The Hacksmith: Meet the man behind the props

The Hacksmith shows off what makes him popular From CTV Kitchener’s Stu Gooden: The Kitchener engineer behind bringing fictional ideas to life is known as The Hacksmith.

A local engineer is using his abilities to recreate props from several blockbuster movies.

James Hobson, also known as The Hacksmith, started a small business in his garage by making interactive replicas from movies such as Thor and Capitan America.

"I'll watch a movie and be like 'I can figure out how to make that. I can figure out how to make that, too. What would me audience like to see'?"

He quit his job four years ago to make the replicas full time, and it seems to be paying off.

Hobson’s success can be easily measured by his popularity online, with more than 6 million subscribers on YouTube and over 463 million video views.

The Conestoga College graduate says he hopes his work shows the fun side of science.

“We take fictional ideas from comics, movies, and video games, and make real working prototypes as a way to inspire kids into STEM: science, technology, engineering and math," he says.

Now, Hobson employs other engineering students to help with his projects.

Mitch Wawzonek taught Hobson and says his success has come as no surprise.

“I knew he’d be doing something,” he says. “Your imagination goes wild and I think James has certainly gone down an interesting path.”

What started out as a garage hobby has now made Hobson a successful prop-master.