When I first saw The Fifth Element, I thought it was weird, didn’t understand what was going on, but I loved it. Now I know what’s going on, still thing it’s weird, and still love it. When I saw these Fifth Element stones candle holders by Thomas Vachon I just fell in love with them. Not only is the design beautifully simple, but every time I look at them I remember all the things I love about this movie.
For this project, Vachon knew what he wanted to accomplish. He was interested in making something from The Fifth Element because he loves the movie and because it is hard to find memorabilia for the film. Though he loves to make props from films, he is strict about what he makes. First of all, he only really likes to make props from films where it is difficult to find merchandise, especially affordable merchandise. Though The Fifth Element has quite a cult following, it has never become popular enough for companies to come out with easily-available memorabilia, making it a perfect candidate for a homemade prop project. Another stipulation is that it has to have a function; so he made these stones into fancy candle holders.
Though it looked like the stones in the movie were made out of polystyrene, Vachon decided to stick with wood for his.
When it came time to add the finishing touches, he made sure to stay true to the movie and came up with a quick list of guidelines so everyone can get the details just right:
“The Air Stone: 6 wavy lines that wrap 90 percent of the way around and are at the top of the stone. The wave rises on the left and falls on the right.
The Fire Stone: 5 wavy lines on the back, 4 on each opposing side. Lines are vertical and at the bottom of the stone. **My thought on why they didn’t use 6 lines was that they created the stones using polystyrene and more lines would have created thinner, more fragile walls between.
The Earth Stone: 6 straight lines that wrap 90 percent of the way around and are at the bottom of the stone.
The Water Stone: 6 wavy lines that wrap 90 percent of the way around and are at the bottom of the stone. The wave rises on the right and falls on the left.”
To make his wooden candle holders look less like wood and more like stone, he used a tan stone spray paint; he also used an airbrush to make the grooves darker and give the stones a more weathered appearance. It gave them the right color and texture to look like they could have been plucked right out of the movie (except for the candle holder part, of course)!
If you’re interested in making a set for yourself, head over to Instructables to get the full tutorial and list of supplies you’ll need.
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