Knockoff Highlander Katana Mods

Cam McFly

Active Member
I've never been one to buy overly expensive prop replicas, I'm more of a "close enough" guy (which is not something I see a lot on this site :))

I'm a big fan of the Highlander series (Well, the first movie and show. The others.... never happened), and I don't have enough money to purchase the overly expensive replica Connor Swords. So I settled on one of those knockoff ones that and I found on Amazon for about $30 including shipping. I know that it is VERY inaccurate and many of the hardcore collectors and fans probably got heart attacks from that sentence, but it is close enough for my pleasure. I know it isn't strong, but I never intended to swing it around, just as a wall hanger. I take it for what it is and I'm just glad it was cheap alternative for someone who cant afford a high end replica..

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However, I'm curious if anyone has attempted to modify one of these swords? I think that after a quick sanding job to get rid of the seams, a custom sculpted (heck, even 3D printed) dragon head at the end, and a new paint job this could possibly look a lot better. Has anyone attempted this? It would still be glaringly inaccurate, but for $30 it could make a good base for modification. Thoughts? With enough talent (that I don't have) this thing might have the potential to be something a little better.
 
I decided I am going to give the handle a repaint. I started by sanding down the seam line and masking off the parts I don't want to paint.
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I went with an almond color spray paint and I have to say that after only one layer its already looking better. The "aging" that they put on it actually takes away from the overall sculpt. I'm tempted to just keep it like this, but I think a few more layers and some weathering will make it look better.
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And the new paint job is done! Just three coats of almond colored spray paint and a wash of watered down brown acrylic paint. I think it looks much better and I feel less ashamed now for not going all out and buying a super accurate replica. It's amazing how a little paint can make such a large improvement.

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I also took that "oh so beloved" red gem and painted it gold to be a substitute for the gold screw.
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Comparison:
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This whole repaint took me about two hours and that was mostly to let the paint dry. I am considering buying a new tsuba, but from what I've seen anything that looks close to the original one costs almost as much as this sword itself.
 

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I for one like it,i have a Live Blade Highlander katana i bought about 16 years ago(can't remember who made it) and a few of these that people have given me.I may have to do a respray
 
I for one like it,i have a Live Blade Highlander katana i bought about 16 years ago(can't remember who made it) and a few of these that people have given me.I may have to do a respray

I would highly recommend giving it a repaint. The sculpt is not actually that bad if you aren't comparing it to the real sword, but the original paint job completely ruins it.
 
I like it. I'd probably add a very light black wash to it as well for a little more contrast, but that's just my own personal preference. I'd probably do something similar to the tsuba as well to try and reduce that bright gold look it has.
 
I was originally going to use black, but I was out of black paint so I went with brown.

I'm still contemplating on ordering a new tsuba, I found the right one on Amazon, but its $35. Don't think its worth ordering something that cost as much as the sword itself.
 
Funny that you started this project just now - i'm currently working on the same sword, and I'm hoping to replace the blade with a wooden one for Comic Con. I think I literally ordered my sword on the day you posted your first post on the sword:) Nice job!

Thanks,
jason
 
I was looking at my sword actually, and I realised that the weathering on the handle is all brown like yours. It may just be the light of your photo, or your base colour is darker than mine but it doesn't look like there's enough contrast compared to what I would expect.

For the tsuba see if you can find a rub n buff type material in bronze. If you apply it with a brush then I'd say it will improve the look hugely.
 
I was looking at my sword actually, and I realised that the weathering on the handle is all brown like yours. It may just be the light of your photo, or your base colour is darker than mine but it doesn't look like there's enough contrast compared to what I would expect.

For the tsuba see if you can find a rub n buff type material in bronze. If you apply it with a brush then I'd say it will improve the look hugely.

Hmmm, I might have to try that. Thanks for the suggestion. There have been a few ideas brewing about what to do with the tsuba. After painting the handle it looks even more plasticky and I might just suck it up and buy a real one.

As for the weathering I think I'm just going to leave it as is for now. Maybe at some point go over it with a darker brown color.
 
Ok. So the tsuba was really bothering me so I did a quick, inaccurate fix.


To make the tsuba thick enough I hot glued a part of a mason jar lid to the existing one and painted it gold. Crude, yes. But it looks better than the paper thin plastic. Plus the gold spray paint is a lot less fake looking than what it was before.
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In the future, I might go all out. But for now, I'm just going to keep this as a close enough type thing.
 
I am going to open this back up because my birthday is coming up soon, which means that I will have a little extra cash to throw around. I think that a good compliment to my Connor would be a Duncan. I plan again on doing the same thing I did for my Connor sword on a cheap Duncan. After doing research, I think that I want to go with a season one version. This thread here is pretty good and what I sort of want to do, but my only problem is there is much more build up (so to speak) on the dragon head on the real sword. The eyebrows extend more out from the sword and the there are a few other things that I want to add on to make it a little more close (again, not going for 100%, as long as the look is there.)

So my question is does anyone know a good material that I could use to sculpt these larger details into the sword? Preferably some cheap but effective. Any help would be great.
 
How about I just make and send you a resin handle and resin cast tsuba .
I can also send you a super sexy screen used wood blade that has been taped to look real..
and happy birthday lol
it was used in a Steven segal film
..https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170419/aa9098b3173b883514d5add77eecb1f6.jpg
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Fun fact: I actually looked at a lot of your threads to figure out how I wanted to do the repaint (Your replicas are absolutely stunning by the way.)

Thank you for the birthday wishes and I would gladly accept your offer for a resin handle/tsuba as well as the wooden blade, but how much would it cost? I generally don't have a lot of money to spend on these props, which is why I tend to buy cheap knockoff replicas.
 
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meh 15 bucks for shipping and shes all yours

I sent an email but I don't know if it actually sent because I can't find it in an any outbox (I'm still figuring this site out) If you didn't receive an email please let me know, but if you did take your time. You're the one who made me the offer and I don't want to rush you. Thank you again.
 
hey yah sorry my phone went whacko and im using my lap top and since i work for the DOD i cant access this site or my personal email on the office PC.s i will get your email turned around and send you the info.. i already poured your handle :)
 
hey yah sorry my phone went whacko and im using my lap top and since i work for the DOD i cant access this site or my personal email on the office PC.s i will get your email turned around and send you the info.. i already poured your handle :)

Wow! Thank you! Please take your time, I don't want to rush you. Hope your phone is working better!

(Also it's funny, I'm happen to actually be watching Highlander right now)


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