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Description
Final Fantasy VII Remake here we come! This is my second Buster Sword now, I happily used what I had learned from the MK 1 to make this a quicker build with more detail. It's 75 inches (over six feet!) long from point to pommel, 10 inches wide, and weighs 7 pounds. I was trying to get this one more balanced like a real sword (yeah I know "why bother," well it feels easier on the bearer if it's balanced even if more heavy), and although it balances just in front of the circular cut-out furthest from the grip, the extra weight doesn't seem to be worth it. This isn't something you'd want to lug around a convention all day in my opinion. The higher detail and paint job make it a great collector's piece or photography prop, however.

The pommel, grip-collar, and inside of the grip itself are actually metal inside. They have some PVC and filler here and there, but there is more steel inside the overall hilt than there was in the Mark 1; my attempt at balancing the blade. These metal pieces in the collar are not the correct size as in the screenshots or the Mark 1, they're a bit larger since I had to pick from different stock material. So the collar is less accurate. Also, the grip is 1 inch PVC pipe with a solid steel rebar slid inside of it, and although this adds a great counter balance, the flex of the PVC can feel funny when you swing the sword around. It's in place solidly I promise, but it feels different from the Mark 1's solid wooden grip.

The detail work on the "plate" decorations along the blade, guard, and spine of the blade are all balsa wood sealed with resin, and the detailing around the two central holes is pure resin. The blade is covered in aluminium foil tape, the seams hidden within the light sanding used to make the blade look like an edge ground on a wheel. The entire piece is painted with spray paint, black acrylic for aging, and silver powder to add depth and metallic reflections here and there. I didn't go with the mud, blood, and rust of the Mark 1. Wanted to see what it'd look like, and how much depth we could get even without using them.

The collage is really big so you can zoom in on details if you'd like, I'm sorry it's such a big file. Rather have all this in one image upload so you don't have to skip around looking for stuff. I'll continue working on the tutorial process, just give me time please.

To be honest, my desire to try to blend wood and foam together and get the best of both worlds doesn't really feel like it worked out, to me. This is pretty dang heavy, due to wooden reinforcements, and although I know it's lighter than it'd be if it were solid wood, it's still not as light as I'd like. Still, it's beastly and will hold up really well, and I'm pleased with the level of detail we got out of it. The spine of the blade... some of that's my interpretation, I couldn't tell from the screenshots exactly what shapes were what. We'll get more information when the game gets closer to release I'm sure, then I'll make a better one. I still like the details though, compared to the Mark 1's single flat spine. Alright folks, thanks for your time and I wish you all the best! You're the best artists on earth! If you have any suggestions, or questions, let me know and I'll get back to you soon as I am able. I'm sorry my illness makes me slow, but I promise to do my best. Take care everybody, blessings and farewell!

Description
Final Fantasy VII Remake here we come! This is my second Buster Sword now, I happily used what I had learned from the MK 1 to make this a quicker build with more detail. It's 75 inches (over six feet!) long from point to pommel, 10 inches wide, and weighs 7 pounds. I was trying to get this one more balanced like a real sword (yeah I know "why bother," well it feels easier on the bearer if it's balanced even if more heavy), and although it balances just in front of the circular cut-out furthest from the grip, the extra weight doesn't seem to be worth it. This isn't something you'd want to lug around a convention all day in my opinion. The higher detail and paint job make it a great collector's piece or photography prop, however.

The pommel, grip-collar, and inside of the grip itself are actually metal inside. They have some PVC and filler here and there, but there is more steel inside the overall hilt than there was in the Mark 1; my attempt at balancing the blade. These metal pieces in the collar are not the correct size as in the screenshots or the Mark 1, they're a bit larger since I had to pick from different stock material. So the collar is less accurate. Also, the grip is 1 inch PVC pipe with a solid steel rebar slid inside of it, and although this adds a great counter balance, the flex of the PVC can feel funny when you swing the sword around. It's in place solidly I promise, but it feels different from the Mark 1's solid wooden grip.

The detail work on the "plate" decorations along the blade, guard, and spine of the blade are all balsa wood sealed with resin, and the detailing around the two central holes is pure resin. The blade is covered in aluminium foil tape, the seams hidden within the light sanding used to make the blade look like an edge ground on a wheel. The entire piece is painted with spray paint, black acrylic for aging, and silver powder to add depth and metallic reflections here and there. I didn't go with the mud, blood, and rust of the Mark 1. Wanted to see what it'd look like, and how much depth we could get even without using them.

The collage is really big so you can zoom in on details if you'd like, I'm sorry it's such a big file. Rather have all this in one image upload so you don't have to skip around looking for stuff. I'll continue working on the tutorial process, just give me time please.

To be honest, my desire to try to blend wood and foam together and get the best of both worlds doesn't really feel like it worked out, to me. This is pretty dang heavy, due to wooden reinforcements, and although I know it's lighter than it'd be if it were solid wood, it's still not as light as I'd like. Still, it's beastly and will hold up really well, and I'm pleased with the level of detail we got out of it. The spine of the blade... some of that's my interpretation, I couldn't tell from the screenshots exactly what shapes were what. We'll get more information when the game gets closer to release I'm sure, then I'll make a better one. I still like the details though, compared to the Mark 1's single flat spine. Alright folks, thanks for your time and I wish you all the best! You're the best artists on earth! If you have any suggestions, or questions, let me know and I'll get back to you soon as I am able. I'm sorry my illness makes me slow, but I promise to do my best. Take care everybody, blessings and farewell!