Armoury Productions is a subsidiary organisation run by The Birmingham Armoury - operated by Tenbury Guns Ltd. It was conceived after we were approached by a number of Film and TV companies who, after discovering what we can provide form our formidable arsenals, realised that we could supply for their productions. Everything conceivable, from antique hand guns for period dramas to modern sniper ri
fles, weaponry and associated kit for more present day action. We have Accredited BBC Vendor Status and have already armed a number of productions. We have a Psychological Thriller to arm later in the year. So.....if YOU have a requirement for some added realism in your film, speak to us at Armoury Productions. We supply weaponry, properties and weapon-related services to the Film and TV industries from our base at the heart of the U.K. We are part of a larger association of companies and trading entities that provide goods and services to the shooting community in the UK mainly, but also abroad. Our Head Office is in rural Worcestershire, close to the Welsh border in the beautiful valley of the river Teme. Set in 15 acres we use this very private location for business meetings and also for some weapons training because we have an armoury located there and we also have our own private firing range, where we shoot weapons up to .308 calibre. It is also close to two locations operated by one of our other companies including our Killing House. We would be happy to welcome you there. Hire from Us…
We are in the business of supplying weapons, uniforms and properties for hire. We aim to supply the right-sized product for a sensible price and so have visually similar items ranging from rubber practice weapons through to practical weapons so that we can be flexible about our pricing and risk management
We think we are easy to deal with and hope that you will be pleasantly surprised by our approach to your service which is a 21st Century approach and not stuck in the 1990s. Buy From Us…
Most Film and TV hire companies will not sell any of their products to the general p***c, but we are different. We will sell versions of our products to appropriately qualified individuals. In most case, that means anyone over the age of 18 as we can lawfully sell our deactivated weapons to this group of folks. We rarely, if ever sell blank-firers or practical weapons (military style) but we do sell our civilian range. So, if you see something you like - try us. Firearms…
Our fi****ms are listed by historical period as that is how our clients request them generally, although you can also select them by type if you wish. We supply them in solid rubber, plastic, plastic/metal, all-metal, deactivated, blank-firer and of course fully live (practical) versions to reduce risk and artist fatigue whilst preserving realism and continuity. Edged Weaponry…
Edged weapons are typically swords, knives, bayonets and poled weapons such as halberds etc. Whilst we are not specialists in these weapons, we do have stock of them in mainly non-sharpened form to reduce risk to the artists and crew. Bayonets and trench knives of course are part and parcel of fi****ms in the last two centuries and we have many of them. Locations…
We have several ready-made Locations that our clients may choose to use for their productions. We have our own Victorian mansion which can readily be dressed as an embassy, a rich person's home, a country hotel or as more recently, a WWII training location for Commandos. We also have other locations such as a 1930s railway station, an industrial landscape and an SAS-style Killing House all within easy reach of our Head Office. Services…
Services we currently supply consist of:
Health & Safety
Script Breakdown
Hire of Equipment
On Location Services
Artist Training
Customisation and Envisioning
Post Production Service
We pay attention to both the story and the feel of the drama and propose appropriate:
weaponry
special effects plug-ins
Stunts and/or doubles
safety issues
authenticity issues
continuity issues
artist familiarity issues
And then we re-read it from a number of perspectives:
character-based - right weapon for that character in context
special effects
Stunts and action sequences
continuity
knowledgeable audience
artist-based - how heavy? - how tricky
We then have the best chance of getting the scenes shot efficiently and without issues slowing production or causing re-shoots. Hire of Equipment…
We hire our weapons and other equipment only to bona fide production companies. This may include theatre productions; Film and TV production companies and other digital media content providers. We pay close attention to the possibility of the substitution of a practical (live) weapon by a non-firing version so as to reduce the risk of damage, injury and artist fatigue at all times. Consequently we hold stocks of most weapons in those non-lethal variants
Non-lethal variants include:
solid rubber-coated
plastic
metal replicas
deactivated
blank-firers
We have fairly strict rules on the hire of our equipment which are extant for the purpose of ensuring a complete audit trail and therefore traceability. We require that for all practical fi****ms on-set at least one of our armourers will be present. For prohibited fi****ms we require that at least two of our armourers are present. Some highlights of our Hire Policy are:
we provide daily as well as weekly hire rates to provide for production cost-savings
We have an extensive stock
we can provide many accessories for the fi****ms (e.g. webbing, pouches, cleaning kits)
we have our own travelling armoury and gunsmith so that issues can be dealt with quickly and safely on-location
and so many, many more ...
We are content to discuss all aspects of our Hire Policy to accommodate productions with varying requirements. We guarantee to provide a lower cost than our competitors (for a similar service). While we will provide weapons expertise and some informal first aid, we do expect the production to provide on-set medical cover. On the other hand, we will provide weapon safety equipment to the crew e.g. Blast Shields, Ear Defenders etc. Artist Training…
Modern content consumers demand realism and a good actor with a semi-professional (in character) ex*****on of weapons handling techniques can stand out like a sore thumb. We provide weapon training for artists so that this will never happen. We can also provide professional military or other security immersion training to provide that all-round professionalism. We pay attention to the required skill level and techniques the artist may need to perform in ex*****on of that role and propose appropriate:
weapon training
tactical skills
drill
communications skills
battle drills
immediate action drills
forces jargon
And for team building during pre-production we can provide:
living in a tactical environment
first aid
assault and other confidence courses
night activities
We are located in both Herefordshire and Worcestershire and of course the former is the depot location and contains some of the training locations of the Special Air Service. Whilst we cannot guarantee to have a serving soldier available all the time (they get around) we do hope to have the best military advice that we can for the artist to draw inspiration from over "war stories" told in the field. Customising and Envisioning…
Sometimes the weapon that the production needs is generally unavailable or in some cases hasn't been invented yet. In these cases we are very happy to work with your designers to produce those weapons for you. Our gunsmiths can provide all manner of weapons including practical weapons based on your imagineering skills and our engineering skills. Inventing a new weapon is the really fun part of what we do. A new kind of Colonial Marine (tm) Pulse Rifle or a character-specific version of an established model required for your production? No problem! We are good at this because we have a feel for what characteristic will and won't work on a weapon to make it a practical weapon (in the ergonomics meaning) for use in the field. We can make it "squaddie proof". Post Production Service…
After the filming day is over, we carry on working for you. To hide unwanted noise or to provide those authentic sounds which embed the viewer into the reality of the image, we offer a full Foley service. To add additional scenes e.g. close-ups where a hand double performing tasks efficiently adds authenticity, we offer those doubles and of course the original piece of equipment to ensure continuity. We supply either digitised sounds produced ourselves or can provide authentic equipment to your own Foley artist. It is as always - your choice. Examples of such sounds provided either individually or as a chorus are:
Cocking of weapons
Loading and unloading weapons
Clearing of weapons
Linked ammunition belts pulled from containers
Safety Catch lever operations
Misfires or empty chamber sounds
Loading/unloading magazines
And of course, the sound of the weapon discharging.
