Trollhunters Sword of Daylight

thingiverse

My daughter set her sights on the Sword of Daylight from Trollhunters, and as a newcomer to 3D printing, I took it on as a learning project. I modeled it in Fusion 360 to fit snugly onto a 5/8 inch wood dowel that's a whopping 25.6 inches long. To add some extra strength to the seams, I designed little connectors that would hold everything together securely. However, when I assembled mine, not all of the connectors fit perfectly, and I had to settle for just one per seam. I attribute this issue to a slight distortion in the base of each print - it's a problem I'd like to tackle next time around. If I were to do it again, I'd definitely print the blade pieces on a raft to help minimize that issue. The only part that required supports was the hilt, which I designed with 45 degree angled inner holes for added strength. Once the pieces were glued together, I blended the seams using Bondo and sanded them down to a smooth finish. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to give it the polish it deserved - my daughter had other ideas in mind. She wanted it painted just like the Sword of Eclipse, and I couldn't argue with that. This print was a behemoth, taking around 45 hours to complete from start to finish. The picture shows how I oriented each piece during printing.