Searching for rupees...

... well, okay not REALLY rupees, but gemstones.  See, I decided to take a break from Link today and work on my wife's Zelda costume.  Specifically, what will be the long-pole: the crown, pauldrons, and belt.  You know, all that fancy armor that is part of her dress?

Remember, no resin, right?  Okay, so this is going to be really fun.  By fun, I mean a LOT of work.  In all my searching, pretty much everyone does craft foam, or resin for Zelda's getup.  Yikes, this is going to be super awesome.  Now, there is a guy, Azmal, who is on DeviantArt (http://http://azmal.deviantart.com/) who is the only person on the planet (that I've found) that has taken the time to do Zelda's armor in metal.  I asked him if he'd do a commission (and yes, I'm still considering it), but his price is astronomical.  See, he uses repousse' and chase, a nearly forgotten craft to work with metal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing).  It's actually pretty darned cool and his work is amazing! Because of this, the effort involved is enormous and hence carries quite the price tag.  So, I figured, why not?  I am handy with wood and metal, let's give it a shot.  Given this will be probably the most effort intensive (by me, anyway) part of this costume set, I had better get started.  I figured that whilst I'm sitting at home and just lounging on the couch, I would go ahead and start researching the jewels for the costume.  See, again, no resin.  So enter our beautiful friend Swarovski.  Yep, the jewels in this li'l bugger are going to be Swarovski.

But wait, you say.. I thought you were doing this REAL? C'mon folks, can you imagine how much REAL sapphires and rubies would be for this if I did that?  Might as well make the armor actual GOLD while I'm at it if I were doing that... not.  So, Swarovski makes some breathtaking crystal embellishments and so that's what I'm doing.  Now, can I find them in the right rough sizes?  And so the journey begins.  It turns out, I can probably find most of what I'm looking for.  I may have to take some license with some of the elements to conform to reality and the ability to acquire materials, but I started the process today.  Yep, I bought the crown jewels (har, har).. and one of the belt jewels, because I think the sizes are pretty close.  The front-jewel for the crown may not quite be large enough.  We'll see.. I can find larger ones, but they have these pesky holes in them because they are part of the chandelier collection.  We'll see if I have to go there, or not.  I hope to avoid that and that the ones that I got will work.  So for Zelda's crown, here's what I managed to find (and buy).  I got these from ArtBeads jewelry supply (http://www.artbeads.com).  I'll probably get some more stuff from them over the course of this, too.

For the front-crown jewel, I got the Swarovski "fancy pear" in aquamarine, in a 40mmx27mm size (style 4327) at: http://www.artbeads.com/4327-aqu40.html. 
For the back jewel (as it is darker), I got the fancy oval in blue montana in 39mmx28mm (http://www.artbeads.com/4127-mon39.html), and finally I got the same oval style in aquamarine as the central belt jewel (http://www.artbeads.com/4127-aqu39.html).  Not bad for the first day gem-hunting.  I spent pretty much the rest of the day pulling my hair out looking for the large red round jewel, and the droplet jewels of the right shape (those are probably going to come from a chandelier place, or I will take license and do something with a teardrop like some earring makers do.. I'm not yet sure.



Incidentally, I did have a good find today, looking for the bronze (yes, I'm using bronze, not brass.. no one ever used brass as armor.. c'mon now...).  I found 14 gauge sheet bronze (which would have been about the right gauge of bronze for plate armor) and also managed to find sheet yellow brass (which I just so happen to need for my Hylian shield)!  Score, two birds, one stone.  Excellent.  I am going to do some mockups first before I buy since I will need to know how much I'm going to need.  Incidentally, anyone know how to cut 14 gauge bronze into pretty detailed shapes?  I'm thinking water jet may be the only way to go, unless there is a way to do it with a scroll saw... hmm...

Shielded...

So today let's talk shields.  Any self-respecting Zelda fan knows that no Link costume is complete without a Hylian shield.  For the cosplayer, there are many options available out there for Hylian shields.  Some are near pixel perfect replicas, some are not.  Some claim battle-worthiness; some do not.  Remember my assertions in my first post? Well, that leaves me with limited options.

First, let's review shall we?

First we have the reference photo (from the actual Twilight Princess game:

Now, in regards to pixel perfect versions, the best I have found are done individually by cosplayers or better yet made by the folks over at Fiberglass Blades (their resin work for their swords is IMPRESSIVE too!):

 

(image from: http://fiberglassblades.com/Twilight_princess_shield.html)

These shields are made from epoxy resin and foam injected and weigh in at around 5 lbs.  While good aesthetically, they are most definitely not battle worthy... One thing to note: the automotive paint is GREAT... We may use that later... ;)

Onto the battle-ready (sometimes used VERY loosely).

I really only found two places that have even remotely battle-worthy shields.  

The first set is from Twiggy's Treasures (http://www.twiggystreasures.com) (they have three shields claiming to be battle ready):

These aren't terrible, but after research on the first one I learned that the "stainless steel" is like 21ga or less and the rest is resin; this is NOT battle ready.  The second two were more promising but I could never get detailed specs and furthermore Twiggy staff was unresponsive to any inquiries and I even tried to order the third one just to inspect it but I never got order confirmation and once again a lack of response from staff.  Pretty sad customer service there, guys. Way to go.

Then we have the only other battle ready like shield I have encountered (many websites sell that first one from Twiggy, don't be fooled).  This brings us to Aradani Studios (http://www.aradanicostumes.com).

Okay, sidebar: can I just say these guys are FREAKING awesome?  Paul Bielaczyc is also a big Zelda fan and is behind a lot of their Zelda gear.  He is super awesome to talk to as well, but we will get to that.  I am planning on getting a few items from these guys for my costume and they make some very accurate stuff.  You really should check them out!  Anyway, shields, right.

They offer a battle ready one made of wood covered in leather.  It is gorgeous! I really favor the silver painted one even though not accurate coloring.  It's made if heavy plywood covered in veg tan leather and hand painted.  They are pricey but well-made and would meet SCA regulation I am sure.  Here are a couple pictures of their various colors (as these are custom and hand-made they also offer custom coloring):

They can be purchased here: http://www.aradanicostumes.com/hero_shield

Now, the ONLY problem I have with these are the lack of metal elements on it.  The Hylian shield, remaining true to the game would have steel edging (called an orle) and the triforce would be a gold, mirror-polished metal (likely gold or brass).  The Phoenix appears to be painted and there is metal thorn work also.  You can tell by the raised areas.

So while Aradani makes a breathtaking and worthy shield, it isn't quite close enough for my tastes.

So, I guess that leaves me with only one option: make a battle worthy and accurate Hylian shield.
I suppose I could fashion it from wood... The shield shape overall is a cross between a "heater" and "wankel" design both of which have true historic precedent.  I considered starting from a banded shield and ripping off the adornments and redoing, but most rimmed shields of the right shape run over $250 and that would be painful to tear one apart.

Then low and behold, I stumbled across Armor Venue (http://www.armorvenue.com).  Oh wow! They have a 16 ga. SCA regulation steel shield that is pretty much the right shape!!!!

This can be purchased here: http://www.armorvenue.com/four-point-blank-shield.html

They also have an eBay store. They call it a "Four point shield".  I could be wrong but I don't think that term is historical, but whatever, it makes a basis of my shield! Sweet!  Now to make it look like a Hylian shield... Clearly there is going to be some metal work to make it work.. Some edging... Some polished brass triangles... Some riveting and shaping... Making a pheonix pattern... Should be fun!

The crafting of the shield will be a blog post on its own, so stay tuned!  I will give you a hint though... There will be a technique called "Brazing" involved... :)



I'm going to be looking to use this pattern, as I like the idea of the design along the border, as well as the small Hylian crests in the border as well:

 

Brief distraction

Hi guys,

Not project related directly but I thought these guys did an AMAZING job!  See all previous points on the sword and shield but cinematically this was pretty awesome...

Yeah, so about swords...

Hey guys,

So my last post set the stage for the costume foray.  This post is going to talk about the Master Sword.

So, first, a thing about swords; I know something about them.  I've been in love with swords since before I can remember.  There are pictures of me at age 3 running around with a toy, wooden sword sticking out of the back of my shirt.  I watched He-Man religously.  I played The Legend of Zelda since the first installment.  With my first summer job, what did I buy?  My first REAL sword from Museum Replicas, Ltd. (www.museumreplicas.com - Great company, by the way).

Now, moving onto Zelda.  EVERY master sword replica out there suffers from a number of major flaws:

1.) They are resin; or stainless steel blades

2.) They have cast metal (aluminum or pewter or some other soft metal) guards, pommels and grips.

3.) They are off-balance; either very blade heavy, or overall too heavy.  Their blades tend to be false-edged and have no taper; with a hexagonal cross-section blade which, while true to the game; does not make for a practical sword of any kind (see in my previous post about game designers).

I knew right away that none of these would do.  I needed something better.  Something real.  So here's the concept: Take the distinguishing features of the sword: acorn/scent-stopper pommel, winged guard, triforce on the ricasso (or base of the face of the blade), and ensuring there is some blue on the sword somewhere (remember, Fi was blue?).  Now imagine that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings styling of elven craftsmanship were applied.  Imagine if you will, that the same smiths who forged Glamdring or Sting were the ones to forge the Master Sword.  It should look unmistakable as the Master Sword, but with a distinctive elven styling.  I developed a concept sketch and started working with Christian Fletcher (www.christianfletcher.com) about it.

After a lot of back and forth and discussion with him; unfortunately we ran iinto a problem acquiring a blade of the right profile for what I wanted.  Long story short, I wound up moving the commission to Brendan Olszowy over at Fable Blades (www.fableblades.com).  I'm hoping to still have Christian craft the scabbard once the sword is done; his scabbard work is breathtaking.  I already have one of his swords (with scabbard)  and it is truly amazing!  I am looking forward to working with Brendan as well.  He is a super great guy (just like Christian) and he is also pretty excited about the project.  The commission there has begun and should take about 5-6 months to complete.  The guard and pommel, etc. should be done first and is roughly about 6 weeks out.  I'm working with him to hopefully get progress photos and will post them here as they come through.  The blade will have the same profile as his "Truth" sword:

(Courtesy: http://www.fableblades.com/Truth.html)



The exception will be that the fuller will start further away from the guard, making room for the triforce on the ricasso.  The hilt is a design I sketched and will look like this:

Now, you Zelda buffs will notice a few things: the grip is different than the cylindrical grip of the game-sword, the wings are more elegant and thin, there is a grip spacer, it lacks the disc looking thing that bridges the guard from the grip, and the pommel is different.  This was all intentional; this all makes for a more balanced sword (balancing is critical in a bastard sword; which is what the Master Sword really is, not to be confused with a two-handed or longsword).  This is where the "elven" styling comes into play and where some of the artistic license is.

The actual ricasso will have a triforce design like this:

(found at: http://fictivefantasies.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/triforce_ultharwe.jpg)

It will not have the lettering.






  

 Down the blade will be the following inscription:






Yeah, yeah.. it's not QUITE perfect Hylian; it should be actually be reversed as in the games, but it is using the "Twilight Princess" script (not Ancient Hylian from "Skyward Sword").  I'm not a huge fan of the reversed Hylian so it's just english transliterated into the Hylian runes.  It still looks pretty cool, so... meh.

As I said before, if I can get progress photos from Brendan along the way, I'll post them with progress.

See you next time!

The foray...

I am starting on a new project.

So, I'm building a set of costumes for my wife and I.  We are both HUGE "Legend of Zelda" fans and so I had the idea of doing a costume set for us... I am basing this on the "Twilight Princess" episode of the series, because, well, they have the best set of costumes thus far; I like the departure of the cartoon-like appearances and into a grittier setting.  They seem more "realistic" than ever before.  Ocarina of Time was close but event still pretty cartoon-like. "Twilight Princess" is pretty darned gritty though, and I LOVE that.

So here's the deal: One Link and one Zelda outfit coming up.  But first, some assertions/assumptions:

1.) No cheesy lame "halloween cosutme" crap.  So many costumes are made of thin, lame, non-durable material.  I'm a former SCA member and have been to Renaissance fairs and have REAL swords and some armor.  Real suede jerkins and boots, etc... so... I want that level of quality.  No compromises.

2.) This will not be "pixel perfect".  Many game designers try to go after some loose version of real medieval equipment and they know not what they are doing.  Big gaudy or physically improbable designs that so not really lend themselves to any sort of practicality.  While this will be a fantasy set of costumes, I'm trying to do my best to maintain some level of realism.  I'll tell you right now, the maille is not historically accurate (to any medieval era), but then again, virtually NONE of it is... riveted mild steel or not... it's all inaccurate, just a matter of to what degree.  Maybe I'll cover the details of why that is true in a later post.

3.) I'm taking some license with Link's costume.  While some elements I like; some are less than ideal.  Tights would NOT have been used, folks.  Link is an adventurer and would be using gear that would hold up to the elements.  Cotton tights and a thin tunic is uhh.. no.  Just no.  His tunic would have been made of dyed suede or wool... the under shirt is flat-out a gambeson, as he's wearing maille.  The pants are more than likely also leather or suede.  Hylians are also some sort of blend between Elven (Tolkien) and Aztec/Mayan in design and fashion; I like Tolkien's Elven universe a lot too, so I'm going to swing the pendulum a bit more in that direction, while still being very recognizable as Link.

4.) I recognize the limits of my own ability.  Due to assertion #1, that means no resin crap.  I'm no blacksmith so I cannot forge my own sword.  Replicas currently made are a joke; so I'm having a Master Sword commissioned (I will post acknowledgements and equipment/component sources later).  I'm going to do some of my own work (most subsequent posts will cover topics such as fabricating my Hylian shield; I am doing that myself based on an SCA shield blank).  I have already met some great people and will also cover them in later posts.  Many articles I have spent time scouring for the right items; and those I'm purchasing.  This constitutes the majority of the costumes; some articles have a base component and I'll embellish myself; others are completely commissioned.

So that's it.  The first post of me bringing to life the Zelda universe in a Link and Zelda costumes that are going to be EPIC!