Something interesting came out this week: a video sneak peek behind the scenes with some of the folks who are working on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. As we watched the behind the scenes video, we spotted more than a few tools being used to design the sets and thought we’d have some fun pointing out what Peter Jackson’s crew was using to make this impressive sequel to the first Hobbit trilogy installment.
Tools Used on The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug Set
One of the first tools we spied was a Hilti SID 144-A CPC 14.4V impact driver. It was being used to fasten some metal strapping to a set piece—possibly as some sort of safety support or for rigging it in place.
Lest you think all Hobbit set designers are using the same tool…we also spotted this little gem immediately after: a brand new Milwaukee 2653-20 FUEL impact driver.
But the array of impact drivers wasn’t over. Stepping outside, one more impact driver was revealed—this time, an older model. This one was harder to identify, but our best guess is a DeWalt DC827 18V Nano. This is an earlier lithium-ion model that used the bigger batteries but still presented a pretty compact package in its day. We managed to grab two shots of this tool.
And of course, there are more tools needed for dressing up sets than just impact drivers, so checking out another area we spotted what we believe to be a Makita 9557NB cut off grinder. This is a 4-1/2″ model that fits the bill for what we saw, but there is a possibility it might be a different tool altogether. If you can give us a reason to doubt our guess, please let us know in the comments below, and we’ll hear you out.
The final “tool” we spotted was a bit larger—a JLG 460SJ Telescopic Boom Lift that was allowing workers easier access to dress the roofs on some of the set houses that were being used in (I believe) the set for the city of Dale.
If you want to try your hand in identifying any tools we might have missed, take a gander at the video below. We’re looking forward to the movie, but the behind-the-scenes look was equally interesting as we got a sneak peek at what some of these pros are using to make multi-million dollar epic movies.
Remember to comment if you spy a tool we missed!
