Gray Fullbuster’s Ice Blade from Fairy Tail Prop Build
Category : Builds
I want to prefix this by saying I went into this build having never watched the anime “Fairy Tale”. The build was very long and drawn out because the build started just before me and my wife found out we needed to move.
This was a very unique build, it was my second commission for someone I did not know. It’s odd how the first two commissions I have done were from anime or shows I have never seen.
I went into this build with many ideas on how to make this prop with the skills I had and the material knowledge I had. In the end, I used tools and materials I had never tried to get a prop I was proud of.
I thought about making a mold and doing a slush casting, the issue with this is that most clear resin has such a slow cure time that you can’t slush cast it. I also did not know how to make molds or how to cast resin.
I settled on using PETG thermal plastic and hand molding it around a buck using a heat gun. I tried using Plexiglas first, but it did not bend well enough and it became brittle too easy.
I started by making a buck that was the rough size of the finished blade. This buck was made out of expanding foam around a wooden dole. This took a long time and was very messy, I don’t think I would ever use expanding foam in this way again.
Turning a flat piece of thermal plastic into a rounded 3D form takes a lot of work and learning. It took many hours to get the main body of the blade done and smoothed out to the right shape. One of the benefits of using PETG is that when you eat two pieces and press them together they bond so I did not need to use glue on any of this prop.
This is what the main body looked like when the main body had a basic shape, I did more shaping after this, but it took so long to even go this point. I was getting used to the process of shaping and bonding the PETG thermal plastic.
Next I needed to add some spikes, this was a lot like forming the main body, I formed a cone, and then cut a slant on the cone and heat bonded the cone to the main body. This required a lot of molding and time, every spike went on differently.
I needed to make a handle on the inside so you can hold the blade while wearing it. I took a piece of PETG and folded it so it had smooth edges. Then I bent each side of the handle and bonded it to the inside walls.
Next I took my air brush and put on a light coat of blue and white, I wanted to make it look like ice. It also slightly obscures the arm inside and hides the fact that you are holding onto a handle. After I finished painting it, I hit it with a clear coat to lock in the paint.
Below are photos of the client wearing the prop as part of his Gray Fullbuster Cosplay. He was very happy with the prop and it got a lot of compliments at Youmacon 2015.
If you have any questions about this build or anything please feel free to comment or go to the contact page and drop me a line.
Ben Crawford