Is Sting too big? (Or the viewpoint of a props owner)

[Lunaman]

That's very interesting. Not all across the board, but I am somewhat of the opposite. I am quite pleased now that I know that the Stings are properly sized. However, I am currently going to great lengths to get my Jack Sparrow Skull ring to fit properly on my finger. So it's not a hard and fast rule with me I suppose.

By the way. I like the idea of a museum-y or curator thing. I think that sums up most of my stance in the prop/replica area fairly well. As though I have somehow accumulated an assortment of fantastical objects from other times and/or worlds. But very loosely in this manner.

I hope to some day have shelves here and there about my house holding a great many lovely books, but also mixed in unobtrusively (i.e. not in display form but something more ramshackle and treasure like just strewn about my place) a Sting in a scabard here, a dinged up looking light saber there, Sonic Screwdriver propped against an old Jules Verne novel, A small jewelry box with several rings (Ring of Barahir, The skull ring, and others), Radagasts staff leaning in a corner.

You see what I mean.

For sure, I understand that side of the hobby. I really like the idea of having a wood-paneled den full of crazy nifty curios.
But for the personal stuff, like the swords, I have to feel like they are matched to me, personally. I have lots of swords, but I don't keep them on display, and I sold all of my 'official' and accurate replicas, and replaced them with real functional swords that are more to my personal taste. I'm probably in the minority putting screen accuracy so low on my priorities.

 

[Psmith]

I'm a knife guy, so I can understand wanting something functional and well matched to you. There are loads of amazing wonderful knives out there that I started out thinking I was going to love. I don't own those anymore. And others that I never would've thought I'd have looked twice at that I have now owned and loved.

If I ever did get a Sting, I would want an actual sword version.

Awesome Dread Pirate Roberts btw.

 

[Psmith]

Oh, and also, I agree on the official and screen accuracy thing. For example, given , say...a choice between an exact 1 to 1, 100% screen accurate Ring of Barahir(which I would LOVE to have)that said "Lord of The Rings" or something similar on the inside and a less screen accurate one that had nothing written on the inside. I'm going to go for the less accurate one.

Same thing for an Indiana Jones jacket. I want a jacket that feels good on me and is everyday wearable and able to be used and abused for years and years. If I have to sacrifice that in search of screen accuracy, then me and screen accuracy part ways there.

I don't know if these are the same thing, but my point is that I am with you on screen accuracy being a lesser factor than being right for you, fitting what you want out of it etc.

 

[Lunaman]

I'm a knife guy, so I can understand wanting something functional and well matched to you. There are loads of amazing wonderful knives out there that I started out thinking I was going to love. I don't own those anymore. And others that I never would've thought I'd have looked twice at that I have now owned and loved.

I hear that. Priorities definitely shift when you've got things in person or put them to use.

If I ever did get a Sting, I would want an actual sword version.

Yep, that's why of the official replicas, the only ones that interest me are the Museum Collection UC Sting (Somewhat functional, but the small scale I don't want) and the Master Swordsmith's Collection Sting (matched to my scale, fully functional materials and techniques, but pretty prohibitive in terms of pricing).
Sting: Fine Art Limited Edition - The Master Swordsmith's Collection

Instead, to get my Sting fix, I have the cruciform sword furthest to the right. It's a high-performance sword, a customized Angus Trim 1557, aka xviii.1. It hits all of the notes that I want Sting to embody--extra light, extra fast, pronounced midrib, cut n' thrust riding sword, packing a punch that belies its size. I love it dearly. It's a great cutter.

Awesome Dread Pirate Roberts btw.

Thanks! Here's a more updated shot from upgrades I've made, though I only have a plastic sword in this picture. There's a thread in my signature that discusses the costume build.

 

[Psmith]

How much do I dig the sword collection!? Kick ass, my friend!

I so have to get myself an actual Rapier at some point.

 

[Lunaman]

How much do I dig the sword collection!? Kick ass, my friend!

Thank you! It used to be a lot bigger, but I sold or traded away my budget blades and invested in a handful of really nice ones. They're all inspired by movie blades, but none are direct replicas. The medieval blades in the middle are all meant to represent idealized versions of swords from The Lord of The Rings--from left to right being the swords of Boromir, Aragorn (as king), Strider, Gandalf, Faramir, and Frodo.

I so have to get myself an actual Rapier at some point.

There's never a bad time to get a rapier. My favorite rapiers are made by Arm & Armor in Minnesota. They are wonderful.
Arms & Armor

 

[Psmith]

I was thinking, I bet that one in the middle was inspired by Aragorn's two handed. So nice. Thanks for the link, I will check them out.

 

[Lunaman]

I was thinking, I bet that one in the middle was inspired by Aragorn's two handed. So nice. Thanks for the link, I will check them out.

Sure thing. If you're interested in the ranger sword (A Christian Fletcher and Albion Armorers Borderwatch), you can check out this thread below on the subject:
http://www.therpf.com/f9/quest-ultimate-ranger-sword-lotr-168232/

 

[Shataan]

" it's way more interesting for the items to be the smaller size as though hobbits actually existed"

But Sting wasn`t made for Hobbits. It was Elvish made..... for an Elf. And Elves are human sized. I can see the other props' be cooler if they were in proportion to Hobbits tho. But not Sting. Or even weapons in general. Hobbits never made any so there would n t be any in proportion to Hobbits.

 

[Bigdaddy]

" it's way more interesting for the items to be the smaller size as though hobbits actually existed"

But Sting wasn`t made for Hobbits. It was Elvish made..... for an Elf. And Elves are human sized. I can see the other props' be cooler if they were in proportion to Hobbits tho. But not Sting. Or even weapons in general. Hobbits never made any so there would n t be any in proportion to Hobbits.

Sting is an elvish "dagger" thus it appears as a "sword" in the hands of a hobbit.

 

[Montagar]

" it's way more interesting for the items to be the smaller size as though hobbits actually existed"

But Sting wasn`t made for Hobbits. It was Elvish made..... for an Elf. And Elves are human sized. I can see the other props' be cooler if they were in proportion to Hobbits tho. But not Sting. Or even weapons in general. Hobbits never made any so there would n t be any in proportion to Hobbits.

You missed my point. Yes, it was made by Elves as a dagger and therefore, if hobbits actually existed (meaning middle earth was real history), the item would still be a dagger and it's size would be such... BUT, there would be other hobbit made items that would be smaller to us, and therefore the smaller sized Sting is consistent with what I said. The larger version of Sting (say used for cosplay as if we were the hobbits) would not be consistent with it being a real world item.

 

[Remorazz]

I would think that if someone was doing middle earth cosplay, they certainly would need the items to be "full" size, but from a collecting and display perspective, it's way more interesting for the items to be the smaller size as though hobbits actually existed. Such as...

http://www.therpf.com/members/montagar/albums/pics/157886-lotr-display-cr.jpg

This is the upside of having Sting (UC version, anyway) in hobbit size rather than upscaled one for humans: It is the perfect size for displaying in a detolf. :lol

 

[Lunaman]

Moot point by now, but here's an image that shows the two scales of replicas. The first on the left is 'Actor Scale,' a Master Replicas Sting, around 27," same scale as the fancy Weta props. The middle and right swords are 'hobbit' scale at around 22," both by United Cutlery. The center sword is a standard UC Sting, the sword on the right is a Museum Collection Sting, probably the best of the bunch.

 

[Montagar]

Moot point by now, but here's an image that shows the two scales of replicas. The first on the left is 'Actor Scale,' an old Noble Collection "Frodo" Sting from Lord of the Rings, around 27," same scale as the fancy Weta props. The middle and right swords are 'hobbit' scale at around 22," both by United Cutlery. http://i44.tinypic.com/1zvek42.jpg

...and when the smaller version is compared to other swords of Middle Earth, it's pretty close to "More of a letter opener really".

The center sword is a standard UC Sting, the sword on the right is a Museum Collection Sting, probably the best of the bunch.

I had the original UC Sting in my display, but upgraded to the Museum Collection Sting when it came out. There are a ton of differences between the two, but one of the best from a visual standpoint, is that the runes are not just ground into the blade as in the regular version, but are actually created by grinding out the area around the runes... much more impressive and, dare I say, more elvish in style.

This is the upside of having Sting (UC version, anyway) in hobbit size rather than upscaled one for humans: It is the perfect size for displaying in a detolf.

Exactly!

 

[Psmith]

Nice. And ohhh yeah. Side by side, it is even clearer. In both photos. Lunaman's and Montagars. Excellent stuff

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Here is a display from SDCC 2002. These were made by Weta. I asked the guy who was standing next to them if these were accurate replicas. He assured me with pride that these were made by the same people using the same methods as the ones used on screen. Later I found out, the gentleman I was speaking with was Richard Taylor.

If you look at the photos, you can see both scales of Sting.





What I'd like to know, has anyone ever made a 2/3 scale one ring based off a size 11 ring?

 

[Psmith]

It's particularly noticeable in all of these photos in the hilt. Nice photo by the way Mara Jade's Father.

As to the ring thing, you know, if it were any ring other than the One, which of course seems to resize itself to it's owner, I would absolutely sit down and work out a 2/3rds sized ring if I wanted to a ring that one of the Hobbit's wore.

I've even thought of that when considering one of the rings Thorin wears, but the movie has all of the Dwarves hands and arms looking so thick and brawny, I imagine they would basically be Human sized.

 

[N2darkness]

Moot point by now, but here's an image that shows the two scales of replicas. The first on the left is 'Actor Scale,' an old Noble Collection "Frodo" Sting from Lord of the Rings, around 27," same scale as the fancy Weta props. The middle and right swords are 'hobbit' scale at around 22," both by United Cutlery. The center sword is a standard UC Sting, the sword on the right is a Museum Collection Sting, probably the best of the bunch.
http://i44.tinypic.com/1zvek42.jpg

That's actually my picture and the one on the left is the MR light up version not the Noble. I think the Noble one is actually a little bigger yet.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

That's actually my picture and the one on the left is the MR light up version not the Noble. I think the Noble one is actually a little bigger yet.

I just checked with my collection; The MR FX sword is pretty much dead on to the size of the Noble Collection. The blade is a little thicker for the FX or because it needs extra strength because it is plastic. So just in case anyone is wondering, the thickness of the FX prevents it from fitting in the NC scabbard.

 

[Moviefreak]

So am I the only one who thought this thread was about Sting the singer? :lol
At least the title made me think so.