Wind Waker Sword and Shield Builds

[V P]

Greetings! First post here.

I'm building the sword and shield from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for my son for Halloween. I shall document the project here and perhaps pose a few questions to the community.

This is my primary reference image:

View attachment 116471

This is only my first work session and I indulged in quite a pedantic, tangential attempt to determine the angle of the sword to the camera so that I could then determine the "scientific, ideal sword length."

In the end I sorted out the calculations (the sword is tilted toward the camera at at a 22 degree angle and is 25.7 inches long for a 37 inch tall Link) and then immediately tossed them in the trash in favor of seeking out what *felt* right in the real world.

To that end I sketched out the basic proportions of shield and sword and cut them out of cardboard in a few difference sizes. The medium sizes (16" sword, 9" wide shield) looks best in my boy-o's paws so we're going with it:

View attachment 116477

Next time proper fabrication begins. More soon. Thanks for reading!

 

[V P]

Today I ripped the sword and shield from the game itself to get some better reference from other angles:

View attachment 116700

I also started a test blade from a 2x4. Faced with some seriously unsafe cuts using a compound miter saw I had to concede inadequate equipment and ordered a small table saw to allow me to cut the facets of the blade safely. I'm not sure that I ultimately want to make this thing out of wood but I reached a "need to act" moment.

Ultimately reinforced L200 will probably be a better choice for weight and finish.

 

[V P]

I worked with the L200 foam for a while but I'm not happy with any of the methods I have at my disposal for anything resembling precision angle cuts. Therefore I've returned to the world of wood and it's treating me a bit better.

View attachment 118128

The blade is in very good shape and the crossguard is in acceptable shape. I've never really worked with wood in a serious way before and boy oh boy, this material has some personality. I'm making the sword out of whatever wood scraps I have lying around shop and the density difference between grain and non-grain areas is pretty big which makes dremeling and any carving pretty difficult. Everything across the grain ends up with a sawtooth pattern unless I very carefully cut down the grain too -- even then it takes some real practice.

Right now the grip and pommel are my biggest trouble areas. The grip will be covered with leather (another interesting challenge -- I think I shall try boiling it before I wrap it) so that's easier to live with but the pommel is really chunky. This *might* end up looking like an aesthetic choice but I don't know if it goes far enough if that's gonna be the direction I go. I think the thing to do is sculpt an alternative in sculpey and see which one feels better.

 

[MooMooEgg]

Great work so far. Always good to see Zelda builds =)