Quartermaster Props, started out as a hobby in all honesty. Whist I was at College & University studying Product Design I was also collecting stuff from movies (Bond, Terminator, The Man From Uncle, Thunderbirds, and many others) buying & selling in my free time when not studying too. At several points I saw things on screen that I wanted; searched everywhere for and could never find a replica of the desired item.. So from that point I started making items. Purely for my own collection and uploaded a few images on fan forums and sites - just to show what I had made and get feedback. Then I started getting requests to make another of the same for collectors with similar collecting interests and so on. So I started taking on hobby commissions. During this time it was called 'The Quartermaster'.

When I left University after getting my degree (and gaining a lot of skills in Design and Production). I worked within the Civil Service for a few years and then went onto work in a few metal work and engineering plants. During this period I took time away from hobby designs and projects to concentrate on gaining skills and experience within various industries. After quite a few years of this I decided that I wanted to start my own business - going back to my love of design and making things. But this time with a purely professional approach; with much more experience and greater skills. From industry and production work and University I built up a great list of contacts and factories whom I now have a great working relationship with, that I have at my disposal to get involved in many different projects and manufacture. Even though I am now self-employed, its like having the best of both worlds in many ways..

Over the past two years I have made contact with a fantastic artist who goes by the name of ‘Fez’. He and I went to high school together, but after that lost contact. But by chance we meet in the street one day leading to myself commissioning him to paint a ‘James Bond Style’ poker painting entitled ‘All In’, which is now due for release in 2 forms. (one as a limited edition canvas and another as a high grade, limited edition poster for framing.) Fez is now part of Quartermaster Props. (which we now use as its not just myself anymore) as our resident artist and Graphic Designer.

We are Building up a great team with different people, skills and a varied and vast portfolio of work. Our latest addition to our team is ‘Shakeel’ who is a fantastic sculptor and msk maker who is currently working on a life size Terminator Endoskeleton and a classic Michael Myers mask from John Carpeter‘s original ‘Halloween’. Each of us with varied and individual interests, contacts and skills should make for a very successful formula and a continued winning team into the future, with sculpts, artworks, new props and replicas and more high end creations to come.

Mmm... Good question. I guess its a mix of both. You can watch a film or TV show and see something and think ‘what a cool item, I would love to make or obtain that’... and nine times out of ten times you are not the only one. So when you make something as a general Interest on your own accord and show it to other fans you will get a good reaction- with people wanting you to make more of the same thing for them. Similar to how I got started in making props and replicas.

Other times you will get an email from someone with a great suggestion or maybe even looking for information on a collectable- for you to inform them its never been made. So you go rush to the drawing board and start your research to make the first for them and make it available as commissioned Item. Other times it can be in conversation with friends, family or fellow fans and contacts.....

For example I made a good contact in a fairly well known DJ and Radio Personality from England a while back, she and I got chatting over our mutual, interest and love of the BBC TV show’s ’Life on Mars’ and 'Ashes to Ashes' from that and her seeing some of my prop work, she suggested various items that have never been made available to fans. Things that she would love to own and things people she knows, who love the shows would love to obtain.. and things can escalate from those kind of situations. I guess new projects / products / designs / commissions can come from anywhere and anyone really. Leading to interest and great contacts in fan bases and collector communities you didn’t even know existed.

My most amusing commission came from a chat with a various friends of my cousins, at a house party one night a few years back. They were asking what it was I did etc. When I explained to them, they and several others started pitching projects to me - as if they were in ‘Dragons Den’. Things they genuinely wanted made, after a few drinks and in a party atmosphere, you think ’It was all good fun and party chat & interest’- only to log onto your computer a few days later (after recovering from a hangover) to be met with long list of commissions and orders from people at the party. Some of whom went the extra mile to pay commission deposits to secure their Items! Something you hadn’t even asked them to do... ha ha.

Personally my proudest achievement in prop making is my ‘one of a kind’ Golden Gun. Based on the weapon from the Bond film ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’. Although the film lacks on so many levels, Christopher Lee as ‘Scaramanga’ stood out to me as one of the greatest Bond villains of the entire series and stole the show and the Gun fascinated me since I was a kid. I guess the prop also holds a great deal of sentimental value. I co-designed it with my Grandfather, now a retired Engineer, Designer and Metal Worker.Years back when I was a young kid after becoming a Bond fan and getting a Corgi Aston Martin DB5 with gadgets and collecting various Bond style toy Cap Guns, I asked my Grandfather if he could make for me in his workplace a toy ‘Golden Gun’. (This was way back in the early 1990’s even before SD Studios made their explosive entry to the Bond collecting scene) ...Boy! do I feel old for a 25 year old guy looking back now, ha ha. Needless to say, he made me a little replica of it from brass; the little ball point pen could write; the handle stored little dummy paper cigarettes. All the parts slid, screwed and press fit together. I still have it in my office drawer or filing cabinet to this day. No one has ever seen this version, It has remained a little childhood memento.

Years later when I was in high school, I went and asked him again to make a more accurate version replica of the gun from the film. So he then made a second Golden Gun from solid stainless steel and had it gold plated by a good friend of his who did a lot of work for jewellery shops in Glasgow. (In Return for an expensive bottle of Scottish Malt Whiskey). That Gun stayed with me for several years and was displayed at Pinewood Studios in 2008 at ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ Reunion Event which I attended. After Meeting legendary James Bond production designer Mr. Peter Lamont – the man who designed the real Golden Gun for the film. He and I chatted for quite a while about the guns and props used in the film and he gave me some real insightful information and first hand experience of how the original Gun was made and its process and the variations used in the film. Some of which I have spoke about online and some of which I felt it was best to remain ‘Top Secret’ about! From that point, I then had a renewed obsession and interest in the Golden Gun prop / props.

One quiet weekend with not a lot to do I sat down with My Grandfather re-watched the scenes with the Gun from the film, started doing a few sketches and pitched an idea to him ‘’Could we make a Golden Gun that features: A pen that writes, A lighter that lights, A cigarette case Handle that stores Cigarettes & Cuff Links that are wearable and also screw into place and function on the gun and lastly can we make it fire! once its all built up? Within a few Minutes he replied ‘’Don’t see why not’’ ... so we were off and hit the ground running on the project which lasted for almost a year - working on it whenever we could in between jobs and other interests.

After a hell of a lot of alternative designs, mock up models, vast research and countless hours of hard work, metal & brass work, polishing developing mechanisms, sourcing old vintage functions, the correct Model of Colibri lighter used in the film for the gun, the correct Waterman fountain pen nib for the barrel etc.. We also made the decision to give it our own style and take on the Gun and for it to be a Replica. Yes! but to also be ‘real’. We took a lot of inspiration from vintage gentlemen’s accessory gift sets from the 60’s and 70’s eras and designed our own variation of the Gun. To make it that bit more unique and stylish and also not to simply copy what was seen in the film.

Also we sourced a vintage wood case for all the items which includes: Pen, Lighter, Cigarette Case, two Cuff Links. (both can screw into place and act as the trigger) and a Belt Buckle with two Bullet Housing’s that stores two dummy rounds that can be loaded into the Lighter of the gun. (This prop can be seen in the film, but was featured more heavily in a large cut scene from the films final beach duel, with Bond and Scaramanga) the presentation case also has a cleaning equipment section with genuine ‘vintage pistol’ maintenance tools for cleaning the guns Lighter breech firing chamber and pen barrel. The pistol, once built up fires a starting pistol ‘cap’, which creates a seriously loud Bang, with a flash and smoke pouring out from the pen when the cuff link trigger is pulled.

In answering your question of its accuracy to the real deal and in terms of small details and design such as pattern finishes; its not accurate but, in terms of the scale, dimensions and size of the thing, once built up and also as individual components its very accurate. Like I say we wanted to put our own design, style and look into the finished piece. Its main aim was to take something that was the work of pure fantasy and make it a reality: It was said that there was three Golden Gun’s used in the film; one that broke down and built up, one that was solid and one that fired a cap for the Bullet ‘’flash bang’’ effect. Our main aim was to do it all for real, in one single unit all plated in 24 Karat Gold.

Yes, that was an enjoyable experience and a real highlight. Aside from talking to Mr. Peter Lamont about ‘The Golden Gun’ and various other props and items and getting his inside knowledge and info. I guess the best part of the experience was meeting some of my hero’s from the Bond films: Ken Adam, Peter Lamont, John Glen, Richard Kiel, Martin Grace and many others. Mixing with all these guys as well as various fellow Bond fans and collectors (whom I had only spoken to online previously) all in the one room and having a good time, conversing with good humour it was a bit surreal.

The highlight of the day had to be when everyone, went off to tour the studios and I think their was a special screening of the film. I decided to skip this and have a drink in the Pinewood Bar and tour The Gardens famous for scenes from ‘’From Russia With Love' and 'The World Is Not Enough’’. I am glad I did - I end up meeting Martin Grace - Bond legend and world renowned stunt man (now sadly no longer with us and still greatly missed by all). Myself, my friend Colin Anderson and his three sons who all came to the event, gathered in the bar for a few drinks. We ended up sitting with Jaws himself, big huy and all round gent ‘Richard Kiel’ along with Martin Grace.

Martin recalled a Stunt he performed with Richard on another movie or TV Show which involved a real live bear. Our accents reminded him of Andy Robin (former Scottish wrestler who used to own and wrestle a famous Grizzly Bear known as ‘Hercules’). Richard explained the power of the animal and how it was hard to determine whether it was being playful or getting aggressive. A scene scripted involved him hitting it with a big tree branch. (Obviously a mocked up stunt prop – made to break in half as soon as it made contact with the animal). Richard explained; you hit it with this fake log, and it thought you were wanting to play and started, cuddling and pulling at you as if to encourage you into wrestling it. 'Ha ha!' Martin explained the dangers he had to go through when he did the scene for real. From certain angles as the stunt man stand in. We were all laughing so much - which in turn caused Martin and Richard to join in. It started off as a serious conversation about the danger’s of working with a Grizzly Bear - only to turn into one hell of an infectious group of guys laughing... happy memories and a great event!

I am very lucky to be making a living from something I enjoy and love doing. My main inspiration is the subject matter itself. I have a real love for cult films and film series; in all of their aspects - everything from the props and costumes, music, actors right to the vehicles and filming locations. Overall I am just a film and nostalgia nut! I loved studying history too when I was younger, a subject which I still have a keen interest in ‘world history’. I am also a great fan of old TV shows of the 60’s & 70’s eras. Things like Mission Impossible, The Saint, Randall & Hopkirk to name but a few. I think the history & research element mixed with Designing and Creating working things from scratch is what makes it so interesting, with vast attention to detail.

Regardless if its a project of my own or a commission for a customer, you constantly learn new things, gain new skills in new processes and gain new contacts & knowledge. I guess what made me take the ultimate step to make it my 9–5 day job and business was obtaining my qualification from University- then gaining some great experience in the design and manufacture industry. I then moved onto work within the civil service and then onto a few other office jobs as well as being a delivery courier driver and working in an optical, glasses manufacturing laboratory. It was jobs that paid the bills and were interesting to a degree. But they were not what I wanted to be doing after having went to the effort of going down a ‘Product Design’ career path. Between working in these jobs and the workplaces mentioned, I searched and applied for various design jobs and tried out a few to find they just were not for me.

In the end I thought ‘how can I make use of my main interest and passion in life and my skills and qualifications’. That mixed with the fact that jobs were becoming few and far between in industry and workplaces overall with companies and big businesses closing down constantly, friends and family getting paid off from jobs which they had been in for years. I realised it was not a good idea to depend on a company or workplace, as so many were unstable. All of this made me take the step to go self employed. I am now glad to hear that a quite a few people from my school days have went down the same route in life; one now making a big success of designing and making custom designer kids clothing and accessories, one other setting up their own car restoration and mechanics service.

It seems like the only way forward for many nowadays and I encourage more and more people to give it a go if its something you have thought strongly about, but never quite ‘went for it’ better to have tried and failed than, never to have tried at all - as It will always be something you wished you had at least had a go at later in life. Myself looking back, I wish I had done it years ago. But you know yourself when the times right to go in a new direction and take risks, while you can without any major drawbacks.

Quartermaster Props has a vast range of items becoming available soon, a limited edition run of ‘secret attaché cases' - Inspired by the lethal briefcase seen in From Russia With Love -that will do all the tricks and even smoke when opened! other items include; A paper cap firing Golden Gun and a few other variations; Bonds PPK Shoulder Holsters from all of the Bond’s styles. (Tailor made to order); A cap firing Moonraker Wrist Dart Gun; Wearable (harmless) prop 'Flick Knife’ shoes from 'From Russia With Love'; Honey Rider's Bikini Replica on display from 'Dr No'; A Skyfall inspired LED light up pistol grip, that will fit PPK and PPK/S models of BB and air guns and well as real firearms. I will also be offering these as custom made to order pieces, which will allow a potential buyer to have one made up that will fit anything from a Colt 45 to a Berretta pistol.

Aside from Bond props, we are looking to produce a limited edition run of The Terminator 45 Long Slide with Laser sighting. A display replica that’s already partly finished. We Hope to produce a few more limited edition artworks and paintings from ‘Fez’. Including; Terminator, Halloween a few other Bond inspired and a possible Dr. Who and Harry Potter Paintings in the works. As well as modern and Iconic Artworks of Musicians and Cult Icons.

On The Sculpting front we are hoping to produce various sculpts and busts from ‘Shakeel’. Which will include Terminator, Halloween and a few other horror film icons as well as a few spy related sculpts which we have in the works but for now it is all highly 'classified’. Alongside all this there are many more items in the pipeline..

We are also hoping to exhibit many of our items, products and services at various Comic Conventions and Memorabilia events within the UK over the next two years. So watch out for ‘Quartermaster Props’ displays next time you visit one of these events! if you do please come and say hi and have your own input and say into current and future projects from us.

Contact 'Quartermaster Props'