A question about prop weapons

The14thDr

Sr Member
Most of us love to cosplay, and the props are just as important as the costume itself. But quite a few characters require you to carry around realistic-looking weapons (Deadpool and the Joker spring to mind).

What are the issues with carrying around props that could very easily be mistaken for a real gun or knife when in cosplay? Heck, even the Joker's "grenade coat" from the Dark Knight could be considered a real threat these days.

Have you ever been arrested or stopped? And if not, how do you prevent that from happening?
 
I think that whatever poses a risk in public should be clearly (or at least as visible as possible) marked as make-believe and conceiled until arrival at the Con,and whatever conflicts with the rules of the Con should be left at home,just to avoid trouble.What else could you do?
My 2 cents
 
Most cons are starting to ban anything that looks remotely realistic and I've heard of some banning gun type weapons completely since the whole green ranger shooting attempt earlier this year
 
From NYCC 2015. While the guys checking badges let fans through carrying this stuff, security wouldn't let these items inside the Javits Center building. Con organizers might have one set of rules, while the actual facility hosting the event has another. Best to check both.


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The takeaway is really to read the con's cosplay policy thoroughly before going--and, if you have one in mind before building the prop, check if the type of weapon you want to bring has any particular restrictions. For example, some cons entirely disallow nerf guns, even if you don't intend to use their functionality, while others explicitly say that they are allowed. Bows are also a common one, where the rule is usually 'if it's strung, you can't bring it in'. I've got around this by building bow props out of rigid materials which couldn't be used if you wanted them to and stringing them loosely with wire so that it appears to be taut if your wrist's against it, for example. Others I've seen carry their strings in their bag or a pocket and only string the bow for photos - or use a rod instead of a string.

"Realistic from a distance" can also be a decent way to go.

Personally I have not been stopped, though I got some quite strange looks with my bow, and twice I got on a SkyTrain (I was living in Vancouver at the time), to have transit police get on at the stop after me... and then get off at the next stop. And when I was going to Sheffield Film and Comic Con with my arc reactor, security was suspicious of that-thing-on-my-chest-with-wires-sticking out-of-it until I showed them what it was -- it wasn't even a weapon, but this wasn't that long after the Manchester attacks so I guess they wanted to be careful.

Some cons are weirder than others about these things, but they're usually quite explicit about what they like and don't like on their websites.
 
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