Modeling Spikes - Auric Shield Guild Wars 2

[SpectreofNight]

I have been working on creating a scale modle of the Auric Shield from Guild Wars 2. I have created most of the shield and I only need to make long thin curving spikes as well as painting it. I need to find a material that would allow me to do so.

I have had three ideas that I don’t think will work. Due to how thin the spike will be, it would be hard to cut the foam I use into that shape and it will also sag and bend at the tip. Using aluminum might work by using a dremmel to shape it, but it would be hard to make it curve. Finally, I thought I could use Worbla (thermoplastic) around the foam, which would strengthen it, but it would still be very hard to cut. If anyone has any ideas of what I could do, please tell me.

(I meed to make the long curving spikes that start at the sides lf the shield and go to the top.)

 

[laellee]

3d pint them. Even on small-diameter and fairly fragile pieces like this can be worked up with a fair degree of sturdiness if they are designed properly. My process for thin-blade or curved swords (think scimitar) is to model up the curved section, and then add a curved round channel through the center of the blade (two if I can). That inner channel needs to have as gentle a curve as possible while still staying inside the body (at least 1mm between a channel wall and the outer wall). I set my channels for either 5.5mm or 3.5mm diameter; the larger will fit a 3/16"/5mm rod nicely, the smaller fits a 1/8".

So, after all of that, I cut the sections as large ass I can to fit my printer bed, print at 100% infill (I prefer PLA). And then skewer-and-glue the sections together. The rods I mentioned earlier are available at big-box home improvement stores over by the hardware/metal stock section, they are fairly cheap and usually come in lengths from 2-5 feet. It may take a little bit of gentle pre-flexing to get the rod through the center of your printed spikes (rounding the rod tip helps a lot), but you end up with a very strong piece that can take much more of a beating than an unsupported printed piece or an EVA foam/pepakura version. Good luck!