Zinger
Active Member
My daughter wanted to cosplay an Evangelion character at Otakon last weekend.
She was going to do Rei, but didn't finish the costume in time. She went as Asuak instead. I made her the Lance of Longinus using a rigid, high density polyurethane foam called Precision Board.
We originally started with a 1:1 scale replica. We got pretty far into the prototype before we realized that it exceeded Otakon's limit on prop size. Plus it would be hard to take on the Metro.
Our second attempt was a quick build but it just wasn't quite right.
That's when I hit on using the Precision Board. I ordered some from Norva Plastics in Norfolk, VA, Plastic Manufacturing Industrial Plastics | NORVA PLASTICS. They are one of the few distributors who will sell you less than a full sheet, which would have been over $500.
I started by turning a short test piece on Nova Labs' lathe Nova Labs | Rediscover the joy of making things. and using a round file to carve the double helix. That worked very well. Precision Board turns like butter and is very easy to carve.
After that, I turned the shaft of the lance in two 26" sections and carved the double helix. I used a triangular file this time. My daughter thought that looked better. Here they are in progress.
After several coats of Candy Apple Red, they looked great. I should have figured out some way to seal the foam before painting it, though. This stuff drinks paint.
I used Gorilla Glue to glue 3 2" thick sheets of Precision Board to make the head of the lance. I knew from experience Gorilla Glue expands greatly as it cures. I laser cut a gluing jig to hold the Precision Board precisely (see what I did there?) and used 80 pounds of weights and a few big chunks of wood I had lying around to ensure a quality glue up.
Back at Nova Labs, I turned one end of the block to make the spirals. Then I went to the bandsaw to cut out the blades.
And then I came to a complete halt for at least a week. I couldn't figure out how to uncurl the double helix in the shaft into the spirals and then curve them up into the blades. I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. Finally, I realized the key was to not pay attention to the grooves that make up the double helix. It was to think about the spaces between the two grooves. Those unspool like a twisted ribbon. That was my break-through.
I needed to be very careful with carving the spirals. I only had 1 block of Precision Board and two weeks before Otakon. I couldn't afford any mistakes, so I made several cardboard cones of different sizes and angles to experiment on. This is the one where I finally figured it out.
Then tragedy! I broke one on the shaft sections. Snapped it into three pieces.
Fortunately, I had some spare Precision Board long enough to make replacements. I took this opportunity to correct a boneheaded mistake I made on the first pair. 10 Internet points to the first person who spots it.
With disaster averted, it was back to the head of the lance. I had to narrow the cone a little to get the spirals to work. I used a U shaped carving chisel and a scraper for that. After I sanded it smooth, I marked out the spirals and used a dovetail saw to remove the bulk of the material.
Back to the carving chisel and my Dremel to cut away the rest of the waste material. After a little sanding, the head was done.
It's 6 ft 5 3/4 inches long. 1/4 inch under Otakon's 6 ft 6 in limit. The shaft sections and the head are held together with four very powerful neodymium magnets. That makes it easier to store and transport.
After painting the whole thing, I gave it two coats of clear epoxy to give it a shiny, smooth finish and make it a little more abuse resistant.
I'm happy to report that it survived Otakon without damage. It also attracted a lot of attention. Who knew there would be so many Evangelion fans at an anime convention?
Now my daughter just has to finish her Rei plug-suit before Anime USA.
She was going to do Rei, but didn't finish the costume in time. She went as Asuak instead. I made her the Lance of Longinus using a rigid, high density polyurethane foam called Precision Board.
We originally started with a 1:1 scale replica. We got pretty far into the prototype before we realized that it exceeded Otakon's limit on prop size. Plus it would be hard to take on the Metro.
Our second attempt was a quick build but it just wasn't quite right.
That's when I hit on using the Precision Board. I ordered some from Norva Plastics in Norfolk, VA, Plastic Manufacturing Industrial Plastics | NORVA PLASTICS. They are one of the few distributors who will sell you less than a full sheet, which would have been over $500.
I started by turning a short test piece on Nova Labs' lathe Nova Labs | Rediscover the joy of making things. and using a round file to carve the double helix. That worked very well. Precision Board turns like butter and is very easy to carve.
After that, I turned the shaft of the lance in two 26" sections and carved the double helix. I used a triangular file this time. My daughter thought that looked better. Here they are in progress.
After several coats of Candy Apple Red, they looked great. I should have figured out some way to seal the foam before painting it, though. This stuff drinks paint.
I used Gorilla Glue to glue 3 2" thick sheets of Precision Board to make the head of the lance. I knew from experience Gorilla Glue expands greatly as it cures. I laser cut a gluing jig to hold the Precision Board precisely (see what I did there?) and used 80 pounds of weights and a few big chunks of wood I had lying around to ensure a quality glue up.
Back at Nova Labs, I turned one end of the block to make the spirals. Then I went to the bandsaw to cut out the blades.
And then I came to a complete halt for at least a week. I couldn't figure out how to uncurl the double helix in the shaft into the spirals and then curve them up into the blades. I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. Finally, I realized the key was to not pay attention to the grooves that make up the double helix. It was to think about the spaces between the two grooves. Those unspool like a twisted ribbon. That was my break-through.
I needed to be very careful with carving the spirals. I only had 1 block of Precision Board and two weeks before Otakon. I couldn't afford any mistakes, so I made several cardboard cones of different sizes and angles to experiment on. This is the one where I finally figured it out.
Then tragedy! I broke one on the shaft sections. Snapped it into three pieces.
Fortunately, I had some spare Precision Board long enough to make replacements. I took this opportunity to correct a boneheaded mistake I made on the first pair. 10 Internet points to the first person who spots it.
With disaster averted, it was back to the head of the lance. I had to narrow the cone a little to get the spirals to work. I used a U shaped carving chisel and a scraper for that. After I sanded it smooth, I marked out the spirals and used a dovetail saw to remove the bulk of the material.
Back to the carving chisel and my Dremel to cut away the rest of the waste material. After a little sanding, the head was done.
It's 6 ft 5 3/4 inches long. 1/4 inch under Otakon's 6 ft 6 in limit. The shaft sections and the head are held together with four very powerful neodymium magnets. That makes it easier to store and transport.
After painting the whole thing, I gave it two coats of clear epoxy to give it a shiny, smooth finish and make it a little more abuse resistant.
I'm happy to report that it survived Otakon without damage. It also attracted a lot of attention. Who knew there would be so many Evangelion fans at an anime convention?
Now my daughter just has to finish her Rei plug-suit before Anime USA.
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