Introduction: How to Build a Harley Quinn Mallet and Mask

By Spicy Panda Creations
About: I'm a kid in a candy store when it comes to creating things. I love learning different versions of art, whatever medium it may be. Feel free to like the official site on Facebook to keep up with past, presen…

Hey Puddin', you've come to the right place to learn how to make Harley Quinn's mallet. My friend wanted to try cosplay for her very first time at Wondercon 2017 in Los Angeles. She's an avid Harley Quinn fan and after talking to her about the awesomeness of props, she agreed to letting me accessorize her with the iconic mallet. Needless to say, it was a smash. Let's get started!

Materials

- EVA foam (roll, and thick tile mat)

- Hot Glue

-exacto knife

- paper

-caulk

-heat gun

-PVC pipe

- PVC cross adapter

- 2 PVC adapters

-PVC end cap

- hockey grip tape

-Acrylic paint

-Modge podge

- Craft Foam

-Elastic

-Worbla

-Wood glue

Step 1: Internal Skeleton

1. You will need to figure out the dimensions of mallet. You are essentially making a cylinder so you need two circles and a body. so figure out:

a: what is the diameter of the sides of the mallet you want? I believe i honestly used a paint can lid as the size for it.

b:. Figure out your desired height for the mallet.

c: From there, you can start cutting out your PVC skeleton. once connected, all 3 pieces will have to equal the desired height of your mallet.

2. use a template (whether that is a piece of paper or something that is the diameter of your desired mallet) to transfer and cut out your two circles from thick EVA foam

3. Hot glue your PVC pipes into the center of each circle (pic 1)

4. Grab your PVC cross adaptor and stick it in-between your two ends (Pic 2)

5. Measure out your handle and the height of the PVC "nub" you will need to stabilize the mallet body. (pic 3).

6. I later decided that i wanted the mallet head to be detachable from the handle so i ended up creating another short PVC "nub" on the bottom, which then connected to a PVC adapter, and then into the handle. You will see what i am referring to in the next slide.

Step 2: Mallet Body

1. Now measure out a rectangular sheet of PVC to wrap around the mallet ends.

2. cut the rectangle out of PVC

3. I then sanded off the tread each end of the sheet. This is because it would be more difficult to glue the rectangular piece of EVA foam onto the end circles if there was bumpy tread on it still.

4. i used a pair of sheers and jaggedly cut along the edge of the rectangle to give the mallet a more "wooden" appearance.

5. Start the seam at the bottom of the mallet . I marked and cut a little circle out of the center of the sheet so that it would sit flush against the PVC adapter.

6. Wrap and glue the rectangular sheet around each end. (pic 1)

7. do this until you have encircled the entire diameter of the mallet. Remember that it is safer to have a little longer piece of rectangle that shorter. You can always cut off the access, but it may look somewhat busted if you have to adda strip of foam to fill in a gap if its too short. (pic 2)

Step 3: Wood Exterior

1. I wanted to make the mallet look like a sawed off log, so i first cut wave lines along the body with an exacto knife. look up a picture of a log to get an idea of what you are trying to replicate. You are not trying to cut through the layer of PVC, but you are just creating a groove in it. (pic 1)

2. use your heating gun and head up those cut lines. They will open up and create a nice wood pattern for you.

3. I used my dremel and a dremel bit to cut deeper, rougher grooves into the body to make it more wood- like (pic 2)

4. don't forget about your end pieces. look at pictures of wooden logs to get an idea of the cracks you want on the face. (pic 3)

Step 4: Bands and Rivets

1. For your bands, cut out a long strip from your EVA foam.

2. Since i wanted it to sit flat against the body of the mallet, i sanded off the tread from the underside of the strip.

3. Glue both strips on either side of the mallet. I kept all the seams on the underside of the mallet.

4. For the rivets, i took my thick EVA foam and used a bottle cap as the diameter of the circle. Cut those out, sand off the tread, and glue directly onto the strip (pic 1)

5. Don't forget to put in a bigger "rivet" at the very top of the mallet (pic 2)

Step 5: Assembly

1. I wanted to make the mallet collapsable so that i could fit it in my luggage when i flew to other conventions. So i cut the handle in half. This also meant that i needed to have an adapter in the middle so that the PVC piece would still fit together to form the handle length i wanted.

Step 6: Paint

1. you need to prep your foam prior to painting it or else the foam will just absorb your paint. So first, apply heat to all your foam pieces with your heat gun. Then paint on your modge podge to all the foam pieces. let dry.

2. Wood is not one color. So for the sides of the mallet , i went with a darker brown for the under layer, and then i started lightly dusting it with a light tan/yellow color until i got a nice contrast. There are plenty of variations for harley's hammer, so if you want to add designs or text, here is your chance.

3. I pained the body a darker brown and then when dry, i applied a watered down black to the grooves and quickly wiped off the wet black paint. This is because i wanted the paint only to be within the grooves.

4. i chose to paint the straps black and all the rivets a dirty silver. You can get a dirty silver effect by first spray painting it silver and then once dry, apply a thing layer of black paint and white off while wet. continue to do so until you get your desired dirtiness.

5. i chose to paint the handle the same color brown, the PVC joiners in that dirty silver.

6. i wrapped the handle in hockey grip tape once dry. (pic 5, disregard the other accessories)

7. you can spray on a clear coat to help protect your paint job

Step 7: Mask

1. Take a piece of paper that is roughly about the dimensions of your eye area. Fold in half, and draw in your design.

2. Unfold the paper and you should have a symmetrical design. (Pic 1)

3. Use the Paper template and cut out the shape from a piece of craft foam.

4. Encase the whole foam piece in worbla. You can use a heat gun to shape it. (pic 2)

5. Paint the whole mask in wood glue. The wood glue has filler in it that should make the mask nice and smooth.Apply maybe 2-3 coats.

6. Paint and seal (pic 3).

7. Glue your Velcro to the sides. You can add more craft foam or even sponge on the inside of the mask for comfort. (pic 4)

Step 8: Finished!

That should be it!

1. Only thing left to consider are your poses. I personally enjoy the "over the one shoulder" look. (pic 1)

2. You can also put the mallet across both your shoulders (pic 2)

3. Last, You can pretend to smash people in the face with your hammer. I do enjoy a good interaction pose!

Don't forget to team up with your Batman peeps!

Thanks for checking out the mallet build! For more geeky goodness, feel free to find me on Facebook, instagram, tumblr, and youtube!