Fire Breating Dragon

[nplatt]

We have started to look at our panto for next year and our producer / director wants a fire breating dragon.

 

The problem we have is the panto is in a small village hall so the space we have is limited, I have been looking at the Lemaitre hand held electronic flash gun but the flame goes 3 to 4 m which is a bit to far.

 

Does anyone know of a similar device that only sends a flame about 1 to 2 m ?

 

Thanks

 

Neil

[dbuckley]

Could it not snort smoke? Possibly with a bit of a lighting effect?

[Ynot]

Having worked with a few village hall pantos over the years I know the sort of space and equipment that tends to be prevalent.

And without intending any insult to the OP, I really do NOT feel that a home-made flame producing option is anywhere near the way to go!

 

I'd go with DBuckley's option and construct something with a small smoke machine and a lighting effect - possibly hire a battery powered mini-fogger and build something with a couple of MR16s in the dragon's mouth.

 

Moderation: Some comments relating to a deleted post removed for clarity

[andy_s]

OK. I selected the text "Lemaitre handheld electronic flashgun" from your post, and copied and pasted it into the google search box. The second item on the list said this:

 

"The Hand Flasher is a smaller version of the Single Electronic Flash Gun. ..."

 

However, I don't think this necessarily does the "fire breathing" thing. It produces a ball of fire of very short duration, typically used by conjurors to disguise a transformation trick. I don't think it can be fired remotely, as it relies on flintlock technology....similar to a disposable cigarette lighter, requiring the use of a (human) thumb to flick the striking wheel, so building this into the head of your dragon may not be feasible.

 

It would be possible to rig a circuit to fire the electronic flashgun remotely, as it is battery powered enabling you to build it into the dragon prop. By the way, this also produces a pretty instant fireball rather than a long-lasting jet of flame, so despite the bigger projection distance, you don't necessarily need a huge area to operate it safely. We used them built in to a magic wand for a witch to blast her enemies with on the Arts Theatre stage in the west end. This is pretty small - pros width is about 20 ft. (6m) So long as the ball of fire is not aimed directly at another person, the 3 to 4 metre range is not likely to be a problem. Also the effect is effectively self extinguishing, as the fuel (flashcotton or flash paper) burns so quickly, it lasts less than a second. Given that the standard combustion test involves applying a flame to materials under test for several seconds, you can see that there would be a relatively low risk of ignition of anything it came into contact with. You could also aim to modify the throw distance by varying the amount of flashcotton used, but this is a bit trial and error.

 

If you are after a longer-lasting jet of flame, then these Lemaitre devices are not what you need, and I'm afraid I have no suggestions to offer.

 

just had a proper look at the Lemaitre website, and realise the hand flasher is also battery powered - what I described above is a Flint flasher... same things apply, though.

[Jivemaster]

the le maitre range offers flash cotton and flash paper which will both make tiny fireballs when dried and ignited. There are several battery (AA ish) igniters from Le Maitre and also several means of igniting a pyro igniter. Still it's a tiny ball of fire, and would need some smoke to back up the effect.

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

A test session with some safe space and good pyro technicians would tell you whether a minigerb say 1/4 or 1/2 (second) by 6 (feet) could be on the list of possibilities.

[Ynot]

A test session with some safe space and good pyro technicians would tell you whether a minigerb say 1/4 or 1/2 (second) by 6 (feet) could be on the list of possibilities.

Sorry, but WHAT??

A gerb is nowhere near a flame effect, to be blunt.

IMHO it's pretty much far enough away as to be a non-starter. And regardless of how much testing in a safe environment is concerned, I'd recommend against putting something like a gerb (or indeed any flame effect) into a mobile set piece such as a dragon's head especially in a village hall scenario.

 

K.I.S.S. jumps out here as the best option.

[LXbydesign]

I think you should advise the director to forget the idea and just offer the alternative of smoke and MR16's in the mouth of the dragon.

 

Producing fire / flame effects on that level would be a big enough job even in a larger theatre. The RA and H+S regs would be quite a booklet full and I really think that anybody in a village hall enviroment, regardless of the competence and experience of the technical staff should not be attempting this type of effect here.

[nplatt]

All,

 

Thanks for the replies, I think I will go with the smoke and light.

 

Neil

[Jivemaster]

Look also at paper party blowouts! colour one flame and blow it out by a pipe! Cold limited risk and used carefully just a lick of "flame" from the dragon. So cheap that you could carry spares!

[kerry davies]

Have to go with Tony on this one, far too risky for amateurs to play with live fire in a village hall.

Reminds me of when Llandough village hall caught fire from home-made flashpots, or the fire breather who performed in a low-ceilinged hall and set an audience members hair on fire! It "bounced"!

[Just Some Bloke]

I worked with this fire breathing dragon last year at a St. George's Day celebration. That was an interesting Risk Assessment Not recommended for indoors, though.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d31/JustSomeBloke/Firebreathingdragon.jpg

 

P.S. Sorry it's a bad photo but it was a last minute mobile phone shot! It looked a lot more like a dragon in real life than it does in the picture!

[aaron_payne]

Could it not snort smoke? Possibly with a bit of a lighting effect?

 

 

This deffinitly seems a good way to go. much cheaper too.

Possibly a mini fogger and a couple of birdies (with yellow and red gels) inside the mouth. Should make a pretty decent effect.