Warhammer of Zillyhoo Prop Tutorial by SolarSavant

Warhammer of Zillyhoo Prop Tutorial by SolarSavant

This has already circulated the internet for awhile, but posting it here is the first time I've uploaded it somewhere reliable. Last year I crafted this Warhammer of Zillyhoo, and assembled all the WIP photos into a decent tutorial. I've since encountered others who've used this as a guide to making a impressively large, fairly lightweight, and sturdy Warhammer. If you have any further questions, or want additional help or construction photos, feel free to ask in the comments.

jpae20 Featured By Owner Aug 4, 2017

Hey, a little doubt, would it make much of a difference if I only used plaster instead of a plaster bandage?

MercifulVega Featured By Owner Jun 4, 2017

I'm kinda glad I came across this tutorial so early! I'm meeting up with a few of my friends at the beach this year and we are all cosplaying!
Seriously, this is a wonderful tutorial.
Thank you for sharing this!

gallantCreator Featured By Owner May 25, 2016 Professional Writer

I got so disappointed I couldn't find the proper joint, then I saw in the picture you did what I did! (2 inch to 1-1/2, 1-1/2 to 1 inch), so I'm safe, haha!

Also, LOVING this guide so far. Everything has been relatively easy to find (Plaster was a bit of a beast but now that I know where to get it, should be easier to restock in the future), but I kinda had a chuckle the other night assembling the hilt of the hammer.

"You might want to try epoxy to make sure it doesn't wobble!"

"*Me, trying futilely to pull the pieces apart* I...don't know if I'll need that"

But, as they say, anything that CAN go wrong...it might be better to epoxy it so that it doesn't come loose at the worst possible time.

LaFreakALeShow Featured By Owner Sep 27, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

I am TOTALLY using your tutorial for Connooga next year! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS AWESOME TUTORIAL!!!!!

pichulovah Featured By Owner Oct 4, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

You're going to Connooga?? Me too!! : O

LaFreakALeShow Featured By Owner Oct 5, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

Cool! Are you going to cosplay???? Maybe if we see each other, I can say hi!

pichulovah Featured By Owner Oct 5, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Yes, definitely cosplaying!

I'm going as a HS character, but I can't decide who

LaFreakALeShow Featured By Owner Oct 6, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

Awesome!

Who do you think you could pull off? (I thought about my height, personality, and lack of funding, and eventually came up with John :3)

pichulovah Featured By Owner Oct 6, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Mmmmm... I guess John lol, since he's the cosplay I'm currently working on.

But I also have my Vriska and Karkat cosplays ready, so I'll have to think for a bit lol

(Actually might start on a Jake or Dirk cosplay owo)

LaFreakALeShow Featured By Owner Oct 6, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

Nice!

goopdra Featured By Owner Aug 9, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

would you take prop commissions?

carcinoGeneticist618 Featured By Owner Feb 26, 2015

I am making this its Litteraly almost the same size as me i am 4.8 XD THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Feb 27, 2015

Glad to help! I'd love to see a photo of how the cosplay turns out.

XxYowlingWolfStormxX Featured By Owner Edited Feb 17, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

Are styrofoam blocks okay to use instead of floral foam?
Also, for the tape stripes around the handles, is there a certain length they should be?
(great tutorial, this will really help me!)

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Feb 27, 2015

Sorry for the delayed reply! I don't check DA much anymore. Styrofoam is essentially the exact same thing, some craft stores just call it floral foam when it's sold in large blocks like that. I didn't actually measure the tape stripes, but they were the length of the copy paper box top plus a couple inches, so about 3 feet. You can always put two back to back if it's too short.

XxYowlingWolfStormxX Featured By Owner Feb 28, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

Thanks so much ;o;

syrasyarah Featured By Owner Aug 16, 2014 Hobbyist General Artist

How did you attach the handle? I've made my own hammer (besides the tail) and I'm not sure how to attach the handle(Or the tail for that matter)

JohnEgbertIsgod Featured By Owner Aug 30, 2016 Student

Magical tool of hot glue

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Aug 20, 2014

For the handle, I carved a 2" or so slot using a knife, and then used lots of liquid epoxy and hot glue. Once the handle was inserted, I poured liquid epoxy all around the sides to seal it in nicely, and used a bit of hot glue around the top to make sure it would stay in place while it dried. The tail was attached much the same way, epoxy and hot glue and holding them together.

syrasyarah Featured By Owner Aug 22, 2014 Hobbyist General Artist

Thank you so much! It's been giving me a lot of trouble.

ClaxyBeast Featured By Owner Jul 31, 2014

I can not for the life of me find the foam blocks I have been to every store around me for miles. 3'x1'x4'? Is that a typo? Lol

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Edited Aug 5, 2014

It's not a typo, it's 3'x'1'x4", as in 3 feet x 1 foot x 4 inches. Check near the floral supplies. Michaels sells slightly smaller blocks online (up to 1.5' x 1' x 1") that could work just as well for very cheap, though you'd have to layer more of them to get the proper thickness. Here's a link! www.michaels.com/M10102529.htm…

ClaxyBeast Featured By Owner Aug 13, 2014

Sorry I was on my iphone and it morphed the ". But how durable is it? I was gonna dance to "stop hammer time."

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Aug 14, 2014

Moderately durable! Certainly durable enough to wave around and dance with, but not suitable for actual contact fighting or swinging at full force. The main thing to worry about it making sure the PVC handle is well attached to the foam, and inserted deep enough into the center foam block.

PolarizedPenmanship Featured By Owner Apr 4, 2014 Hobbyist General Artist

Thank you so much for the awesome tutorial! I will certainly follow it when I make my hammer!

amazinglyHeroic Featured By Owner Jul 9, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

hi there! i was a little curious about the end of the grip of the hammer. maybe i was silly and didn't really notice, and i'm sorry if that's the case, but what did you put at the bottom of the larger pipe to close it off?

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Jul 10, 2013

I just realized I forgot to mention that in the tutorial! It's just a simple 2" PVC pipe cap, sold at any hardware store just like the rest of the handle materials.

Mikanally Featured By Owner Jun 16, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

I'd buy it if you could make another ;-;

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Jun 18, 2013

Thanks a lot for the offer, but unfortunately as much work as this project was, I'm not sure I'm up to building another hammer for a commission, regardless of what price I would charge.

quasarRealta Featured By Owner Mar 26, 2013

two quick questions, how much did the foam fun you if you don't mind telling and where'd you get it? also what brand of epoxy are you usign?

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Mar 31, 2013

Let's see if I can remember. All the supplies were purchased from AC Moore and Ace Hardware, for the most part. AC Moore sells all the required sized foam blocks, usually near their floral section. I made several trips using 50% off coupons, so it wasn't terribly expensive. I think in total I spent about $30 on the foam, the most expensive piece is the large 4" thick block. In total I spent about $60 in supplies on this project. I forget which brand of epoxy I used, but it was just a syringe of 5-minute epoxy that you can pick up for $5 or less at any craft or hardware store, a very useful tool for forming incredibly durable bonds.

TheUsedKilljoy Featured By Owner Jan 30, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

omg thank you so much!! This tutorial is great!

Undisclose--Desires Featured By Owner Nov 26, 2012 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

How much time did it took to you to kake it? c:

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Nov 26, 2012

A fair bit of time. Cutting the foam and PVC took a few hours, then at least 5-6 hours to plaster everything. Painting was the most tedious part, especially the rainbow stripes. Factor in all the details and assembly and all together I'd guess about 25 hours of construction time over two weeks. A lot of stages require time to dry/set before moving on, so you can't do everything in one night.

Undisclose--Desires Featured By Owner Dec 3, 2012 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

Thank you so much!!
It was really helpful c:
you're so kind ^-^

Callmesnake Featured By Owner Oct 15, 2012

I have a question, actually! How did you cut the long shape that comes off of the "Z" Square of the hammer? Is it circular, or a square like the rest of it?

SolarSavant Featured By Owner Oct 15, 2012

It's square like the rest of it, but the stripes and plaster make it look rounded. I simply traced a curved arc onto a large foam block as illustrated in the fifth picture, and cut it out with the knife/saw.