Aqualad Backpack & Sword Build Help

I have been loving the DC Young Justice cartoon and want to make an Aqualad costume. However i'm having trouble deciding how to build his backpack and the hilts of his water swords. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a material to make the backpack out of that would be sturdy and not too flimsy. So I would appreciate any suggestions about what material I should try to make it out of. Also I'm open to ideas about how to build the hilts as well. I have thought about casting them in rubber but i'm not fully sure if that will work as well. So any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Eva foam and EL wire?

Berserk said:

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Eva foam and EL wire?

Hmm i never really considered eva foam just because i thought it would be too bendy and not hold tight like an actual backpack. But maybe that could work if I use some of the really thick .47in foam.

1/4 works great. im building a gundam with a lot of flat surfaces on it. it does fine. you can also double it up using contact cement. i underestimated foam years ago. now its all that i will use.

If you want strong and light, go with fiberglass and resin.

Fierfek said:

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If you want strong and light, go with fiberglass and resin.

The only problems is that I don't have an actual pepakura file to make it out for fiberglass and resin. I don't know how good i'll be at free hand on paper.

Yeah the design doesn't look too hard... You could do a design out of foam first to get the templates just right, and then do a fiberglass version... I think the EL wire would look great for lighting the pack.

i'd love to see someone do this. It has potential to be an awesome prop!

Since the shape of the pack isn't very complex you could also try building it with sheets of plastic. The hilts would probably be ideal for using foam or maybe a combination of foam and PVC piping.