Thank you all for keeping up with this thread, even during infrequent updates. Don't fret though, pretty soon, updates should be more frequent. This project was in it's slow moments, but it's about to switch over into the express lane! We now have 2 metalworkers and a third one is interested. Making the weapons and getting the construction out of the way will be MUCH faster now, albeit, a bit more costly.

The newest member of our crew is William Runyon, a 33-year-old blacksmith/metal artist with 20+ years experience in fabricating weapons. I have been talking to him for a little over a week via e-mail and have been educating him on the project and even gave him a link to this thread. He is VERY excited to work on these weapons because they are unlike anything he has ever worked on before. On a side note, he neglected to mention early on that he also has lots of armed and unarmed combat experience, so I told him that if this film takes off and we decide to make another one, he could possibly have a role.

The following is the latest e-mail I received from Runyon. In the e-mail, he is referring to the weapon candidates video on the first page of this thread, and the weapon numbers are based on what order they appear in the video. For your benefit, it may be best to open up another tab or browser window and follow along with the video as you read his e-mail. It gives you a good idea of what to expect as far as weapon designs.

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From: William Runyon

I went back through the vid on weapons designs. Flashy is nice but you have to keep in mind functionality for the users, many of the designs are disproportionate but that can easily be remedied. What I am going to do is draw the design templates for a couple of these and see what you think. I am actually going to combine a couple of the designs from the screenshots to make them more usable. weight is a primary factor along with balance. Durability is also my concern if therse are going to be functional props they need to be able to get banged around a little bit. i think I am going to do a claw and a spear to begin with. I want to finish the weapons with a fair amount of detail. Is there any particular color for the blades that makes them more suitable for rotoscope effects? I have alot to do this week workwise but will try to have something to send you by the weekend with I will start with.

Looking at a hybrid of saber #2 and #4, Saber #6 will never balance but might refine the idea some

double saber#1/2 is pretty simple, number 7/8 will not be functional unless you move it more to a look like #3

Sword I am looking at hybrid of #3 and #5

Spear is going to be interesting, I think a hybrid of #1 and #3 would be more practical

Axe I am going to look at #1 and #7 for a design, it will have to operate like a klingon style battleth to be of any practical use

I like both #2 an # for dagers, I am thinking I can actually fabricate #3 to hinge so it will operate in the shown position or in a straight dirk style, will look into that more

Claws are pretty straight forward, only adjustment to #1 would be a longer guard/gauntlet for leverage( dont want any wrist injuries)

knuckles I will have to tihnk on, they just dont seem to be in the same operating class or function as the other items

Whip is simple if just a hanlde. kind a low priority

Guns I will deal with later, guns are easy, I can cast anything for them, they are simple to work with in function, balance and weight arent as much an issue

I think I will do a claw or a spear to go for first round. Like I said, I will do some drawing and get them to you. Also, I like to know some stats on those that use them, as a sword for me would be maybe to small for a guy much taller than me but I can use base stats for most of the work.

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Also, my original metalworker says he has finally completed the first saber, but hasn't had a chance to swing by with it yet. As soon as I get a first glimpse at one of these designs, so will all of you. Stay tuned to this thread to see the pictures!