Letter for the King (2020)


Mechanised special effect prop

The Netflix series ‘Letter for the King’ follows a young squire as he embarks on a quest to deliver a secret message holding the fate of the Kingdom.  At the centre of this tale lies a hero prop – an ornate canister containing the letter carried by the protagonist.

Our team took on the task to realise the clients vision and requirements for this receptacle. We delivered a clever, complex sprung loaded mechanized switch blade system.


When the cylindrical prop is wound the internal trigger is activated, mobilizing blades to spiral out from its centre. Wind the prop in the opposite direction, and the blades retract into a fully concealed position. Due to the adept design the prop was able to remain a fully functional cylinder.

The mechanism also produced an appealing slick blade, clock-work like sound when activated.

Our Human Dynamo team utilised in-house design and technology including 3D modelling, printing and moulding. Paint finishing bought the final look of the model in line with the series art direction.

Along with the fully functioning hero prop, we also created multiple replicas for the series filming.