[Hiten]

Don't roll your eyes okay? I know that weapons over four feet in length are not allowed in the convention.

But I was wondering... I have a big Buster sword that I made out of cardboard that I wanted to pose with for pictures, though it is clearly over the limit. Could I pose with it in the LOBBY or entrance WITHOUT taking it into the main convention center?
I would then just store it in my hotel room. Is this okay, or would they prevent me from bringing it through the front door at all?

Anyways, I thought this was a valid question.

[omni]

I believe that if you are posing for pictures and don't actually carry it around the con, you will be fine.

[sammy-45]

The best place for poseing with large weapons would be outside- where you have plenty of space for them and the people around you can move away.

[nessa]

But what if i WANT to get jabbed to death by Clouds sword D:<

[TheRabbi]

nessa, on Nov 12 2007, 12:11 AM, said:

But what if i WANT to get jabbed to death by Clouds sword D:<

Just to make sure that no-one takes this as the official word of an ACen Staff member, please remember: the following post is a joke.

Then just sign this waiver here, go through the three-part lecture series from our medics, and you'll be fine!

Oh, and do it outside, where >4' weapons are allowed and the passersby can neatly step around your pool of blood and the hotel won't have to clean it up. Yeah... don't talk to me about blood in the hotel...

[Riker]

Hiten, on Sep 24 2007, 08:41 PM, said:

Don't roll your eyes okay? I know that weapons over four feet in length are not allowed in the convention.

But I was wondering... I have a big Buster sword that I made out of cardboard that I wanted to pose with for pictures, though it is clearly over the limit. Could I pose with it in the LOBBY or entrance WITHOUT taking it into the main convention center?
I would then just store it in my hotel room. Is this okay, or would they prevent me from bringing it through the front door at all?

Anyways, I thought this was a valid question.

The problem is, as you point out, people need to be able to carry their props to and from their room for the photoshoot... which means walking through the hotel... which as you know is crowded and has sprinkler heads that can get accidentally hit (the fire alarm last year was due to a sprinkler head getting hit). So they would need to be less than 4' while walking to and from the shoot, as well. If someone's prop causes an injury or damage, even in the Stephens Convention Center lobby, ACen will wind up catching the flak for it from the Con Center staff and from the cops. Thus why we ban such props everywhere that we have jurisdiction.

(I suppose if you kept it in your car, and only carried it outside the hotel to an outdoor photo shoot, that would be fine. But if it's inside the hotel or con center it needs to be under four feet.)

[Kuroi Yokan]

Okay, please don't kill me, but what if your prop is over 4ft long but is going to be a prop that you keep close? Like in my eyes, this wouldn't be much different from me being about a foot taller with a bigger body build. I CANNOT swing this thing around at all; it's very fragile. I seriously can only carry it around upright or slightly tilted.

Am I going to be forced to put this back in my room? Like I said, I keep it close and I can't think of a location in the hotel OR in the convention center where this would be a problem transporting. I'm really worried, as I spent many months on this thing and am afraid I won't be able to take it with me.

EDIT: Also, this can be broken down into two pieces. If I wasn't allowed to carry it with me in one piece, would I be able to take it apart and put it back togther for photoshoots and stuff that might be indoors? Though this thing is REALLY hard to push together. It would be hard to take it on and off, as it takes a lot of shoving to put it together and a lot of tugging to take it apart.

[Alkaren Hyralt]

You would need to carry it around in two pieces....put together for a photo and then disassemble it again.

Atleast that is my understanding of the rules.

[OneWing]

That's my understanding too.

A friend of mine went as Miroku last year, and he had his staff be adjustable by turning and pushing it into it, like an extendable broom or something. It worked really well.

By the way Kuroi, that staff looks awesome. Perhaps you could cut a gap in the middle and add a smaller pipe inside of it that would allow you to adjust it so it would still look good.

[Kuroi Yokan]

OneWing, on Apr 9 2008, 06:43 PM, said:

That's my understanding too.

A friend of mine went as Miroku last year, and he had his staff be adjustable by turning and pushing it into it, like an extendable broom or something. It worked really well.

By the way Kuroi, that staff looks awesome. Perhaps you could cut a gap in the middle and add a smaller pipe inside of it that would allow you to adjust it so it would still look good.

Thanks! Well, the staff is already separated into two pieces. It's just kind of hard pushing that bottom piece into the connecting piece, so it'll be a real pain in the butt to try to do that over and over again for every photo. ;_; it's a TIGHT fit. In all honesty, I'd be much more likely to jab somebody when I was taking it apart than I would be if I was just carrying it around close to my body. Guhhh. T_____T

[OneWing]

This is what I was thinking:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t229/on.../kuroistaff.jpg

It's a bit crude but I'm rushed XD If that doesn't work with your design, you could make a screw cap for each larger portion of the staff represented in that drawing, and make the smaller mid-portion have like, hat brims at each end that either also screw or snap into place or something, that way it couldn't fall or slide out, but you could easily slide it shorter or smaller. In fact, you wouldn't need to do both ends. I think I see what you're saying though, you would have to make a whole new bottom section with larger piping in order to do anything like that right? >_<

[TheRabbi]

Some more suggestions:

- Threading is your friend. You can take your staff and screw the two halves together.
- You can take 0newing's suggestion and have it be expandable only for pictures and slide into itself otherwise
- You can cut the two halves apart in such a way that they snap back together somehow can attach the two halves with string (so long as you carry it folded up)
- You can be like the cool kids and design your prop to be under 4'. ^^

[OneWing]

HEY. The cool kids appear their weapons to be 4' when stretching the rule just a teeny teeny bit to leik..4'4" :3

[~Sarah-Chan~]

Wooden sword are acceptable, correct?

I'm just maikng sure before my friend and I decide to go saw crazy. Also If it has a metal support inside the wood will that be okay?

And yes I know it has to be under four feet

[OneWing]

Wood is alright. I'm not sure on the specifics, but I had a 30 pound solid pine buster sword in '05, so you should be alright. Live metal is external sharp metal (possibly blunt too) I would get an official opinion, but if the metal can't be exposed I don't see why not.

What are you both making?

[~Sarah-Chan~]

I'm making Saya's nihonto from the second half of the Blood+ series....Overall I think the sword was around 44 inches

And I think my friend is planning on making Ichigo's zangetsu (both of us had our swords made out of stainless steel...they weren't even sharp and we still can't take them. T_T We were using them for some costume party a while back...)

Anyway, yeah. We have a long wooden katana that we are simply going to reshape for my sword and we have a rather large piece of wood to make the zangetsu.....

Thanks for the help though. I just wasn't sure if metal supports would be okay.

[Kuroi Yokan]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think my best bet is to just try to make it easier to get the bottom piece in and out. I don't know WHY it's so tight, to be honest. It didn't used to be. @_@; Perhaps I could try to buy a slightly bigger connecting piece? I'll ponder on that.

I wish I could thread it, but the rod is hollow PVC.

[OneWing]

If you stored it in a warmish place over time it may have expanded. I think PVC and plastics typically expand to some degree when exposed to any kinds of heat, even the sun passing by, possibly. I'm not entirely sure.

[Kuroi Yokan]

I could believe that, and I didn't even think of that. When I first put it together, it was at my house, and it was always chilly in there, and in my dorm room, it gets really hot. Although with that theory, you'd think they might expand/contract together and still fit. But whatever, I'm going to work on sanding stuff down, see if I can get it to work better. XD

[Lord Kamina]

Alright so I just recently looked at the rulings for props. From what I can see, I am in a bit of a bind and am wondering what, if anything, I'd be allowed to do with what I have.

I'm cosplaying Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. This character wears slung across his back a 5 and 1/2 foot long nodachi sword. In order to make my costume as accurate as possible for past cons, I bought a real nodachi and have dismantled the blade. This leaves just the hilt, scabbard, and the tsuba, which are held together from the inside by doweling and electrical tape. I have put together a clever amalgany of strings that support the weight over both shoulders equally using a third string to prevent the sword from sliding horizontally. The result is that it hangs from my back almost completely vertically without ever slanting farther out and becoming a hazard. It sticks about 4 inches above my head at the highest point and is no more than 2 inches out from either side of my body at either end (my cape is wider than it).

Would I be allowed to walk through the halls with it disassembled into a hilt and scabbard if I'm on my way to a photoshoot?

Can I wear it reassembled for photoshoots?

If not for inside ones, then what about outside ones?