[Wingypoo]

Glad i saw this now versus later i guess lol. Would it be ok for me to bring this? My link
I'm presuming no since it looks too much like the real thing
:/ I might have to find another alternative then if i can't use this. I wouldn't mind having this gun for a photoshoot but if i can't bring it to the con then that's fine. I'll figure something else out.
I've never brought a prop gun to a con before so i had always thought the orange tip sufficed. Sorry if that sounds dumb..lol just guess that's what i had been used to hearing for cons was making sure it had an orange tip. Feel free to let me know whenever. I have some time anyways.

This post has been edited by Wingypoo: 20 January 2013 - 11:17 PM

[Valkyrie]

Worry not, we'll be getting answers for you soon.

[Valkyrie]

Alrighty, here we go:

Kamen Rider Gumo, on 19 January 2013 - 08:09 PM, said:

Okay - 2013 is going to be my first-ever ACen, and I don't want to screw things up.

I'm from West Virginia, and we've got a pretty danged relaxed attitude about guns here. Our state's biggest convention, Tsubasacon, really doesn't even enforce prop weapon checks. You can volunteer for it and they'll look it over, but that's as far as it goes. A friend of mine cosplaying as Lara Croft used a pair of black 9mm-like airsoft guns on her costume and nobody even batted an eye. More or less everyone in this state has grown up around and using real guns and replicas are hardly ever even looked at. I realize, though, that other sates do not have this same relaxed attitude and I want to be absolutely 100% -sure- that I'm going to be within the rules here.

My planned cosplay is that of a Red Ribbon Army soldier from the DragonBall anime. The props I intend to use are toys available from Kmart, WalMart, etc., and I want to double-check to make sure that these are acceptable within the guidelines before I purchase them:

Rifle

Pistol

Machine Gun

All are electronic with battery-operated lights/sounds (and very choppy and unrealistic ones, at that, but what do you expect for $10?), none are realistically-painted nor do they actually shoot anything (the machine gun's ammo belt just cycles through the gun in an endless loop and nothing comes out of the barrel). Would there be any problems with these? Thanks in advance.

I like the way you think I know it can be rough adjusting from one state's guidelines to the next where guns are concerned. But I'm glad you asked first! In your case, I'd take out the batteries just to be safe (if the rifle's flashlight is on a separate battery, you can keep that), but otherwise these should be fine.

This post has been edited by Valkyrie: 23 January 2013 - 11:13 AM

[GSDfan87]

I had made my own thread for this question but here seems to be the place for it.

My wife is cosplaying Tabitha from Zero no Tsukaima. In an effort to make her cosplay as awesome as possible I built her staff to scale which put it a good foot or two about my wife's head. It wasn't an issue at youmacon last year, but was at Ohayocon just last week.

They told me that if it could be split in half (and then assembled for pictures) it would be ok. Does ACen have a similar policy for large props?

[Valkyrie]

Yup, that we do.

Our rule is that props can be, at maximum, the height of the cosplayer in question. (If said cosplayer is less than four feet tall, then the prop can be up to four feet tall.) Props that can be disassembled or broken down into pieces of acceptable length may be carried while broken down, and should only be assembled to full length for photo opportunities.

[Valkyrie]

Wingypoo, on 20 January 2013 - 11:15 PM, said:

Glad i saw this now versus later i guess lol. Would it be ok for me to bring this? My link
I'm presuming no since it looks too much like the real thing
:/ I might have to find another alternative then if i can't use this. I wouldn't mind having this gun for a photoshoot but if i can't bring it to the con then that's fine. I'll figure something else out.
I've never brought a prop gun to a con before so i had always thought the orange tip sufficed. Sorry if that sounds dumb..lol just guess that's what i had been used to hearing for cons was making sure it had an orange tip. Feel free to let me know whenever. I have some time anyways.

Sorry, but you're right - that gun is too realistic. Airsofts and gun-like props need to be unrealistic enough that, if spotted from across a room while holstered, others can tell they're not real. Acceptable ways of differentiating a prop from a real gun include having it be transparent or made of an obviously different material, or incorporating obviously futuristic, fantastic, or unrealistic elements. (Alcatraz's pistols on the previous page are good examples.) Gun-like props are also required to have orange tips. (If you do find an airsoft that fits these requirements, it must never be loaded and you may not have ammunition on you while carrying it.)

[Doggeh]

Gonna ask this now to get it out of the way.

I'll be cosplaying Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians and my prop, a staff, is just about an inch taller than me. I stand at 5'1" and my prop is no more than 5'2".

I know our props must be our height or shorter but will that inch make a difference? I'd really rather not have to cut this thing! :/

[Wingypoo]

Valkyrie, on 23 January 2013 - 01:16 PM, said:

Sorry, but you're right - that gun is too realistic. />/> Airsofts and gun-like props need to be unrealistic enough that, if spotted from across a room while holstered, others can tell they're not real. Acceptable ways of differentiating a prop from a real gun include having it be transparent or made of an obviously different material, or incorporating obviously futuristic, fantastic, or unrealistic elements. (Alcatraz's pistols on the previous page are good examples.) Gun-like props are also required to have orange tips. (If you do find an airsoft that fits these requirements, it must never be loaded and you may not have ammunition on you while carrying it.)

Yea i figured as much, especially the last part about it never being loaded /> It's understandable lol. You mentioned transparent and i found this one : http://www.ebay.com/...=item2c673ab596
Sorry to be a pest xD If this works i'll keep this gun in mind provided i purchase it. I might not even have this gun at the con period but meh..best to be safe than sorry.
Just figured i'd ask this too, as another alternative, would it be possible for me to paint this black or would i have to leave it as is? Gun from Kamen's link You mentioned in Kamen's post that this gun would be ok but would painting it be a bad idea ._. Sorry just like to have all my bases covered on this.

This post has been edited by Wingypoo: 26 January 2013 - 03:33 PM

[Thunderscream]

I feel stupid for asking cause I feel like these have been covered already, but just want to double-check. My friends and I are doing a Hellsing group and we wanted to check on our gun props for validation/ideas.

We are doing these guns:
Works in Progress

and other I found

Other gun

Would any of these work, and for the Works in Progress, wanting to get a consensus on painting of any more (ex. painting the green, leaving the grip, clip, and handle on the second toy, and leaving all orange as is). Trying to do anything to make them acceptable as a prop to walk around the con with.

Thanks in advance for answers/ideas! />

This post has been edited by Thunderscream: 26 January 2013 - 09:43 PM

[Valkyrie]

Doggeh, on 26 January 2013 - 12:21 AM, said:

Gonna ask this now to get it out of the way.

I'll be cosplaying Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians and my prop, a staff, is just about an inch taller than me. I stand at 5'1" and my prop is no more than 5'2".

I know our props must be our height or shorter but will that inch make a difference? I'd really rather not have to cut this thing! :/

In your case, that'll be okay. Just don't brag to others that it's allowed.


These two I'll answer together:

Wingypoo, on 26 January 2013 - 03:24 PM, said:

Yea i figured as much, especially the last part about it never being loaded />/> It's understandable lol. You mentioned transparent and i found this one : http://www.ebay.com/...=item2c673ab596
Sorry to be a pest xD If this works i'll keep this gun in mind provided i purchase it. I might not even have this gun at the con period but meh..best to be safe than sorry.
Just figured i'd ask this too, as another alternative, would it be possible for me to paint this black or would i have to leave it as is? Gun from Kamen's link You mentioned in Kamen's post that this gun would be ok but would painting it be a bad idea ._. Sorry just like to have all my bases covered on this.

Thunderscream, on 26 January 2013 - 09:31 PM, said:

I feel stupid for asking cause I feel like these have been covered already, but just want to double-check. My friends and I are doing a Hellsing group and we wanted to check on our gun props for validation/ideas.

We are doing these guns:
Works in Progress

and other I found

Other gun

Would any of these work, and for the Works in Progress, wanting to get a consensus on painting of any more (ex. painting the green, leaving the grip, clip, and handle on the second toy, and leaving all orange as is). Trying to do anything to make them acceptable as a prop to walk around the con with.

Thanks in advance for answers/ideas! />/>

Nope, the guns can't be painted black. As I mentioned before, airsofts and gun-like props need to be unrealistic enough that, if spotted from across a room while holstered, others can tell they're not real. In these cases, you wouldn't be able to do that if they were painted black.

Thus, Thunderscream, that AK74 in the Amazon link wouldn't fly. The green ones, however, would be, as they're clearly not realistic in the base green color. Wingypoo, the transparent Jericho airsoft is fine as long as the ammunition rules are followed and it remains as is.

[Kamen Rider Gumo]

May I ask what the big deal is about the batteries? Are props not allowed to have any functioning sounds at all? (I'm not trying to argue; just curious.)

[Valkyrie]

Not necessarily; for instance a Star Wars lightsaber with sounds is perfectly fine. It's a matter of having realistic sounds in gun props. That way we don't have folks wondering if they heard a real weapon go off. (We especially don't want RPS in that position.) And to be fair, I think this is the first time in a while that we've had so many questions about gun props that involve batteries, even at one time.

[Doggeh]

Valkyrie, on 29 January 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

In your case, that'll be okay. Just don't brag to others that it's allowed. />

Thanks! =D I'll be on my best behavior with it.

This post has been edited by Doggeh: 30 January 2013 - 09:12 PM

[Wingypoo]

Valkyrie, on 29 January 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

In your case, that'll be okay. Just don't brag to others that it's allowed. />


These two I'll answer together:






Nope, the guns can't be painted black. As I mentioned before, airsofts and gun-like props need to be unrealistic enough that, if spotted from across a room while holstered, others can tell they're not real. In these cases, you wouldn't be able to do that if they were painted black.

Thus, Thunderscream, that AK74 in the Amazon link wouldn't fly. The green ones, however, would be, as they're clearly not realistic in the base green color. Wingypoo, the transparent Jericho airsoft is fine as long as the ammunition rules are followed and it remains as is.

Ok Thanks. Sorry to be a pest about it lol. Gives me some options now though. Thanks!

[Kamen Rider Gumo]

Valkyrie, on 30 January 2013 - 02:54 PM, said:

Not necessarily; for instance a Star Wars lightsaber with sounds is perfectly fine. It's a matter of having realistic sounds in gun props. That way we don't have folks wondering if they heard a real weapon go off. (We especially don't want RPS in that position.) And to be fair, I think this is the first time in a while that we've had so many questions about gun props that involve batteries, even at one time. />

Well, like I said, I'm just trying to get a feel for everything. In the states I usually travel to it's not an issue. And I actually have another question, in regards to the pistol prop I linked before. My plan is to carry it using a nylon waist holster (it affixes to the belt and cannot be easily removed) that I normally use for my .380 automatic pistol (which, naturally, will be staying at home while I'm at the con). The bright tan-and-black paint job would still be visible and I'm fairly certain (since the toy seems to be a bit longer) that the orange cap on the barrel would stick out the bottom of the holster. Is there any problem with that setup? (If need be I could just tuck the toy into my belt, but for the purposes of the military nature of the costume the holster would be more accurate.)

[Valkyrie]

Good question. Could you possibly take a picture and link it so we can see?

[Kamen Rider Gumo]

Valkyrie, on 02 February 2013 - 09:26 AM, said:

Good question. Could you possibly take a picture and link it so we can see?

Not right away; I'd have to acquire the prop first, and as a general rule I buy the costume pieces before the props. But as soon as I have it, I'll post up a photo.

[Valkyrie]

Alright. The only concern is whether the gun itself still looks realistic (orange cap or not) while holstered. If it does, it won't be allowed. If not, you'll be fine.

[Kamen Rider Gumo]

Valkyrie, on 02 February 2013 - 11:57 AM, said:

Alright. The only concern is whether the gun itself still looks realistic (orange cap or not) while holstered. If it does, it won't be allowed. If not, you'll be fine.

Well, I just got the costume pieces in today, and the holster is going to be a non-issue as it can't even fit onto the belt I'm using. Will simply tucking the pistol into the belt be alright? If not, then I have no way to conveniently carry it and will have to forgo that particular piece.

[Valkyrie]

There has been a wording change for the gun prop rule.

All gun-like props must have orange tips (or other brightly-colored tips) that are visible when holstered. Gun-like props with the capability to launch projectiles must have this capability disabled, and the prop must have no projectiles, clips, or magazines attached or inserted.

Yes, this means that realistic gun props, including airsofts, are now allowed.

[Alcatraz]

Does this mean i can use this one http://www.evike.com...oducts_id=36485
or is it too realistic?

[Alcatraz]

Also, does this mean i can paont my rifle and keep the tip orange?

[rondo]

Every time I look at this thread, I keep thinking it should have been closed awhile ago. Any way a mod can just remove the 2011 aspect of this thread title?

[TheRabbi]

Alcatraz, on 14 February 2013 - 12:43 AM, said:

Does this mean i can use this one http://www.evike.com...oducts_id=36485
or is it too realistic?

Alcatraz, on 14 February 2013 - 12:49 AM, said:

Also, does this mean i can paont my rifle and keep the tip orange?

We're removing the realism factor in the acceptability of gun props. Now this is all they need to be acceptable:
- have an orange tip
- disable any firing mechanisms
- have no clips, magazines, or projectiles loaded