Maltese Ball Shells

[Wiley]

I've always been intrigued by Maltese shells, and, as I learned more about them, I was pleasantly suprised by the discovery that the Maltese make ball shells in addition to their more famous cylinder shells. Videos of these ball shells show them to be of excellent quality: big round breaks, nicely synchronized color changes, pisils, etc.

 

Does anyone know anything more about these shells, things that would make them different from other round shells? The most obvious "difference" is the fact that they are given lift wraps just like cylinders. This is just out of curiosity .

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

The lift wraps are also done by the spaniards and italians, so it's more a mediterranean way of adding lift to the shell.

There is not known much about their skills and technique because they don't like to share their knowledge. It's their proud of making high quality shells, and they are only able of doing this because it's more like a hobby for them and the competition is big on the island hehe.

Their round shells are from a really high quality, most color shells start with a little charcoal tail, which is really nice. They are also masters in making ghost shells, have seen really nice ones a few weeks ago.

[dagabu]

They are also masters in making ghost shells, have seen really nice ones a few weeks ago.

 

Could you post some video of them please? I have only seen Japanese ghost shells to date.

 

-dag

[Mumbles]

There are a few of the ghost shells in these two demos from St. Mary's.

 

 

Maltese ball shells seem to be a relatively new phenomenon. I've only really started seeing them in the last 5-10 years. They've really come along way since the first few that I saw. As Freakydutchman said there is really very little information on them. I don't know much about Italian ball shells either. I know a very little about spanish shells, but nothing really of use. The little bits and pieces I've heard around are that the Maltese ball shells still use a maroon and sometimes a sabot to lift their shells. From that picture, and the square lift charge I'd guess it's just a maroon in those. Most of the other Mediterranean ball shells I've seen have more of a round bun of lift, similar to this image http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8QrPTc74bqg/TjnCevcfdbI/AAAAAAAAD3I/2fJTI5FGKWQ/s1600/bomb.jpg

[dagabu]

HOLY COW!!! Those shells are amazing, I feel such an amateur....

 

-dag

[a_bab]

Dagabu, it's not just you. It's the whole US that is amateur as compared to the skill of the Maltese craftwork.

Or any other country for that matter, minus Japan.

 

IMO Malta is the absolute best, the rest being just lousy copies (Japan is apart).

 

Malta will never cut the costs by using crappy things such as plastic cyl shell cases.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

This is some very nice footage you posted, Mumbles.

 

They seem to make use of pillbox stars (as seen in the shell displayed in the still of the 2nd video) I think. And those rings of bright insert salutes are a very pleasing sight. Are these the infamous "Beraq"? Forgive me, I´m a newb when it comes to maltese shell (in most fireworks areas in fact ). Is there a classic source on maltese shellmaking, such as Fulcanelli is one for the traditional italian type of canister?

[Mumbles]

You can see a nice Beraq shell at 1:10 in the second video.

 

There isn't a ton of information out there on the manufacture of these types of shells. The best resource I know of off hand is passfire. Maltese shells are typically loaded, spiked, and pasted individually, then assembled together into multibreaks. This is actually a very old Italian method that was brought to the island or adopted. There are a few books on the matter, but they are in Italian, and I can't for the life of me remember which one has it. The authors are de Francesco, di Maio, and Izzo. Izzo and de Francesco were published in relatively modern times, where as di Maio is from the late 19th to early 20th century.

[warthog]

Here is why we will never reach this level of our art, we NEVER EVER work as a team. It is so rare to find a group of people all working TOGETHER to make the absolute finest that the GROUP can accomplish as a TEAM. Instead, we all work alone, jealously trying to hide our "best" effects and work in order to see if we can not somehow outdo one another. There is no way to outdo a group mind all working towards the same goal if you are trying to do it by yourself. It takes a team. Heck if all you can do is make the black powder, that frees up the other more creative folks' TIME enabling them to excel. Even if that is all you DO, your ideas can still contribute to the group's ability to make something happen. We just can't seem to work together very well. On top of this a lot of this is family tradition, handed down through generations of people with each generation adding experience and new technologies to the art. We rarely have any sort of family traditions in this country. Maybe a few families do for a while but it is easily dropped by a single apathetic generation since there is no real weight behind it.

 

I am not all that competitive with others but I drive MYSELF hard to make myself make the best I can make. Others in a team may have what it takes to take it to the other teams and beat them. Another person in the group may hav e a great understanding of the chemistry so that what we all think up may be doable (or not). Another may see that there may be another approach to the idea that the originator can't see. This is the synergy of a team and what makes the Maltese TEAMS create such beautiful fireworks.

 

I'd say it would be different if I were licensed because I would start a team but it wouldn't. because Malta is also relatively small in size. That makes it a lot easier for one guy here to attract the attention of another guy on the other side of the island. The USA is HUGE so even if I did find a number of likeminded people, it is unlikely we would live in close enough proximity to work together. It would take a pure,stroke of luck given how thinly most of us are scattered around to find a good enough group of talent to reach this level.

 

In short, Malta has serendipitously found itself in that perfect position to raise fireworking to heights we can only dream of reaching.

 

IMO of course.

Edited May 16, 2012 by warthog

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

 

Really nice ghostshells at 3:30:

 

They have color flash beraqs and I have also "heard" dark flash beraqs (at 0:35):

Edited May 16, 2012 by FREAKYDUTCHMEN

[a_bab]

warthog, I cannot agree more: while in US the competition is focused on individual level, in Malta there are teams competing, with many members. The development of the recent round shells in Malta is incredible: it took them only few years to equal the Japonese counterparts, if I'm not wrong.

While ghostshells/pattern shells originate from Japan, I'm sure they will invent something in the round shells area eventually if they didn't already.

 

As an individual, how much time do you have to refine your skills? A lifetime? Actually not; even if in a club, you can't shoot and test the whole day long, for the entire year as these Maltese guys do. Best case scenario is a few months/year for a hardcore fireworker (a company owner usually) and a few days for the most. Then there is the cost issue: in Malta they don't seem to have a problem with that, while we stretch our chems as much as we can, we always look for cheaper formulas and so on. Hence the low quality of the colors, effects, etc.

 

More over the Maltese pyro art has religious roots, which can only insure the heritage over the generations and the continuous development.

 

 

As you said, Malta is simply put the best place on Earth for fireworks, and they do have the best fireworks, undoubtely.

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

I do not agree with the economical part, the average income there is a lot lower than that in the US or other western countries.

And we all know TR, so it sure is possible to make really nice creations as a hobbyist.

[warthog]

TR is one man. It happens also that he is a specialist in rocketry and what can be lifted atop one. No doubt though he is really good at what he does.

 

Hard to compare this to Malta were they make mines, wheels, set pieces, ball shells now as well as their own special cylinder shells. TR makes one thing really well, Maltese teams mAke every thing really well and if it hasn't been done before, they are likely the ones who will try it and make it work. I was also loathe to bring up the religious aspect of the heritage since most US citizens claim Christianity but are in fact CINOs* just trying to cover their bases. Again, it is another reason things get passed down there and not so much here.

 

Time? I have BOATLOADS of it and if I had been able to convince my buddy how much that would free up his limited time, I imagine I would still have a place to work. "Will do pyro drudge work for time to do my own work" is my motto. I would have been happy to churn out all the BP needed fr the summer plus coat the rice hulls to HIS specs and as much as he asked me to do, in fact if he knew what comps he wanted made into stars and I was able to do it, star plates, pumps and cut stars I can do well, just learning how to roll them and for some reason I simply cannot screen cut them period, I would have done those for him as well. All he would have had to do was make his shells and I was willing to do as much or as little of the stuff he wanted me to do as he asked for too.

 

Sort of like what an apprentice to one of these teams must have to do to get a chance to really get into the game if you understand. He told me he wanted to be left alone. All good and I left and now seek some land of my own on which I wold be most pleased to try and assemble a team. I love mines, set pieces, wheels and gerbs... GROUND ITEMS and dabble in ball shells. Most folks are all about the aerial stuff as it gets the most OOOHS & AAAAHS from the crowd. I wouldn't mind learning more about rocketry but it is way down on my list except for what I need to learn to make girandolas. Teamed up with at the very least a ball shell person and a cylinder sheller and you have the barest of teams as long as each member help the others with some of the grunt work. Add a grunt worker who wants to learn more and things get even better for the team. I think you can see ho this works out, eventually you have a good core of people who are able to work together to do things they could NEVER achieve on their own.

 

And now the money, a group has buying power that the individual lacks. Even those folks selling stuff on forums at a lower price want to make money on the deal so it isn't the BEST price you can get until it is YOU who are doing the bulk buying. It is a lot cheaper to by drums and bags of chemicals than pounds. It is even cheaper if you can buy multiples of those bags and drums, now pool the money and buy more than you need and yo are adding money to the pool with sales f your chemicals. This again makes the team work more efficiently and makes you better able to afford the best quality chemicals you can find. Unless you are independently wealthy, and I am not, this is achieved by teamwork alone. Also in Malta, the Church ain't poor. I bet if they are kicking in they have what they need when they need it. After all it is for the Glory of God.

 

Of course you aren't going to be able to change geography so Malta still wins this one.

The USA is unlikely to be able to get such a group in proximity of each other so they can actually pull this off...

 

 

*CINO=Christians in Name Only. They don't really believe, they just go to church and hope it will be enough if indeed there is a God. Something I do Believe,

Edited May 17, 2012 by warthog

[stckmndn]

For fuck's sake, shut up. Tom is a PGI Grandmaster 3 times over. Why you choose to belittle him is beyond me. A rocket specialist? Get a fucking grip warthog.

 

Your enthusiasm knows no bounds. Dial it back about 1000% and you'll keep a friend or two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dagabu]

Not wanting to interrupt your dialog, I do have a couple things that TR told me that I want to share.

 

TR is not a rocket guy, he will be the very first person to tell you this. Hie sole purpose in using rockets at all is to deliver his shells in the proper orientation, in that regard, he excels over the Maltese. TR is not a large shell maker, he keeps shells to about 3" or smaller (most of the time) so that he can lift them with his mule of a motor.

 

TR is a master, a grandmaster a few times over but he is more of a machinist master and he makes one of a kind tools to make his shells.

If I were to compare Maltese shells with TR's shells, I would have to say that the four break beraq shells with a thousand reports is at the top of my list but that is like comparing the Queen Mary II to a

42X Ducati cigarette boat. Pound for pound, TR's shells beat the piss out of Maltese shells but TR's shells will never equal the overall WOW factor of the 80k salamis that are launched at festival.

They should be kept separate and enjoyed independently, no need to draw comparisons here.

-dag

[warthog]

OK, I will give you this then, TR makes really nice shells. I do think this is true and I do like his work. He is truly talented and I wish I could met the man. I don't think I have belittled him by saying what I have either. Ned and others are really good at what they do too...

 

Still isn't like a Matese team. What I am saying here is a team is always going to beat a single man. Not that there isn't a place for both. Just that an American team would be hard to make happen due to the factors already stated.

 

As for Stickkman's comment. What can I say except I don't want your friendship. In fact this isn't about me at all. It is about the attitude you yourself show. Do you think a single person on Passfire thinks highly of you? I believe they'd rather here from me than you. So have yourself a little self reflection as well and see if that isn't true.

 

I guess this is about as far as I can take this since it is pretty clear most folks are as self absorbed as I am saying they are and simply cannot see what it is being said. If you really think one person in one lifetime can make fireworks at the same level as a team of people who have their art passed to them through the generations, I don't know what else to do but post more videos showing what they can do verses what what we do alone. If you can even find any really spectacular videos showing what we do alone that compare to a Matese show.

 

Remember if you decide to start posting videos, they have to be from a single person's efforts using their own materials, not store bought, and it has to be on par with a Maltese(or Italian or Spanish or American or any other TEAMS) show meaning it has to cover every manner of pyro from ground to air.

Edited May 19, 2012 by warthog

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

This is getting an annoying discussion here. Too bad because the maltese fireworks aren't worth such kind of a discussion.

[warthog]

may I suggest you simply not follow it Mr. FreakyD?

=========================================

note the separator, the follow is not to anyone in particular.

 

I was simply making a point and since it is a true one no one seems to like it.

 

I am sorry you can't accept the truth. It is a common failing.

 

This is not directed at anyone in particular, just those who can't see the concept that a single person cannot begin to compete against a team of them.

Edited May 20, 2012 by warthog

[MikeB]

may I suggest you simply not follow it Mr. FreakyD?

=========================================

note the separator, the follow is not to anyone in particular.

 

I was simply making a point and since it is a true one no one seems to like it.

 

I am sorry you can't accept the truth. It is a common failing.

 

This is not directed at anyone in particular, just those who can't see the concept that a single person cannot begin to compete against a team of them.

 

Warty, I agree with you to an extent in principle, but not as a whole. True any team can outproduce an individual. But production does not equate to talent. I am confident to say that there are a number of individuals who I know in the US that could go head to head with anyone from Malta or Japan. Your point is well taken though.

[warthog]

And I agree with you on that as well. No doubt that the talent is there for a single person to go head to head with any other single person.

 

I still think though that a team of talent will not just out produce but out talent across a spectrum of what we do rather than a specific single thing, that of the efforts of a single person.

 

Maybe I am wrong but there is not likely to be a real test of this anyway.

 

Thank you.

Edited May 20, 2012 by warthog

[fredhappy]

Gentlemen...I have been reading this thread with a growing feeling of disappointment.

 

This thread started off with an interesting question from wiley in regard to the construcion of Maltese shells. Freaky replies and explains some stuff. He has actually been there this year , shot some footage for us to enjoy and generally knows a lot of stuff about pyrotecnics. I enjoy reading his factual information in regard to the first question.

 

Mumbles posts some interesting clips, very nice, I liked those.

 

Then Mr warthog feels the need to make a lengthy monologue about group effort, and why Americans never work as a team and so on. Instead of talking about the interesting subject of Maltese shells, the discussion derails into an (uninteresting) personal view about cliches like "it's all about team effort " and some nostalgic ( religious) opinions.

 

Freaky then posts some of his personal footage . He has actually been to Malta this year. He saw the Maltese fireworks. I thought that was a nice contribution and made an interesting reading. Unfortunately instead of instigating an interesting on topic discussion with this actual footage taken this year it gets even worse.The name of TR comes up, and instead of positively looking at his beautiful contributions as something to learn from, this even sparks more comparing why he is only good at one thing and why "group synergy"is better.

 

This forum used to be filled with knowledgeable folks . They uploaded nice clips of quality ballshells, posted construction pictures and were strictly on topic. Replied to questions in regard to their creations. They never indulged in very boring personal views like : I sat around a campfire with..I talked to ....I am not a CINO, I believe in God..He is a lesser believer then me, I am a true believer..this or that happened to my sister/mother/other family member. .Who gives a f*ck about that stuff, I thought this forum is supposed to be about pyrotechnics. One could say "don't read it then ", but the point is I come here to read about interesting pyrotechnic stuff. And more and more I have to delve through these endless threads filled with opinions and half truths in search of something interesting.

 

Nowadays it's all about yibber yabber here. Endless threads filled with personal opinions. The ones that talk the most never upload any interesting stuff they made themselves. And a construction picture without a videoclip with the final result is not the same, I have seen those pictures a million times but rarely a clip of firing that device is posted.

 

I used to upload everything I shoot onto this forum. I shoot on a weekly/2 weekly basis the whole year through . I stopped uploading my stuff here because it costed me a lot of time and I felt it did not result in interesting discussions. Do not get me wrong, there are some very nice and knowledgeable folks around here. BJV, 50AE, Freakydutchman, Seymour, vh718, Marks265 and so on . They make stuff, post it, stay on topic, and their postings always make an interesting reading. Never do these people indulge in any boring personal views or namedropping.

 

In regard to this whole "team effort" thing I have to say I disagree. Sure a team has more possibilities, and grass is also green. Water is wet. That remark is such a cliche thing in my opinion. It is possible for one person to achieve a high level of quality. It is all about testing , trying and filming, and not about sitting around and talking about it . Last year I made a show for a large party, I think it turned out nicely. I uploaded the HD clips and posted some construcion pictures here to share with the community. I made everything myself, I am not in a "team"or something. I like to read and try and not talk and yabber about my personal views. This is not the Oprah or Dr Phil show, I thought this forum was about pyrotechnic stuff.

 

I never reply to these threads, but this time I felt compelled to do so. I felt it was such a shame that such an interesting subject ( Maltese fireworks) derails into something so personal and uninteresting such as religious believes and typical chiches.

Edited May 20, 2012 by fredhappy

[dagabu]

A nice showing of some larger Maltese balls shells.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3N5wSu149o

 

 

-dag

[Potassiumchlorate]

Splendid!

 

Does anyone have a clue about their compositions?

[warthog]

No clue as it is tradition and no one talks. Perhaps one so exalted as you could guess for all of us?

Yibber yabber, is not what I was doing but that is indeed you opinion of it and you are entitled.

 

I find it pretty amazing that if I have an opinion about something pyro I am supposed to keep quiet about it since Mr KCLO3 fredhappy has decided he doesn't care. He also claims he is as good as a Maltese team which I doubt having read his posts and seen some of his videos of him lighting a star on the ground. I have no doubt he is talented but as talented as a team of talent?

 

This is a simple concept, in fact it apparently is cliché (which means it is well accepted it as truth) yet even he argues he is as good as a group/team?

 

What makes it funny is I had already said I was done. Yet FreakyDutchman felt need to give me grief. AGAIN, I HAD FINISHED, (Note the Thank You denoting I was done) and again I am met with a diatribe from Pottasiumchlorate (forgive, I meant fredhappy) who apparently is a god among men and feels he should make sure I understand I am to keep my place here.

 

Perhaps if you do not wish to debate a subject you should not try to do so?

Edited May 24, 2012 by warthog

[Potassiumchlorate]

Excuse me? I'm not into this arguing at all. I was commenting on the shells in dagabu's post.