Fan Made Zelda Sword and Shield Replicas

[finaldrumgod]

Some very slick looking replicas here. Check it out!

http://topcultured.com/fan-made-zelda-sword-shield-replicas/

 

[OcarinalinkLOZ]

Those look fantastic! Wonder if you could buy them...? cool stuff!

 

[Djinn]

Actually he does sell those, they are made from fiberglass resin over a solid core. I remember seeing his work a few years ago and was very impressed. They can be found over here
http://www.fiberglassblades.com/Blades.html But the prices are a little high for some people. The quality though is as high as it gets.

There are quite a few prop makers crafting replica master swords. Some of the wood props are especially good.
http://volpinprops.blogspot.com/2009/02/links-master-sword.html

 

[OcarinalinkLOZ]

Wow! Neat stuff, thanks Djinn...unfortunatly the price is a little high, but who says it can't wait a bit? The sword would definatly make a neat addition to any fanboy's collection!

 

[mattsimme]

All I can say is... wow. They look amazing, if only I had enough money so I would buy one of them.

 

[finaldrumgod]

Yeah it is extremely well crafted. I wish I had enough money to support them and have a great piece Zelda artwork!

 

[Brandikins]

Wow, those Hylian Shields are FAR better than all of the others on the internet. The others aren't shiny, and typically come with bad paint jobs and other errors. For example, mine came with some scratches on the back, one part of the chain fell off, and it didn't even come with a strap or handle. But since then I have covered the scratches, fixed the chain, and even added my own leather strap, which is better than the cheap velcro ones anyway. I will add a handle of my own sooner or later, but after seeing that shield I could beg to differ if I had the cash for one.

But the swords are at least $400, that's not worth the cash at all. There are other Master Swords out there for less than $100 that are actually made of stainless steel. My Master Sword has that, and a great sheathe too. Fiberglass is tough, don't get me wrong, my Hylian Shield is made out of it. But swords typically use metal, so those swords are practically purely designed for a costume only.

Bottom line, the shields are definitely the best on the internet. But the swords are nothing more than just nice cosplay items that cost way more than they should. My Master Sword and sheathe doesn't have a flawless paint job like those, but it's still very good. If he wants to sell more, he really needs to lower the price. I mean really, the swords cost more than even the most down to the detail Link costume, and take that from me, because I recently finished my costume.

 

[Djinn]

Unfortunately stainless steel is no better a material for a sword whatsoever. When it comes to something a large and heavy as a sword stainless is a very poor metal to use and is very prone to breakage when made as thin as a blade. On top of that the hilt and handle material on those stainless swords is a material called polyresin. Which is fiberglass resin with a lot of aluminum and zinc powder added to give it a metallic feel. It does an excellent job of mimicking a metal finish and feel, but is very soft and most often the tapped pommel grinds away the teeth over time and it cannot stick together. The polyresin is also very prone to breakage when taking any form of shock such as dropping it, since it is only fiberglass with the added weight of metal powder added. Basically the stainless swords are no better than a simple cosplay addition or something to hang on the wall. That's it. Attempting to play with it can be incredibly dangerous because that pommel cannot hold the sword together at all and the blade has a high chance of snapping.

Between the two the $400 resin sword is much sturdier an item for handling on top of being a lot more accurate to the original artwork. The problem with the price is that he does not make or sell in bulk so he cannot afford to charge less for the items he creates. I have played around with resin plenty of times in the past and I can assure you it is very expensive, especially for a piece as large as a sword or shield. He is definitely using a couple hundred in resin just casting those. And even then there is a high chance of that cast not turning out well by having things like air bubbles appear.

When buying replicas like these, you definitely get what you pay for.

 

[Freddy]

All I can say to that is wow... I have searched high and low for such flawless craftsmanship and construction; if they were maybe a wee bit cheaper, they'd be selling like hot-cakes in my opinion.

 

[Brandikins]

Unfortunately stainless steel is no better a material for a sword whatsoever. When it comes to something a large and heavy as a sword stainless is a very poor metal to use and is very prone to breakage when made as thin as a blade. On top of that the hilt and handle material on those stainless swords is a material called polyresin. Which is fiberglass resin with a lot of aluminum and zinc powder added to give it a metallic feel. It does an excellent job of mimicking a metal finish and feel, but is very soft and most often the tapped pommel grinds away the teeth over time and it cannot stick together. The polyresin is also very prone to breakage when taking any form of shock such as dropping it, since it is only fiberglass with the added weight of metal powder added. Basically the stainless swords are no better than a simple cosplay addition or something to hang on the wall. That's it. Attempting to play with it can be incredibly dangerous because that pommel cannot hold the sword together at all and the blade has a high chance of snapping.

Between the two the $400 resin sword is much sturdier an item for handling on top of being a lot more accurate to the original artwork. The problem with the price is that he does not make or sell in bulk so he cannot afford to charge less for the items he creates. I have played around with resin plenty of times in the past and I can assure you it is very expensive, especially for a piece as large as a sword or shield. He is definitely using a couple hundred in resin just casting those. And even then there is a high chance of that cast not turning out well by having things like air bubbles appear.

When buying replicas like these, you definitely get what you pay for.

Stainless steel is definitely better for display since it doesn't rust, and fiberglass is typically tougher and a bit lighter so it's definitely better for costumes. You are right about the hilts, though. My Master Sword sometimes feels a bit loose when I swing it, and my friend told me that sword replicas typically have loose handles in comparison to normal swords. If it didn't have a loose hilt, I'd practice with it a lot more, since I use it mainly for display and don't want it to break.

You are also right about the cost of materials. I make Deku Shield and Magical Shield replicas and sell them on eBay, and I put them at a decent price since it does take some money in materials. It actually isn't hard to stain, paint, and screw on handles and straps after I cut them out, but I still have them at decent, but not too high prices. Another big factor on determining the price of hand-crafted objects is how much work is put into them, so that you can actually get your money's worth. A lot of people make Hylian Shields and Master Swords, so some are really nice, while others are terrible. There's no standards set for all of them.

Casting and resin is tricky. I have been talking to a person on DeviantArt since March about getting a Majora's Mask, and it's just about finished. She made a mask way back in 2005, then in March she created a whole new mold out of clay by hand. Then she made the cast a month ago, and then it takes over a week of spending several hours every day to paint each one. It's going to be $250 + shipping for me, and even more for future ones. But I'm first on the list, and trust me, those things are works of art. Like you said, you get what you pay for, but that's even higher in this case since Majora's Mask replicas are very rare and hard to come by. Hylian Shields and Master Swords are much more common, but the ones on that site are pretty much the cream of the crop.

 

[Djinn]

Stainless steel is definitely better for display since it doesn't rust, and fiberglass is typically tougher and a bit lighter so it's definitely better for costumes. You are right about the hilts, though. My Master Sword sometimes feels a bit loose when I swing it, and my friend told me that sword replicas typically have loose handles in comparison to normal swords. If it didn't have a loose hilt, I'd practice with it a lot more, since I use it mainly for display and don't want it to break.

You are also right about the cost of materials. I make Deku Shield and Magical Shield replicas and sell them on eBay, and I put them at a decent price since it does take some money in materials. It actually isn't hard to stain, paint, and screw on handles and straps after I cut them out, but I still have them at decent, but not too high prices. Another big factor on determining the price of hand-crafted objects is how much work is put into them, so that you can actually get your money's worth. A lot of people make Hylian Shields and Master Swords, so some are really nice, while others are terrible. There's no standards set for all of them.

Casting and resin is tricky. I have been talking to a person on DeviantArt since March about getting a Majora's Mask, and it's just about finished. She made a mask way back in 2005, then in March she created a whole new mold out of clay by hand. Then she made the cast a month ago, and then it takes over a week of spending several hours every day to paint each one. It's going to be $250 + shipping for me, and even more for future ones. But I'm first on the list, and trust me, those things are works of art. Like you said, you get what you pay for, but that's even higher in this case since Majora's Mask replicas are very rare and hard to come by. Hylian Shields and Master Swords are much more common, but the ones on that site are pretty much the cream of the crop.

You definitely shouldn't swing it around, the entire sword is only held together by the end of the blade twisted onto the pommel. But the teeth on that pommel are polyresin and very easily wear off or even break off without much effort. That would cause the blade to fly right out of the handle in your hands. I've actually seen it occur on a couple occasions. But as far as a wall piece I think either work as they are both totally inappropriate for handling very much.

The price of resin is pretty high, even more so depending on quality. So the cost of materials could include the original piece, the mold, then the resin that went into that sword. But I know that the cost of resin alone would place the price in the hundreds easily. I agree that painting and finishing takes some time, but I'm certain the mask will be worth the wait.

 

[Brandikins]

Oh, it is. Here's a link:

http://hylianjean.deviantart.com/#/d3jmv92

The painted one is mine, and it was finished about a month ago. But then the creator dropped it and damaged it slightly and went on a hiatus for a month. Now mine has been slowly getting repaired, but I've had to wait much longer than I thought originally. But if I drop my spot on the top of the waiting list it'll be months before I can get one then. As a huge collector of Zelda replicas, this mask is what will make my collection as one worth being mentioned.

Yes, she told me that my mask is just paying the cost of casting materials, which proves that it does cost a lot. Future masks will help pay for an airbrush for the paint, and hopefully she'll use my mask to make stencils. She painted mine ENTIRELY by hand with small brushes. No stenciling or anything, took over a week of grueling labor. I actually agree with the pricing on that.

And yeah, the blade is strong, it's been sharpened as well, but the handle just ruins its fighting and practice purposes. It's still great for display and helping me open boxes, though.