Slow progress...

Well, I did get SOME things done over the holiday. The sword is about 1/3 of the way done. I don't have any photos yet, but I should have some when the process is a bit further along. It's just as well, so that you can see where it's all going.

After much planning and discussion, the original plan was sort of thrown out, or at least modified. No more "sandwich". Now, the main part of the handle has been made out of a baseball bat, and the wings were cut out of MDF (medium density fiberboard; available at any home improvement place). I put wooden dowels into the foam for the blade for structure and support, and the bottom end of the dowel will be put through the handle several inches.

The next steps are to carve and cover the blade, and dremel the design into the wing section. I will do those some time in the next several weeks, when I have access to the tools and space at home again.

I also spent about 2 hours simply detangling the wig. What an annoying process. When I next work on the sword, I'll work on the styling of the wig more as well. I got a curling iron with adjustable temperature which I'm hoping will help solve the problems I've been having with it.

In Gwendolyn and general construction news, I FINALLY got a shipment of Wonderflex in the mail, and will be playing with it this weekend with my heatgun. I'll also be experimenting with various combinations of craft foam, polystyrene, hot glue, and the heat gun to see what comes from it. I'll post my results next week.

If you are looking for Wonderflex, I got mine from Mainstage Theatre Supply, where I got a full sheet for around $30 shipped, MUCH cheaper than cosplaysupply.com's $70ish dollar charge for a sheet. (EDIT: I have reason to suspect that Mainstage, while nice people, do not have a website that is as secure as it should be for credit cards. Please use caution when using your card over the internet. I recommend trying to phone in your order and/or paying with a different method.) I will probably still end up ordering Friendly Plastic from them, though, unless I find it somewhere else. I'm thinking about ordering some Fosshape as well... but more on that another time.

Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic

I've been reading up on this newfangled Wonderflex and its friend Friendly Plastic.
I've been searching for something to make, at the very least, the calf armour for Gwendolyn, and potentially any and all armour for Oswald, if my boyfriend decides to go as him. Both are from Odin Sphere:

After reading the FAQs and tutorials for using Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic, I feel confident enough that this could be a good solution for making armour and maybe even weapons. I am going to order a small sheet of Wonderflex and a small container of Friendly Plastic to experiment with.
I am also going to pick up some Bondo, because (1) I have never used it before, heard some mixed opinions, and want to see what it can do, and (2) I wouldn't use gesso as suggested in the Wonderflex FAQ because there is no way that will not come off in chunks.

Once I get the materials and play around with them, I'll post my results with photos.

Links:

Wonderflex, Fosshape, and Friendly Plastic Purchase Page
Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic Tutorial/FAQ
Wonderflex FAQ