CosPlay Props

Cosplay building

First I would like to talk about why I love cosplaying and how I got in it in the first place. I was introduced to anime by my lovely girlfriend and fell into a  magical place I could let my imagination run wild in. I have always loved being able to imagine new things. Then I learned about people called cosplayers, who not only made the imaginary come to real life but also got to travel as guess to cons as a profession.

Lets say this is what started a passion to make the non -real a reality.

Building the Prop

learning how to make cosplay art is a difficult thing. On my journey I have tried quit a few different ways to make the same project. Here we will look at silicon and what its used for.

Why silicon?

This is a great question, even in the cosplay community. For years now we have been using foam and hard plastics that we tent to have to grind away or break apart. Silicon in the present day has came along way. It has a longer lasting life and made more durable then ever. not only is it made to last (even under hard conditions), but we can now mold it and paint it with a ease we didn't know before.

Silicon has many uses, but for these reasons; its a perfect fit to what we want to use it for.

To start I use a thin layer as plastic and create a design for my blade to take shape in. It is important to lay an even layer here so the blade will be the same measurement through the whole blade.

 Next we create a handle and handguard to connect to the blade. In this project we are using just a handle and it will hold like a normal fighting knife. After making the handle fit to the customers hand I paint my parts and start to meld them together to form the final form and allow to cure. I like to hang the parts to allow to cure so the silicon adhesive has a way to work into the crevices that are still visible. 

When the full cure takes place, I start working side to side applying silicon so that the final shape will form in the curing process. I also add last details to the prop to resemble the item of choose.

I apply roughly 2-3 layers to each side and allow to fully cure before we apply our last layer of silicon. we do this so the last layer can be laid all at once. I used two nails in a center beam of my shed to allow the knife to rest in a vertical position. I apply my last layer of silicon and allow a cure of about five minutes or when the silicon starts to fill like a jello. I then apply water to my hand and rub the silicon down to have a smooth outer layer.

This will be the longest cure but the final one. when this cure is done, your prop will be finished and ready for the next event to show off your skill cosplaying.