My Dumb Projects
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
  Code Geass: Emperor Lelouch's Sword
I was commissioned to make the sword of Emperor LeLouch from Code Geass. A scabbard to fit it was also requested.



Since the blade is so thin, I decided to make it from a solid piece of 3/4" maple. I cut the side profile on the table saw.



I then tapered the thickness of the blade using the belt sander.



I used a hand plane to bevel the edges of the blade.



I cut a slot in the top of the blade big enough to insert a 1/2" copper pipe which will serve as the handle.



I cut 1/2" MDF for the guard, running bolts through all the pieces to hold them together.



I cut the wings from 1/4" poplar and filled the gap between the MDF with more poplar.



The guard was getting too thick, so I re-cut it in 1/4" thick MDF.



Once everything was bolted and glued together, I puttied up the seams.



To further reduce thickness, I also re-cut the outer trim from 1/4" poplar. These also cover the bolts.



I routered out some shallow holes in the sides of the blade to hold the gems. I also cut some thin plastic to smooth out the bottom of the hole.



I made the blade gems using 1/4" acrylic, shaping it with a Dremel sanding drum.



After sanding, the gem was smoothed with a buffing wheel.



I cut trim from styrene and glued them to the holes.



The feathers on the wings were scribed using an Xacto knife.



The handle trim was made by heating and wrapping thin styrene strips.



Once it was wrapped around, it was trimmed flush. The ends were heated again and the soft plastic welds together.



The plastic trim was glued to the handle.



The pommel was a wooden drawer knob, secured with a threaded rod.



The hilt gems were cut from 1/4" red acrylic. The base was cut from thick styrene.



I glued mylar wrapping paper to the back of all the gems.



I painted the hilt in two gold tones.



When I got a shipping estimate, I found that the sword was too long to ship cross country for a reasonable price. I decided to cut the blade in half.



Fortunately there is a natural color split at the halfway point so the split wouldn't be too noticeable.



I drilled each end and glued an aluminum dowel into one side.



Back together! The client will epoxy it when he gets it.



The round beads were purchased and painted but I made the long beads from maple.



I glued some string into the end of the long bead and strung the round beads and grommet onto it.



I cut the sides of the scabbard from 3/4" MDF.



The top and bottom of the scabbard was made from 1/4" MDF. I glued in some fake suede lining into each side.



Once the sides were glued together, the MDF was sealed and the edges beveled.



I added two rings to the scabbard so that it could be worn from a belt.



I added styrene trim to the opening. I moved the trim away from the opening to protect the sword from getting scratched.



I added a heat formed styrene end cap to the scabbard.



The beads were glued to each side of the hilt.



The final hilt.



The finished sword in scabbard.



The sword outside the scabbard. The sword itself is over 5 feet long.

 
Comments:
How did you cut the maple at that angle? And by the way great work!
 
Thanks! I have a board that I screw down the maple at the angle I need to cut it. The support board rides along the fence on the table saw.
 
oh that makes sense cool thanks!
 
Wow, this is beautiful. What thickness of styrene do you use to form with your heat gun? I just bought a heat gun and have some thin styrene that I was using as a test, but I found it melted/warped too easily.
 
I believe that was fairly thin at .06 but I've been able to form up to .125. I does take some practice. You want the plastic to be floppy but if its browning and turning glossy, it's probably too hot. Don't be afraid to work in stages. Heat it once to make the major shape, reheat the whole thing or parts to refine it. It's pretty forgiving.
 
About how much did this cost the guy who asked for it? And I'm sure you as an artisan would not like doing it again but I'd like something like this lol.
 
I don't like to reveal other people's business but just fill out the estimate form and I'll work up a price for you!
 
I saw you have Pepakura stuff for some of your projects do you happen to have a .pdo for this project? I doubt it but I'd like to get a hold of the file to build it like that if possible.
 
I built this one from plans. I use Pepakura when it's a form that's difficult to realize using conventional techniques.
 
Hi,
I did not know how to contact you.
I came here through volpin's blog.
I saw your vacuum formed visor you made for volpin's daft punk helmet. it is so well made!

I am an art student, and I have access to a vacuum former, but the plastic sheet would not cover the mold very well. it keeps folding itself and creates ugly wrinkles. I used 0.06" by the way.
Any tips on how you made the visor using vacuum former would be helpful. thank you so much!
 
Hi Phillip, I had the same problems. I eventually added wood blocks around the form so that the excess was taken up by the blocks. Leave air holes exposed around your form and then place your blocks. You may also be heating up your plastic too much. I had about a 6" sag in a 2 ft x 2 ft piece. Vac forming is more voodoo than science, I think!

I do have a Yahoo instant Message link on my profile page if you have any other questions. Good luck.
 
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These are all the dumb things I find myself obsessed with building when I SHOULD be doing something more productive.

As a kid I built lots of plastic model kits, never knowing that one day those skills would actually be of use.

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