Using those plastic cocktail swords as power swords

[Ezekyle_Abaddon]

That's it. That's the thread. I'm just wondering how good of an idea it would be

[Jukkiz]

propably more terminator size and brittle to use. Depends, of course what manufacturer, if any, you can find. As there are multidude of options

[Arkhanist]

Cheap plastics can be a sod to stick together. When fixing small plastic toys that come on front of kids magazines etc (bloody things last 2 minutes), usually superglue doesn't hold, and even EMA plastic weld won't work (a serious solvent), so literally heat welding them together using a low-temp soldering iron has been the only option (if ugly). I believe they're probably polyethelene or other thermoplastic. Sticking together a cheap toy plastic such as polyethylene with styrene (e.g. GW models) with only a small contact area could defintely be tricky to get a good bond.

 

That said, greenstuff world does transparent resin swords that can be glued on with decent superglue (cyanoacrylate), so it could be worth a go if you can find ones the right size that you can cut to give you a decent surface for the superglue to hold.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Arkhanist

[Imren]

Skip superglue and do this:

 

Materials:

 

• Two-component epoxy glue (5 min setting time, but will cure for 24 hrs)
• 1 mm drill with pin vise
• 1 mm brass wire (sturdy enough to give support but softer than steel and thus easier to cut and less dulling on the cutters)
• Side cutters (preferably hobby cutters that cut flat on one side)
• Hobby knife
• Gripping pliers.

 

Procedure:

1. Decide on the posture and angles of the arm holding the sword, also make sure the closed hand is on the wrist
2. measure out how much sword handle needs to be cut away and using the hobby knife scribe around the handle at the two cut points (where the little and index finger edges the part of the handle that will protrude from the closed hand.
3. Gently cut the sword handle at the scribe marks, make sure you use the flat cutting side agaisnt the part of the handle that will protrude out od the closed hand.
4. Dry fit the sword handle on the closed hand and check pose/angles. Also check that the closed hand fit snugly.
5. Using the 1 mm drill drill through the handle from bottom and as the drill bit reaches throuh to the cut edge then place the closed hand between the cut handle edges and drill through the closed hand well into the hild of the sword, run the drill bit back and forth to allow for minimal play so that the wire runs smoothly.
6. insert the 1 mm brass wire though the hild and hand in one go and make sure everything fits snug and nice.
7. Pull out wire and mix your epoxy, a small droplet of each compnent is sufficient, mix wel.
8. Smear the epoxy onto the wire and using the gripping pliers push the wire through the hild and hand until it bottoms out.
9. Let it cure for 24 hrs.

Advantage with epoxy is that it is less brittle and has higher adherence power than superglue. disadvantage is that it takes 24 hrs to cure.

[Lord Raven 19]

They could work, although would need cutting down, I have some I plan to use as decorative elements in terrain, they're more suited to being a longsword for some kind of dreadnought, if that interests you.