Latex Swords? Question?
Latex Swords? Question?- special effects and filmmaking
Ok, are these any good? How durable are they? What do they look like? Are they good quality? Are they rigid? Should I buy one?
It all depends on who makes them.
Many companies manufacture latex rubber props and products, and their quality varies widely.
If you mention the name of the company (and their URL if they have a website) perhaps someone here has used their product and can give you their opinion on it.
Without a recommendation from someone else or a good reputation in the industry, I prefer to buy items in person so that I can determine the quality before plunking down my cash. If they have a good return policy, you might order one less expensive product and take your chances, but as always: buyer beware.
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Jeff F - Moderator
Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
Well, the site I was looking at the other day was http://www.cloak-dagger.net
Has anyone used these? or similar?
Odd that they state that they don't sell to the US or Canada!
Looks like you'd have to have a friend order their products and have them ship to the US or Canada, unless you live elsewhere. SInce the US is a huge film and role playing market, this restriction seems very strange - many other businesses in England sell to the US. Suspicious, I wouldn't be eager to go through the trouble to get their products. I'd be cautious.
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Jeff F - Moderator
Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
know of any other sites...those look awesome
Anybody know a site that's similar to that, but ships in the US? Those weapons look bad ass!!
Jeff - the reason they don't sell to North America is because they are latex swords, and most LARP groups in the States don't allow them (they use boffers instead) for various reasons (one being latex can stick to skin). Since LARPers are their main customers, and there are many groups in Europe which allow them, they have no reason to sell to the US.
Insufficient market, then. Now it makes sense. In that case, potmonkey may want to use a friend in Europe to order them and re-ship them to him.
This would add time and cost to acquiring the props, so finding a US manufacturer might be the way to go.
Or look for a local make up FX or props person to make them for him out of liquid latex, which is a fairly simple & inexpensive if you are familiar with latex & mold making. Custom items are almost always more expensive than mass produced items, but you might be able to work out a barter or find a person who does masks & latex props who is eager to do work on a film and might charge little or only for materials.
Last of all potmonkey - if you are a fine arts type, don't mind shelling out for a real sword to use as a model, and are willing to learn molding, you could make them yourself. While this isn't something you can learn overnight, and will involve some reaearch and trial and error, it is a lot easier than the more complex FX tasks. It depends on your abilities, time, and resources.
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Jeff F - Moderator
Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
Hey Jeff - do you know of any books that would teach someone how to do a latex mould, like for a sword like you mentioned? I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a while, but don't know where to start.
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Make Money for your Film
Gettin' Rich on the Net
got some links to tutorial sites on the FX page o' mine.
Thurston James' "propbuilders molding and casting handbook" is a great start his other book "the theater props handbook" (i think thats the title) also may come in handy
i think monster makers and burmans sell them, you may also be able to find them in libraries and makeup stores
later'
Tom
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Thurston James' book is good, and as is often mentioned, Lee Baygans Techinques of Three Dimensional Make Up. While focused on foam latex appliances, the mold making procedures are similar and clearly explained with lots of photos.
Cementex's catalog used to be a mini how-to guide as well, which is a pretty cool thing.
I also learned a lot from an old mask making guide that is long out of print (he self published it) and was crudely written, but a good source of information.
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Jeff F - Moderator
Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
I live in the UK - so that's okay.
I think if I could afford a real sword, I wouldn't bother making a latex copy
Are these swords hollow... I've only ever seen latex in flimsey things (like masks, condoms etc) - are they solid, or do they have something inside them>?
Potmonkey - if you know how to make a latex mold (I don't at the moment), you could always pick up a martial arts training sword - there is a Tai Chi sword which looks like a midieval broadsword - which is very cheap (I've found some on the net for like 6.99 US) and make a mold from that.
As for the latex roleplaying swords, the core is a PVC pipe (usually fiberglass) covered in two pieces of wood, which in turn is covered by foam. The latex is then added (about 7-10 coats of it).
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Make Money for your Film
Gettin' Rich on the Net
Hmmm, as a LARP-er of 10 years or so, I'd say that latex swords would be much safer for actors, but unless you pay huge money, they won't look good shot from anywhere near the action. The core is generally 10mm fibreglass, covered with very dense foam, then several skins of latex, talced to reduce stickiness. They tend to flex when struck if made too long (wang factor) and can get sticky if not looked after. For close action shots I'd say use a replica "real" sword but be extremely careful!
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