I was commisioned to make Kisame's Samehada greatsword(Don't ask me how that's supposed to be a sword, I have no idea.)
So far propably the most challenging prop I have made because of the organic shapes.
I cut the general shape out of insulation foam, and sketched the initial shape of the "tip".
The pieces laid paraller to the main slate were cut to form the two biggest topmost scales. (I took a little bit of an artistic liberty here and upscaled them abit. Looks more menacing, methinks.)
Two skulls were sculpted out of the same foam for the pommel and one for the lanyard.
The scales were attached to the main body wit wooden pegs(for stability).
Scales attached and shape refined.
Handle was made from a lenght of PVC pipe. A slot was cut on the main body to fit the handle.
(also worth spotting is Serenity running on the background-I have all possible recommendations for that film)
But I digress.
Humongous pile of scales were cut out of craft foam to save in weight.
I found a piece of (fan?)art showing a lanyard with beads and the smaller skull. Not sure if it' anime/manga accurate, so I made it removable if the client wishes so. Also pictured is the painted&installed pommel skull and wrapped handle. I found wool fabric with the correct color for the job.
Painted scales attached to the frame. I have no photos of the painting process, but you can figure a room with every possible flat space filled with painted scales dtying. The experience was pretty....blue.
The last thing to do after paint was to attach&paint the teeth in the mouth on the "tip". These were made from the same craft foam as the scales,only painted white.
... And finally a shot of the finished product resting against a photogenic doorframe. Clearly visible is that it'sa big thingy, about 170cm in lenght.
A shot down the handle.
There's approx. three different sizes of scales I used. Also pretty visible is the point where I ran out of the craft foam I was using and switced brands. Luckily not disrupting the overall looks of the prop.
One last shot of the mouth with the painted teeth.
Tools used:
-Coping saw
-scissors
-superglue
-PVA glue
-paint
-X-acto knife
-hotglue
Thanks for watching!
