"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Complete your Wizard or Druid cosplay with a glowing, ever-burning fire staff. This prop is lightweight and sturdy, and made from inexpensive materials. You don't need much in the way of sculpting ability to create something organic and magical, that looks as though it was cut from the Yggdrasil with an enchanted axe and then imbued with fires from the Mines of Moria before serving the White Witch Jadis for a century or two and then falling into your hands at the end of a rollicking adventure.

You'll need some soldering ability, a little creativity, and a willingness to get a bit messy. You can upload our CircuitPython code as-is, or it's easy to change the colors and sound effects to complement your own Wizard or Barbarian character. This would also make a wonderful staff for a monster or Fairy Queen with a few stylistic variations.

The cost for this project the way I did it comes in at around $125 including all electronics and craft materials. Nice!

Adafruit Products Needed

Additional Materials

• Clear 1" polycarbonate tube - around 1.5-2m long and at least 7/8" internal diameter, with end cap (I love the ones from FlowToys)
• Plastic water bottle for the top of the staff (I used one with a pretty shape from the grocery store, made by Eternal Water)
• Great Stuff Expanding Foam
• Latex paint in black, brown and light grey
• Clear iridescent cellophane wrap scraps
• Jewel or jewelry finding to decorate the on/off switch

Tools Needed

• Soldering iron & accessories
• Latex gloves
• Plastic drop cloth sheeting
• Small keyhole saw or serrated knife
• Paintbrush & paint mixing cups
• Utility / X-acto knife
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• 99% alcohol for paint clean-up