For Marceline’s Axe Bass I used poster board and EVA foam for the base of the Axe as well as foam details and wire for the strings. This Bass is definitely not playable but for a prop it works great- it’s super light weight and really helps complete the costume. The process of making this was a bit time consuming but overall doable for any beginner prop maker.
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Materials:
- Sewing Pattern paper (Optional)
- EVA foam
- Poster board
- X-Acto Knife
- Cap (I used a super glue cap for the strap button)
- Wire (thicker floral wire or craft wire will work)
- Ruler
- Super Glue
- Contact Cement
- Dremel
- Heat Gun
- Plasti-Dip
- Red Spray Paint
- Acrylic Paints (Silver, Dark Red)
- Matte Finish Paint
- Guitar Strap (optional)
I used these two reference photos to make the Axe:
Second photo via Reddit user curly_fry.
Cut out the Pattern:
Using a ruler and sewing pattern paper- trace out the pattern for the Axe. I played around with proportions until the outline looked like the right size.
After everything looks good cut out the pattern. If you don’t have tracing paper you can tape together printer paper or flatten newspaper for the pattern. I found that investing in pattern paper has made it a lot easier to make bigger patterns.
Cut out the pattern on Poster Board:
Cut out the Pattern (…again – last time!) on EVA Foam!
Using contact cement, glue together the poster board to the EVA foam. After everything is dry use the dremel to smooth out the edges. Once this is done you can start adding details!
Add Details:
Using the EVA foam cut out the bass knobs and glued those on with contact cement. After that, use the dremel and x-acto knife to trim down the edges and shape the “Axe”. Be careful with this! If you have a sander I’d recommend that because I definitely cut myself on this step. :O
After you have all of the details done heat seal everything with your heat gun and it’s time to paint!
Time To Paint!
Use plasti-dip to prime to Axe. You can also use Mod-Podge or any preferred primer that you have! After the primer is dry use red spray paint to cover the mail parts and then you can use acrylic paints for the details.
At this point I used foam and contact cement to add the tuning knobs and I added the super glue cap for the strap button to the bottom of the axe.
Next, I wrapped the wire around the “knobs” and glued it down to the base. This step was a little tricky and the “strings” are a bit crooked still but overall the effect is still there. At first I painted the sides of the “axe” silver but I ended up switching to a dark red color and I liked the finished look a lot more.
The Finished Prop!
Photo by Jasemine Denise Photography
You did such an awesome job!!
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Thanks so much!
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