UPDATE on post #22
I'm not sure when I first decided I needed He-Man's Sword of Power, but it's safe to say that it happened while watching the original cartoon series. Probably pretty close to when I decided to one day own Stormtrooper armor.:lol
The Filmation style sword has always been my favourite as compared to the other comic, book and show styles. It's instantly recognizable and the whole shape screams "He-Man" to me.
I started off by finding a good picture of the sword, then scaling it up to a suitable size for me. This one is about 33" long, 6" at the widest point. It's a comfortable fit, and not too huge. The sides of this sword were drawn asymmetrically in this particular drawing so I chose the one that looked best to me and flipped it to trace the opposite side. As long as they're both very close to the same outline I should be able to cast two halves and slap them together with minimal cleanup. Might be able to get some nice flat wall-hangers that way, too.
I routed along the handle and guard to get it evenly rounded, then switched to a 45 degree bit for the blade. This allows me to clear away some excess material quickly, and leaves a nice area to continue refining the blade angle.
The next shot shows some of the diamond cross-section I'm working on getting into the blade. Hopefully this will leave a nice thick area in the middle so I can cast a rod into the blades for added strength. I'll have some cleaning up to do where the blade angle transitions into the guard area, but I'll save that for later.
The overall shape is coming together quite nicely so far, and I've also tapered the blade from guard to point so it won't be too thick. I may need to add a little thickness at the edges to help prevent chipping/breakage in those thinner areas.
I've almost finished roughing out this sword and I'm pretty impressed. The simplicity of the shape and choice of material are really making this easier than it could have been. Less than a day and I already have something that looks like a power sword!:cool
This close-up shows a little more detail of the relief and different planes of the guard section. I may replace the handle with some half-round doweling before molding. It's an easy cut-and-replace operation if I need it.
It's not 100% done, but I'm really eager to share the progress and hear your opinions. There's still a little clean-up to do in some areas, but overall I'm quite happy with it. I've been holding back from yelling "I HAVE THE POWER!!!" all day, but I won't promise that it hasn't been pointed at the cats a few times already.:lol
I'll post an update in a few weeks after I've got some silicone and resin and made a few castings. By that time I'll likely have sculpted up a jewel and setting to modify one casting into She-Ra's Sword of Protection for my lovely wife.
I'm not sure when I first decided I needed He-Man's Sword of Power, but it's safe to say that it happened while watching the original cartoon series. Probably pretty close to when I decided to one day own Stormtrooper armor.:lol
The Filmation style sword has always been my favourite as compared to the other comic, book and show styles. It's instantly recognizable and the whole shape screams "He-Man" to me.
I started off by finding a good picture of the sword, then scaling it up to a suitable size for me. This one is about 33" long, 6" at the widest point. It's a comfortable fit, and not too huge. The sides of this sword were drawn asymmetrically in this particular drawing so I chose the one that looked best to me and flipped it to trace the opposite side. As long as they're both very close to the same outline I should be able to cast two halves and slap them together with minimal cleanup. Might be able to get some nice flat wall-hangers that way, too.
I routed along the handle and guard to get it evenly rounded, then switched to a 45 degree bit for the blade. This allows me to clear away some excess material quickly, and leaves a nice area to continue refining the blade angle.
The next shot shows some of the diamond cross-section I'm working on getting into the blade. Hopefully this will leave a nice thick area in the middle so I can cast a rod into the blades for added strength. I'll have some cleaning up to do where the blade angle transitions into the guard area, but I'll save that for later.
The overall shape is coming together quite nicely so far, and I've also tapered the blade from guard to point so it won't be too thick. I may need to add a little thickness at the edges to help prevent chipping/breakage in those thinner areas.
I've almost finished roughing out this sword and I'm pretty impressed. The simplicity of the shape and choice of material are really making this easier than it could have been. Less than a day and I already have something that looks like a power sword!:cool
This close-up shows a little more detail of the relief and different planes of the guard section. I may replace the handle with some half-round doweling before molding. It's an easy cut-and-replace operation if I need it.
It's not 100% done, but I'm really eager to share the progress and hear your opinions. There's still a little clean-up to do in some areas, but overall I'm quite happy with it. I've been holding back from yelling "I HAVE THE POWER!!!" all day, but I won't promise that it hasn't been pointed at the cats a few times already.:lol
I'll post an update in a few weeks after I've got some silicone and resin and made a few castings. By that time I'll likely have sculpted up a jewel and setting to modify one casting into She-Ra's Sword of Protection for my lovely wife.
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