Here is a Levin Sword that I put together for a friend's cosplay at FanExpoCanada 2016. Submitting it now for the #CostumeChallenge
The bill of materials is relatively short:
Half-Remembered Step-By-Step Instructions
- Once the parts are printed you'll want to glue them together.
I used epoxy resin and put it together in 2 halves first. - Then I superglued the LED strip into place and lined the halves up.
- Then I cursed myself for not paying closer attention to which parts coincided with which parts, took one side apart, put it back together, then glued both halves together.
- Next I glued the gems on, measured how much of the metal rod I would need to insert into the main body & grip to strengthen that join and glued that in place too.
- After this it came time to fill all the gaps in the joins
Since I wanted it to allow light through I used layer after layer after layer of epoxy resin to build up the areas that had gaps/dips in the body until they were flush with the rest of the sword. This part took the longest by far, please do this in a suitably ventilated area and with a respirator, lungs are important OK? - Once the gaps were filled and I was happy with the state of the sword I hung it from the rafters in my garage and applied a layer of XTC3D in an attempt to get the surface as smooth as possible.
- After this had dried I sanded it by hand with some high grit sandpaper to smooth it out as much as I could.
- It was at this point that I dropped it on the arm of my chair and snapped it in half, tearing the LED strip in the process. I would advise against following this particular step.
- If you did not skip the previous step you'll need to take a rotary tool and cut away 2 sections of the blade on either side, find the broken contact in the led strip and repair it with a soldering iron and some wire, all the while re-printing the pieces that you cut away and cursing the fact that you dropped it.
- After the sword is sanded flat and you are happy with how it looks, it's time to mask it off for paint.
You can see in the attached pictures how I masked mine off, it's not a work of art but it got the job done - I used a single layer of Valspar Pewter Hobby Enamel on the blade as I quite like the metallic effect it gives.
- The non-blade parts were Valspar Brass
- Next I used a thin faux leather strip to wrap the handle to give it a more authentic look, this is quite easy but I think it looks great.
- At this stage everything was ready, so I put some batteries in and realised I had way too much wire inside the handle for the pommel to close flush with the body.
- I took some dupont connectors and cut them as necessary, then soldered male/female ends to the appropriate pins on the switch, and to the wires coming from the LED strip and the battery box. I have 0 electrical training and guessed my way through this, I'm sure you'll be fine - if not, feel free to ask!
- Finally I hit the switch and all was well.
If you made it this far I'd like to congratulate you on suffering through my rambling memories of the process, I really need to work on documenting things as I do them.
If you have any interest in seeing some more of the things I make you can check out my instagram