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Updated: January 8, 2002: updated silk flame pricing (prices have dropped significantly).

Updated: November 23, 2002: removed silk flame effect table; and link to Demon Wall Sconce.

Updated: August 31, 2001: added links to MR-11 bulb and socket suppliers.

Updated: December 26, 2001: changed PDF patterns to JPEG; added new commercial silk flames; added link to Corey Minion's faux flame urn; and added instructions on how to construct a silk flame demon wall sconce.

E-mail: wbn@wickedbeernut.com

I want to start by thanking Dennis Griesser who referred me to his Wolfstone's Haunted Halloween Site when I first expressed interest in silk flames. I was convinced that I wanted to build my own silk flame. I began by searching the Internet for information regarding the different makes and models of silk flames. The following table lists the most popular makes and models of silk flames. For each model I have included the URL for the company's web site and a typical price for which each model can be purchased on the Internet.

Typical Silk Flame

A typical silk flame consists of,

• A 4" 120 volt A.C. fan.
• Two or three MR-11 quartz halogen bulbs with orange lenses or gel filters.
• One MR-11 quartz halogen bulb with a blue lens or gel filter.
• A 12 volt A.C. transformer.
• One or two pieces of silk, cut in the shape of a flame, which are attached to the fan assembly using refrigerator magnets or Velcro.

American D.J. Torch Light

Jeff Brown's Torch Light Exposed includes a detailed description and pictures of the American D.J. Torch Light. The American D.J. Torch Light is almost identical in construction to the Antari Diablo Flame Machine. The main difference is that the Torch Light has a row of three MR-11 quartz halogen bulbs with orange lenses as where the Flame Machine has a row of two MR-11 quartz halogen bulbs with orange lenses. Interestingly enough, the instructions for the Flame Machine indicate that it should have three orange bulbs and there is even a metal mounting tab where the third (center) MR-11 socket would have been mounted.

Le Maitre Le Flame

Many people consider the Le Maitre Le Flame to be the premier silk flame effect. Issue #25 of Haunted Attraction magazine states, "The Le Flame torches by Le Maitre Special Effects are the best looking faux flames available."

Dennis' web page includes a description of the Le Maitre Le Flame from Tim Cahoon that was posted to Halloween-L on June 23, 2000. I just recently (July 2001) saw the Le Flame in person and apparently, the design of the Le Flame has changed over the course of the last year.

The Le Flame has a metal box which mounts on top of the fan, very similar to the Torch Light and the Flame Machine. A MR-11 quartz halogen bulb is mounted in the middle of this box, again similar to the Torch Light and the Flame Machine, only the Le Flame uses a blue gel as opposed to an integrated blue colored lens.

I think what really differentiates the Le Flame from the other silk flames is the silk itself. Tim's description suggests that the Le Flame involves four pieces of silk,

I can only assume that the design has changed. The flame now consists of two pieces of silk. The following two pictures are of the authentic Le Flame silks.

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The black strips at the bottom of each silk are pieces of Velcro. The silks stretch diagonally, back-to-back, across the metal box and are secured to the corners of the box using the Velcro.

The Le Flame utilizes two MR-11 quartz halogen bulbs that are each covered with an orange gel. The orange gel is secured to the reflector of each bulb using a wire clip that can only be described as a paper clip. I have no idea why Le Maitre would hassle with clips and colored gels when they simply could have used MR-11 quartz halogen bulbs with integrated colored lenses. The two bulbs are mounted on opposite sides of the box.

These two pictures are hyperlinks to patterns of the authentic Le Maitre Le Flame silks. Note, these patterns should be actual size, approximately 7" wide and approximately 10 1/4" and 9" high, respectively.

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Roll Your Own

I was convinced that I wanted to build my own silk flame. I started by pricing the necessary parts on the Internet.

And this didn't even include the cost of the transformer, chassis, fuse, switch, power cord, mounting hardware, ..., I quickly gave up on the idea of building my own silk flame.

A few people who have successfully built their own silk flame…

Antari Diablo Flame Machine Improved

I opted to go with the Antari Diablo Flame Machine. I purchased the Flame Machine from Hollywood D.J. for $65 (plus shipping and CA sales tax).

Just a word on Hollywood D.J. before I proceed…

Hollywood D.J. offers very competitive prices. Their advertised price on the Antari Diablo Flame Machine was actually $79.00 at the time I went to order it. However, they offer to beat any competitor's price. I referred them to buytronics that sells the Antari Diablo Flame Machine for $69.95. Hollywood D.J. agreed to sell me the Antari Diablo Flame Machine for $65! Hollywood D.J. now advertises the Antari Diablo Flame Machine for $69.99, but I'd simply ask them to beat buytronics price.

Hollywood D.J.'s shipping charges are very competitive as well. I ordered the Antari Diablo Flame Machine in conjunction with four gallons of fog fluid at the shipping was $6.47. Of course, the order was simply being shipped from Southern California to San Jose, but still $6.47 is cheap. The main reason that the shipping is so cheap is because the products are shipped in the manufacturers packaging. For example, the Antari Diablo Flame Machine package wasn't repackaged into a larger cardboard box. The Antari Diablo Flame Machine package does have some foam to protect the silk flame, but just beware.

I also want to mention that if you're considering ordering fog fluid from Hollywood D.J. please contact me first. I don't want to get into the whole story here, but suffice it to say that I expected four gallons of Antari fog fluid at $16 a gallon and, before everything was said and done, I had eight gallons of Electro Mart fog fluid and four gallons of Antari fog fluid. The good news is that I paid just over $8 a gallon for the twelve gallons of fog fluid. Anyway, contact me before you buy fog fluid from Hollywood D.J.

Back to silk flames…

I was very happy with the construction of the Flame Machine. It is very well built.

I was little underwhelmed by the actual flame effect, especially after just having seen the $200 Le Maitre Le Flame. I went back to what I feel really sets the Le Flame apart from the other silk flames: the fact that the flame consists of two pieces of silk, each with a different, wavy, pointed pattern.

I first tried the Flame Machine with the original Le Maitre Le Flame silks. I secured the Le Flame silks to the Flame Machine using a single pair of 1/2", disk-shaped magnets that I found on the refrigerator. Note that the silks should be applied back-to-back. The tips of the two silks should point in opposite directions.

The effect using the Le Flame silks was definitely more realistic than with the Flame Machine silk. The Le Flame silks result in an effect that is more three-dimensional. The resulting flame is more "wispy". The Flame Machine silk has more of a "rolling" effect. The only problem with the Le Flame silks was that they were a little small (in particular, too narrow) for the Flame Machine. To remedy the situation, I set out to make a slightly larger version of the Le Flame silks suitable for use with the Flame Machine. Of course, you should be able to use these custom silks in conjunction with any commercial or home grown silk flame.

I purchased a yard of "White Sun Silky", 100% anti-static polyester, SKU #481-0537, from Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts for $4.99. I couldn't find real, white silk with the same weight, sheen and texture as the Le Flame silks.

I purchased a 1/2" x 10' roll of Magna Card Peel 'N' Stick Magnetic Tape for $3.79.

I enlarged the original Le Flame silk patterns to a width of 8 1/2". These two pictures are hyperlinks to patterns of the enlarged version of the Le Maitre Le Flame. Note, these patterns should be actual size, approximately 8 1/2" wide and approximately 12" and 10 3/4" high, respectively (the "tips" of the pattern may not fit on the page and will have to be extrapolated).

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I traced the two enlarged patterns unto the yard of White Sun Silky and cut them out using a pair of sharp scissors. I actually cut eight pairs of silks from the yard of White Sun Silky and I still have plenty of fabric to spare.

I cut four 1 1/4" lengths of magnetic tape, removed the adhesive liner and applied the magnetic tape to each of the silks.

I attached the new silks to the Flame Machine, kicked back and enjoyed the show. I'm convinced that the $65 Flame Machine with this minor tweak is as effective as the $200 Le Flame. I was so impressed with the resulting effect that I ordered a second Flame Machine from Hollywood D.J.

Check out the Demon Wall Sconce page for a video of the custom silks in action. Judge for yourself. Did these $0.40 custom silks improve the overall effect?

A couple caveats…

I found that the fan in the Antari Diablo Flame Machine didn't always initially lift the two silks. On a few occasions, I had to manually lift one or both of the silks in order to get them started. Once they were started, they flickered fine.

I also found that the tip of the custom silks frayed. The fraying was limited to the very tip of the silks (even after several hours of use) and wasn't noticeable from even a close distance. The original Le Maitre Le Flame silks exhibited a similar degree of fraying.

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