Need a last minute prop to go with your Halloween costume? Consider 3D printing this 19th century Kris dagger contributed to Sketchfab by the Tula Arms Museum in Russia, who joined as a part of the site’s Sketchfab for Museums and Cultural Heritage program. This asymmetrical dagger is associated with the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, and Singapore. The entry on the Arms Museum’s page explains that the “[c]urvy blade symbolizes a sacred snake Naga. The handle is made in the style of “Kraton”, which is typical for East Java, Sumatra and Yokohama. The scabbard throat is performed in a shape of pirigue and presumably symbolizes the “moon boat”, where according to the legend Javanese hero Panji lives.”
You might also consider the museum’s Turkish pistol, which was recreated with photogrammetry and a bit of ZBrush sculpting. This pistol could be found in the Balkans between the 17th and 19th centuries.
These models, along with many of the museum’s other models, are available for 3D printing, just in time for the only honest US holiday, as Gawker calls Halloween.
Speaking of: Sketchfab hosted a Halloween contest this month, which resulted in a big gallery of some pretty fun and sometimes scary models. Sketchfab’s Natalia directed me to “Eleanor’s Stairway”, an eerie mock-up inspired by the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” and Silent Hill. It may not be printable, but it does tell a story in a unique way that seems to capture the melancholy of the former, while invoking the quiet terror of the latter. Makes you a little scared that Pyramid Head will come out of the shadows looking like Ringo Starr.
