Guilty Gear is a 2D fighting video game which is set in a world destroyed by a war between humans and bio-organic weapons called Gears, it follows ten fighters as they enter a tournament held to prevent resurrection of the Gears' leader.
I was commissioned to create Paracelsus, an ancient relic in the form of a key in the game Guilty Gear.
After scaling the plans, I selected a 4″ ABS pipe to use as the shaft. Since the prop will be large, I’ll be making it to disassemble for transportation.
I cut sections of pipe to use as connectors for the parts.
I cut out a section of the pipe so it will fit inside the shaft sections.
I heated the connector to narrow the diameter of the ABS.
The collar is 6″ in diameter so I cut off a section of a 4-way ABS connector.
I cut end caps out of styrene leaving a hole to fit the shaft.
I glued on the base and inserted a thin styrene sheet to form the interior wall.
I drilled a hole for a u-bolt, inserting brass tubes to protect the threads.
I filled the interior with urethane expanding foam.
I glued on the top end cap and painted a coat of primer.
The final painted collar on the neck portion of the shaft.
A smaller collar is located at the top of the lower shaft. I cut a section of the shaft pipe and heated it to expand it. I cut out another section to fill the gap.
I wanted the eyes to be hemispheres so I cut a template of the proper diameter and marked off a section on a plastic light globe.
I was able to cut 3 domes from the globe…two for the eyes, one in case I messed up.
To make the eyes rotate, I cut discs from styrene and attached them in the center with a screw post. They would eventually be glued into a styrene base attached to the head.
The eyes test fit to the color plans.
I cut a section of pipe to be embedded in the head. I flattened two sides to glue to the front and back.
I glued styrene sides to the head styrene disc.
I cut out the nostrils and used putty to create depressions.
I filled the interior of the head with expanding foam and glued the head disc closed.
For the bit (the business end of any key) I cut profiles out of 1″ blue insulation foam.
I split each piece in half in preparation to be glued.
I cut a piece of masonite and attached it to the pipe with threaded rods. This will support the foam and allow it to be secured to the pipe.
I glued all the pieces for one half together.
Once both sides were done, I glued them to the masonite.
I cut out the hole in the bit, leaving a section at the edge for support.
I covered the foam with 1/8″ thick ABS plastic. This plastic is thin enough to be light but thick enough so that any undulation in the foam doesn’t show through.
The cleaned up bit attached and glued to the pipe.
I cut thin styrene for the face pattern.
I painted the head and attached the face pattern to it.
The eyes glued in place.
I used 1/2″ thick upholstery edging for the stitches. To keep them from unraveling, I taped the edges and applied hot glue to the ends. The ends were then tucked into 3/8″ hole.
The final assembled Paracelsus. The movable eyes are fun to play with!
Detail of the finished bit. I’m using a plastic chain from a parrot cage supplier.
The u-bolt can slide out to remove the chain. It can be secured inside the neck with nuts but the threads keep it in place just fine.
Detail of the finished head.The assembled key is over 7 feet tall and only weighs 25 lbs.
The client Bunnie-Fu with Paracelsus at MegaCon 2010 in Orlando. She’s 5’11” and is still dwarfed by this giant!