Final Fantasy XII is a video game which takes place in the fictional land of Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging an endless war. A band of sky pirates rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire.
Penelo is one of the playable characters in the video game Final Fantasy XII. I was commissioned to create her magical staff.
I cut out the blade shape out of 1/4″ MDF.
The edging was cut out of 1/8″ MDF and glued on.
The end caps were also cut from 1/4″ MDF. Once they were glued on, the entire blade was sealed with shellac and seams filled with putty.
The part of the staff that connects to the blade was lathed from 1-1/4″ oak dowel.
The end cap was cut off the dowel to allow it to fit around the blade.
I cut a slot in the dowel on the table saw.
The head dowel with blade inserted. 1/8″ MDF was later inserted into the gap between dowel and blade inset.
To attach the head and base to the staff, I used threaded inserts. The final piece will now break down into three pieces for easy transportation.
The blade was first sprayed with a base coat of silver and then masked off to paint the gold.
The base of the staff was also lathed from a 1-1/4″ oak dowel
I ordered a bell from a medical supply company and disassembled it.
The striker was replaced by a wooden bead on a threaded rod. I painted the bell and strung beads on a length of cotton twine.
The bell assembly was attached to two elastic hair ties.
I doubled up the elastic ties and slid them over the tip of the blade.
To attach the beads to the blade I made grommets from 1/8″ rivets.
I drilled holes into the blade and glued the grommets into them.
The last touch was to wrap the bottom of the staff with a faux suede.
The final staff is well over 6′ tall!