Super Smash Bros Brawl: Marth's sword and scabbard
I was commissioned to make Marth's sword and scabbard from the video game Super Smash Bros Brawl. Timing was short so there were a few short cuts.
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I cut a groove through two sheets of 1/4" poplar to house a 5/16" steel rod.
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I glued the wood together around the blade.
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I cut the outer layer of the blade from two more pieces of poplar, including the inner slot.
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I glued the outer layers around the inner layers.
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Here you can see how the layers fit together.
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With some tricky table saw work, I was able to cut the bevels on the blade leaving a 1/8 edge. And I still have all my fingers!
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The drawings show the sword with a flat diamond at the tip but that would've made the point much stubbier. I decided to keep the profile accurate and bevel the tip.
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I lathed the grip from a pine dowel.
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The cross guard was cut from several thicknesses of MDF.
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The MDF was shaped with belt sander, dremel and file to get the appropriate facets.
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I cut the pommel piece from two layers of MDF and a channel for the rod. The facets were shaped on a belt sander.
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I used my mini-vacformer to shape .09 plastic around each half.
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I then cut the raised trim from the plastic shells.
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The finished pommel, all puttied and coated in primer.
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Since I didn't have time for drying, I painted the sword with acrylic paints. I found a great gold that looks as good as the enamel metallics!
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For the pommel gems, I cut the shapes from 1/4" green acrylic.
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I shaped it into a dome with the belt sander and Dremel...
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more sanding with finer grit paper.....
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...until finally buffing the gem to a glossy shine!
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I used the same process for the large hilt gem, making it from laminated red acrylic.
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Here are all the primer coated pieces together for a test fit. Obviously this was before the painting, but it didn't make sense to reveal it earlier.
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With sword done, I could start on the scabbard. I cut the outer shape from MDF, leaving room for a lining, and glued the walls.
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I used the scrap pieces from cutting the blade angle to make the inside fit better.
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The box lid with the edges rounded with a router.
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The tip of the scabbard was made from 1/8 MDF glued in place.
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Time allowing, I might have made the design inset but glueing thin plastic to the surface had nearly the same appearance.
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I heat formed thick plastic bands around the opening.
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More heat formed details.
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Since the scabbard need to be wearable, I needed a metal "belt loop". I had an old hard drive sled that would work.
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I cut off a piece that had the right shape.
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A bit of wresting over a vise and I've got a 1-1/2" loop! It was attached with 1/4" screw posts.
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Here is is in place on the back of the scabbard.
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With the bracket glued in, I glued in the black felt lining. The box could then be glued together and assembled.
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Here is the final scabbard. The blue and gold details were cut out of thin plastic.
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The final sword.
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