RWBY Qrow's Sword Scythe

Status
Not open for further replies.
That looks awesome. I was trying to do the same thing with lightning's gunblade from final fantasy. Your build inspired me to complete it. I'm sure someone already made one, but I still want to try it.
 
Welp, I went ahead and made a second one. MKII. This time, I've ditched the heavy wood and made it out of EVA foam instead. Like before, it can transform into 3 different positions (No Carry Mode this time though) and transforming doesn't take nearly as long or is as tedious. Here are some progress pics and details on the builds. Sorry I'm lacking in pics this time as I was on and off on this project for months.

15202773_1545731458774012_3505922164248227337_n.jpg 15181370_1544184128928745_5064208029994583575_n.jpg
Started by using my old sword as a template on the foam. Cut out 3 duplicates for each layer of the blade, and this time included the round part of the body at the end.

15203120_1544184032262088_7084557014850625136_n.jpg 15241344_1544184105595414_7171412296250460853_n.jpg 15181629_1544183945595430_4448477023817597617_n.jpg
Just like last time, I cut two of the blades into segments for each part that rotates. At the bottom is a triangle piece that narrows down. I cut those out of the middle section and saved them, as they will act as the "stoppers" for the segments. Next I laid out the pattern on the middle section for each piece that will move internally. On the bottom pieces that have X's, cut those out and remove it entirely from the project. Lastly, I cut rectangle pieces from the top. These serve as the red blades that come down when it's in scythe form.

15203286_1544183818928776_4096395920048830414_n.jpg 15232241_1544184042262087_760796923916873008_n.jpg
Next I put the magnets in. I started by putting two magnets in the middle section for each position, blade and scythe. Then I placed one of the cut up segments on top of the middle section and marked where to put the magnet in each segment. Sorry for not having a picture of it, but each segment has 1 magnet that is recessed like the middle section. Magnets are only need on one side of the blade. Then I covered each magnet with a piece of craft foam. This helps so the magnets don't make any physical contact and try to rip themselves out.

Also not pictured is that the long triangle pieces that were cut out earlier, get sandwiched between the two segment pieces for each section. The segments then get glued to the rest of the middle section, but not on the pattern part that rotates.

15267971_1544184045595420_7912105210470934130_n.jpg 15178272_1544184158928742_4569323112958777460_n.jpg
When all assembled, the blade should look and act like this.

15284867_1545731108774047_7566297819274725574_n.jpg 15267897_1545731138774044_7206592617363941465_n.jpg 15326379_1545730995440725_6605072794668481366_n.jpg 15181409_1545731322107359_5022674596902063347_n.jpg 15230571_1545731375440687_5134499548096229759_n.jpg 15319198_1545731248774033_2052124605531653407_n.jpg
Next up is the handle. The 3 pieces are 1 1/4", 1", and 3/4" (Water pipe i.e. the red or blue PVC not the standard) Get a 1 1/4" end cap and a 1" coupler. Cut the 1"coupler in half and glue it to the inside of the 1 1/4", then glue the 1" pipe into the coupler. This way the 1" pipe when it slides in will connect with the 1 1/4" pipe. Drill a hole big enough for the 3/4" pipe to fit through at the bottom of the end cap. Take a brass coupler (The metal piece pictured above) and Gorilla Glue it to the inside of the 3/4" pipe. This is to stop the 3/4" pipe from sliding all the way out from the end cap. Drill a hole on the 1" pipe and 1 1/4" pipe near the ends and insert a kayak spring clip. This part is just like the last build. Insert a magnet into the bowl of the brass metal piece to act as a catch on the kayak spring. Lastly, take a 1" dowel rod and some subfloor pieces and make the little piece shown above. I Gorilla glued them together, then inserted it into the end of the 1 1/4" pipe. It then gets fastened with 4 woods screws that go through the PVC and into the wooden piece.

15319293_1545731088774049_7088312379880370643_n.jpg
Cut the middle section of the round body in half, then glue the remainder together. This gapped section provides the wooden tongue to spin freely when it is bolted in.

15135934_1536859756327849_5950897089727783250_n.jpg

Again I apologize for not taking more photos, but I'll try to explain the rest as best as I can.
The main housing pieces are made completely out of foam as well. Make sure to have a solid disk that matches the body pieces. Make 2 disks out of sub floor that also match the circled body pieces. Hotglue the wood disks to the body pieces. Insert the wooden tongue into the gap and center it with the blade's center. Place the housing pieces on top of the wooden disks and center those as well. Drill down directly center through all the pieces with a 1/4" drill bit. Insert a 3" long 1/4" bolt and put a nut at the end. Move down about an inch towards the handle and drill another hole all the way through. This hole now acts as a locking hole and when another 3" bolt is put in it prevents the handle from turning. Turn the handle to each position that you need (Gun and scythe) and drill through the housing and body pieces (It's best to line it up with the hole you already drilled for the sword position. Make sure to keep an eye on the housing pieces while you do this as you want them to be facing the right way for each position.

Add paint, and you should be done!
Like I said, I'm sorry I didn't keep better track of this build, but if you have any questions just leave a comment and I'll answer them for you. Plus I'll be posting a video here shortly where I walk through and show these pieces off better.
 
Hi I was wondering what type of EVA Foam you used and how thick it was? Also how did you make the scythe be able to stay connected together? I am currently working on a similar build so help would be much appreciated!
 
Last edited:
Hi I was wondering what type of EVA Foam you used and how thick it was? Also how did you make the scythe be able to stay connected together? I am currently working on a similar build so help would be much appreciated!

I used 1/2" EVA foam from Harbor Freight. The pieces are held together by not cutting the center section all the way to the back of the blade. Here's a picture to help better demonstrate what I mean:
Blade help.jpg
 
I used 1/2" EVA foam from Harbor Freight. The pieces are held together by not cutting the center section all the way to the back of the blade. Here's a picture to help better demonstrate what I mean:
View attachment 240086
I know this thread hasn’t been used in like a year but I’m new here,I found this and had a few questions so I made an account. I want to build this for an upcoming cosplay I’m going to with some friends, but I’m quite confused about the folding mechanism, pictured in the post I’m replying to. Also, I would prefer to use some kind of wood rather than foam, to make it as sturdy as possible, how might I be able to subsistute this? And one question about the hilt; how long are each of the pipe segments? Thanks in advance, if this even gets seen, haha. :)
 
I know this thread hasn’t been used in like a year but I’m new here,I found this and had a few questions so I made an account. I want to build this for an upcoming cosplay I’m going to with some friends, but I’m quite confused about the folding mechanism, pictured in the post I’m replying to. Also, I would prefer to use some kind of wood rather than foam, to make it as sturdy as possible, how might I be able to subsistute this? And one question about the hilt; how long are each of the pipe segments? Thanks in advance, if this even gets seen, haha. :)

Luckily I am still around :) You could substitute the the outer 2 layers of foam for either MDF or 3/16 sublfoor if you wanted to. For the foam version the folding mechanism relies on the middle section of foam remaining a solid piece about 1 inch down from the back edge of the sword. When you fold it open, that section of foam holds it together and prevents the sword from separating. Magnets are installed to help lock it in either the open or closed positions. If you replace the outer pieces with wood you could and pins to help lock it in place when it transforms, similar to how I used pins or bolts to lock the center piece in it's positioning. The first sword scythe I built was made almost entirely out of wood and weighed a boat load, so be prepared to be hauling around a heavy prop.
As for pipe segment lengths: Outer pipe 20" Middle pipe 19" Last pipe 20"
If you have any more questions, or want to brainstorm a little more, feel free to contact me on my page here: facebook.com/bentonsbuilds
I check 405th about 3 times a week as well so whichever works best for you.
 
Luckily I am still around :) You could substitute the the outer 2 layers of foam for either MDF or 3/16 sublfoor if you wanted to. For the foam version the folding mechanism relies on the middle section of foam remaining a solid piece about 1 inch down from the back edge of the sword. When you fold it open, that section of foam holds it together and prevents the sword from separating. Magnets are installed to help lock it in either the open or closed positions. If you replace the outer pieces with wood you could and pins to help lock it in place when it transforms, similar to how I used pins or bolts to lock the center piece in it's positioning. The first sword scythe I built was made almost entirely out of wood and weighed a boat load, so be prepared to be hauling around a heavy prop.
As for pipe segment lengths: Outer pipe 20" Middle pipe 19" Last pipe 20"
If you have any more questions, or want to brainstorm a little more, feel free to contact me on my page here: facebook.com/bentonsbuilds
I check 405th about 3 times a week as well so whichever works best for you.

I’ll probably pick up some MDF to use for the outer layers, however I’m still a little lost on the foam stuff. I think I understand how the pieces work for the most part, when they bend at the joints the top corner gets caught on the sharp edge of the sword and can’t go further? That’s what I’m getting from it. But if the middle section isn’t quite as wide as the outside sections, what does it catch on exactly? And as for the pins thing, I wanted to use something like that but I don’t know where I would be putting the pins. I know I’m asking a lot of questions, sorry about that. I don’t currently have a Facebook account but I have been considering making one, would it be easier to discuss and brainstorm ideas there rather than here?
 
I’ll probably pick up some MDF to use for the outer layers, however I’m still a little lost on the foam stuff. I think I understand how the pieces work for the most part, when they bend at the joints the top corner gets caught on the sharp edge of the sword and can’t go further? That’s what I’m getting from it. But if the middle section isn’t quite as wide as the outside sections, what does it catch on exactly? And as for the pins thing, I wanted to use something like that but I don’t know where I would be putting the pins. I know I’m asking a lot of questions, sorry about that. I don’t currently have a Facebook account but I have been considering making one, would it be easier to discuss and brainstorm ideas there rather than here?

Brainstorming on here is fine if you don't have facebook. Here's an image that best shows how it works:
12508681_1245327485481079_1957347254517095003_n.jpg

So if you're going for a full wood build here's how it would look on the inside. The last bit of the blade shows what it looks like covered up with 3/16" subfloor. So along the top of the blade (Where the red blades would be) I had small cabinet hinges I got from home depot. Keeps all the pieces connected together and allows them to rotate. The bottom edge when it swings gets caught on the sharp edge of the blade (not in this picture above, but in the picture below) You can best see it in the first section of the blade with the little tongue sticking out. Now here's a picture of it with all the panels on and the sharp edge attached:
12552850_1245327565481071_3607686470954952072_n.jpg

You can see the screws along the bottom that holds that sharp edge on which is independent of the middle boards, but is still part of each section of the blade. So when the blade sections rotate into scythe mode the middle parts get caught on the attached sharp edge. You can kind of see it in this picture here:
12573005_1245327618814399_6791353784527851745_n.jpg

Now while the hinges help rotate the blade into sword or scythe mode, they don't keep them locked in that mode, which is why I recommended pins or screws. I used set-in screws, but made it awkward to transform it (usually took 5min on a good day lol). Magnets won't work cause of the weight it section was nor velcro either.

The other good news is the measurements I used on the foam version were a direct copy of the ones I used on the wood version, so you can use these to cut the wood to the right angles and such to get the right amount of rotation for each piece:
Qrow Blade help 1.jpg

Qrow Blade Help 2.jpg


Hopes this helps explain things a little better. I try and record everything I do, but with so much trial and error I often forget to take pictures and such =/ Let me know if I need to explains things more though.
 
Alright, this actually explained a LOT, pretty sure I understand all of the blade mechanism now. I only have a few more questions, most importantly, was the blade edge made? Did you just put in a piece of narrow wood and sand it down to a point? I’ve seen another design that just glues an aluminum angled bar to the edge but if there’s any chance I can use wood instead of that I’m taking it lol. Wood is just the easiest thing for me to work with, I’m sure it’ll be heavy but as long as it looks and works I’m willing to deal with it, haha. I have a few small questions about the body piece, but it’s pretty much all about measurements. Like basically what are the dimensions for each part? And lastly, the pins, hinges, screws, things like that. Where exactly would the pins be placed if I wanted to be able to switch between locking them in sword and scythe modes? I considered using some kind of system with bolts and nuts, so it’d be be simple to take them out and fasten them back in. But I’m not sure where they would go. And as for the hinges, what size hinges and what width of wood for the center blade would be used? I hope you don’t mind all the questions haha, thanks a ton for answering them though. I really do appreciate it :)

0320799C-4678-42ED-AF00-597A8E0FFE01.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Alright, this actually explained a LOT, pretty sure I understand all of the blade mechanism now. I only have a few more questions, most importantly, was the blade edge made? Did you just put in a piece of narrow wood and sand it down to a point? I’ve seen another design that just glues an aluminum angled bar to the edge but if there’s any chance I can use wood instead of that I’m taking it lol. Wood is just the easiest thing for me to work with, I’m sure it’ll be heavy but as long as it looks and works I’m willing to deal with it, haha. I have a few small questions about the body piece, but it’s pretty much all about measurements. Like basically what are the dimensions for each part? And lastly, the pins, hinges, screws, things like that. Where exactly would the pins be placed if I wanted to be able to switch between locking them in sword and scythe modes? I considered using some kind of system with bolts and nuts, so it’d be be simple to take them out and fasten them back in. But I’m not sure where they would go. And as for the hinges, what size hinges and what width of wood for the center blade would be used? I hope you don’t mind all the questions haha, thanks a ton for answering them though. I really do appreciate it :)

View attachment 254631

Sorry for the delay of getting back to you. Must've had the page open cause the notification never pinged that I got a new message =/
Anywho, I do have a picture that has most of the measurements here except for the little hole area, just eyeballed that one for proper size:
Dimensions.jpg


As for the blade, it actually comes from the main cut out here (I know it's the foam version, but it's the same design I used for the wood one) You cut out these triangle sections and they get sandwiched between the outer layers of wood. Don't attach them back to the center piece of wood. To get the angle I used a router with a 45 degree bit :
Blade Edge.jpg


The pins are a little tricky to explain, but it goes like this. You're going to need 2 holes on each outer section and one hole for each middle section. The way it works is when the section rotates on the hinge the middle hole will line up with one of the 2 outer holes, respectively for sword or scythe mode. I know this picture will do little, but it's the best I have as this is hard to see when the blade is fully assembled:
12654541_1251606544853173_2446918770573042048_n.jpg

So what you see is the pin in the one hole, which is the sword mode. When removed the hinge will allow the middle board to rotate and line up with the other hole behind it. It's easiest to mark the sword mode holes first, then taking the outer boards off and rotating the sections to scythe mode and marking those holes afterwards. It took a lot of careful and precise placement to get this right.

Lastly, for board thickness I went with Common Board from Home Depot. Measures 72" long, 11 3/4" wide, 3/4" thick. Hinges were only 3/4" wide as well to fit the middle board.
And no, questions like this don't bother me at all man. Just happy I can help fellow builders =) Do wish I still had the original wood version though, would make explaining it a little easier as I could take more pics, but I had to make space this summer so it had to go.
 
I would really like to see this get done with the Ember Celica, I would buy as many as I could
 
I would really like to see this get done with the Ember Celica, I would buy as many as I could

I have just about pulled all my hair out trying to think about doing Ember Celica. But, Yang's gauntlets are one of the few weapons from that show that actually defy all logic when they transform. I slowed down the animation frame by frame and they just magical grow larger. That little piece she wears when it's compact or put away, is the large piece that acts as the cocking mechanism when it's in gun mode. Makes no sense whats so ever lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top