A tutorial for how to make the Black Iron Great Sword from Sword Art Online (Alfheim arc).


Materials used:

- Grey board (2.5 mm thick)
- EVA foam
- Metal ruler
- Stanley knife
- Cutting mat
- Paper clay
- Universal hobby adhesive
- Contact adhesive
- Construction adhesive from Bison
- Wooden stick
- Sanding paper
- Painters tape
- Gesso
- Primer
- Silver metallic spray paint
- Black metallic spray paint
- Graphite powder
- Brown and black acrylic paint
- Paint brushes


- For the base of the sword I used 2.5mm thick grey board. I cutted out all the patterns. Because the material is very thick, you can't cut it in one movement. So I used a metal ruler and slichtly cutted the board by going over de drawn patterns a few times with my stanley knife.

- After I cutted out all the patterns, I glued on the edges with universal hobby adhesive. I glued on the wooden stick in the center of the board with construction adhesive and let it cure for a night.

- After the construction adhesive was cured I glued all the grey board pieces together and filled in the seams with paper clay. After the paperclay was fully harded out I sanded it down.

- Then I added the other details which I cutted out of EVA foam. I used contact adhesive to glue all the pieces together and glued it on the grey board. Again I filled in the seams with paperclay and sanded it down etc. For the details on the grid I used paperglay also and sanded it down.

- I sealed the foam with at least 2 layers of gesso, this is very important or else the foam will be too porous to be able to spray paint. After the gesso was fully cured I added a primer. After the primer was cured, I sanded everything with a 200 grid sandpaper to smooth everything out.

- Time to paint, I started with the silver part. So I sealed all the area's which are NOT silver with painters tape and sprayed a few thin layers of silver paint and let it cure for a few hours. Then I carefully removed the painters tape and sealed all the silver area's to be able to add the black paint. After the black paint was cured I added some graphite powder for a more metallic look and added some brown/black acrylic paint for a worn out look.


And the sword is done!



Tips an tricks:

When using grey board for making swords or other props, always use a sturdy core like wood or metal. For making swords like a katana I recommend wood because grey board will not be sturdy enough for a blade only.

As a filler you can use any material you want since there will be no pressure on the seams. I used paperclay because I already had this laying around.

If you want a more lightweight prop, you can also use foam board instead of grey board. Foam board is not as sturdy as grey board but it is possible. On foam board you can't use the contact adhesive and some types of primers, it can eat the foam board.



I hope this helps, if there are any questions be free to ask them.