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Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: January 19th, 2016, 5:22 pm
by Pinback
I've been gathering props for my Alan Grant outfit (and Muldoon outfit, as well, but more on that later) and thought I'd post some some pics and info on where and how I came up with them. So here goes:

First, I located some U-Dig-It trowels on eBay and in REI. I bought three of the REI versions that were made in the USA and have decent ballistic nylon holsters (they are now stocking crappier versions that are made in China-definitely not as well made-or safe) and found two others on eBay that have original leather holsters.

Pics 1 and 2
The original leather holsters from eBay. The brown leather holster on the left is the original version made by the company while the black leather version on the right was made in Canada. The brown leather is stronger, has better stitching and I think would probably hold up better. The Canadian version is probably closest to screen accurate.
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Pic 3
Closeup of the brown leather version
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Pic 4
Closeup of the black leather version.
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Pic 5
Comparison of the leather thickness
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I will probably be making patterns of the brown and black leather holsters with dimensions, etc for future reference and if anyone is interested I can post them a little later.

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: January 19th, 2016, 7:33 pm
by JP Junkie
I agree about the Canadian version being the closest. When I was building my costume, I couldn't find that version, so I had to go with the cheesy light brown leather one. It is pretty strong, but the color and the look is off. It almost looks like the button is brass, but that could be just the lighting. Almost the name must of been removed from the outside or it's just not there on that version...

Screen cap for reference:
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Where did you find the Canadian version?

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: January 19th, 2016, 7:58 pm
by Pinback
The prop dept. could've just deconstructed the original and then remade it without the name. OR, just applied enough paint. etc. to black out the name. The color of the leather looks more like a dark brown rather than a black, which is what mine is. That leads me to believe that it was fabbed in the prop dept. from the original. The dark brown would have lent more contrast against the khaki pants.


I found the Canadian version on eBay.

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: February 2nd, 2016, 1:32 pm
by Cyrix9445
I got one of the light colored "u-dig-it" branded holsters and trowel on ebay. A co-worker of mine who's good at leather-working used it to to make a pattern and made me a new one. He already had the leather too, worked out great.

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Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: February 2nd, 2016, 2:50 pm
by Pinback
Looks very good. I think that I'm going to make one up more like the original (as opposed to the "Canadian" version) since I can work with leather and have the tools for it including a stitching tool.

I definitely like yours a lot.

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: August 14th, 2017, 11:17 am
by Mark Brody
I don't have a good photo of just my trowel, but you can see it on my belt in this photo. I bought the one with the veg tanned undyed leather (the tan one) and used some black leather dye from Tandy Leather. I was very happy with the results!

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Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: August 14th, 2017, 12:35 pm
by JP Junkie
Looks great! I will need to try this with mine as well!

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: August 15th, 2017, 12:02 am
by Pinback
Mark, that looks great. Nice job with the outfit. Is that a Sun Body hat? Mine is and I found one at Village Hat Shop here in San Diego. ALso nice job with the shirt. I had so much trouble finding one and especially in my size. Is it a Ralph Lauren?

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: August 15th, 2017, 5:04 am
by Mark Brody
Yes, it is the Sun Body hat (my favorite summer hat - I wear it all the time). The shirt is by Dakota Grizzly, but I think it was old stock when I got it four years ago. It's amazing how hard it is to find a medium blue long sleeve denim shirt with two pockets, buttons, no fancy stitching, and (fake) bone buttons.

Re: Alan Grant props-Trowel

Posted: August 18th, 2017, 11:34 pm
by Pinback
Agreed.

I guess no one likes denim shirts with sleeves anymore.