Skyrim: Glass Sword

Yodajammies

Sr Member
Well, since I'm solidly into molding this fella and there's very little chance of me NOT finishing it (knock on wood), I figure its time to start my build thread.

8131963659_8cd48bbc82_c.jpg





I took a stab at hand sculpting/casting this sword, but I vastly misjudged the thickness of the handle and ended up with a lump of unusable plastic. On the bright side it was definitely good practice for sculpting symmetry, so there is that...

8378456035_a46c94521e_c.jpg


8381840879_16518e82ee_c.jpg



So now "taking the easy route" / "cheating" as some call it, I had a 3d model built by our own Vrogy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vrogy), who did a lovely job of digitally sculpting this blade. I took his high poly model into Rhino and chopped it up into a bunch of unrecognizable pieces to skirt the Shapeways "no weapons" policy, though you could argue this is merely a prop anyway.

8507010176_ab607c74ed_b.jpg


9399963111_d6d974ce55_b.jpg



Shapeways delivers!

8567514948_a9000a9d04_b.jpg


8567510052_6a05655dd7_b.jpg


Now comes the fun part: Sanding. Since this blade is so thin yet has raised details, the stair stepping effect from printing is very noticeable in places. This nylon material ("Strong, flexible, white") is quite resilient too. You really have to use some elbow grease to cut into the groves on these parts, and its highly unlikey that you'll OVERsand.

8567504748_598a61fc04_b.jpg



Fast-forward through the boring parts.......

Primed and ready for molding!

9378135845_62bc5607fe_b.jpg


9380921718_dc912f5d08_b.jpg



I'll be pouring up the second half of the mold tonight, and should have a test cast out of the mold sometime later this week. Huzzah!

These blades will be cast in EpoxaCast 690 using PearlEx and So-Strong powder/liquid pigment tints. I've pretty much got the mix down, but I may tweak it a bit more depending on how the first couple casts come out.

9306234758_4737f2e3a7_b.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 8131963659_8cd48bbc82_c.jpg
    8131963659_8cd48bbc82_c.jpg
    57.6 KB · Views: 239
  • 8567510052_6a05655dd7_b.jpg
    8567510052_6a05655dd7_b.jpg
    249 KB · Views: 301
Last edited:
It photographs slightly more blue than it actually is. The color is also a duo-tone where it shifts between green/blue because of the pearlesent pigments. I'll definitely be making a chillrend, but I'm also shifting the natural color tone of the glass more blue than green.
 
I think you definitely have that mix figured out! The final blade should look incredible!
 
Ooooh, shiny!:eek

I am trying my hand at sculpting (sulfur-free clay) a glass dagger, which is going slowly so far :\ I'd be interested to know what mix you used for the clear-cast if you'd be willing to share! Also how much did all the shapeways stuff cost for the whole sword? Depending on price it may be easier/faster to just go that route, but from what I've seen even moderately-sized pieces can get expensive...
 
Siliconsmith: I don't have my numbers in front of me, but I want to say my mix ratios were in the ballpark of 400g A / 120g B - EpoxaCast 690, 1 drop So-Strong blue, 10 tsp turquoise PearlEx powder pig, 4 tsp duo blue/green PearlEx powder pig. I haven't done as many test casts as I'd like, but I'm thinking that for a more game accurate casting you could swap the so-strong blue for yellow and balance out the PearlEx blues to a more turquoise blue/green.

I want to say the Shapeways prints were about 250-300$, give or take. They are a bit overpriced, but if you don't have access to your own high res 3d printer, your options are fairly limited.
 
This thread is more than 8 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top