Swords from anime "X"

[BlindSquirrel]

I picked up a commission to make a pair of swords from the anime "X"

I've been working on this for two months now, with a bunch of false starts, but I'm finally at the molding stage.

The blade master is laminated plastic with a steel core (welded by the talented Obiwan Coyote). Here is the test fit of the masters I've completed.

The hilt was sculpted from clay and then cast in resin.

The handle was lathed from wood.

The butt was made from styrene and cast in resin.

Close up of the hilt parts

Here is the master of the 1/4" rail that runs down the blade from the hilt. The faux-hebrew is carved by Dremel.

After I have an assembled version, I'll start the basket hand guard. NOT looking forward to that...

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

I've been wondering when you were gonna come out with a new project. I'm not too familiar with "X" but what you got here is still pretty sweet.

 

[Kadajiroth]

I haven't seen X in years, but the sword was interesting. First replication I've ever seen of it, good job!

 

[WarpedScale]

I love X, both the anime and the manga. I thought it was a great series despite the fact that it never really 'took off' like some anime. The group CLAMP that originally made the manga had commissioned a prop maker to make this exact same sword for their "Perfect Collection" artbook. Check it out sometime, it may be some good reference for you since it had a great shot of the entire prop sword.

This is a really great project to watch. Awesome so far.

Ryu

 

[Ramiel]

A NEW BLINDSQUIRREL PROJECT! WOOOOHOOOO!!!

Great work (as always)!

Let me know when you have some spare-time, I think that sooner or later, I will need your help!

 

[TheGreenMachine]

Really nice.:thumbsup

A friend of mine had started some conceptual work on the same project some time ago but I don't think he ever did get around to making any progress on it:
http://www.fiberglassblades.com/Shinken.html

- TGM

 

[BlindSquirrel]

The group CLAMP that originally made the manga had commissioned a prop maker to make this exact same sword for their "Perfect Collection" artbook. Check it out sometime, it may be some good reference for you since it had a great shot of the entire prop sword.

Do you have this book that you might scan a few pics? I had a devil of a time finding reference for it. I literally went through every episode and the movie, making screen caps. It's not too late to tweak the details.

Great work (as always)!

Let me know when you have some spare-time, I think that sooner or later, I will need your help!

Thanks Ramiel! Give me a yell anytime. I can always squeeze in some time for new work!

Really nice.:thumbsup

A friend of mine had started some conceptual work on the same project some time ago but I don't think he ever did get around to making any progress on it:
http://www.fiberglassblades.com/Shinken.html

Thanks for the link GreenMachine. That's pretty cool! And it reminded me to fix a detail...oops

I made so many false starts on this, I'll have to wait until I'm done to do a detailed blog entry. I'll post my progress here in the meantime.

Thanks for all the kind words...t helps on those days when everything goes wrong!

 

[Soundwave]

Fantastic! I LOVE X/1999, can't wait to see how this turns out, but it's looking great so far!

 

[BlindSquirrel]

Well, I'm in the home stretch leading up to a convention in Seattle.

Obi-Wan Coyote just happens to work down the street from me and was nice enough to weld a steel support for the swords. After casting half of the sword, I used a Dremel to route out a channel for the steel.

Here are the pair all assembled and primered for painting.

The basket guard was sculpted from a solid piece of MDF, molded and slush-cast.

Here's all the hilt pieces for a quick test fit. The grips and other hilt pieces are separately cast around a brass tube that slides over the steel rod.

It'll have to hit the mail early next week so I'll have more pics as well as updated blog entry coming soon!

 

[Soundwave]

Wow those looks fantastic, I've always wanted to own a pair of these shinken and you have diplayed fine craftmanship in recreating them. So you said this was a commission, so I presume you won't be the one dressing up as Kamui or Fuma...just out of interest did you have an interest in them or X/1999 before you took the commission?

I really can't wait to see this finished!

 

[Kadajiroth]

That is really coming along nicely (I expected it would anyway)!

 

[CNTower911]

I LOVE THIS SWORD! Looks amazing so far! Cant wait to see it all done.

 

[Ramiel]

Holy cow man!:eek
I want one too! And I never been a 1999/X fan, but that is amazing...

 

[BlindSquirrel]

Wow those looks fantastic, I've always wanted to own a pair of these shinken and you have diplayed fine craftmanship in recreating them. So you said this was a commission, so I presume you won't be the one dressing up as Kamui or Fuma...just out of interest did you have an interest in them or X/1999 before you took the commission?

I really can't wait to see this finished!

Thanks everyone!

Actually I never even heard of this series before I started. I scanned through all the shows and movie making screen caps when I did my research. When I get done I'll have to sit down and watch them!

 

[TheGreenMachine]

These are great swords to start or even consider, get disgusted and then quit. I must say it is a real thrill not just seeing these guys come along, but to what appears to be a beautiful finish. Can't wait to see the final pics.

If you frequently take on this sort of work and have a business card or anything drop me a PM. In my college days years ago I used to do the anime convention runs here on the east coast(with the occasional trip to AWA and Akon). Anyway I still attend/staff Otakon every year and there are always some people looking for this sort of work and willing/able to pay for it.

- TGM

 

[BlindSquirrel]

Some good progress recently...

I painted the silver of the blade, let that dry 24 hrs, masked it off and painted the gold.

I searched high and low for purple string to wrap the grips but finally gave up, bought some cheap twine and a packet of fabric dye.

I premeasured the 24 foot sections needed to completely wrap each grip section, and dropped them into the dye. Within a minute the cotton twine soaked up the dye to a PERFECT match!!

I CA glued the end of the string to the grip ends, applied some wood glue to the grip and started a'winding. It went pretty fast and turned out better than I expected. It feels good in your hand!

There'll be some more painting of the other grip parts tomorrow and final assembly on Friday! Woo hoo!

 

[RacerMachX]

Wow!! Amazing work.
Do you have more pics/ wip of the basket guard that you carved from MDF?
I'm amazed that it came from a MDF carving.
Thanks

 

[BlindSquirrel]

Wow!! Amazing work.
Do you have more pics/ wip of the basket guard that you carved from MDF?
I'm amazed that it came from a MDF carving.
Thanks

After this beast is away, I'll update the blog. The shield on the front of the basket is layered styrene, but the rest is MDF.

 

[BlindSquirrel]

DONE!!!!!! This has been BY FAR the hardest thing I've built and has been a consistent "two-steps-forward-one step-back" ordeal. But I learned alot and I guess that's what counts, eh?

Now to build the Giant box to ship them to Washington for Sakura-Con (I believe). I'll be sweating until they arrive safely.....

 

[Soundwave]

Damnn fine work there!! Incredible attention to detail!! Let us know what the recipient thinks when they see it!

And yes you should see it, the movie is pretty fast-paced compared to the TV series and Manga, but definetly watch it if you get the chance as there are some insane visuals by Clamp! Of course if you get to watch the TV series, watch that, as that will build on the story and characters more than anything.

Keep up the great work dude, you've certainly impressed me!!