Hypothetical: Tron Legacy Katana

[davey77]

Hey all,

Just curious - i dont know if this has been discussed in the costume thread - has anyone attempted the katanas from tron legacy? they are produced by the baton. quorra's official promo depicts her with it, and she uses it in the nightclub scene.

how could it be done? would anyone be willing to give it a go?

anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Solarhawk]

I plan on making one. I'm not sure how it'll come out, but I plan on buying a bokken from a martial arts supply, and I'll cut a groove in it for the lit portion, and shorten the overall length, as it seems to be overall 30-33" (which is the youth's size) based on comparison of length to Olivia Wilde's forearm. I then plan on putting some sort of plastic or resin in the groove, and lighting it with an LED, like the lightsaber props are done here. I know gams001 here has made them, and I'll consult with him on materials and the process. I'll probably have the wiring in the handle, with a switch on the side.

Sorry for the late reply, I've been reading through the now 151 page Tron Legacy Costume thread, now on 127. It's taken me quite some time to get through it at a casual reading pace.

Solar

 

[hydin]

Can't recall the specifics of the movie, but if it's a laser/energy blade... plexiglass and a belt sander. Sand it smooth and hit it with a light on the bottom and viola` one light up energy blade.

No idea on the hilt though...

Chris

 

[Draphin]

Can't recall the specifics of the movie, but if it's a laser/energy blade... plexiglass and a belt sander. Sand it smooth and hit it with a light on the bottom and viola` one light up energy blade.

No idea on the hilt though...

Chris

This has been my Idea as well. I would love to either get one or make one. Could you hit the plexi with a sandblaster to get the frosted texture instead of hitting it with the belt sander. Some other guys here I think have been working on the baton and I was kind of fallowing them to see their progress and then see if it were possible to adapt it to the Katana, Bo Staff, and numchucks. (I know the spelling is off but if you have ever been hit by one this is what you would call it. eek:cry)

 

[hydin]

Well, the belt sander is to make the blade have that bevel down to a knife edge.

If you just wanted it squared off, you could even just use matte finish clear glass spray paint (krylon makes it for painting glass stuff like jars, etc) and spray it with that. It'd be the same matte finish and less work.

Chris

 

[Draphin]

Well, the belt sander is to make the blade have that bevel down to a knife edge.

If you just wanted it squared off, you could even just use matte finish clear glass spray paint (krylon makes it for painting glass stuff like jars, etc) and spray it with that. It'd be the same matte finish and less work.

Chris

I see where your going. I did not think of using the sander to shape the blade just to texture it. opps!!!

 

[thefutureisnow]

hopefully within the next couple of days if i get time i want to be starting on my own scratch build but from foam board im not too sure about specifics yet but i think the blade will just be two strips shaped and the baton hilt will be two strips with a card layer where the dips are just for dome depth and the silver parts will be done with chrome card not sure whether or not to paint the blade or just coat it in foamies for live action playability

keep an eye out on the blog people propatom

 

[dropshipbob]

Another thing you could try is sandwhiching a piece of plexi in between two pieces of thin MDF.

 

[Talisen]

Maybe if you went the other way around?

It's supposed to light up full, like a light sabre. I'd suggest 2 pieces of plexi, and sandwich EL tape between them (Maybe two pieces, I don't know if there's double sided el tape)

Another thing you could try is sandwhiching a piece of plexi in between two pieces of thin MDF.

 

[thefutureisnow]

okay folks its done but i think to light it ill just use reflective tape or el sheeting but im not too sure yet but thanks for all the input and suggestions

[/IMG] check out the blog for more pics soon

 

[Solarhawk]

If I recall, the one in the movie looked similar to a regular katana, with a lighting strip down the side (not the blade edge). Pretty sure the promo picture used at File:Olivia-Wilde-as-Quorra-640x960.jpg - Tron Wiki - Tron, Tron Legacy, Tron 2.0, Tron Evolution and more is accurate, even though it's not a screencap from in-film. My plan was to use the lightsaber method to just illuminate the small strip running down the side. I figure the hilt would be long and wide enough to handle a battery pack... and at $10.75 for a bokken on amazon 40" Kendo Wooden Bokken Practice Samurai Sword Katana
, I think that it's a cheap result that would be doable for just about anyone (or if I want to, I can build them for people once I can sell in the Junkyard)

Solar

 

[Draphin]

If I recall, the one in the movie looked similar to a regular katana, with a lighting strip down the side (not the blade edge). Pretty sure the promo picture used at File:Olivia-Wilde-as-Quorra-640x960.jpg - Tron Wiki - Tron, Tron Legacy, Tron 2.0, Tron Evolution and more is accurate, even though it's not a screencap from in-film. My plan was to use the lightsaber method to just illuminate the small strip running down the side. I figure the hilt would be long and wide enough to handle a battery pack... and at $10.75 for a bokken on amazon 40" Kendo Wooden Bokken Practice Samurai Sword Katana
, I think that it's a cheap result that would be doable for just about anyone (or if I want to, I can build them for people once I can sell in the Junkyard)

Solar

If you watch the movie the blade is all light. I will try to find a screen cap for you but the promo Pics are not what it was in the movie although it would be an easier build.

 

[Draphin]

If you watch the movie the blade is all light. I will try to find a screen cap for you but the promo Pics are not what it was in the movie although it would be an easier build.

OK I stand corrected next time I will do my research then speak up.

here is some screen caps I just grabbed.

Note the light in the handle where the buttons would be. That would be a cool feature.

 

[davey77]

If you watch the movie the blade is all light. I will try to find a screen cap for you but the promo Pics are not what it was in the movie although it would be an easier build.

i quite like the ideas of an all light one. also the suggestion that a piece of plexiglass or perspex lit from below would be cool.

loving these suggestions. might have to start my own one!

 

[Draphin]

I was looking at my photos and I think the Plexi might be the way to go. Sandwich it and leave the front edge exposed plus possibly some side windows.

I think I am going to play with this in Sketch-up to see what I can do with it first. but I am thinking that moding an existing bokken might be an easy solution if only to save yourself time on the blade as you could just take it to a table saw and rip out a dado down the centre of the blade for the plexi. plus you could just Rout out some windows on the side for that exposure.

 

[Solarhawk]

I was looking at my photos and I think the Plexi might be the way to go. Sandwich it and leave the front edge exposed plus possibly some side windows.

I think I am going to play with this in Sketch-up to see what I can do with it first. but I am thinking that moding an existing bokken might be an easy solution if only to save yourself time on the blade as you could just take it to a table saw and rip out a dado down the centre of the blade for the plexi. plus you could just Rout out some windows on the side for that exposure.

gams001 was saying he used polycarbonate for his lightsaber builds, over in the "Tron Legacy Costume" thread. My thoughts are currently to use that method with a bokken. Could use a router for the blade's lighting "groove" and drill out the end for the electronics. I figure it should be simple enough, and if you're careful / shallow enough with the router for the light, it should still be capable of full contact sparring. I'm not sure how to implement the buttons though.

As for bokkens, there's a LOT on amazon, but the full length 40" ones are the most common, and cheapest. Though by comparing the length of the katana to Olivia Wilde's forearm (knowing she's 5'7", and I'm 5'9" so pretty close) the movie version seems to be 30-33". The youth bokkens sold are 33" but I think we may be wiser to buy a full length as it will give some extra modding space and forgiveness.

Solar