Read on to see how I created a sword worthy of a Cosmic Enforcer…
Zodac is one of my favorite Masters of the Universe characters, and the Masters of the Universe Classics version is for my money the definitive version of the character.
But, even as a kid I felt Zodac was lacking in accessories. His gun is simply not that impressive when compared to the larger, more impressive weapons the other Masters wielded.
But what weapon would be worthy of a cosmic enforcer? A bigger gun? Redundant. A mace? Too crude. An axe, better but still not right.
No, it had to be a sword. A mighty blade to cleave a path between good and evil, and maintain cosmic balance. I dug around in my parts bin and found various blades that worked alright (Mattel’s King Arthur and the Knight’s of Justice and Playmates’ Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad yielded decent ones) but nothing was quite exactly what I wanted.
I wanted something with a futuristic feel, but still a traditional sword. Something between Excalibur and a Lightsaber…
So I decided to make one. I knew I wanted a broad bladed, heavy sword. And I wanted to incorporate the feel and motif of Zodac’s armor. So I set about sketching some rough designs and then fabricated a master out of sheet and rod styrene and a bead for the pommel:
The sketches were really just rough ideas, I prefer working in 3D so that’s where the real design came together. I wanted to incorporate Zodac’s 3 pronged logo (I like that it represents the 2 extremes of good and evil with the cosmic balance in the center.) I then added the 3 circular indents from Zodac’s armor, again reflecting the idea of the trinity. The handle I wanted to be reminiscent of the grip of his pistol, with a rounded pommel and ribbed grip.
I was quite happy with the master first time out, and it worked nicely with the figure. So it was time to cast the sword!
I constructed a Lego mold box, added a spout and vents and cast a silicone mold.
Once the mold was ready it was time to test cast! Initially I thought at the time that I’d make a silver sword, so my first cast used silver powder in the clear base resin:
It cast well enough, though I noticed I needed 2 more small vents at the corners of the section w/ the circular indents to eliminate some trapped air. The silver powder gave the resin a nice iridescent look, but the the swirl pattern was a bit random and the blade was a bit too translucent.
So I tried some more:
The second casting had silver powder mixed with some black and white dye. This made the silver more even and opaque, but less metallic.
The 3rd version was inspired by MOTUC He-Ro’s prototype sword. I realized that the idea of a starfield trapped in a smoky clear blade would be perfect for Zodac! Something between a Lightsaber and a traditional sword, exactly what I was looking for. A bit of silver glitter and black dye added to the resin did the trick perfectly!
I also discovered a great bonus! The clear casting let the 3 pronged logo on either side of the sword act as a window or sorts!
So Zodac finally has a sword worthy of a Cosmic Enforcer!
I had a lot of fun with this project, and it’s been a long time since I created an item totally from scratch. I’d love to do more MOTUC accessories, mabye even create a "Weapon’s Pack" of all original designs…
So dear readers, if you have any big ideas for original MOTUC weapons and accessories, let me know!
And if you’d like a casting of the Master Blade of the Empyrean please visit:
Spy Monkey Creations Inc.
Store: http://spymonkeycreations. ecrater.com/
Blog: http://spymonkeycreations. blogspot.com/
‘Til Next Time!
SpyMagician
EXCELLENT! I love the attention to detail! I love how it adds to the mythos and leaves alot to the imagination!
As Paul Hogan would say: Now, THAT is a sword! I really want one of those babies now.
LOVE the way you incorporated his cool insignia, that awesome smoky starfield, and the 2-way clear effect on the handle. Beats the ol’ raygun any old day. Zodac looks ready to dish out some serious cosmic enforcement!
And here I thought I was the only Zodac fan around. BRAVISIMO, Spy!!!
Thanks man!
Just PM me if you’re interested in getting one of these. I’m not out to make or sell a ton of ‘em, but I’m happy to help out what fans I can!
That is truly incredible work.
That said, despite his limited articulation and downward gaze, the 2002 art deco version remains the definitive Zodac for my money.
Whoa, that is freakin awesome, Jeremy! Well done. (Soonyoung just read this over my shoulder. She was curious about the materials you used.)
Great job from a branding perspective, also. I like how you tied in Zodac’s color pallet and logo into the sword design.
I’d like to see him and Fisto have a sword fight!
Very cool! the design on this sword is just fantastic! thanks for sharing :*)
Jeremy, you are SICK. (And I mean that the ways kids do these days, with the slang and such!)
I would imagine this would be easy to ebay since you aren’t making a copy of anything existing…
Thanks Jason!!!
Yeah, I considered putting a few on eBay, which as you say should not be a problem, but I think I’ll just see what interest there is first and maybe offer a few to fellow fans first.
With only 1 mold I can make more, but not that quickly, so I don’t want to commit to more than I can fulfill relatively quickly…
J
Wow. Incredible work. We need you on the JLU line, STAT!
Peace,
Chip
I’ll second that. My GL’s are sorely lacking for batteries and accessories!
Interesting idea behind the Cosmic Enforce “E crown”
as I like to call it. It always made me think of the crown on the original Castle Grayskull, as if some connection between the Cosmic Enforcers and The Council of Elders…
Would you be up for selling this sword?
Wow, awesome sword! Let us know when you plan to sell any. I definitely want one.
Just shoot me an email man!
SpyMagician@gmail.com
That totally blew me away. That’s an inspired work of art, man!
Beautifully done Spy. Thanks for sharing the entire process, and the results are truly fantastic. One question – you mentioned vents in the lego mold box. How do you accomplish this? Just curious, as it would probably help me with JLU head casts. Thanks for sharing that sword.
Hey Man!
There are 2 ways I do vents.
Look at the photos of the first silver sword I cast. See those 2 rods coming off the sides of the sword? When I cast the sword, I glued 2 tapered sytrene rods to the sides. This way, when I pour the resin in the mold, air can escape out the vents while I pour in the main spout in the pommmel.
You can also add vents after the fact. If you find air bubbles in your first casting, what you need to do is slit the mold and carve a channel from the area you got the bubble up to the top of the mold. This will let the air escape.
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/SpyMagician/master%20blade/vents_cast.JPG
The smooth vents were made by casting around the styrene rods, the angular ones were cut in after molding.
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/SpyMagician/master%20blade/vents_mold.JPG
I find even w/ a pressure pot, you have to have vents to allow the resin to travel freely and air to escape when you pour. Otherwise even under pressure you might still get compressed air bubbles.
Thanks for the tips spy. I’ll have to look into this the next time I do a mold.
Awesome Job!
Never cared that much for Zodac, but the sword really makes him seem much cooler.
[...] swords are the product of a far greater customizer than myself, AFI’s Spymagician. He designed, sculpted, and casts the Master Blades himself. I was lucky enough to see his blog [...]
Very Nice! I ordered one, can’t wait to get it.
[...] tell you, that the sword below is NOT included with the figure. It is the creation of AFI Blogger Spymagician. He designed, sculpted, and casts the Master Blades himself. I was lucky enough to see his blog [...]
[...] SpyMagician first posted the original Empyrean Blade on his AFI Blog a couple years back, I was ecstatic. That first Master Blade even ended up one of the very first [...]
[...] made their name as purveyors of fine third-party action figure weapons, moving from the Zodac sword/Master Blade of the Empyrean all the way to Spy Monkey Armory. While embracing their reputation as the forgers of plastic [...]
[...] made their name as purveyors of fine third-party action figure weapons, moving from the Zodac sword/Master Blade of the Empyrean all the way to Spy Monkey Armory. [...]