Sword Sheaths: any suggestions?

I've been cutting sword sheaths off 25th Storm Shadows backpack to use for my customs. I just read a post by Pluv about using saran wrap to get a tight fit for headgear:

Something you may want to try instead of vaseline (or hair gel ) is saran wrap. Once you pull it down over the head over the head just to point before it breaks it is super thin and stuck right to the sruface of the head. You sculpt on top of it and when it dries, the plastic wrap pulls right off of it with no sticking. You get a nice tight fitting hat.

Then I got an idea. Can you use or has anyone tried saran wrap around a sword to sculpt a sheath? I'm going to give it a try when I get a chance this weekend. Thanks Pluv!

[pluv]

I've done it for holsters and sheaths that are one sided to be placed on the figure. It is trickier, but it does work. http://www.joecustoms.com/customs/custo ... d=9&id=344
I've never made a stand alone working scabbard like that though.

What has worked for me in that regard is drink stirrers. You know, those mini straws. Once they are flattened out they are about the right sive for a Joe scaled sheath. http://www.joecustoms.com/customs/custo ... =9&id=2888 and http://www.joecustoms.com/customs/custo ... =9&id=1018

Thanks for the help and tips, Pluv! Those scabbards are perfect, I couldn't even tell they were straws. I'm going to give your techniques a try. Now I'm off to get mini drinking straws.

I use a tape i got from my roommate who works in the film industry. I'll have to get back to you on what it's actually called. It's like a heavy duty black masking tape that looks quite a bit like leather at a 1:18 scale.

It's pretty simple, you just wrap the sword with the tape sticky side out, then go over with layer of sticky side in. If you wanted to add some stability you could stick a strip of blister plastic (got to use that stuff for something!) in before you do the outside layer.

Hmm, now to add a backpack peg, this is what i came up with off the top of my head:


Hmm, not too shab if i do say so myself, i'll have to give it a try.

The tape also works great for belts and other details, here's a pic of some gear i made for a Ranger custom i'm working on. It's preliminary right now, but it's going in the direction i hoped for:


Black is it's natural colour, but it took that brown paint like they were soulmates. And i'm sorry for the messy pics, i snapped them quickly to post here.

I'll find out about the name of the tape and post it here.

hey whats that green thing in the background.

I use actual leather, sized to the sword and glued up the seam.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4505&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

Ahh, you must mean my custom inspiration apparatus. It helps during those long painting hauls.

... i need to get myself some leather bits to try out for sheathes, and especially some holsters after you posted that tutorial, JFAK.