Cardcaptors: Sakura's Sealing Wand

I was commissioned to make the "Sealing Wand" from the manga and anime series Card Captor Sakura (aka Cardcaptors). In the series the Bird headed top changes to...



…A star in a ring with tiny wings! Magic, folks!



I built half of the star head in 3D, keeping a 1mm wall to save on printing costs at Shapeways.



The base of the staff was modeled the same way.



Three weeks later I get a lovely 3D printed star head!



View of the inside of the base. 3D printed objects has a pebbled texture to them that will need to be sanded down before molding.



I was unsuccessful in building a model for the bird head so I decided to make my master from MDF.



I made the wings from 1/4" MDF and carved out the layers of feathers with Dremel, chisels and blades.



The bird head sculpting finished and ready for smooth sanding.



The staff was made from a 1" oak dowel. I inserted a 1/2" dowel in the end to attach the tip and flared both ends with Bondo, guided by a slightly larger MDF disc.



I added a threaded insert so the interchangeable heads could be attached with a threaded rod.



The final staff ready for painting.



To attach the wings to the head and make sure they were straight, I cut 1/4" MDF discs that would fit in the eye socket.



Half of the disc was glued to the back of the wing and half was glued into the eye socket. Together they make a tight, consistently angled fit.



The eye trim was lathed from 1/4" MDF checked to the drill press.



The eye trim is glued to each wing master.



The master for the eye gem was made by cutting off the tip of an old space shuttle model's fuel tank.



The surface was sanded smooth in preparation for molding.



A test fit of all the bird head components.



I made a mold of the staff tip half, made two resin copies and glued them together.



The new master ready for molding.



The star head mold and the first resin copy from it. There's a few dents to putty up but overall pretty clean.



Resin gems with silver mylar glued to the back.



Two halves of the star head glued together, seam filled and ready for painting.



Base coat of pink with white wings painted.



Bird head with white primer (over red cast resin), painted tip and completed star head.



While I was at it I made a mold for future copies. This piece will makes flared ends for the staff.



The final assembled star wand!



Close-up of the head.



Final assembled bird head version.



Closeup of the happy birdie.



You can download plans HERE