• News and Events
  • Exhibitions, Events, Activities
  • Mainstream Media: Online, Newspapers
  • Auction Houses and Dealers
  • Market Watch
  • Editorials

Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource

  • Home
  • About
    • About Jason DeBord
    • About The Original Prop Blog
    • Lexicon
    • Content Guide
    • Terms of Service & Notices
  • Authentication
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Archive
  • Links

Hickory Daily Record: The Tank Collector

October 8, 2007 By Jason DeBord

In interesting feature posted today on the Hickory Daily Record website:

‘Some people collect coins, I collect tanks’
Interest, knowledge takes avid history buff to movie sets
By Sarah Newell
Record Staff Writer
Sunday, October 7, 2007

NEWTON – William Warren has loved military memorabilia since he was a child. He remembers his uncle giving him his first souvenir from a war.

The Tank Collector
“He gave me an old German helmet he brought back from the war. I remember playing with it as a kid,” Warren said.

His collection of military items has grown quite a bit since then. Warren has just about any military item you can think of, including uniforms, patches, miniature dolls, war posters, ration cards, actual rations, even several military vehicles he’s restored, ranging from a paratrooper bicycle to an M-43 ambulance.

“I’ve always been an avid history buff. Guns, uniforms, everything has a story. Some people collect coins, I collect tanks,” Warren said. “Our country is based on revolution and war. It’s how we got our start, it’s part of our history. And my family always has been involved in the military.”

His father was in the military, and his grandfather was in the 1914 Calvary. Warren himself is named after a relative who fought in the Revolutionary War, and was with George Washington for a short time in Valley Forge.

Warren’s collection of military items is so extensive and his knowledge of military history is so exhaustive that he’s even been asked to help out on a few movies – both with movie props and as a consultant. He worked closely with Steven Spielberg on “Saving Private Ryan,” and helped with several of the demolition scenes in the movie.

“I helped put together the sticky bombs, dynamite sticks and explosives on the bridge scene in the movie. Everything that’s taped onto the bridge, I made,” Warren said. “They’re made out of wood, Styrofoam and paper.”

Warren said he initially got started in the movie prop business because word got around about his extensive collection of military memorabilia.

“Some of this equipment is hard to find, and Spielberg is big on authenticity. A lot of it is through word of mouth. After a while, people knew to call me when they needed something,” he said.

Of course, Warren helps out others in the Catawba County region, as well. A portion of his World War I items are on display in the Catawba County Museum of History for area residents to view.

And he doesn’t just have uniforms and war posters in his vast collection. One of the strangest items? A piece of monkey feces.

“It’s a radio transmitter from Vietnam that sends a radio signal out. They had it look like monkey poop so that when it was lying out, no one would step on it, and no one would pick it up, either,” Warren said, adding a friend in the Secret Service gave it to him.

Warren began seriously collecting military items more than 30 years ago. Although he finds the items interesting, he finds the veterans he gets to talk to even more so.

“I like to honor veterans. I’d rather spend more time with a World War II vet than anywhere else,” he said.

[email protected] | 322-4510 x5408 or 304-6915

I’ve always thought that “found” and “historic” props, that have a history of their own, to be quite a fascinating subset of the hobby. As an example, my Terminator 2 Winchester shotgun is a vintage piece from 1887. It’s fun to think back to the time in which it was manufactured and perhaps used, and wonder what those back in history would think, if they could have a glimpse into the future.

I think it’s quite common that, with historic war films in particular, vintage and period props and wardrobe are reused both for authenticity and as a cost saving measure. It’s makes for an intriguing intersection of reality with fantasy.

Jason De Bord

Filed Under: Mainstream Media: Online, Newspapers, News and Events

Visit My Sister Site Rock Subculture Journal

Recent Posts

  • Check Out My New YouTube Channel and Website: PopCultureKind
  • Crossover Appearance: “The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of” Podcast
  • Jack Warford, Star Wars Starship Model Photographer for Merchandising/Promotion in 1977 & Rare Filming and Prototype Images
  • Calendar of Live Auction Events: TV and Movie Props & Costumes, Hollywood Entertainment, Music, & Pop Culture Memorabilia
  • Dan Lanigan’s “Prop Culture” by ABC Studios & Cinema Relics Productions – Season One Streaming on Disney+ Starting May 1st
  • The 13th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2019 (Personal/Professional Update)
  • Calendar of Live Auction Events: TV and Movie Props & Costumes, Hollywood Entertainment, Music, & Pop Culture Memorabilia
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Marvel Entertainment Part 4 / Avengers: Endgame Costume Exhibit (Sunday)
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Godzilla Movie Props / Godzilla Toho Co., LTD & Bandai America
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Marvel Entertainment Part 3 / A-Force Costume Exhibit (Saturday)
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Warner Bros | DC Comics | Batman
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Marvel Entertainment Part 2 / Spider-Man: Far From Home Costume Exhibit (Friday)
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Batman Film Used Cowls
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Weta Workshop
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Prop Store
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Saban’s Power Rangers
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Regal Robot (by Tom Spina)
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Marvel Entertainment Part 1 / Captain Marvel Costume Exhibit (Wednesday/Thursday)
  • San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper Costume Exhibit
  • YouTube Close-Up Look – “Empire Strikes Back” Darth Vader Costume Auction with Bonhams Update: Withdrawn
  • YouTube Close-Up Look – “Empire Strikes Back” Darth Vader Costume Up For Auction with Bonhams (Screen-Used? Production Made? Touring Costume?)
  • Calendar of Live Auction Events: TV and Movie Props & Costumes, Hollywood Entertainment, Music, & Pop Culture Memorabilia
  • YouTube Movie Prop News 04/01/2019
  • YouTube Movie Prop News 02/27/2019
  • Calendar of Live Auction Events: TV and Movie Props & Costumes, Hollywood Entertainment, Music, & Pop Culture Memorabilia
  • YouTube Auction Preview – Profiles in History “Transformers: The Auction” on February 28th
  • Tammy & Jeff Castillo Launch Icons of Pop Culture (YouTube Video News)
  • YouTube Edition – The 12th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2018 – Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

Tags

Art auction auction house authentic authenticity bonhams catalog christies coa Collection Costume Costumes ebay entertainment event Exhibit Film Hollywood icollector Jason DeBord live auctions london Los Angeles memorabilia Movie movie prop Music online Original original prop blog pop culture premiere props profiles in history Prop Props sale screen-used screenused star wars studio superman Television tv vintage Wardrobe

Explore Past Articles

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok