C.A.R.P.S.

[IIzak Valen]

hey, does anyone have any good ideas on what to use for pants for my costume? i've got a good tunic and cloak (surprisingly haha) and i've even got shoe covers that look like boots, but i cant find any good types of pants. Please advise?

[Darthesis]

For cheap-arse pants lots of people use:

- Dark colored medical scrubs
- Japanese style 'hakama' pants
- Go to a second-hand/thrift shop and find something without obvious buttons or new fabrics (like denim) and buy them a size up or two and cinch it well.


Others will have other ideas.

[IIzak Valen]

cool, and also do you think itd be cheaper to make a weapon or to just go out and buy one? because i know they have some on like ebay and stuff and i was looking at those and you can get like a decent boffer longsword for like 12 bucks.

[Boomer Powderbang]

Just make certain that the boffer conforms to the CARPS safety standards found in the rulebook before purchasing.

[X-GM Brian]

It is probably roughly the same cost. Except you won't have to pay shipping and handling and you can personalize one you make your self. It's a good learning experience in my mind for all LARP'ers!

[IIzak Valen]

Well i have a few questions about that as well. First, does it matter if you use PVC vs CPVC? Second, any ideas on a good place to buy materials? Like do you think a Re-Store or something similar would be good?

[GM Evan]

For a one handed weapon use CPVC (Ideally grade 20 I think), it does make a difference in the weight of your weapon (PVC is heavier so you will attack slower). You will want to use the brown foam that comes in bags of 4 pieces each about 3 feet in length.

I believe you can get all of these things at Menards or Lowes. Last I heard Home Depot did not carry the correct type of foam, although that may vary by location.

As for pants, the easiest thing is a pair of sweatpants. Aside from that Doug's suggestions are all very solid.

-Evan

[halfelfman]

for weapons I suggest building since it's dirt cheap for starting unless you don't mind dropping around 60-150$ for a weapon..

Go to menards if you have one near you.. Did you know you can get great savings at menards. :p

brown foam is under 4$ for a 4 pack and cpvc or pvc thick wall 12 feet for under 2$ so add some duct tape for 3-4$ and athletic tape for 2-3$ your looking at 4 weapons for under 15$.

[IIzak Valen]

Awesome, alright thanks for the suggestions everyone

[Sylas Hay]

Most important, make sure the foam is 5/8" thick. Most suppliers have switched to 3/8" which will not be approved.

[IIzak Valen]

Okay, and one more thing, can the weapons be more realistic looking or do they need to be round all the way around?

[halfelfman]

todd suppliers are going back to the thicker wall due to up-surge of people doing their own home repair and insulation. There is a trend going back towards 5/8 and 7/8 insulation due to a little thicker foam can reduce your bills more.

I would just stay away from black foam unless it's special ordered like some of the 7/8 wall foam i have.

For making them look more realistic unless your familiar with working with foam or making a weapon head i.e mace, axe or hammer. I would just keep it simple and at most round tips.

With the up-surge of new players there may need to be a demonstration on how to make weapons.

[IIzak Valen]

yeah that demonstration thing sounds nice, maybe put it on youtube or something?

[halfelfman]

There are several of them on u-tube about how to make larp weapons.

Starting weapon creation vids:

(not bad but this guy goes overboard with safety and uses a few things that are not needed such as caulk and adhesives)
part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZSMP5W6iPc
part 2 not a great tape job i would suggest passing up the part 2 video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtGLPOr6rdM



advanced weapon creation vids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiE141bjmh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boI_vLj4 ... ure=fvwrel

[IIzak Valen]

So does the first video fit regulation? and if ont using the caulk, could you just go with duct taping the covering to the pvc?