My Dumb Projects
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tenchi Muyo!: Tenchi's sword
I was commissioned to create the hilt of Tenchi sword from the anime series Tenchi Muyo! This weapon creates a lightsaber-like blade (which I will not be building!)
After sizing my template to fit the wielder's hand, I cut it out of 3/4" MDF.
With a combination of exacto blade and Dremel, I carved the pattern into the MDF.
I didn't have any reference for the back so I extrapolated the front pattern to wrap around the other side.
Once it was cleaned up I painted my base colors with acrylic paint.
The wood grain on the butt was hand-painted to preserve an organic look.
I then took the base color and dusted back the lines.
I added 11mm ruby acrylic gems to each side and applied a wash to bring out the details of the carving.
The final front view
The final back view.
The prop in action!
¶ 4:25 PM 4 comments
After sizing my template to fit the wielder's hand, I cut it out of 3/4" MDF.
With a combination of exacto blade and Dremel, I carved the pattern into the MDF.
I didn't have any reference for the back so I extrapolated the front pattern to wrap around the other side.
Once it was cleaned up I painted my base colors with acrylic paint.
The wood grain on the butt was hand-painted to preserve an organic look.
I then took the base color and dusted back the lines.
I added 11mm ruby acrylic gems to each side and applied a wash to bring out the details of the carving.
The final front view
The final back view.
The prop in action!
¶ 4:25 PM 4 comments
Code Geass: Cornelia Li Britannia's SwordGun
I was commissioned to make Cornelia's weapon from the anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.
The guard pieces were cut from 1/4" poplar.
The pieces were glued together and sanded smooth. I left a little on each end to attach to the grip and basket guard.
The grip was cut from 1/2" MDF with 1/8 MDF grip plates. In order to later insert the trigger and other parts, I needed to be able to split it in half.
The basket guard was made from four 1/2" MDF sections. Each side's parts were laminated together and then each half was lightly glued for shaping.
Using the belt sander and Dremel I started to shape the basket guard.
After the rough shaping was done, I hand sanded it smooth.
I used the Dremel to hollow out the back of the basket.
To make the trim, I used an Exacto knife to trace the outline and then carved out the recessed areas.
The barrel was cut from a plain ol' pine 2x4.
After the board was cut to width, I cut the two 45º on top and then Dremeled out a slot for the front sight.
I then cut a slot on the bottom for the blade.
The bottom 45º of the barrel were cut on the table saw (at great risk) leaving the last 5 inches to manually shape. Inserted is the .060 plastic that perfectly fits the kerf of my table saw!
The plastic was then cut to shape. An edge was scraped using a pocket knife, as illustrated in my Spartan sword entry.
The grips were shaped. sanded and trimmed as the basket guard was.
The completed barrel and basket guard!
I pried apart the basket guard halves in preparation for connecting it to the other parts.
I hollowed out a recess for the trigger to operate.The trigger was cut from plastic, swivels on a nail and pushed forward by an ink pen spring.
The final assembly. The cylindrical part of the receiver was lathed from wood.
I used MDF to make a support for some some decorative plates that appear in front of the basket guard.
The decorative plates were cut from .060 plastic with a trim cut from .040 plastic.
I picked up some mirror rosettes to use as a round element on the basket. I substituted an nail for the center screw.
I didn't care for the way the block was looking co I made a MDF curved addition to make the visual transition to the barrel smoother.
The final painted piece!
Detail of the basket area
Detail of the pistol grip. I drilled a small hole in the butt post in case there was a need for a lanyard.
Muzzle detail. The barrel hole only extends 1" inside.
The pistol in relation to a hand. Pretty comfy!
The prop in action!
¶ 1:22 PM 3 comments
The guard pieces were cut from 1/4" poplar.
The pieces were glued together and sanded smooth. I left a little on each end to attach to the grip and basket guard.
The grip was cut from 1/2" MDF with 1/8 MDF grip plates. In order to later insert the trigger and other parts, I needed to be able to split it in half.
The basket guard was made from four 1/2" MDF sections. Each side's parts were laminated together and then each half was lightly glued for shaping.
Using the belt sander and Dremel I started to shape the basket guard.
After the rough shaping was done, I hand sanded it smooth.
I used the Dremel to hollow out the back of the basket.
To make the trim, I used an Exacto knife to trace the outline and then carved out the recessed areas.
The barrel was cut from a plain ol' pine 2x4.
After the board was cut to width, I cut the two 45º on top and then Dremeled out a slot for the front sight.
I then cut a slot on the bottom for the blade.
The bottom 45º of the barrel were cut on the table saw (at great risk) leaving the last 5 inches to manually shape. Inserted is the .060 plastic that perfectly fits the kerf of my table saw!
The plastic was then cut to shape. An edge was scraped using a pocket knife, as illustrated in my Spartan sword entry.
The grips were shaped. sanded and trimmed as the basket guard was.
The completed barrel and basket guard!
I pried apart the basket guard halves in preparation for connecting it to the other parts.
I hollowed out a recess for the trigger to operate.The trigger was cut from plastic, swivels on a nail and pushed forward by an ink pen spring.
The final assembly. The cylindrical part of the receiver was lathed from wood.
I used MDF to make a support for some some decorative plates that appear in front of the basket guard.
The decorative plates were cut from .060 plastic with a trim cut from .040 plastic.
I picked up some mirror rosettes to use as a round element on the basket. I substituted an nail for the center screw.
I didn't care for the way the block was looking co I made a MDF curved addition to make the visual transition to the barrel smoother.
The final painted piece!
Detail of the basket area
Detail of the pistol grip. I drilled a small hole in the butt post in case there was a need for a lanyard.
Muzzle detail. The barrel hole only extends 1" inside.
The pistol in relation to a hand. Pretty comfy!
The prop in action!
¶ 1:22 PM 3 comments
