The Framers Forum

Being ex-job, I have framed loads of police medals, whistles etc in the past, even the leather breast plate from a police horse, I have been meaning to do this for some time now, but it’s always been on the back burner, I bought a mighty mount gun holder to hold the gun in place but it didn’t fit very well and looked really cumbersome, so I tried it with melinex strips and I don’t think it came out too bad in the end.

It’s a replica Glock 17 which you can buy over here in France; apparently in the UK they have to be bright Orange or Blue so you cannot use them to rob your local petrol station!

newie31 wrote: apparently in the UK they have to be bright Orange or Blue so you cannot use them to rob your local petrol station!

Because of course you couldn't colour a bright blue one with black (I'd use black shellac), and if you did, the petrol station attendant would immediately realise...

What happened to the bottom photo? The top one looks great, but the bottom one looks very bilious.

Nice work,
Having spent a few years making displays for commercial premises, I cased a few antique weapons. On one occasion a very good customer, who bought hundreds of displays a year asked me to do a special for a friend. It turned out to be a very nice quality pepperpot pistol, and the client gave permission to copy it for a sizable discount.

I was able to reproduce it in a metallic finished resin, and I delivered the first displays with bullet mould, wad cutters etc, often adding them on to existing orders as was the custom with new work.

One client was a very large wholesale warehouse in Lancashire, the buyer was thrilled with the display saying that she would have no trouble selling it, but a few days later I had a phone call saying that the MD had seen it and being in a particularly bad mood that day, told her to return it. I agreed to credit off the next order but never did because it had sold.

Some weeks later a designer/ project director from the home counties phoned me to say he had problem with a pub interior he had recently finished in Liverpool, described a case with a pepperpot pistol, which had been smashed open to gain access to a seemingly valuable artifact. This designer knew it had to be my work because of the style of glass case and the frame moulding I used to use, it had come from the wholesaler who had first rejected it. All were happy that the replacement went through the same chain of supply, insurance covered special deliveries etc.

There were no complaints from the police as it was explained that the seeming lethal weapon would have broken up on being ripped out of the display, but it later transpired that the thieves had been injured because my construction methods were stronger than those, who tried to copy the products my company made and arrest were made.

Prospero,

it's just the light, I put it by the door and took the photos on my mobile, it's not very flattering but it was just to show the final effect.

Mark

The sale of imitation firearms is restricted in the UK by the Violent Crimes Reduction Act 2006. Realistic looking replicas can only be sold in the circumstances quoted below:

From 1 October 2007, section 36 Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 created an offence to manufacture, bring into or cause to be brought into Great Britain, or sell realistic imitation firearms. It also made it an offence to modify an imitation firearm to make it realistic.

Section 37 relates to specific defences: this allows persons in the course of trade or business to import realistic imitation firearms for the purpose of modifying them to make them non-realistic. It also provides various defences if the realistic imitation firearm was available for:

a museum or gallery;
theatrical performances and rehearsals of such performances;
the production of films and television programmes;
the organisation and holding of historical re-enactments; or
crown servants.

Airsoft'ers can buy realistic looking replicas for their pastime provided they are bonafide members of a recognised club. I suspect even they would break the law if they hung up their BB's and chose to have their 'weapon' mounted.
So producing a similar personal presentation in the UK is against the law. I'm not sure I'd like to be the one to test the statute as to whether a persons home constituted a 'gallery' for the purpose of this Act.

I hope this is useful to anyone who may get asked to create something like this.

Nice work by the way. Is the mottle effect on the mountcard purchased or is that your own handywork?

Mike.

MikeSwannick wrote: Nice work by the way. Is the mottle effect on the mountcard purchased or is that your own handywork?

I do believe that's a suede mountboard.

Arqadia dark shale I reckon

Yes it's suede mount board, not sure but I thought it was Crescent, I'll have to look tomorrow, I use it on all the medals I frame because I think it sets the medals off nicely, I use the dark Blue for Police and Navy medals, the Dark Green for Army and a Blue /Grey one for air Force, I have also used the Red one for some Paratroopers medals.

I bow to Robo's greater knowledge, Arquadia it is

Hi

Is the brass name plate something you purchased in? Any tips on reasonably priced suppliers of these engraved name plates?

Deepjoy

Hi Deepjoy,

It's actually a chrome plate, it's just the light, I have used brass plates as well. I use a little sports trophy shop in Orpington where I used to live, he still posts them out to me over here. Look in your yellow pages I'm sure there'll be one somewhere near you, they cost me a fiver including the engraving, I don't know if that's a good price or not, but for how it sets the medals/objects off it's worth the money,

Mark

I prefer to print these titles myself and put them a little aperture, in this case with a mount slip - VERY finicky but even without the slip, better than one of those engraved plaques IMHO. You can pick the font, text size/colour, paper type/colour - no mail order, it's all there on your 'puter.

I also prefer to leave out apertures around three-dimensional things, these medals are not as deep as the gun of course, but there's just no requirement for apertures. Why did you feel the need for them?

Roboframer wrote:I prefer to print these titles myself and put them a little aperture, in this case with a mount slip - VERY finicky but even without the slip, better than one of those engraved plaques IMHO. You can pick the font, text size/colour, paper type/colour - no mail order, it's all there on your 'puter.

I also prefer to leave out apertures around three-dimensional things, these medals are not as deep as the gun of course, but there's just no requirement for apertures. Why did you feel the need for them?

Hi Robo

What type of paper do you use and is your printer an ink jet or laser?

I use our shop copier, so laser and I don't know exactly what sort of paper as we sell all sorts of paper and card on the craft side and when I want any I do a bit of shoplifting. Not that important on something so small really.

Roboframer wrote:I prefer to print these titles myself and put them a little aperture, in this case with a mount slip - VERY finicky but even without the slip, better than one of those engraved plaques IMHO. You can pick the font, text size/colour, paper type/colour - no mail order, it's all there on your 'puter.

I also prefer to leave out apertures around three-dimensional things, these medals are not as deep as the gun of course, but there's just no requirement for apertures. Why did you feel the need for them?

The first medals I framed didn't have apertures around them and I thought they looked a bit flat (just personal preference I suppose), I did a set with apertures and hung them up in the studio and everyone who came in with their medals went for that option, so in the end I just went with the apertures, I think the white line just defines them a bit more.

Like these....

I like a aperture around medals, seems to finish them off well, used to do lipslips (mount slip if you like to call them) as well

I like an aperture to have a function, like covering the edges of paper and holding it in place but I don't dislike apertures around some things like medals when it suits - I don't think it would suit my arrangement above - would it be one aperture around the lot or several? I'd just find either distracting.


But in the case of a more 3-dimensional thing, like the gun - it's effectively buried and may as well be close framed.

It's interesting that the only thing in my photo with an aperture is the 'nameplate' and in Newie's, it's the only thing without one.