Faceless Rebels Firewand (Replica)

Appearance: Four episodes of The X-Files, first appearance in episode “Patient X” (5X13), which premiered on the Fox network on March 01, 1998.

Known as: Alien Firewand, Faceless Rebels Firewand (unnamed in the series)

Project completed: January 2016, plus additional modified nozzle in December 2017.

Item information: This tool was used on The X-Files by “faceless” alien rebels to eliminate conspirators and colonists (among others) by igniting fire. Throughout the episodes in which it appears, different versions are seen. This prop replica was made for my friend Brian Terranova, and I worked with him for a long time so he could get exactly what he envisioned.

I created the technical drawing and all additional files that were needed for its manufacture. And since there were several versions in the series, one had to be focused on. So this one is based on the prop from the Skyland Mountain scene in "Patient X". The research took a long time, but it was worth it, as the end result was a fantastically CNC-machined replica from aluminum, with the nozzle at the top being stainless steel. Manufactured in Germany, shipped to Brian in the US.

As far as screen accuracy goes, we had to rely on three things at the time. The first were screenshots from the episode, the second was an image from only one side of a screen-used prop, and the third was information provided by Ken Hawryliw, X-Files prop master for seasons one through five.

Interestingly though, many years later, multiple photos of an actual screen-used prop showed up online, and we realized that several details were different, contradicting what the prop master had told us at the time. Nevertheless, the differences, although noticable, do not ruin this piece, and it remains a replica that I’m extremely proud of, even though I don’t personally own it.