ACParadise Forums

Been working on this for a while but the legs honestly have me thinking not sure how to approach them but I've seen people do stilts for them. Also her swords that float and how to rig them to look like their floating. Best material to use for both of them so they're sturdy for the con and will last

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For the legs... I think stilts would be best to use. That way you get the height and illusion of... well, no feet. Yo can probably find good ones of ebay or by just googleing stilts and the height you need. As for the armor... I would use something lightweight, like craft foam or plastic. You can get sheets of craft foam at any local craft store, like Hobby Lobby, Walmart, or Micheal's, for about $.49 - $.98 and you can also but packs of craft foam for cheap too. I think you can also get rolls of it, but you'll have to ask one of the stores about that (I should as well. I use it a lot.) As for the plastic, use plastic trash cans and bins. You can usually find them for about $5 at Walmart. Or, if you would like something a bit thicker, Lowes and Home Depot have HUGE (usually 8ft by 14ft) sheets of blue foam used for insulation. Usually costs about $11 - $16. I usually buy an inexpensive exact-o knife or box cutter to chop it down to size. Make sure you use Modge Podge on each item before painting. The foams can soak up paint or dissolve from them and the modge podge stops that from happening. It's like glue pretty much.

As for the floating swords... I'm not really sure. Something like that is very difficult to construct. My first go would be with craft foam and wire. The craft foam should be light enough for a good sturdy wire to hold it up. You can also find wire at Hobby Lobby or by searching online and you can normally buy large rolls of it for cheap as well.

That's all I know as far as that goes.

I can tell you two ways to make them float, suspending them from wires through them, using thread to hold them on, or magnets to hold or levitate them though the third might be more risky and difficult.

signed Jeremy Manga1
a wooden prop maker from Indiana.

I second the insulation foam stilts idea, that would be a good bet!

As for the floating swords I would opt to go and buy some clear acrylic from a plastics store. If there are none in your area the internet is more than happy to oblige you in that regard! By mounting swords onto the clear acrylic on a bearing or something they would have nice motion too, however the rig would be kind of heavy, but the price of glory is high right?

Cheers!