Arguably the most famous weapons in cos-dom fall into this category. From Thor’s hammer to Harley’s baseball bat, our buying guide will point you in the right direction
Many of the greatest characters in pop-culture rely on weapons to do their ‘heroing’ and ‘villaining’, and some of the most iconic weapons are in the bat/hammer family!
There are a few things to bear in mind when choosing one of these props.
• Will the security staff at the convention let you take it inside? If it’s potentially dangerous and made of hard materials like wood or metal, the answer is most likely ‘No’. The good news is that you can buy authentic-looking reproduction weapons made from lightweight plastics and foam. These weapons will be held and weighed up by the security staff on the doors, who will then make a decision on their suitability for entry to the busy con.
• If in doubt, you can email details of your weapon or prop to MCM (MCMcosplay@reedpop.com), who will give you guidance, though they still say that until the security staff see and feel the item, they can’t make a definitive decision.
• Another issue is size and portability. In very busy halls, it would be all too easy to accidentally catch someone in the face with an oversized prop or weapon.
• Expensive handmade and 3D-printed props can also be easily broken. When buying your weapon, ask the vendor how strong the materials are.
• Consider that you have to carry your bat or hammer around all day, so a lightweight foam/plastic reproduction will be much easier to transport and pose with for photos.
• If it is essential to you that you use a ‘real’ weapon, you could visit the exterior terrace area at MCM London, which is outside the security-controlled zone.
Hammers, mallets, axes and bats for cosplay
There is no shortage of great props for your cosplay and our round-up brings you several great options. We also talk to several cosplayers about the weapons they’re sporting at MCM Comic Cons. Read on to discover what’s available and let us know if you’ve a suggestion you’d like to share with other cosplayers!
Harley Quinn’s baseball bat
Find this full-sized Harley Quinn bat here.
Find this shorter, lighter bat here.
Find this inflatable Harley bat here.
Find this full-sized, hand-painted wooden Harley bat here.
Harley Quinn’s mallet
Find a life-sized Harley mallet here.
Find this lifelike mallet here.
Find a 3D-printed mallet here.
Find this compact mallet here.
@carlaa.quinn: My brilliant budget mallet
I bought this mallet online from Funidelia . It’s a great little company, I think they are Swedish. So many people came up to me at show and thought it was wood, but it’s actually just fabric and foam, from what I can tell. That means it’s con-safe, and it was super-cheap too… something like £15? I would totally recommend it!
@carlaa.quinn on her brilliant budget mallet.
Find a handmade, blood-splattered mallet here.
Find this handmade mallet here.
Find plans to build Harley’s massive mallet here.
Find this detailed Harley Quinn mallet here.
@makoto.cosplay: My big hitting mallet!
I used an Alex Polletti YouTube tutorial as a guide and ‘downsized’ it a bit. It turned our really well!
@makoto.cosplay on making her Harley mega-mallet.
Thor’s Mjölnir hammer
Find an aluminium and leather Thor hammer here.
Find this budget Thor hammer here.
Find this toy Thor hammer here.
Find this foam LARP Mjölnir hammer here.
This soft, safe foam hammer is ideal for all those LARPers out there. It measure 43cm long and made from durable materials. It costs £21.99 on amazon.co.uk. ©amazon.co.uk
Diane ‘s Gideon hammer (Seven Deadly Sins anime)
Find Diane’s Gideon hammer CAD drawings here.
@x.psycho_acrobat.x: How I created a brilliant axe/shotgun hybrid
I made my gun-axe out of two pipes, each one-inch in diameter, with one being longer than the other with a slight bend in it to make the handle more secure. We wrapped both parts separately in thin, white foam. We bought a template from Tiffany Gordon cosplay, and used that to make the axe template from 5mm foam and cover it in 2mm white foam from poly-props.com. We created the stock by making a box-like shape with foam around the curved bit of pipe. Finally, we 3D-printed the trigger, covered the stock in Thibra material, and then painted it with gunmetal grey paint.
@x.psycho_acrobat.x on crafting their axe/gun Viper weapon
Negan’s ‘Lucille’ bat from The Walking Dead
Find Negan’s baseball bat here.
Find this replica Lucille bat with blood here.
Find this handmade Lucille bat here.
Find this realistic plastic Lucille bat here.
Bloodaxe’s Executioner’s enchanted Asgardian axe
Find 3D-printed Bloodaxe axe here.
Find this Dwarven Axe from The Witcher here.
Buying cosplay bats & mallets on etsy.com
Places to look for bats & mallets
• Smyths toy shop
• The Entertainer toy shop
• Etsy
• Smiffy’s
• ebay
Cosplay weapons crafters & 3D printers
• STUDIO J7 – studioj7.co.uk
• Kenny Cosplay Stuff – kennycosplaystuff.com
• PROPer Artists Ltd – properartists.co.uk
• Trudy Mostyn-Mortimer – TMMcreative.co.uk
• RGL Customs – rglcustoms.com
• Poly-Props Ltd – poly-props.com
• EvilCleverDog – Insta @evilcleverdog
• Rebecca Albrecht – rebzfx.co.uk
myminifactory.com
MyMiniFactory is a website where 3D creatives can post their product designs for free or paid-for download. There are thousands of printing plans for a vast range of products, including many cosplay weapons. Every object is guaranteed to be 3D printable as MyMiniFactory checks that any file uploaded to the site works on a standard desktop 3D printer.
myminifactory.com
Have you had legal problems with cosplay weapons?
If you have ever had any issues with cosplay weapons and the law (anywhere in the world), we’d like to hear from you, so that we can share your story (anonymously if necessary) to help other cosplayers.
Cosplay weapons and the law
Stay on the right side of the law by always keeping cosplay weapons concealed when in public, and when you’re not in a con or cosplay environment. You can infringe all sorts of very serious laws by brandishing look-alike weapons in public spaces.
Flying with weapons in your hand luggage is illegal, and is highly likely to cause serious problems and delays, even if they’re fake, toys or deactivated. Check with your airline before flying and put any props in checked luggage.
Click here to read our guide to the laws and rules around cosplay weapons.
Author:
John Sootheran
John’s a cosplay photographer and videographer who visited his first con in 2017, and has been to numerous London, Birmingham and Manchester events since.
He finds the cosplay vibe addictive and is one of the team to launch worldofcosplay.com
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