Sword of Altair (WIP Part 1)

So, I mentioned in my last post that I love the game Assassin's Creed. For anyone out there who isn't into gaming I'll give a quick breakdown of the game. Desmond is a man in modern day (or maybe slightly futuristic?) America who is, unbeknownst to him, a descendant of a line of assassins dating back to B.C. These assassins existed to keep the Templar Knights (who are evil in this storyline) in check. The Templar's have a grand scheme to take over to world using some mystical artifacts and Indiana Jones was busy so it's up to our hero Desmond to stop them. In order to stop them he has to figure out their plan and he does this by reliving the lives of his ancestors through a machine. It's sort of halfway between time travel and virtual reality. Yes, it's kind of like the Matrix. So, even though the game series is based in modern times the majority of it is actually played out in ancient Israel, Italy, and various other locales.

I like the gameplay. I really like the storyline and the intrigue. I love the design. I want to walk around in the outfits worn by the main characters. I want to make all of the vambraces and spaulders and boots tunics and weapons and, and, and...

Before I post anything I'll go ahead and say that any artwork is owned by Ubisoft games. I'm not taking any credit for it. It's all amazing artwork and design and far over anything I would ever be able to do.



This is Altair from the first game.



Ezio from the second game.



Third Game.



Fourth Game.



Latest Game.

There are a lot of other cool characters in these games, but these are the main assassins. Right now I have my sights set on some of the stuff from the first game. I grabbed some pictures of the sword off the internet and printed them out so I'd have a template. I pinned them down so they wouldn't shift while I traced around them.

I decided to make the sword in three parts. Handle, Cross Guard, and Blade. I think it would have been easier to do one piece that started as the handle and turned into the blade and then attach the cross guard to it, but I already started and rather than lose momentum dwelling on how I could have done it I'm just going to keep on pressing on.

After I traced them onto the wood I decided they were a bit too small so I made them both a little longer and then cut them out with my saw.

What I'm going to try to do is drill out the center of the cross guard. Then that tab on the handle will fit inside.

All the pieces are rough cut now, and I've started to rasp the handle into shape.

Here's what it will look like together. Once I get everything the correct shape and size I'll start adding details. I think I'm going to sink a metal rod into the handle which will go through the cross guard and into the blade for support.

Here's a replica being offered by museum replicas so you can get a better idea of what it will look like when I'm done.

I'm really excited to see this project finished, and should it turn out like I want I think I will be more proud of this than any of the projects I've done before. *crosses fingers* Let's hope it turns out like I want.