platicard sword blades

hestan101

New member
right, im about to ask a very \"clunky\" sort of question. if you look at expert sculptors baldes on swords, when they are ade of plasti card, insted of the flat of the blade being straight, like this : ------- its more sort of trinagular like this:
^
the best example of waht i want to do is probably nanos sword mater http://www.coolminiornot.com/136004
does anyone know how to achieve this? i understand most people probably wont have a clue wht im on about, but if you do any advice anyone could give would be fantastic:beer:
max
 

Sukigod

Member
I\'m assuming this was a regular, thicker piece of plasticard that\'s been carved and then sanded down to the \"edge\" that it has. Very nice work on the example by the way.

Most likely accomplished with very small files and custom made sanding sticks of various curves and flex. I make sanding sticks by cutting strips of fine grit sandpaper and glueing them down to various bits of either wood, plastic or cardboard stock - depending on my need, size, amount to be removed etcetera.

I hope this helps.
 

Aliengod3

Active member
You need a dremel tool. They have very fun accessories that work perfectly for creating swords and whatnot. As for making swords with plasticard, take a blister pack from your hobby store and use it as a guide on which size would work best for your conversion. Then use the sanding tools for the dremel to shape the sword you want.
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
A few years ago I was watching Simon Egan sculpting and part of it was him making a sword blade.
Basically he used a Knife held as 90 defgrees and scraped away tiny proportions of the plasticard until he was satisified he was close to what he wanted and then 1800 wet and dry paper sanded the thing smooth. IIRC he made the sword in two halves as well.
 

freakinacage

Well-known member
Originally posted by Aliengod3
You need a dremel tool. They have very fun accessories that work perfectly for creating swords and whatnot. As for making swords with plasticard, take a blister pack from your hobby store and use it as a guide on which size would work best for your conversion. Then use the sanding tools for the dremel to shape the sword you want.
i wouldnt use a dremel on plasticard (unless it was the stylus) as it would probably melt the plastic too quick (too high rpm). i would personally use a blade and some wet n dry. maybe some files too
 

boristfrog

New member
Miniature Mentor has a video on their basic sculpting disc that covers this.
They show using a dremel in close up which is useful - but if I remember it\'s using milliput rather than plasticard. They get a lovely angle on it though.
 

Roger Bunting

New member
I tried using a rotary tool (a poor-man\'s dremel) and it\'s definately not easy. I found it would catch and bite into the plasticard. Wet \'n\' dry is definately the better way to go. You can use a file to do the bulk but the high grit paper to smooth it out.
 

Aliengod3

Active member
Originally posted by freakinacage
Originally posted by Aliengod3
You need a dremel tool. They have very fun accessories that work perfectly for creating swords and whatnot. As for making swords with plasticard, take a blister pack from your hobby store and use it as a guide on which size would work best for your conversion. Then use the sanding tools for the dremel to shape the sword you want.
i wouldnt use a dremel on plasticard (unless it was the stylus) as it would probably melt the plastic too quick (too high rpm). i would personally use a blade and some wet n dry. maybe some files too

My dremel has adjustable rpm. I keep it on the lowest setting and it works great. Yes, it is a stylus.
 

freakinacage

Well-known member
aye the stylus is the only dremel that i have found to have a low enough rpm option to drill/sand plkastic without melting it. lovely ones. sadly mine broke but i intend getting one for/after xmas!
 
Back To Top
Top