So how about them lightsabers?

Requirements:
[ul][li]Expandable/contractable[/li]
[li]Glows[/li]
[li]Soft enough to hit people[/li]
[li]Sturdy enough to last[/li][/ul]

Go.

Anyone seen transparent/translucent closed cell foam?

I play light-saber type games with my 2 step-kids using plastic expandable lightshabers without hurting them. Cost ~$20 or so.

Of course accidents happen. And in larps, there are tons of other issues and problems.
They’d be fine with suitable face/head gear because the worst they’d leave otherwise is bruises.

So probably not suitable at all for larp.

Larpers may go much more berserk at each other than your kids :laughing:

What if we just paint the normal foam with fluorescent stuff?

Dunlop Foam do a white, low-density closed-cell foam. If you got a thin sheet, like 4mm or something, light might go through it.

Or bubble wrap? :wink:

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]Dunlop Foam do a white, low-density closed-cell foam. If you got a thin sheet, like 4mm or something, light might go through it.

Or bubble wrap? :wink:[/quote]

Therapy is expensive, whacking people with a lightsabre made of bubble wrap is cheaper :smiley:

People have been using lightsabers in the SCA for years. :unamused:

[size=50](I think they use paintshop)[/size]

I have 6 larpsafe lightsabers on order :smiley: (wewt)

Got some pictures of those larp safe light sabers Adam? And maybe a source link for them?

And how they’re made? And how tough they are? Interested.

Ryan, you may not be too far wrong with bubble-wrap. Or to put it another way, let’s consider other materials.

I’m seeing some potential here:
trademe.co.nz/Health-beauty/ … 304977.htm

If you loaded fibre optics in to a transparent PVC pipe and wrapped it in super-hardy unpoppable bubble-wrap… I think the only question left is how to expand and contract.

Reckon this kind of gun would make a nice-looking base:

Apparently they’ve been at the Warehouse somtime. Wouldn’t need to be new or workign either - shooting string probably isn’t the plan.

How much is the warehouse asking for them?

Also - Sabers:

eldritch.com/image.php?image … ightsabres

eldritch.com/image.php?image … t%20sabres

:slight_smile:

Yes warehouse good for toy guns… this was a previous thought on another thread I never voiced…

Why not just use plastic tubes spray painted with neon paint?

Its not a bad idea but if your just going to use plastic tubes and not foam em up then why bother with anything other than the plastic toys?

Because they’re small and we’ll break them.

We all have these memories of toys being fine for play-pretend, but that was before puberty and we’re all much bigger now. Even me. When toys break, then they get dangerous.

Toy guns are small and quiet. We really need big and loud. The Warehouse doesn’t sell toy guns that could be mistaken for guns - which usually means they’re brightly coloured. Toy World, from memory, does.

That said, if you find a toy gun that has a decent size hand-grip and you’re able to get inside it with a screwdriver, that’s pretty much your requirements met.

Those larp-safe light sabres actually look really good. Assuming the core is very-very light (because the foam is so thin), we could have a winner there already.

carbon fibre cores :smiley: (expensive but niiice)

Just a point of note:

The extendable lightsabers you can get for $15-20 (not the light and sound ones which cost $50 and are lame) are really really durable. Really really. Like strong enough for our youngest child to extend it between coffee table and couch and sit on the extended blade between them. Baring excessive force, they wouldn’t break from normal use.

They are however, as a result of said durablility, quite hard plastic. If we all had headgear and armoured gloves however, well they’d be ok. Kind of puts them in the same line of safety required as airsoft I guess in terms of larp anyways.
There would be bruises BUT people would RP being hit (cause it would hurt).

They only downside is they’re always extended. But if you kept them in a dark sheath that’d be a less noticable issue.

Yea I intend to make / buy a dark cloth sheeth that will hand below the belt so all you really see at belt level is the handle making it look like they are off :slight_smile: