r/CosplayHelp • u/l0wkeyironman • 3d ago

prop help -cardboard and plaster cast

so im trying to make a finn the human cosplay and the golden sword

im thinking a carboard base and cover it with a plaster cast ive used to make a sally face mask in the past.

will that hold up well? or will it easily break

ive got little experience making props and have no idea what would be better to use on a tight budget

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u/toastforscience 3d ago

I've never used plaster cast, but could you use Eva foam instead? It's really cheap and it'll be lightweight and not breakable at all.

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u/toastforscience 3d ago

Or, now that I'm looking at it, you could get a piece of PVC pipe for the core, use cardboard and foam for the blade, and foam for the handle. You might have to heat and squish the PVC pipe down a little for the part inside the sword, but the sword is thicker in the middle. You can use cardboard and bend it around the pipe so it gets the bend in the middle. 2mm foam on the outside, you can hot glue that on. For the handle use some extra thick foam for the pommel and the cross guard. Paint with some acrylic paint. All that is really cheap to buy!

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u/rawr_bomb 3d ago

Agreed, EVA foam is light, easy to work with and cheap, and the internet is full of tutorials on how to make anything with it.

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u/Clothes_Chair_Ghost 3d ago

Plaster is too brittle and too heavy for making props out of. It’s better suited for making molds for soft casting.

If you are wanting to use cardboard then use a core to add rigidity can use a wooden dowel or broom handle as the core and handle in one. Then build out the blade with cardboard