Version 1.1 (April, 20, 2011)
This is our main Frequently Asked Questions section.
Here we will try to answer the most common questions our past customers have asked us. If your unable to find the answer your looking for then please feel free to Contact Us directly with your question or comment. We will gladly respond as soon as we possibly can.
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[1] Do I have to sign up to place an order?
[2] How can I get a shipping cost estimate?
[3] What methods of payment do you accept?
[4] Do you offer payment plans?
[5] Do you offer discounts?
[6] What is your refund policy?
[7] What are 'Prosthetics' or 'Latex Appliances'?
[8] What is the difference between 'Hot Foam', 'Cold Foam', 'Slush/Slip' cast latex?
[9] Can I eat or drink while wearing the prosthetics?
[10] What type of adhesives and removers for prosthetics do you offer?
[11] The prosthetic I want isn’t in stock. How long does it take to make it?
[12] The teeth on my prosthetic look a little bumpy. What happened?
[13] What type of makeup do you recommend for use with prosthetics?
[14] Can you make me a custom __???__ prosthetic / mask or other item?
[15] I like __???__ Prosthetic, but I only want a part of it. Can I order that part alone?
[16] Why do you make so many animal type prosthetics?
[17] I am a LARPER, which prosthetics are best?
[18] I’m putting on a production of __???__ and I’m unsure which pieces are best. Can you help?
[19] Which conventions do you attend?
[20] Do you have an application guide?
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Do I have to sign up to place an order? |
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Not necessarily. You may place your order by sending us a direct e-mail request, this is useful mostly for custom orders. However for regular order for items available in our store, by signing up for the shopping cart you help to make things much simpler and avoid wrong addresses or misspelled names, and speed your order through. It also allows you to leave feedback and reviews on our products. Direct e-mails are best used for custom orders, though if you have any comments or questions you can always contact us at any time. We will gladly respond as quickly as possible to your e-mails. |
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How can I get a shipping cost estimate? |
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From your shopping cart there
is a button labeled 'Estimate Shipping'. By using this button, a
pop-up window will open where you enter you location, and your shipping
options will be presented. You do NOT need to sign up with us to
obtain shipping estimates. NOTE: Rarely, Canada Post's servers may be down for short periods for maintenance. During this time you may not be able to use the shipping estimator. Though this is rare, In this event please e-mail us for a shipping quote, or you may try again in an hour or so. |
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What methods of payment do you accept? |
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We can accept many forms of payment.
We accept Cash, Checks, Money Orders, Credit Cards, PayPal, C.O.D.'s
and Purchase Orders.
We can also offer Payment Plans. Cash: We can accept cash for local pickups or in person at events that we attend. We DO NOT accept cash through the mail. NEVER mail cash. We are not responsible for any payments that are lost or stolen made in this way. Checks: We accept checks including personal checks or cashiers checks. All checks MUST be made out to either 'Jason Harrison' or 'Mark Plozzer' in order for us to accept it. Checks that come from within Canada will take up to 5 business days to clear... Checks that originate internationally will take 21 business days to clear... Money Orders: Money orders such as Western Union, USPS or others are also accepted. Money Orders must be made out to either 'Jason Harrison' or 'Mark Plozzer' or we can not accept it. Money Orders that come from within Canada will take up to 5 business days to clear... Money Orders that originate internationally will take 21 'business' days to clear... For customers from the U.S.A, Payment by USPS International Postal Money Orders (Pink Ones) can be cleared the fastest along with Western Union Money Orders. Credit Cards & PayPal: We accept all major Credit Cards through PayPal's SECURE online service. You can also transfer funds directly from your PayPal account. Customers DO NOT require an account with PayPal in order to use Credit Cards. No PayPal? No problem! Here's how to order with a Credit Card... Upon checkout of the cart select your payment option as PayPal. you will see the following screen...  (Click To See Image) Select the link marked "Don't have a PayPal account?" From there you will be directed to a page where you can enter in your Credit Card information. Our cart should enter most of the shipping information in automatically. Once you have entered your Credit Card information, and verified the information simply click 'Submit'. That's it! Your should soon after receive a confirmation e-mail from us that your payment has been accepted. Payments made through this service offer 'Fraud Protection' against unauthorized purchases. Your information is kept 100% private and secure. NorthFur FX will NEVER see your Credit Card information. The transaction is secured, and your private financial information is not visible to anyone outside of PayPal and your Personal Bank. C.O.D.'s: (Canada Only) Cash On Delivery's are offered to our Canadian Customers only. Unfortunately we can not accept this form of payment from the U.S or international destinations due to postal service limitations. If you have any questions about payments or other payment options we can offer you then please feel free to contact us at any time. We will try to respond to you as quickly as possible. Interac E-Mail Money Transfer: (Canada Only) For customers in Canada who bank with the "Big Five" (TD, RBC, CIBC, Scotia Bank, BMO), We can accept payments directly from your online banking. For more information about this method please visit Interac Online. Payments by this method require you to contact us prior to use. Purchase Orders (Institutions Only) We make Purchase Orrders avalible to selected institutions such as Schools or Theatrical orginizations. If this is your prefered method of payment you will need to contact us prior to placing your order. |
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Do you offer payment plans? |
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Yes! We do offer payment plans for custom orders over $300.00. Most orders for commissions require only an initial down payment for cost of materials. Payment plans are suited to your needs and can be discussed in detail upon contacting us. The down payments for most commissions are NON-Refundable as it covers the raw material costs. |
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Do you offer discounts? |
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Yes! We do, see our 'Discount Information' for more information. It can be found on our navigation menu. |
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What is your refund policy? |
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We can only offer refunds for clean UNUSED prosthetics. It is unsanitary for us to re-sell used prosthetics. We can also exchange clean UNUSED prosthetics for other prosthetics. This is to help accommodate incorrect sizing. We can not refund any other items due to the custom nature of all of our items. Most items are produced solely for your order. We will refund any item that has been deemed defective, though we'll gladly replace or repair it. We can NOT refund the cost of shipping under any circumstances.. In certain cases there may be a restocking fee of up to 5%. |
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What are 'Prosthetics' or 'Latex Appliances'? |
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Prosthetics, or latex appliances, are pieces made of slip/slush cast latex, hot foam latex or cold foam latex that are usually adhered to your face with an adhesive, and blended in to your skin with makeup to seamlessly appear as one piece. They are the professional standard for Television / Movies and the Theatrical industry. |
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What is the difference between 'Hot Foam', 'Cold Foam', 'Slush/Slip' cast latex? |
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Slush or slip cast latex is liquid latex
that is poured into our moulds and through a build-up of layers
create the prosthetics or masks. The result is a hollow latex shell.
In the case of prosthetics, they have thin edges, while masks will
have thicker edges. These hollow shells are glued to your face only
around the edges. They are best suited for use for background characters,
or anyone with few lines. They are tough and durable, lasting a
dozen or more applications and usually don’t need a remover since
they can be peeled off like band-aids. They are flexible and will
move with the mouth and some expressions, but they aren’t as flexible
or as expressive as hot foam latex. Since they are hollow, if they’re
improperly applied, they can muffle the voice and make it sound
nasal due to echoing. Hot foam latex is a foam latex that is whipped up, poured into our moulds, assembled with a face core and then placed in an oven to bake for a few hours. The result is a soft filled foam piece. They have thin edges and can be glued down completely to your face since it comes into more contact with more surface area than just the edges. These are best suited for main characters or for anyone with a lot of signing and lines. Since they are filled, there will be no problems with echoing. Foam latex is extremely flexible and expressive and will give the liveliest performance. However, foam latex is more fragile and can tear, so it requires a remover to remove the pieces. They have a lifespan of about 10-12 applications. Cold foam latex is an expanding polyurethane foam (A-B Foam) that is sandwiched between slush cast latex layers. The result is a filled foam piece with thick edges. This type of material is best suited for mask making, props and anything that needs to be static as it’s the least flexible of all materials we use. It’s the best basis for making costume heads that are furred since it can be flexible, yet solid enough to hold its shape. It’s also durable with the slush/slip cast latex skin, masks made with cold foam could last for 5 years or more. It’s not suitable for being glued on like a prosthetic. |
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Can I eat or drink while wearing the prosthetics? |
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Yes! Eating and drinking is not a problem. It's a matter of what you eat, and how you drink. It's best to eat bite-sized and non-messy foods and to drink from bottles and use straws. |
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What type of adhesives and removers for prosthetics do you offer? |
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We offer
ProAdhere Adhesive which is Pros-Aid and
Liquid Latex. We also offer
Pros-Aid
Remover. Note: All Liquids, such as adhesives and removers are available on our site only during warmer months of the year, and is subject to climate conditions in your area to prevent freezing. If any of these items freeze, they will be ruined. |
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The prosthetic I want isn’t in stock. How long does it take to make it? |
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Slush / Slip cast latex prosthetics take 2-3 days to dry in their moulds per copy. Hot foam latex prosthetics take about 1 day to make a copy, with a maximum of 3 copies per day of any single piece. Cold foam latex pieces take about 1 day to make as well with a maximum of 2 copies per day of any single piece. If you have an order for multiple copies of a single item, please be aware it’ll take more time to make more copies of the single piece. |
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The teeth on my prosthetic look a little bumpy. What happened? |
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In certain moulds with built-in teeth, air bubbles can form in the teeth where they won’t turn out. Usually it’s the only part that won’t turn out and it’s unrealistic to throw away the entire piece over a few small air bubbles in the teeth. We will usually repair the teeth with a build-up of slush cast latex, or sometimes we’ll use cotton with the latex to build it up if there is too much missing of a tooth. |
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What type of makeup do you recommend for use with prosthetics? |
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Almost any makeup will work with
prosthetics. Grease or oil based makeup as well as water based makeup
will work well on prosthetics. Even regular cosmetic makeup will
work on prosthetics. Brands such as BenNye, Kryolan, Mehron, to
name a few, will provide the best quality. Avoid tubes of 'Halloween' makeup sold in department stores or pharmacies, as they tend to stain and flake off. Oil based makeup adversely affects latex.. Over time oil will degrade the latex and weaken it. If you plan to use the same prosthetic for several months keep this in mind. We offer PaxPaint as another makeup option, it's a blend of Pros-Aid adhesive and Acrylic Paint. This results in a flexible and very durable paint that will require a lot of scrubbing or remover to take off. |
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Can you make me a custom __???__ prosthetic / mask or other item? |
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We can make just about anything.
Masks, heads, gloves, costumes, prosthetics… there are many possibilities.
We prefer avoiding making anything resembling copyrighted characters.
When we get requests for new prosthetic/mask pieces, we can either make it completely custom, semi-custom or generic. When something is completely custom, it’s where we absolutely must use your face cast and/or what we make absolutely cannot be copied, where you retain the rights to the moulds, then we’ll generally charge full price for sculpting and casting of the piece since we won’t ever sell copies of the piece again. Prices depend on the size and detail of the piece. When something is semi-custom or generic, we only will need to charge a portion for any sculpting or assemble something with our existing pieces. We retain the rights to the moulds where we make as many copies as we have orders demanding them. For example, say you wanted something fairly common, like a fox head mask. It would at that point be fairly generic since we have a fox muzzle, or can sculpt a new one to add to our catalogue. No new major sculpting and casting means no sculpting or casting fees for such a request. The fees in this case would be used to cover the production materials. But if you wanted something obscure, like a Lemur head mask, or a mask based off of your own copyrighted character that you didn’t want any copies of it circulating, then it would be completely custom as we won’t have sales ever again for that type of head or if you need to retain control and rights over your design. |
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I like __???__ Prosthetic, but I only want a part of it. Can I order that part alone? |
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Yes, you can. This is quite easy for us to do. However that would require you to contact us to place your order manually. |
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Why do you make so many animal type prosthetics? |
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We simply prefer making animals. There aren’t many available and it comes up very often in plays and LARPs and even in fandoms that people would want animal characters. Witches and devils and demons have been done time and time again by many other companies, yet no one has taken the time to make a horse, a frog or even any beaks. We prefer the fantasy side of costuming over gore. |
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I am a LARPER, which prosthetics are best? |
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Any prosthetic with a shorter muzzle will be best since it’s less protruding from your face and will be less likely to be hit by a boffer weapon. The type of material depends on your preference and budget. |
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I’m putting on a production of __???__ and I’m unsure which pieces are best. Can you help? |
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Contact us, we’ll work with you closely to determine which size of which pieces would be the most suitable and try to work within your budget. |
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Which conventions do you attend? |
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We usually attend Anime North' in May in Toronto, ON, Canada. We are trying to attend more conventions each year. |
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Do you have an application guide? |
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Yes we do, it is available online here. it outlines the general steps to apply a prosthetic with adhesive and makeup. |
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