Who knew that Guardians of the Galaxy might result in a worldwide shortage of 1979 Sony cassette players?
Peter Quill’s Walkman is one of the most iconic props from the Marvel blockbuster, appearing in multiple scenes to introduce songs from the retro soundtrack. Since Awesome Mix Vol. 1 has been stuck in our heads for months, the appeal of a matching tape player is obvious. (Marvel even released the playlist on cassette.) Vintage Walkmen like this one are a must-have accessory for cosplayers.
Except this gadget? Not a real Walkman. It was actually built from scratch by prop maker and Marvel fan L.E. Props, who didn’t want to pay through the nose on eBay for the real deal. He began with a few reference images of the original Walkman and went on to build a replica with details to match the one from the movie.
L.E. Props
Does it play tapes? Well, no. But it looks perfect, and you could probably fit an MP3 player in there anyway. If you can work out a way to make these the right size for an iPhone case, you could make a mint on Etsy.
L.E. Props
L.E. Props
Here’s the Walkman with a full cosplay outfit including L.E. Props’ homemade Star-Lord helmet and laser gun.
L.E. Props
Most of us don’t have the skill and dedication required to create this kind of costume, but there is one Guardians prop that might be within the grasp of us mere mortals. On his Flickr account, L.E. Props shows us how he transformed a simple styrofoam ball into the iconic Orb from the movie. This looks doable, right?
L.E. Props
Photo via
Anna Gerdén/Wikipedia (CC BY SA 3.0) | Remix by Jason Reed
