WTB mini-marshmellow crossbows

[Sean Powell]

Hello,

I'm interested in mini marshmellow crossbows. I've seen these at a number of events before. Wood stock, pallet banding prod, and a lift trigger rather then a proper tickler to release the string and lob a marshmellow accross the room.

My daughter turns 6 this Pennsic and we are looking at period-ish games that she and friends can play plus a little take-home toy that doesn't offend those with authenticity sensibilities.

Anyone have a source for these that can deliver before or at Pennsic?

Thanks,
Sean

[zippy]

My lady got a hand catapult made from a mousetrap given to her this weekend. dont know who made it but they were fun to play with. If i find out i will tell you

[Gryffinclaw]

WOW that sounds like a lot of fun. I may make one of these.

regards

[Charles Alexander]

That does sound cool. I might be interested as well.

[Black Swan Designs]

One of the vendors at Tournament of the Phoenix sells them, and we use them in our Crossbow Range. We use horse pellets because they strike the targets with a satisfying 'plink!', but peanuts, grapes, marshmallows, etc. are all good projectiles.



He lives 10 minutes away, so it would be easy to get them for you. How many do you need?

Gwen

[Sean Powell]

Gwen, Those look fantastic. better then the cheaper, simpler versions I have seen before. I would need 6-8 of them if possible. Can you share his contact information if possible?

Sean

[Sean Powell]

from page 2. I don't want Gwen to forget but I was curious if anyone else had any other sources.

Sean

[Black Swan Designs]

Didn't forget. The guy who makes them is retired and sometimes it takes me a day or 2 to track him down. Never fear, I am on it.

[tke173]

I would be intereted in some as well. Never seen anything like those. Just the cheap plastic ones.

[tke173]

I would be intereted in some as well. Never seen anything like those. Just the cheap plastic ones.

[Black Swan Designs]

I have contacted the maker, and here are the details-

The crossbows are made in Southern Ca. by a very nice retired guy who lives in the next town. No cheap imported goods here!

The stock (body) is made of oak.
The nut (the firing pin) is poplar
The prod (bendy metal bit across the front) is 2 layers of 5/8" metal banding
The trigger (keeps the firing pin in place) is American saddle leather
The string is REI's highest quality no-stretch rock climbing cord.
Each bow has a cord loop in the back so you can hang it from your belt. Conveniently, the loop is made of the same climbing cord as the string, so you have an extra string.
They are hand finished with an Australian wood oil and wax finish.

Cost is $27 each.

I can tell you from personal experience that these are well made and will last you virtually a lifetime. The ones pictured above were shot literally thousands of times over the weekend without a single failure. The only problem I can see is that shooting them is addictive. As long as you have ammunition, *anything* becomes a target. This toy is NOT pet safe-- or maybe I should say your pets are not toy safe.....

I can have them at Pennsic by pre-order. I'm also happy to get some for non-Pennsic going customers. Shipping cost would depend on destination. Email me at gwen [at] historicenterprises.com to place an order.

[Gurahl]

Email sent. Very interested.

[Sean Powell]

A little pricier then the party grab-bag gifts I was intending them to be but they look like loads of fun as camp toys and to keep the kids at the party entertained. Also, Gwen appears to like them and Historic Enterprises has never sold anything I've been disappointed in. Sending an e-mail for 4 of them for Pennsic pick-up.

Sean

[Halbrust]

I'm wondering about these for LARP use.

How long is the draw on them? Do you think they could fire a foam headed bolt?

-Halbrust

[Charles Alexander]

I'm wondering about these for LARP use.

How long is the draw on them? Do you think they could fire a foam headed bolt?

-Halbrust

Could be possible to do that. Haven't seen these crossbows, but I am aware of some really interesting custom designs NERF fans can make with store bought weapon toys.

[MalkomeKarre]

they look like loads of fun as camp toys and to keep the kids at the party entertained.
Sean

This is assuming that the kids can get the adults to stop playing with them long enough for them to pick them up.

[Louis de Leon]

Gwen if you have some of these at your booth at Pennsic, I'll stop by and pick a couple up. These look like awesome camp toys!

[Black Swan Designs]

Hi guys-

First off, thanks for making my Friday very enjoyable. I had no idea these would be popular, or I would have started offering them last year!! It's very amusing how some things just take on a life of their own.

There seems to be far more interest in these than I originally anticipated, so I went ahead and added them as a product on our website-

Mini Crossbow

They will be listed as 'Out of Stock' until I physically have them in house. The plan is to drive over and pick some up either this afternoon or tomorrow. Once I have them, I will photograph and measure them, and update the current product listing with that information. I will also note the draw length, and any other info you'd like me to check. I'll ask Jeff his opinion on their ability to fire foam headed bolts as well. They are pretty strong, and I think it's very likely that they will be able to.

Once I have the product and the info updated, you'll be able to order and pay for them thru the website just like any of our other products. I've left them visible so you can take advantage of the website's 'Notify Me' function, which will send you an automated notice as soon as the product is updated.

Please Note- the down side to ZenCart is that I can't deduct the shipping from the Pennsic delivery invoices. However, we don't charge until we process the order, so I will deduct the shipping from the total shown on your invoice before we charge your card. If you would like Pennsic delivery, please note 'PENNSIC DELIVERY' in the Comments section for the form, and we'll deduct the shipping cost before charging your account. If you'd like Pennsic delivery and to pay with PayPal, please select 'check or Money Order' as your payment option, and wait for a total before making payment to PayPal.

The crossbows will ship on Monday, and depending on where you are and the shipping method selected, you will have the bows in hand in under a week.

Thanks eyeryone! Be sure to stock up on ammo before these arrive- you'll be glad you did!

Gwen

[Mad Matt]

There's a shop at pennsic that usually has the marshmellow ones for $5. They have lots of other kids stuff too usually.

[Black Swan Designs]

That's probably Claus of Burzee, across from the Barn. He has mostly toys. Are his really only $5? I know how much work the ones I'm selling are, I can't imagine anything close to this quality and durability selling for $5. The maker would have to be working for 50¢ an hour!

[MalkomeKarre]

For people interested in LARP crossbows, there is a merchant who comes to our annual Irish festival every year that sells some crossbows that are about perfect for LARP (SOLAR at least) They have a full size wooden tiller, and the prod is, if i'm not mistaken, pvc or siloflex split do be made more flexible. If you have to use the all foam ammunition, let me know as I have an old method I used to use that worked like a charm. I was actually once accused of using heat seeking ammunition lol.

[Mad Matt]

No the ones I'm talking about are no where near as nice as the ones you posted. Small simple and cheap (in construction and price). They're a little bigger then my hand. Probably could make 20 of the $5 ones in an hour if you're set up to make them. They're more along the lines of dollar store stuff.

It's one of the first shops on the right if you go west on the street of merchants next to the road. Sorry forget what it's called. Couple booths before ironmonger.

[Black Swan Designs]

Crossbows are up and available for sale.



Dave has improved the design, and these things shoot HARD. They will easily throw a wine cork 80-100 feet and still have enough velocity to strike a target with a good *thump*. He says he has tried it with Nerf darts and they work just fine. He says load them with the hard end facing the string; if loaded the 'right' way the string mashes the soft foam and they don't go very far. By loading them 'backwards' they leave the bow at high velocity and flip over in flight so the hard point strikes first.

[Gurahl]

Ordered mine. Had to order four so my three kids would have some to play with while I was playing with one.

[Baron Conal]

I made some a while back...... profit margin was too tight then.....
Maybe I'll rethink them as a small item to make while larger stuff
is in progress...

[Black Swan Designs]

For anyone who may have been busy this weekend and missed the posting.

Note regarding Pennsic delivery- if you buy them now thru the website for Pennsic delivery, the cost is $27. The bows will be $30 at Pennsic.

Thanks-

Gwen

[Aaron]

I will discuss getting four of these for the family. If Maureen doesn't object, we'll buy today.

Thank you!

-Aaron

[Aaron]

Has anybody tried these crossbows with SCA legal combat archery bolts? Or with marshmellows for fencing combat?

I look forward to tempting my wife and kids with these this evening. I don't think they will be able to hold back for long against temptation like this.

-Aaron

[Aaron]

I bought two for the kids or Maureen and I depending upon their use.

With thanks,

-Aaron

[Aaron]

Has anybody tried these crossbows with SCA legal combat archery bolts? Or with marshmellows for fencing combat?

I look forward to tempting my wife and kids with these this evening. I don't think they will be able to hold back for long against temptation like this.

-Aaron

Ah. The Pennsic rules cite:

No combat archery "Pistol" type crossbows are permitted.

So it's clear that these will be fun toys, and maybe Maureen (a carpenter) will use them to get ideas for two-handed crossbows.

-Aaron

[Cian of Storvik]

I believe last year° there was a modification to the rules that SCA crossbows also have a minimum draw weight of 400 in*pd to prevent some nerf herder from bringing toys on the field that take no effort to draw and load, and shoot creme puffs at fighters. 400 isn't really all that heavy, but the strikes won't be magic pixie dust, and if you try speed shooting, you can wear yourself out still.

I'm still holding out for invoking magic missiles and lightning bolt bean bags.
-Cian
° (I'm too lazy to confirm if that as a kingdom or Society rule, but I'm thinking it was society. If I'm wrong then it won't be the first time today).

[Aaron]

It's hot today, I'm sleepy, other lame excuses....how do we measure the in*pd of force in a crossbow?

[Cian of Storvik]

It's inches times the weight at length of draw.
You'll need a bow spring scale or possibly a fish or hunter's scale. It's basically a tube or electonic box with a hook on it and a spring inside that measures the force exerted on it. Hook the string in the center and draw pull the string back to full draw (point where the string would nock in the groove or roller nut). Take that weight and multiply it by the distance in inches, of string travel. E.g. From where the string sits at rest to where it nocks.
Example. you have a prod where the distance between the string at rest to the roller nut is 8.5". And the weight of the prod when you draw it back to that point is 70 lbs. the "rating" in SCA terms would be 595 in*lbs.

I realize this is common sense, but you'd be amazed how often people make this mistake. If you have a bow that is 55 lbs. of draw force, do not use a fish scale that measures from 0 to 15 lbs.....It will not measure it properly.
-Cian

[Black Swan Designs]

These guys are 15# at 5.5 to 5.75, which I calculate out to 82.5 - 86.26.

I really have no idea if they will shoot a regular crossbow bolt but I tend to think they're too light to fire a heavy projectile with a heavy, high drag head on it.