Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Jan 1, 2012 20:58:22 GMT -5
My Visit To Museum Replicas Limited :
A Journey Through History and the Imagination
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
31 December 2011
On the outskirts of Conyers GA, on the outskirts of an industrial area, on the outskirts of nowhere really, standing on a hill like the castle its facade represents, is the corporate headquarters of Museum Replicas Limited.
Corporate headquarters is a bit nondescript, however. It's a corporate headquarters, it's a retail showroom, it's a workshop/forge, it's a creative design center, it’s a warehouse, it's a distribution center, it’s a recreation facility, it's testing ground... and it's a world of marvels you wouldn't believe.
Before you even pull into the parking lot , there are signs that your destination is going to be no ordinary store or office.
Literally.
Driving past the battlement that serves as their sign, one gets a glimpse of the building , with its castle facade; the merlons and crenels rising to meet the sky. This provides a hint, but only a hint , of what lies on the other side of the doors.
Stepping through the doors leads you into Museum Replica's retail showroom, which for the unprepared , can leave one a bit awestricken. Depending on which way you turn , it's a historic hop back in time... no , its a magical wonderland of make-believe.
It is both, and the showroom can't help but wake the child within us all... but this isn't a place for children. It's a place that touches the sense of wonder and imagination which we are so much more in tune with as children.
No matter which way you turn , there is something to make even the coolest cynical curdmudgeon stop and say, "Wow!" Recreations of ancient weapons are displayed next to genuine antique weapons . Recreations of armor, are displayed next to recreations of movie props, next to actual armor worn by the Queen's Guard in the Royal Wedding.
If your into swords, knives, militaria, cosplay, LARP, history, Steampunk , or are a fan of movies or video games, there is something here to excite you ... guaranteed.
A wall of weapons behind fanciful costumes
A congregation of kukris
An armory of antique firearms.
As I walked in the door, I was greeted by the friendly showroom staff , who seemed genuinely happy to see and help me. I announced who I was , they were expecting me and offered to call my MRL emissary Ally Barnes, to begin my tour... but I just couldn't resist wandering(and wondering) about the showroom first .
Honestly, words come too quickly and jumbled to try to describe the many and varied wonders contained within the showroom, so I'll take the easy way out and leave it to a series of pictures to describe.
Period garb that are really more clothes than costume
The land of latex LARP weapons.
The Claymore from Braveheart and other assorted weapons.
Robin Hood movie sword and other assorted weaponry
An assortment of Japanese weapons.Museum Replicas isn't afraid to defer to others when a weapon is outside their area of expertise.
This one sort of reminds me of Dave Kelly's house.
So ,finally I was able to to tear myself away from my ramblings about the showroom, and asked to take photos of a couple of Windlass favorites. I tried to photograph the Ulfberht and the European sword, but as another testament to the demand for these models, they were out of stock at the moment. I did take some snaps of the Atlantean (we'll come back to that later) and a rapier that caught my eye... the beautiful Florentine, which also happens to be on closeout.
After oohing and aahing over the showroom again (it was by no means my first visit) I was finally ready to step behind the scenes. I was met by Ally Barnes who led me to the conference room where we were joined by Bobby Milanese and Robin Chaudhuri. I don't know everyone’s titles and job functions, I know that Bobby is a sword designer , a blacksmith, an assembler and sharpener ,the shop manager and a sword lover. Ally is just as passionate about MRL and her work, and though we didn't discuss her function there, I get the idea that she is in PR and management and so much more. Robin seemed to be a Director/General Manager or the like , whose background includes being a Martial Arts instructor, and working with museums. At any rate, he was very knowledgeable about weapons, history and all the aspects of Museum Replicas.
A Quick Verbal Snapshot of The Building and Grounds
As they began to give me the tour, the amount of information I was getting was mind boggling, and rather than give it all here, I am just going to try to provide a quick verbal snapshot of the grounds. The rest of the information I will try to impart as we discuss the various aspects of the business interests of Museum Replicas.
A Corporate Culture
You can't take a tour of the building without taking a tour of their corporate culture and philosophy as well. Beginning with the conference room, the conference room is the exact center of the building, and as such the room stretches all the way up to the top of the building, where its ceiling meets the sky .
" The building is astrologically alligned to enhance creativity"
Next we made our way into the distribution center. To the northwest corner , behind rows of shelves full of weaponry , lies the shipping department. As a former UPS driver who made the pick-up there many times I am very familiar with this area . It is bustling and active , with many orders being packed and shipped.
We made our way from there to the returns area... which I was happy to see was empty and deserted. This isn't to say that MRL doesn't provide good customer service should an item need returning, they do, its just that so few items were being returned.
When passing through this area you walk across a lined area on the floor. It is a regulation sized badmitton court. The Windlass family believes that exercise and recreation is everybit as important to health, creativity and productivity as work is.
I'm liking this company already.
We now walk out the back door, across some docks to a grassy expanse. As we do, Robin explains to me , " The building is built in alignment with the 4 points of the compass. " He goes on to explain the grassy field here helps the building stay in harmony with the element Earth... at the far corner is a fountain...hey, Water. Take the lofty heights of the conference room that reach heavenward, throw in Bobby's small forge and we've got Air and Fire. The four elements .
Balance.
Robin tells me " " The building is astrologically aligned to enhance creativity."
Don't get me wrong, he didn't say it with a zealot's fervor in his eyes... just a casual comment of what I think was a really cool concept for them to incorporate into the design of the building.
I am REALLY liking this company.
At one end of the field is the test area. A pit with targets , where they test their bows, spears , throwing knives , axes etc. They don't just throw things together and try to sell them as quickly and for as much as possible. They research and design, and testing function is apparently a very big part of that.
Did I mention that I am liking this company?
As we go back into the building, we take a right turn into what for me is the beating heart of this building. Bobby's workshop.
It contains Bobby's forge, and a variety of wood and metal working tools. This is where swords get assembled , sharpened, prototypes get built , and a variety of other tasks get accomplished that I'm sure would be impossible to completely list.
Bobby showed me a knife he had forged for fun a few days before , and his small coke - fueled forge.
Bobby was nice enough to sharpen a sword, and let me video it. Bobby has been at MRL well over a decade , and reckons he has sharpened well over 30,000 swords. If you’ve bought a sword from MRL, and chose the sharpen option, it's likely Bobby sharpened your sword, and it's likely you know just how sharp he gets them. In fact, I once lay two fingers open to the bone by carelessly laying my MRL Outworld Katana in my hand.
"We are manufacturers first..."
Leaving the workshop , heading back into the office area we pass through the design room. Here is literally the canvas upon which the new designs are planned and modeled.
Here also is where I have to start being a bit more reserved with my camera. This is top secret stuff!
Robin mentions how it is vogue to do a lot of modeling on computers, but that is not the way MRL develops their designs. They like to have a tactile , 3D , representation that really imparts the feel and the look of the finished thing.
The prototypes are built in a variety of mediums , sent to India to become realized in steel, and sent back to Conyers for approval before production.
This room is the drawing table where MRL's new swords are designed , as well as products for other companies that MRL is the official manufacturer for.
"We are manufacturers first," explains Robin.
Sorry, no photographs from this room , though I have some teasers for you coming up.
We continue up the stairs to a long hallway with a series of offices on either side. The smell of incense and tobacco smoke drifts down the hall. I find it intoxicating.
In the rooms along this corridor, magic happens. Here the licensed merchandise and movie replicas are designed and created. Here the release of new models is approved and plotted.
Here the designs for all of the costumes, clothes and LARP props are conceived ,designed and implemented into prototypes. Here is a room full of multi-thousand dollar presentation swords, and here are the offices of key MRL staff , including the owners of the company.
Everywhere is the kind of organized clutter that artists and avid collectors truly understand and love. Licensed merchandise and edged weapons are propped in every corner, laid out on the floor , and piled on every surface.
It's like heaven.
Dress dummies line the hall , draped with costumes that have been licensed and approved and are ready for production.
Soon to be released models, most of which, if not all have intregal daggers
Two prototypes, of which the green one made it to production, the brown, not.
A masterfully done Assassins Creed costume
A hallway full of imagination
Some more early protypes that might see production, I WANT that migration period sword.
Also in this corridor is the studio where all of the photographs for the catalogues and websites are produced, and the office where all the coding is done for the website.
Except for the manufacturing facilities in India , everything is truly done in-house right here.
Near the end of this corridor is the office of one of the companies co-owners, Pradeep Windlass , who welcomed me in, invited me to sit, and we spoke of many things; the least of which was his business. I very much enjoyed his company, he was a true gentleman, with a vast knowledge of edged weaponry and the world in general. Never did I feel rushed by this important man, he made me feel at my ease, until I worried I was taking up too much time, made my excuses and left. He never once was impatient or dismissive , and indeed seemed regretful to see me go.
Mr. Pradeep Windlass is a class act.
Company owner Mr. Pradeep Windlass (left) with author Marc Ridgeway
Leaving his office we saw two more design rooms... full of marvelous items , before descending the stairs back to the center of the building.
A fireman's ax from another century...
Original Thompson submachine gun parts
Upon descending the stairs, after a brief detour by the state of the art call center that was bustling with activity, we were back to the exact center of the building, the vaulted ceilings of the conference room, and this part of the tour was done.
Museum Replicas History :
A Tradition of Dedication and Heritage[/u]
It's nigh on impossible to speak on the history of Museum Replicas without speaking also of the History of Windlass.
Museum Replicas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta Cutlery, but for the sake of simplicity , in this article we will refer to them both as MRL.
Atlanta Cutlery Corporation was founded in 1971 by Bill Adams and Hank Reinhardt. It was a mail order business to supply hard to acquire military surplus items, and edged weapons. As the business grew, Hank had the idea in 1985 to add swords to the mix and eventually Windlass Steelcrafts from India became one of MRLs major suppliers.
As time went on , Windlass eventually bought Atlanta Cutlery, and has expanded it to what it is today, and the scope of that is not so well known as many think.
Windlass Steelcrafts was founded in 1943. Its founder, Mr. V. P. Windlass set up this manufacturing plant to supply the British Gurkha regiments with Kukris, their main sidearm weapon. It is very important to note that since obtaining that contract in 1943 , Windlass has held it without interruption to present day.
In addition to the kukris, Windlass supplied many of the world's militaries with edged weapons that saw real combat with real warriors, as well as supplying ceremonial and presentation swords.
"We are not as big as some people think we are , but we are a lot bigger than a lot of people think we are."
Today Windlass Steelcrafts still supplies edged weapons that will see active service to clients including the British military and the US Marine Corp. In addition to this Windlass is in the replica business . Then there is knives, cutlery, LARP, costumes, antique weaponry, licensed merchandise, movie props, as well as pharmaceuticals, petroleum and real estate development.
Says Robin Chaudhuri , "We are not as big as some people think we are , but we are a lot bigger than a lot of people think we are."
So with Windlass having holdings in so many other lucrative businesses, why bother making replica weaponry at all any more? After all we all know no one is getting rich fast selling replica swords. So why?
It's all about roots, dedication, and a deep corporate pride in their heritage.
Today MRL offers a wider variety of functional replica edged weaponry than anyone in the business , backed by design based on extensive research all at a price-point that is consistently one of the lowest in the industry.
With 70 years of blade making experience , a vast database of historical original research, and some of the most talented design people in the industry one wonders why MRL doesn't make swords that parallel the quality of some of the bigger names in the business.
"If I wanted to make a sword that would sell for even $600 I could make one to equal anything anyone else is making," says Pradeep Windlass.
Robin explains MRL's place in the scheme of the market. "We wanted to carve out a niche for ourselves in the American Market. There were plenty of custom smiths making beautiful, expensive high-end pieces, and we thought the area that really needed attention was the lower, more affordable price-point. Over much of the world we are known as premiere high-end makers , but this just isn't the market that we wanted to be in in the US."
And fulfill this market they have. No one else puts out the sheer variety of items , built to a functional quality standard as MRL. No one even comes close. For the collector who would like to have examples of many different historic weapons, but doesn't have the budget of ,say the Wallace family, MRL is the most tremendous resource available.
However , they have the skills and knowledge to turn out breathtaking designs of both arms and armor, and they do this around the world , making high-end presentation swords and even making the armor for the Queen's Guards to wear in the royal wedding.
A presentation sword with a twist... it's 3 inches long
And the full size counterpart
A presentation sword in gold with gold wire in the sword bag
The original MRL manufactured armor for the Queens Guard
History You Can Touch
Robin took me down a trail through the woods , and up a hill to visit another warehouse of the several adjacent buildings they own. As we walked into this building , my breath literally caught in my throat , I was so awestricken by what I beheld.
About 10 years ago , MRL was able to buy out the entire historic horde of arms held by the Nepalese military. Some of these are British made arms , some Nepalese, but the majority are Napoleonic era or earlier originals.
The history is literally overwhelming. Robin knew each firearm type's name , and the history of them; most saw conflict. Some fought the Zulu , some fought Napoleon, but these weapons saw action and took lives. The impression they left on me was tremendous.
MRL sells these in two fashions... as is , and restored, and on site are two experts in the restoration of these antique arms.
Again I will let a series of pictures tell the story... I will caption those I retained information on, the rest will have to speak for themselves.
A Nepalese made Bira , their answer to guns like the Gatling and Gardner. There are only 6 in the world and MRL has them all.
A Howitzer
Crates bayonets , tulwars and British sabers
Musketballs actually used by the British to fight Napoleon
Flints to fire those musketballs
Wow!!!
A Respect For The Past ... An Eye Towards the Future
With its background in edged weapons, MRL has had a distinct advantage to build upon that base for a variety of new endeavors. One thing builds to the next , and they are all mutually supporting and aid the growth of each aspect of MRL's business endeavors.
I was lucky enough to be able to speak with creative director Dave DiPietro (formerly of Paramount studios) about MRL's direction in some of these areas.
MRL and Movies
We all know that a huge part of MRL's business is replicas and licensed merchandise from popular movies, video games and tv. What I didn't know is that MRL is also majorly involved with providing the actual costumes and props for many popular titles.
The staff at MRL has had its expertise tapped by such TV shows as Sparticus , Rome, and Vampire Diaries.
Movies they have had a hand in include Gladiator, 300, Lord of the Rings, Iron Man, Kingdom of Heaven and Troy. also Once Upon a Time , V for Vendetta and the upcoming Knights of Badassdom
One of the coolest things for me to see was a bowie knife MRL made that was used as a prop on Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 and then gifted back to MRL.
MRL has also done work on several films in the James Bond franchise. This is a not inclusive, but quite impressive resume.
Gladius from Gladiator with real gold accents
Costuming from Sparticus
Bowie knife from Rob Zombie's "Halloween 2"
MRL and LARP.Cosplay & Steampunk
These are other areas where MRL is leading the way in development of these ever growing genres.
"When we decided to get into this, we sought out the experts"
There is no doubt that MRL is on the cutting edge of what is hot, what is hip and what is now, and when I asked Dave how they stayed that way his simple reply was that they were avid fans of movies, TV and books and this helped keep them on top of the game. Additionally , having relationships with major studios has the benefits of the studios actually approaching MRL with projects and ideas. Sometimes they pass, if the theme is say on the Japanese side of things , and out of their area of expertise... but having these relationships again builds and strengthens all the areas of the business.
The area of LARP is one which huge growth and development is happening in , and MRL is helping to revolutionize the genre.
For instance, MRL is the first company to license rights for LARP weapons and costumes. To date they have licensed Lord of the Rings , Conan and the soon to be announced Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I believe that they have costuming now for Arthur and Sir Bedavere , and will soon be adding Zoot, Patsy the Squire , and Tim the Enchanter.
Marc: A good Bedevere?
LARP costumes and weapons are made from a hypoallergenic latex material. Dave says , "When we decided to get into this, we sought out the experts," but from where I'm sitting it looks like the experts are across the table from me.
He tells me there are two different latex materials that are used, "hard" and "soft".
The hard latex is what is used for a lot of the movie costumes , as well as some helms and armor in LARP.
They are prototyped in steel, molded and reproduced.
Some exciting developments in MRLs worlds of LARP are coming up , with Renn Faire vendors soon to be carrying their wares.
When asked if they had considered creating a LARP game and designing the props for that Dave said, "Yes , both licensed and unlicensed , but if I tell you any more I'll have to kill you ."
Point made.
The excitement is contagious, because there is a level of realism to the latex weapons which makes me think "these are the toys I wish had when I was a kid". But these aren't kids toys, they are state of the art props for reinactment , LARP and other such activities.
Likewise with the world of MRL costuming. Earlier in this story you've seen the pictures of the exquisite costumes MRL designs and prototypes in-house.
They awaken in me that childlike sense of pretend, but without any danger of looking like a child. These are not so much costumes , as clothes.
The challenge in turning a movie wardrobe into a cosplay item is mostly in materials Dave says. You've got to take that movie item and translate it into basically a wash and wear wardrobe item that these guys can run and be active in all day at the Faire or Con.
Exciting developments we can expect to see in the near future from the MRL costuming crew include a "Create Your Own" costume tool, just as we have seen with the Create Your Own Sword Line.
Steampunk is something I know next to nothing about except it's Orwellian roots, and its growing popularity. I did see a set during my visit with a bunch of working machines that MRL built in support of their Steampunk products, but that’s all I can say about that. We should see more soon.
MRL and Conan the Barbarian
I can still remember seeing the movie in the theater as a child. I remember thinking that if I was the star of that movie, the only payment I would want would be the swords... short-sighted, but hey, I was eleven! I obsessed over them. The Fathers Sword and the Atlantean from the Conan movie were probably the two things which most inspired my love of swords and most influenced me to take up this hobby upon adulthood. The only functional replicas being priced well out of range for me, I was very excited when I learned that Windlass would be releasing versions of this sword. So were many , many others.
The Windlass swords came out to mixed reviews, but I think that a lot of the bad press is undeserved. Having seen these replicas now first hand, I can tell you that they are pretty darn awesome looking Conan swords. For the under $300 price tag, these would be awesome just as a wallhanger, if that's all they were.
But after talking with Bobby , and having him show me these swords first-hand , I 'm convinced that they are also able to be labeled as functional... as functional as a 7 lb. sword can be that is.
Reports of a rat tail tang are wildly exaggerated. The Atlantean has a substantial tang , which does admittedly lead to a threaded rod which holds the grip on with a 8mm nut. This same construction was used on the German Bastard Sword... and I know it was functional because I owned one myself. What’s missing from the Atlantean that was on the GBS is the screw-on pommel. The pommel is pressed on, a less than ideal situation, but one that MRL is working to change. Changes are hard on licensed products though, because the licensee must accommodate the desires of the licenser.
However if what I get for my $300 is the only really affordable faithful recreation on the market , and that recreation is somewhat functional, personally, I'm pretty happy about it.
I want them, and I intend to own them
Whats more while wandering the building I came upon a bit of a steely teaser.
A teaser ?
MRL and The Create Your Own Sword Line
One of the most exciting things that MRL has done in a while is the release of the “create your own sword” line. I know it created a bit of a stir when we found out about it at SBG, each of us playing with the design tool to create mock-ups.
You can just picture the MRL team looking at boxes of random sword parts they have on hand, and thinking "what if?"
Well the weapons team at MRL and Windlass took that thought and ran with it , and the result is several guards and pommels that have been redesigned to similar masses that no matter the combination , will work well within a tolerance of balance and harmonics.
Indeed, there was a demo blade which had been made up for the showroom. When Bobby handed me this demo I was immediately struck by the sturdiness of it. The stiff but well-tempered blade is wide and optimized for cutting. Slapping the pommel , I checked for the center of percussion ... and sure enough it looked to be about where you’d like it to be , about 22 inches or so... but also showed to have a huge sweet spot of about 5 inches.
Buyers can use the online tool to pick between a selection of guards , pommels and handles, and choose a brushed or polished blades and add sharpening or engraving. But why am I rambling on? Let's let Bobby tell us about it.
Of all the terrific advancements we have seen in the replica and recreation sword market this year , this is one of the best. The combination of quality , customizability and affordability ($185 !) easily make the Create Your Own Sword line the folks at MRL a contender for the best new concept of the year.
I really want one of the swords, and I really mean to have one, I just have to decide between the type N pommel and the brazil nut ... choices, choices.
That's All Folks
Well that about sums it up folks, for a very brief synopsis anyway. The fact is that there was way more information than I could absorb, and way more to Museum Replicas than I had previously thought.
This is a company that is leading the way in so many fields that enrich lives and imaginations and awaken the childlike wonder in each of us.
I left my home and drove to MRL with a passing familiarity of their company and wares, what I discovered was that I had only the vaguest notion of who they are and what they do.
I had a passing regard for their replica swords... I've owned several : GBS, Outworld Katana and Dagger, Heron Mark sword, Raptor and the Sword of Roven.
After touring MRL I left with a newfound respect of who they are , what they do and the weapons they offer. They use exhaustive research into historical originals to design their replicas, spend months of development tweaking the designs through modeling and actual use to make them faithful recreations as accurate both aesthetically and functionally as possible , and still be able to keep it at one of the lowest price-points in the industry.
Could they make it dead on and just charge four figures? Sure , of course they could, but that’s not their mission... their mission is to make this wonderful world affordable and accessible to everyone.
From looking at the vast array of types of historic weapons and licensed merchandise they offer, I'd say that they've done a damn good job of it.
I learned a lot I didn't know about their work with Hollywood, the world of LARP , and the other imaginative products they create, not to mention their continued relationships with the military building true battle blades. I learned that almost every step of everything is done in house, right here in Conyers , GA. Most of all I learned a few things about the folks at MRL.
I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about swords , but while talking with Robin , Bobby and Pradeep , I realized that they are experts. We chatted about harmonics , and physics and sword types , and history , and all of them discussed it with an easy familiarity . Most collectors know how hard it is to find someone that we can have these types of conversations with. They weren't talking up to impress me, and never were they talking down to me, it was just conversation between sword lovers.
Nice.
The biggest thing I took away from MRL was a new impression of the company. From Ally to Bobby to Dave to Robin and all the way up to Pradeep ; they are artists to a one , who love what they do , and their passion and enthusiasm carry through to their creations.
Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional reporter or writer , nor was I paid by SBG or MRL to write this. I did not recieve any freebies or other considerations , nor would it influence my opinion if I had. I do not have a business relationship with MRL or SBG. I do volunteer my time at SBG and I volunteered the time and effort to make the visit and write the feature. MRL did invite me in, treat me like family and freely share information with me.
A Journey Through History and the Imagination
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
31 December 2011
On the outskirts of Conyers GA, on the outskirts of an industrial area, on the outskirts of nowhere really, standing on a hill like the castle its facade represents, is the corporate headquarters of Museum Replicas Limited.
Corporate headquarters is a bit nondescript, however. It's a corporate headquarters, it's a retail showroom, it's a workshop/forge, it's a creative design center, it’s a warehouse, it's a distribution center, it’s a recreation facility, it's testing ground... and it's a world of marvels you wouldn't believe.
Before you even pull into the parking lot , there are signs that your destination is going to be no ordinary store or office.
Literally.
Driving past the battlement that serves as their sign, one gets a glimpse of the building , with its castle facade; the merlons and crenels rising to meet the sky. This provides a hint, but only a hint , of what lies on the other side of the doors.
Stepping through the doors leads you into Museum Replica's retail showroom, which for the unprepared , can leave one a bit awestricken. Depending on which way you turn , it's a historic hop back in time... no , its a magical wonderland of make-believe.
It is both, and the showroom can't help but wake the child within us all... but this isn't a place for children. It's a place that touches the sense of wonder and imagination which we are so much more in tune with as children.
No matter which way you turn , there is something to make even the coolest cynical curdmudgeon stop and say, "Wow!" Recreations of ancient weapons are displayed next to genuine antique weapons . Recreations of armor, are displayed next to recreations of movie props, next to actual armor worn by the Queen's Guard in the Royal Wedding.
If your into swords, knives, militaria, cosplay, LARP, history, Steampunk , or are a fan of movies or video games, there is something here to excite you ... guaranteed.
A wall of weapons behind fanciful costumes
A congregation of kukris
An armory of antique firearms.
As I walked in the door, I was greeted by the friendly showroom staff , who seemed genuinely happy to see and help me. I announced who I was , they were expecting me and offered to call my MRL emissary Ally Barnes, to begin my tour... but I just couldn't resist wandering(and wondering) about the showroom first .
Honestly, words come too quickly and jumbled to try to describe the many and varied wonders contained within the showroom, so I'll take the easy way out and leave it to a series of pictures to describe.
Period garb that are really more clothes than costume
The land of latex LARP weapons.
The Claymore from Braveheart and other assorted weapons.
Robin Hood movie sword and other assorted weaponry
An assortment of Japanese weapons.Museum Replicas isn't afraid to defer to others when a weapon is outside their area of expertise.
This one sort of reminds me of Dave Kelly's house.
So ,finally I was able to to tear myself away from my ramblings about the showroom, and asked to take photos of a couple of Windlass favorites. I tried to photograph the Ulfberht and the European sword, but as another testament to the demand for these models, they were out of stock at the moment. I did take some snaps of the Atlantean (we'll come back to that later) and a rapier that caught my eye... the beautiful Florentine, which also happens to be on closeout.
After oohing and aahing over the showroom again (it was by no means my first visit) I was finally ready to step behind the scenes. I was met by Ally Barnes who led me to the conference room where we were joined by Bobby Milanese and Robin Chaudhuri. I don't know everyone’s titles and job functions, I know that Bobby is a sword designer , a blacksmith, an assembler and sharpener ,the shop manager and a sword lover. Ally is just as passionate about MRL and her work, and though we didn't discuss her function there, I get the idea that she is in PR and management and so much more. Robin seemed to be a Director/General Manager or the like , whose background includes being a Martial Arts instructor, and working with museums. At any rate, he was very knowledgeable about weapons, history and all the aspects of Museum Replicas.
A Quick Verbal Snapshot of The Building and Grounds
As they began to give me the tour, the amount of information I was getting was mind boggling, and rather than give it all here, I am just going to try to provide a quick verbal snapshot of the grounds. The rest of the information I will try to impart as we discuss the various aspects of the business interests of Museum Replicas.
A Corporate Culture
You can't take a tour of the building without taking a tour of their corporate culture and philosophy as well. Beginning with the conference room, the conference room is the exact center of the building, and as such the room stretches all the way up to the top of the building, where its ceiling meets the sky .
" The building is astrologically alligned to enhance creativity"
Next we made our way into the distribution center. To the northwest corner , behind rows of shelves full of weaponry , lies the shipping department. As a former UPS driver who made the pick-up there many times I am very familiar with this area . It is bustling and active , with many orders being packed and shipped.
We made our way from there to the returns area... which I was happy to see was empty and deserted. This isn't to say that MRL doesn't provide good customer service should an item need returning, they do, its just that so few items were being returned.
When passing through this area you walk across a lined area on the floor. It is a regulation sized badmitton court. The Windlass family believes that exercise and recreation is everybit as important to health, creativity and productivity as work is.
I'm liking this company already.
We now walk out the back door, across some docks to a grassy expanse. As we do, Robin explains to me , " The building is built in alignment with the 4 points of the compass. " He goes on to explain the grassy field here helps the building stay in harmony with the element Earth... at the far corner is a fountain...hey, Water. Take the lofty heights of the conference room that reach heavenward, throw in Bobby's small forge and we've got Air and Fire. The four elements .
Balance.
Robin tells me " " The building is astrologically aligned to enhance creativity."
Don't get me wrong, he didn't say it with a zealot's fervor in his eyes... just a casual comment of what I think was a really cool concept for them to incorporate into the design of the building.
I am REALLY liking this company.
At one end of the field is the test area. A pit with targets , where they test their bows, spears , throwing knives , axes etc. They don't just throw things together and try to sell them as quickly and for as much as possible. They research and design, and testing function is apparently a very big part of that.
Did I mention that I am liking this company?
As we go back into the building, we take a right turn into what for me is the beating heart of this building. Bobby's workshop.
It contains Bobby's forge, and a variety of wood and metal working tools. This is where swords get assembled , sharpened, prototypes get built , and a variety of other tasks get accomplished that I'm sure would be impossible to completely list.
Bobby showed me a knife he had forged for fun a few days before , and his small coke - fueled forge.
Bobby was nice enough to sharpen a sword, and let me video it. Bobby has been at MRL well over a decade , and reckons he has sharpened well over 30,000 swords. If you’ve bought a sword from MRL, and chose the sharpen option, it's likely Bobby sharpened your sword, and it's likely you know just how sharp he gets them. In fact, I once lay two fingers open to the bone by carelessly laying my MRL Outworld Katana in my hand.
"We are manufacturers first..."
Leaving the workshop , heading back into the office area we pass through the design room. Here is literally the canvas upon which the new designs are planned and modeled.
Here also is where I have to start being a bit more reserved with my camera. This is top secret stuff!
Robin mentions how it is vogue to do a lot of modeling on computers, but that is not the way MRL develops their designs. They like to have a tactile , 3D , representation that really imparts the feel and the look of the finished thing.
The prototypes are built in a variety of mediums , sent to India to become realized in steel, and sent back to Conyers for approval before production.
This room is the drawing table where MRL's new swords are designed , as well as products for other companies that MRL is the official manufacturer for.
"We are manufacturers first," explains Robin.
Sorry, no photographs from this room , though I have some teasers for you coming up.
We continue up the stairs to a long hallway with a series of offices on either side. The smell of incense and tobacco smoke drifts down the hall. I find it intoxicating.
In the rooms along this corridor, magic happens. Here the licensed merchandise and movie replicas are designed and created. Here the release of new models is approved and plotted.
Here the designs for all of the costumes, clothes and LARP props are conceived ,designed and implemented into prototypes. Here is a room full of multi-thousand dollar presentation swords, and here are the offices of key MRL staff , including the owners of the company.
Everywhere is the kind of organized clutter that artists and avid collectors truly understand and love. Licensed merchandise and edged weapons are propped in every corner, laid out on the floor , and piled on every surface.
It's like heaven.
Dress dummies line the hall , draped with costumes that have been licensed and approved and are ready for production.
Soon to be released models, most of which, if not all have intregal daggers
Two prototypes, of which the green one made it to production, the brown, not.
A masterfully done Assassins Creed costume
A hallway full of imagination
Some more early protypes that might see production, I WANT that migration period sword.
Also in this corridor is the studio where all of the photographs for the catalogues and websites are produced, and the office where all the coding is done for the website.
Except for the manufacturing facilities in India , everything is truly done in-house right here.
Near the end of this corridor is the office of one of the companies co-owners, Pradeep Windlass , who welcomed me in, invited me to sit, and we spoke of many things; the least of which was his business. I very much enjoyed his company, he was a true gentleman, with a vast knowledge of edged weaponry and the world in general. Never did I feel rushed by this important man, he made me feel at my ease, until I worried I was taking up too much time, made my excuses and left. He never once was impatient or dismissive , and indeed seemed regretful to see me go.
Mr. Pradeep Windlass is a class act.
Company owner Mr. Pradeep Windlass (left) with author Marc Ridgeway
Leaving his office we saw two more design rooms... full of marvelous items , before descending the stairs back to the center of the building.
A fireman's ax from another century...
Original Thompson submachine gun parts
Upon descending the stairs, after a brief detour by the state of the art call center that was bustling with activity, we were back to the exact center of the building, the vaulted ceilings of the conference room, and this part of the tour was done.
Museum Replicas History :
A Tradition of Dedication and Heritage[/u]
It's nigh on impossible to speak on the history of Museum Replicas without speaking also of the History of Windlass.
Museum Replicas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta Cutlery, but for the sake of simplicity , in this article we will refer to them both as MRL.
Atlanta Cutlery Corporation was founded in 1971 by Bill Adams and Hank Reinhardt. It was a mail order business to supply hard to acquire military surplus items, and edged weapons. As the business grew, Hank had the idea in 1985 to add swords to the mix and eventually Windlass Steelcrafts from India became one of MRLs major suppliers.
As time went on , Windlass eventually bought Atlanta Cutlery, and has expanded it to what it is today, and the scope of that is not so well known as many think.
Windlass Steelcrafts was founded in 1943. Its founder, Mr. V. P. Windlass set up this manufacturing plant to supply the British Gurkha regiments with Kukris, their main sidearm weapon. It is very important to note that since obtaining that contract in 1943 , Windlass has held it without interruption to present day.
In addition to the kukris, Windlass supplied many of the world's militaries with edged weapons that saw real combat with real warriors, as well as supplying ceremonial and presentation swords.
"We are not as big as some people think we are , but we are a lot bigger than a lot of people think we are."
Today Windlass Steelcrafts still supplies edged weapons that will see active service to clients including the British military and the US Marine Corp. In addition to this Windlass is in the replica business . Then there is knives, cutlery, LARP, costumes, antique weaponry, licensed merchandise, movie props, as well as pharmaceuticals, petroleum and real estate development.
Says Robin Chaudhuri , "We are not as big as some people think we are , but we are a lot bigger than a lot of people think we are."
So with Windlass having holdings in so many other lucrative businesses, why bother making replica weaponry at all any more? After all we all know no one is getting rich fast selling replica swords. So why?
It's all about roots, dedication, and a deep corporate pride in their heritage.
Today MRL offers a wider variety of functional replica edged weaponry than anyone in the business , backed by design based on extensive research all at a price-point that is consistently one of the lowest in the industry.
With 70 years of blade making experience , a vast database of historical original research, and some of the most talented design people in the industry one wonders why MRL doesn't make swords that parallel the quality of some of the bigger names in the business.
"If I wanted to make a sword that would sell for even $600 I could make one to equal anything anyone else is making," says Pradeep Windlass.
Robin explains MRL's place in the scheme of the market. "We wanted to carve out a niche for ourselves in the American Market. There were plenty of custom smiths making beautiful, expensive high-end pieces, and we thought the area that really needed attention was the lower, more affordable price-point. Over much of the world we are known as premiere high-end makers , but this just isn't the market that we wanted to be in in the US."
And fulfill this market they have. No one else puts out the sheer variety of items , built to a functional quality standard as MRL. No one even comes close. For the collector who would like to have examples of many different historic weapons, but doesn't have the budget of ,say the Wallace family, MRL is the most tremendous resource available.
However , they have the skills and knowledge to turn out breathtaking designs of both arms and armor, and they do this around the world , making high-end presentation swords and even making the armor for the Queen's Guards to wear in the royal wedding.
A presentation sword with a twist... it's 3 inches long
And the full size counterpart
A presentation sword in gold with gold wire in the sword bag
The original MRL manufactured armor for the Queens Guard
History You Can Touch
Robin took me down a trail through the woods , and up a hill to visit another warehouse of the several adjacent buildings they own. As we walked into this building , my breath literally caught in my throat , I was so awestricken by what I beheld.
About 10 years ago , MRL was able to buy out the entire historic horde of arms held by the Nepalese military. Some of these are British made arms , some Nepalese, but the majority are Napoleonic era or earlier originals.
The history is literally overwhelming. Robin knew each firearm type's name , and the history of them; most saw conflict. Some fought the Zulu , some fought Napoleon, but these weapons saw action and took lives. The impression they left on me was tremendous.
MRL sells these in two fashions... as is , and restored, and on site are two experts in the restoration of these antique arms.
Again I will let a series of pictures tell the story... I will caption those I retained information on, the rest will have to speak for themselves.
A Nepalese made Bira , their answer to guns like the Gatling and Gardner. There are only 6 in the world and MRL has them all.
A Howitzer
Crates bayonets , tulwars and British sabers
Musketballs actually used by the British to fight Napoleon
Flints to fire those musketballs
Wow!!!
A Respect For The Past ... An Eye Towards the Future
With its background in edged weapons, MRL has had a distinct advantage to build upon that base for a variety of new endeavors. One thing builds to the next , and they are all mutually supporting and aid the growth of each aspect of MRL's business endeavors.
I was lucky enough to be able to speak with creative director Dave DiPietro (formerly of Paramount studios) about MRL's direction in some of these areas.
MRL and Movies
We all know that a huge part of MRL's business is replicas and licensed merchandise from popular movies, video games and tv. What I didn't know is that MRL is also majorly involved with providing the actual costumes and props for many popular titles.
The staff at MRL has had its expertise tapped by such TV shows as Sparticus , Rome, and Vampire Diaries.
Movies they have had a hand in include Gladiator, 300, Lord of the Rings, Iron Man, Kingdom of Heaven and Troy. also Once Upon a Time , V for Vendetta and the upcoming Knights of Badassdom
One of the coolest things for me to see was a bowie knife MRL made that was used as a prop on Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 and then gifted back to MRL.
MRL has also done work on several films in the James Bond franchise. This is a not inclusive, but quite impressive resume.
Gladius from Gladiator with real gold accents
Costuming from Sparticus
Bowie knife from Rob Zombie's "Halloween 2"
MRL and LARP.Cosplay & Steampunk
These are other areas where MRL is leading the way in development of these ever growing genres.
"When we decided to get into this, we sought out the experts"
There is no doubt that MRL is on the cutting edge of what is hot, what is hip and what is now, and when I asked Dave how they stayed that way his simple reply was that they were avid fans of movies, TV and books and this helped keep them on top of the game. Additionally , having relationships with major studios has the benefits of the studios actually approaching MRL with projects and ideas. Sometimes they pass, if the theme is say on the Japanese side of things , and out of their area of expertise... but having these relationships again builds and strengthens all the areas of the business.
The area of LARP is one which huge growth and development is happening in , and MRL is helping to revolutionize the genre.
For instance, MRL is the first company to license rights for LARP weapons and costumes. To date they have licensed Lord of the Rings , Conan and the soon to be announced Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I believe that they have costuming now for Arthur and Sir Bedavere , and will soon be adding Zoot, Patsy the Squire , and Tim the Enchanter.
Marc: A good Bedevere?
LARP costumes and weapons are made from a hypoallergenic latex material. Dave says , "When we decided to get into this, we sought out the experts," but from where I'm sitting it looks like the experts are across the table from me.
He tells me there are two different latex materials that are used, "hard" and "soft".
The hard latex is what is used for a lot of the movie costumes , as well as some helms and armor in LARP.
They are prototyped in steel, molded and reproduced.
Some exciting developments in MRLs worlds of LARP are coming up , with Renn Faire vendors soon to be carrying their wares.
When asked if they had considered creating a LARP game and designing the props for that Dave said, "Yes , both licensed and unlicensed , but if I tell you any more I'll have to kill you ."
Point made.
The excitement is contagious, because there is a level of realism to the latex weapons which makes me think "these are the toys I wish had when I was a kid". But these aren't kids toys, they are state of the art props for reinactment , LARP and other such activities.
Likewise with the world of MRL costuming. Earlier in this story you've seen the pictures of the exquisite costumes MRL designs and prototypes in-house.
They awaken in me that childlike sense of pretend, but without any danger of looking like a child. These are not so much costumes , as clothes.
The challenge in turning a movie wardrobe into a cosplay item is mostly in materials Dave says. You've got to take that movie item and translate it into basically a wash and wear wardrobe item that these guys can run and be active in all day at the Faire or Con.
Exciting developments we can expect to see in the near future from the MRL costuming crew include a "Create Your Own" costume tool, just as we have seen with the Create Your Own Sword Line.
Steampunk is something I know next to nothing about except it's Orwellian roots, and its growing popularity. I did see a set during my visit with a bunch of working machines that MRL built in support of their Steampunk products, but that’s all I can say about that. We should see more soon.
MRL and Conan the Barbarian
I can still remember seeing the movie in the theater as a child. I remember thinking that if I was the star of that movie, the only payment I would want would be the swords... short-sighted, but hey, I was eleven! I obsessed over them. The Fathers Sword and the Atlantean from the Conan movie were probably the two things which most inspired my love of swords and most influenced me to take up this hobby upon adulthood. The only functional replicas being priced well out of range for me, I was very excited when I learned that Windlass would be releasing versions of this sword. So were many , many others.
The Windlass swords came out to mixed reviews, but I think that a lot of the bad press is undeserved. Having seen these replicas now first hand, I can tell you that they are pretty darn awesome looking Conan swords. For the under $300 price tag, these would be awesome just as a wallhanger, if that's all they were.
But after talking with Bobby , and having him show me these swords first-hand , I 'm convinced that they are also able to be labeled as functional... as functional as a 7 lb. sword can be that is.
Reports of a rat tail tang are wildly exaggerated. The Atlantean has a substantial tang , which does admittedly lead to a threaded rod which holds the grip on with a 8mm nut. This same construction was used on the German Bastard Sword... and I know it was functional because I owned one myself. What’s missing from the Atlantean that was on the GBS is the screw-on pommel. The pommel is pressed on, a less than ideal situation, but one that MRL is working to change. Changes are hard on licensed products though, because the licensee must accommodate the desires of the licenser.
However if what I get for my $300 is the only really affordable faithful recreation on the market , and that recreation is somewhat functional, personally, I'm pretty happy about it.
I want them, and I intend to own them
Whats more while wandering the building I came upon a bit of a steely teaser.
A teaser ?MRL and The Create Your Own Sword Line
One of the most exciting things that MRL has done in a while is the release of the “create your own sword” line. I know it created a bit of a stir when we found out about it at SBG, each of us playing with the design tool to create mock-ups.
You can just picture the MRL team looking at boxes of random sword parts they have on hand, and thinking "what if?"
Well the weapons team at MRL and Windlass took that thought and ran with it , and the result is several guards and pommels that have been redesigned to similar masses that no matter the combination , will work well within a tolerance of balance and harmonics.
Indeed, there was a demo blade which had been made up for the showroom. When Bobby handed me this demo I was immediately struck by the sturdiness of it. The stiff but well-tempered blade is wide and optimized for cutting. Slapping the pommel , I checked for the center of percussion ... and sure enough it looked to be about where you’d like it to be , about 22 inches or so... but also showed to have a huge sweet spot of about 5 inches.
Buyers can use the online tool to pick between a selection of guards , pommels and handles, and choose a brushed or polished blades and add sharpening or engraving. But why am I rambling on? Let's let Bobby tell us about it.
Of all the terrific advancements we have seen in the replica and recreation sword market this year , this is one of the best. The combination of quality , customizability and affordability ($185 !) easily make the Create Your Own Sword line the folks at MRL a contender for the best new concept of the year.
I really want one of the swords, and I really mean to have one, I just have to decide between the type N pommel and the brazil nut ... choices, choices.
That's All Folks
Well that about sums it up folks, for a very brief synopsis anyway. The fact is that there was way more information than I could absorb, and way more to Museum Replicas than I had previously thought.
This is a company that is leading the way in so many fields that enrich lives and imaginations and awaken the childlike wonder in each of us.
I left my home and drove to MRL with a passing familiarity of their company and wares, what I discovered was that I had only the vaguest notion of who they are and what they do.
I had a passing regard for their replica swords... I've owned several : GBS, Outworld Katana and Dagger, Heron Mark sword, Raptor and the Sword of Roven.
After touring MRL I left with a newfound respect of who they are , what they do and the weapons they offer. They use exhaustive research into historical originals to design their replicas, spend months of development tweaking the designs through modeling and actual use to make them faithful recreations as accurate both aesthetically and functionally as possible , and still be able to keep it at one of the lowest price-points in the industry.
Could they make it dead on and just charge four figures? Sure , of course they could, but that’s not their mission... their mission is to make this wonderful world affordable and accessible to everyone.
From looking at the vast array of types of historic weapons and licensed merchandise they offer, I'd say that they've done a damn good job of it.
I learned a lot I didn't know about their work with Hollywood, the world of LARP , and the other imaginative products they create, not to mention their continued relationships with the military building true battle blades. I learned that almost every step of everything is done in house, right here in Conyers , GA. Most of all I learned a few things about the folks at MRL.
I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about swords , but while talking with Robin , Bobby and Pradeep , I realized that they are experts. We chatted about harmonics , and physics and sword types , and history , and all of them discussed it with an easy familiarity . Most collectors know how hard it is to find someone that we can have these types of conversations with. They weren't talking up to impress me, and never were they talking down to me, it was just conversation between sword lovers.
Nice.
The biggest thing I took away from MRL was a new impression of the company. From Ally to Bobby to Dave to Robin and all the way up to Pradeep ; they are artists to a one , who love what they do , and their passion and enthusiasm carry through to their creations.
Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional reporter or writer , nor was I paid by SBG or MRL to write this. I did not recieve any freebies or other considerations , nor would it influence my opinion if I had. I do not have a business relationship with MRL or SBG. I do volunteer my time at SBG and I volunteered the time and effort to make the visit and write the feature. MRL did invite me in, treat me like family and freely share information with me.