was a lot of gun fire and special effects in the shot, I don't doubt that his heart was racing a bit, and on his cue to run into the room - which is all that this shot was actually requiring - he ran into the metal door-frame, destroying the mag, dropping the gun, and slapping his forehead pretty badly, obviously the shot didn't make an awful lot of sense, so it didn't end up in the movie and we did a second take, where he carried a plastic AK.

The Thompson is pretty much done for, the zinc metal really isn't made to be moved around much. But, these things happen.

The film has already been pirated here, and I watched the shoot-out again yesterday to check out the quality of the rip(morbid curiosity), it's not so terrible.

When the headless man drops, he's carrying an MP40 modelgun, when he still had his head he was shooting a real MP40 - this will make sense if you catch the uncut version of the picture - not for TV.

Thanks Cerwyn, you're a gentleman as always.

JJ.

pitfighter wrote:

This is sort of unashamedly self promoting, but I consider this a friendly board, so forgive a little if it offends.

Just so you know i always enjoy your posts, modelguns, movieprops and entertaining films all in one post, how could i not love it???

Please keep self promoting yourself!!!!

To be honest JJ, if somebody broke my Thompson by running into a door frame and then dropping it on the floor I would be the one banging his forehead for him (I hope he wasn't too badly hurt though )

What would you need to repair it An upper receiver, drum magazine, pistol foregrip maybe
I bet all those parts could be sourced from the guys here. It would be a shame to declare an MGC Thompson KIA wouldn't it

These pirates work FAST don't they

Shame I cannot find your film here in HK (even in HMV) JJ...so have to get it online then...

Thanks for looking, it actually hasn't come out anywhere, yet, it is still on pre-order status.
Thats the irony of the "rips" and "pirates" showing up already.
I think Australia is the first to get the movie, through 20th Century Fox later this month.
The US follows in July, with universal releasing here.
Metrodome in the UK later in the year - they have edited some of the violence out of my films in the past (5th Commandment), so I recommend the US version.

I will look into fixing up the Thompson someday, Cerwyn, right now it is with the rest of my armor, in lock boxes, and I am using your site as a way to avoid writing, which is what I should really be getting back to, as it is paying the bills right now!

JJ.

found it on amazon uk on pre-order for the 20th july, bloody good price too so i have pre ordered

I am quite sure the full metal MGC M16 was the model gun most often used in movies. Remember Full Metal Jacket and the A-Team? It was also used as a prop gun in the TV-series Tour Of Duty. I found two nice photos shot at the set where you can clearly see the MGC M16, as well as a movie screen shot.

Cool, very cool really. No guessing there, definitely MGC

We need to gang up and rob the prop departments...

My latest project is up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhafrYj6GZs

Includes a mix of modelguns, blank firing guns, rubber guns, airsoft guns, real guns, etc.

It's for a contest for an existing web series. The whole premise is that it's sorta a vampire slayer video blog, all candid camera/COPS/Blair Witch style shooting, so the trick was hiding the cuts and making it look like one long, not-staged shoot.

Contest judging happens Saturday (tomorrow), and hits and votes on YouTube are factored in, so I have my own ulterior motive for sharing. Hey, full disclosure at least. No real budget, four nights of shooting (one for the briefing, two for the action, and then an hour with the "Cameraman" to shoot the intro).

The AR15 modelgun was probably the best performing prop in the video. Couple of the blank guns jammed a ton, and the shell-ejecting RAP5 worked well but broke when dropped accidentally. Should have just used my Mac 11 or Uzi modelguns instead of the blank firing Asi for the big guy, but hey, live and learn.

Fight Designer wrote:

My latest project is up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhafrYj6GZs

Includes a mix of modelguns, blank firing guns, rubber guns, airsoft guns, real guns, etc.

It's for a contest for an existing web series. The whole premise is that it's sorta a vampire slayer video blog, all candid camera/COPS/Blair Witch style shooting, so the trick was hiding the cuts and making it look like one long, not-staged shoot.

Contest judging happens Saturday (tomorrow), and hits and votes on YouTube are factored in, so I have my own ulterior motive for sharing. Hey, full disclosure at least. No real budget, four nights of shooting (one for the briefing, two for the action, and then an hour with the "Cameraman" to shoot the intro).

The AR15 modelgun was probably the best performing prop in the video. Couple of the blank guns jammed a ton, and the shell-ejecting RAP5 worked well but broke when dropped accidentally. Should have just used my Mac 11 or Uzi modelguns instead of the blank firing Asi for the big guy, but hey, live and learn.

I truly enjoyed that

The initial entry and shooting was quite confused and intense, the way i like it and has seen through training

COOL!!!!