In his splendid role as Kaptin Scarlett the Wand Maker Chris Barnardo spent some time tarnishing a Kymera Wand so that it looks like it was made of ivory or bone.
He also offered use to use the images and text, so we’d love to quote from the instructables introduction:
This instructable will show you how to make (almost) anything look like old ivory or bone. The technique I have used is also called distressing. I am distressing (you might want to call it a creative hacking) my beloved Kymera Wand. However you got one, hacking a $90 gadget takes some guts, but I think the result speaks for itself and you end up taking something original and turning it into something completely unique.
Below you can see how the wand is transmogrified in 13 well documented steps from being your usual wooden colored magical instrument to an elegant creamy white beauty.
Please look at the instructable and comment and rate it or comment here. And spread the word, it is worthwhile.
Before starting you should perhaps consider the Chris’ last words:
At last it is time to remove the masking tape and review your handiwork.
Phew, either it looks fab or you have just ruined a hundred dollars of high tech wizardry. Perhaps it might have been better to practice on an old wooden spoon first. …
If you don’t like what you see, mask up and go back to step one and start again… remember as it says on the Kymera Wand manual…
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
Today the awesome website of the Wand Makers, thewandcompany.com launched its french version. Very impressive work by a friend of theirs of translating all the text and by Chris Barnardo of recreating all the artwork in French. Just click on the small flags on the index page or the langauge selection in the upper left corner to switch languages.
thewandcompany in french
I never knew that “wand” in french is “baguette (magique)” the same as the famous bread, it certailny means “staff”.
Here is a short quote from the fabulous letter of Lord Byron:
Cher lecteur
Qui d’entre nous n’a jamais rêvé au moins une fois au fond de son cœur de posséder une baguette magique bien à lui et d’utiliser son pouvoir? Je ne parle pas des charlataneries et autres tours de passe-passe de pseudo magiciens de cabarets; non, je parle bien de vraie et grande magie permettant d’agir à distance. J’ai parcouru le monde à la recherche de puissants ingrédients et d’obscurs mécanismes qui, savamment combinés, pourraient doter le plus novice apprenti du pouvoir de contrôler tout objet dan sa maison.
…
Si vous devenez l’un des privilégiés à posséder un exemplaire des quelques baguettes Kymera venant à être conçues, vous me rejoindrez au sein des pionniers du nouvel âge de la magie et ensemble, nous nous exercerons mutuellement, dans la joie, à ne plus sombrer dans le morne et préhistorique réflexe de presser les touches d’une télécommande.
Votre humble serviteur et aventurier pour la vie,
Sir Richard Barons
The beautiful manual was translated some time ago and is also available from there.
french manual
Don’t forget to check out the other languages. We translated the German version and our friend Peter Neubauer the Swedish one.
Nach monatelanger Suche ist eine deutsche Abschrift des Kymera Zauberstab Handbuchs in den Ruinen eines alten Klosters entdeckt worden. Der Zauberstab-Macher Chris Barnardo hat sich dann daran gemacht, die alte Schriftrolle akribisch zu restaurieren.
Wir sind stolz die Replik dieser Restauration jetzt der Öffentlichkeit präsentieren zu können. Sie können eine hochauflösende Vorschau dieser Meisterleistung hier herunterladen.
Deutsches Zauberstab Handbuch
Wenn Sie in den nächsten Monaten einen Kymera Zauberstab erwerben erhalten Sie eine Original-Replik dieses seltenen Schriftstückes zu Ihrem Schmuckstück dazu.
P.S. Nur eine Sache erscheint uns seltsam. Der Inhalt der uralten Schriftrolle stimmt fast genau mit unserer Übersetzung des Original-Manuskripts überein. Wer weiss…
Hier auch noch einmal die Verweise auf die englischen und französischen Handbücher.
Eine schwedische Variante ist gerade in Vorbereitung.
the wandmakers are proud to present the first accessory to the Kymera Wand. It is a pouch fit for such a fine piece of wandmaking. It can not only hold the Kymera wand but any other wand you own, which is at most 370 mm (14.5 inch) long. The pouches will be on sale in different colors from the beginning of December. So you can wrap your Kymera Wand christmas giveaway in a fitting sheet.
Here are some preliminary images:
Envelope with pouch
Envelope for pouch
Pouches for the Kymera Wand
Kymera wand owner Abraham Cheloff just sent me this image of these beautiful bags for Kymera wands. We’ll see if and how you can acquire them in the next months.
wand bags
The radius of the wands invisible magic field (invisible light) is about 18 meters and the magical power source lasts about 8 months if you cast spells continuously for 15 minutes per day.
You should take out the power source when transporting the wand. Otherwise it will stay active and recognize gestures and send out magic. Then your power source will be depleted much more rapidly and all sorts of magical irritations will occur in your environment.
When skyping with Richard Blakesley of The Wand Company, many new ideas for applications of the Kymera Wand came to my mind:
- Accessible control for people who can’t use remote controls. E.g. blind people or people having a muscular disorder that does not allow fine motions.
- Remote Control Your Mac with FrontRow, as the Kymera Wand is FrontRow compatible, also great for presentations
- Speech regognition – imagine waving your wand and incantating ‘Avada Kedavra’ and all IR devices switch off
- custom speech training and custom gestures
- bluetooth integration for remote controlling and interacting with bluetooth hosts via HID (Mouse) Profile
- business version with laser pointer as a sleek silver stick
- long IR signals for using the wand as pointing / drawing device for IR based electronic whiteboards like the WII-remote whiteboard
