Genre Mash-Up: Steampunk Sailor Mars - Pt 4

Props. These can be big, small, simple, elaborate... They can be incredibly descriptive for the character, like a trademark sword, or can be a fun little detail.

I had decided that Sailor Mars needed a prop. A few ideas came to mind... I would love to have made all of them, but time will only allow for so many.

I wanted to make a fiery crossbow, rather than the full scale flaming bow and arrow. Non-functional, of course... most conventions stipulate that all prop weapons must be made of safe materials, and cannot be functional. This crossbow would be made from various pieces of wood, and would be permanently in the drawn position and glued into place, never to fire its arrow. I didn't have time for a crossbow. Sorry if this is a disappointment... it was for me too, and perhaps one day, I will make it. There are just so many logistical issues with it, and I don't even know where to start.

I figured I would go for something simple... something easy to make Marsy and Steampunky. How about the  Transformation wand? With several variations of that throughout the series, it shouldn't be too difficult to make one that at least resembles on of them. My personal favourite was the star version. I just think the star that repeats on Sailor Mars' outfit is great, and having several stars on it already, this seemed like a natural choice.

I trolled the aisles of my local craft and sewing stores for the pieces I would use. With Christmas coming up, I was able to find a felt star that had a nice filigree pattern cut into it. Glue this to a stable layer (a wooden star, in this case), paint it gold, and I have a nice Victorian version of the topper on the star wand.

I found a nice wooden something or other in the woodworking section of Michaels Crafts. I squashed a piece of Fimo (polymer clay that hardens when baked) to fit between the star and the handle.

I painted them as separate pieces, and glued them together when they were dry. I didn't like they way the red and gold Fimo piece stood out, so I painted that gold after I assembled everything. It looked much better once it was painted gold too!

I glued some gears to it, and wrapped a chain around the handle. It looked quite nice when it was done. I will include some better photos in my summary at the end of the project.

Final note on props... in addition to the rules of the convention about weapons and props, remember that you are going to have to carry this thing around ALL DAY! Being a totally non-functional prop, not a purse or something else that was actually useful, I found it annoying to carry this around for 6 hours. And it wasn't even that heavy. I am having second thoughts now about taking this prop to my next convention, and instead I am thinking about making a different accessory that is hands free.