Mythos Plaque

Artist Brian Andrew Ellis brings us "Reliquary", an icon-style Mythos plaque.  I love the subtle tone work of the finish.

 

Boom!

There are very few problems that can't be solved by the liberal application of explosives.  Creadores a sueldo embraces that basic truth of life with these handy prop grenades.

 

Protean Beast

This incredible creature was sculpted by artist Andrea Eusebi and then painted by Casey Love.  Click through on the second link to see multiple views of the piece from Mr. Love.  The more you look at it the more details you discover.

 

Skyrim Skeleton Key

This recreation of the skeleton key from the Elder Scrolls video game franchise comes to us from modeler Rob de Bie.  Click over to see a full build log from creating the components on a 3D printer to final finishing.

 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Li and Keisuke Edition.

Yoneyama Keisuke's beautiful Cthulhu idol sculpt comes to life thanks to this paint job by Jenny Li.

 

 

Hand of Glory

 The incomparable Tom Kuebler returns to our pages with this excellent hand of glory gaff.

 

Dungeons and Dragons Magic Rings

Dr. Tar brings us this collection of magic ring props.  They were 3D printed using STL files available on Thingiverse, based on illustrations in the 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide. 

 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Brunet Edition.

 This hyper-stylized Cthulhu idol comes to us from artist Achille Brunet.

 

 

The Necromancer

 This amazing necromancer costume comes to us from German LARPer Johannes Kaufmann.

 

Cthulhu Wand

 Eldritchsigns brings us this curious Cthulhu wand, sculpted by artist Phil Velikan.

 

It Lives

The gifted Alice Tochylovska returns to our pages with a look at her latest fae creature.  I can't wait to see the finished version.

 

The Old Gods

 This cool collection of Norse pagan amulets comes to us from artist Andrew Smith.

 

This is the Way

Fell and Fair returns to our pages with this cool collection of medieval-style Mandalorian warriors.

 

Icon of Cthulhu

This carved wooden Cthulhu icon comes to use from artist Justin Ryans.  It's easy to imagine it sitting in an Orthodox-style wall niche.

 

Ancestral Shield Amulet

 Wyrdcor returns to our pages with this ancestral shield amulet, made from patinated brass and copper.

 

Dwarven Armor

I love all the niche LARP groups dedicated to depicting a particular faction.  This set of Dwarven armor, in gold chased steel(!), comes to us from the Gold Mountain's Dwarves group.

Idol of Baphomet

This wonderful Baphomet idol comes to us from the talented Maarten Verhoeven.  It's a wonderfully stylized take on the traditional 2D depictions.

 

 

Alchemy Tome

The latest work from the talented Alex Libris is this beautiful alchemy journal in purple leather.  Handbound with custom embossment and brass hardware.

 

 

Stop! Hammer time.

Sander Propworx returns to our pages with this incredibly realistic LARP-safe foam warhammer.  Click through for a full gallery of shots.

 

Hersir Viking Sword

Sweet fancy Moses.  This is a foam sword.  Foam!  The Viking-themed "Hersir" LARP sword comes to us from Canadian weapon crafters Calimacil.

 

Vampire Hunting Kit Truth in Advertising

All vampire hunting kits are fake.

By that I mean all of them are modern, 20th century assemblage pieces.  Despite claims to the contrary, there's no evidence they existed before the first ones appeared in London back in the 1970s.  That's why I was so happy to see the description of this kit auctioned off by Sotheby's.  It accurately describes the contents of the kit, but doesn't make any false claims about provenance or authenticity.

A Vampire Slaying Kit, 20th Century and Later, comprising a variety of articles, including a velvet-lined wooden chest with a padlock and key, two removable gilt metal sconces, two replica pistols, a pocket Bible, a strand of rosary beads, six wooden stakes, seven crucifixes, one with a carved bone handle, one silvered pendant, and thirty-three glass vials. The vials bearing paper labels, most empty, one containing coyote teeth.

height 11 in.; width 26 in.; depth 15 ½ in. 27.9 cm; 66 in.; 39.4 cm

Originating from Eastern European folklore and disseminated throughout Europe when the Habsburg Empire invaded Serbia in 1718, the legend of vampires has captivated the cultural imagination for centuries. From the publication of Polidori’s “The Vampyre” in 1819 to Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula film in 1992, the fascination with vampires has persisted to the present day as a continual source of inspiration for Hollywood. 

There has been debate regarding the origin of vampire slaying kits. While some vampirists claim such kits were common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they were more likely assembled following the publication of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula in 1897 and marketed to travelers visiting eastern Europe. This unique and extensive kit contains a variety of curios, some associated, from wooden weapons to religious artifacts, equipping its owner with all the necessary tools to ward off or perhaps even slay vampires. Other examples of such kits, varying in size and contents, have been acquired by cultural institutions including the Royal Armouries in Leeds and the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

This is how every single kit should be described. They are definitely works of art, with the finest examples using carefully chosen period items to increase the verisimilitude, but any assertions they date to the 18th or 19th centuries are dishonest.