Brütal Legend - Ophelia's Blade (Lifesize)

"Through the woods a girl came sadly…"

So, I've recently replayed Brütal Legend after 15 or so years. Reimmersing myself in that world made me want to bring some of its props to life in the age of CAD and 3D printers.

Today, I present a lifesize model of Ophelia's blades - Optimized for printing.

It comes in 9 parts with all the necessary connection pins included as well.
The completed blade will measure 57cm / 22.5"

Variations

There's two places where you get to choose how you want to print this:
 

1. Guard-Top & Guard-Bottom
   The middle part of the guard with the Drowning Doom Insignia comes in a version for Multicolorprinting, where the insignia is inlaid - and a version for single-color printing where it's recessed for you to paint.
   
    
2. Handle
   The handle comes in two variations - One with a modeled wraparound, imitating the leatherbound qualities of the original, and another version without that wraparound. If you prefer the simpler aesthetic or plan to wrap the handle in actual leather, use the version without the wraparound.
   Oh - and the wraparound is a separate object, so you could print that in a separate color too, if you go the Multicolor route!
    

Print Orientation

Since the base design of the guard is pretty geometric with at times very shallow angles, optimizing your print orientation can help you achieve an optimal surface finish without visible stepping.

Ideally, you'd want to print ALL parts standing upright on their flat mating surfaces. For the Guard-Top and Guard-Bottom pieces, make sure to orient it in a way so the beak points up, for a better result.

(See attached image)
 

Supports?

Depends. The entire guardpieces (top, bottom & wings) definitely need supports. This is a tradeoff for better surface quality due to the optimal orientations.

The rest of the parts can be printed without supports

In any case, I'd recommend using a large brim or raft to keep the handle and blade parts from coming loose as the print gets taller.
 

Assembly

This model is NOT perfectly symmetrical, so take note of the parts' orientations!
For the Guard pieces, I've attached an image to help you identify how the pieces go together.

For the blade parts and handle, make sure to keep track of which side is “up” to save you from uneccessary headaches. The wings sidepins will mate with the handle- and bladebottom - so if that doesn't line up, try rotating the piece.

Also, those sidepins can be substituted for a small length of filament or a toothpick. 

The pins are intended more for alignment than fastening. Glueing the parts together is necessary!
I'd recommend using a thin, wicking glue - personally, I'm using cyanoacrylate superglue.
 

Final Thoughts

“Have you pleased the Metal Gods?”