How to Make a Convention Safe Baseball Bat

A lot of cosplayers are having the problem of not being able to complete their costumes because conventions won't allow certain props. Sometimes props can mean the difference between who your character is or not. In this tutorial I am going to show you how to make a baseball bat out of foam and light materials so it's acceptable at comic conventions. I am just going to show you how to make the base and then my end result. You can customize your bat however you want once you get the base finished.

You are going to need:

3 9x12in sheets of white creatology foam
.94in Scotch Tape
3 magazines
Cardboard wrapping paper tube
Spray Paint (the color of your choice)
Hot glue Gun
Plastic pipe plug

Step 1: Step 1: Start Your Base

First you need to start with the inside. Take your wrapping paper tube and cut it to 27” long. A real baseball bat is 42" long but I wanted mine to vary a little. You can make your bat however long you want but just be sure you have the right length of wrapping paper tube to start with.

Now, wrap one end of the tube with foam. Line the foam up so it only goes to the end of the tube and leaves a little less than half of the tube showing. This foam should only be about 18 inches long. Then, trim the foam to fit all the away around without overlapping the edges of the foam. From here you can either tape the ends before you glue it or you can just hot glue where the edges meet. Let the glue cool down before you continue. Add another layer to the first foam layer but this layer should only be about 12 inches long. Make sure to line it up from the top of the bat. Make sure the edges don't overlap and glue that sheet down. Next, take a 3 inch piece of foam and wrap it from the edge of the inner sheet of foam so it meets the cardboard tube. This step will make it look a little smoother at the base like a real bat. Glue this sheet where the flaps meet and let it cool. This should leave about 6 inches of the cardboard tube showing. Secure the top and the bottom of this foam piece with glue and let it cool.

On the far end of the tube with no foam, insert a rolled up magazine. Cap that end off with the pipe cap and glue around the cap to secure it. At the top of your bat, insert a rolled up magazine to make the top a little sturdier as well. Use a hair drier to heat up a circle of foam just big enough to fit at the top of your bat. When it's flimsy enough, press it over your fist to curve it. Once it is curved use your hot glue to glue it over the top of the foam part of your bat as a tip.

Step 2: Step 2: Tape

Your next step is to tape the bat to hold everything in place and make it a little smoother.

You want to start from the top of the foam and start to go around. Wrap the foam with your masking tape at a bit of an angle to cover the whole bat. Tape all the way to the end until you reach the pipe cap. Then cover the pipe cap with tape to secure it to the bat. Now, wrap one more layer of tape around the base of the small piece of foam to make it sturdier where it hits the tube. Using this tape will give a texture of it being fake. Maybe you’ll have a few wrinkles, but that will ensure it doesn’t look as dangerous.

Step 3: Step 3: Paint

This is the last main step to complete the base but make sure you picked the right color of paint you wanted. I chose silver spray paint to match my costume at the time.

Take your base outside or put it against a background that you can paint. Be sure not to paint inside because of the fumes unless you paint near an open window. Don't get pain on anything valuable or in a place that you don't want painted like a table or grass. Once you find a safe place to pain, thoroughly use long stroked up the length of the bat to coat it. Go all the way around the bat to make sure you get an even coat of paint. Once it's coated set it down or lean it against something to let it dry for 15 minutes. Make sure your bat is in a cool, dry place to let it dry. When the first coat is dried, repeat the last step to make a second even coat around the bat. Let the paint dry again for 15 minutes. Now you can spray over the top and bottom with even streaks. Don't let the paint spray too close or in one spot for too long or it will run. Let that dry for 15 minutes and then you can make touch ups as needed.

If you want detailing, now is the time to put them on. Some examples are blood splatters, detailing in wood on the baseball bat. You can even add electrical tape around the bottom tube to make it look like it has a grip.

Step 4: Add Ons

You are now finished with your base. Now, you can add things to the bat like spikes or fake barbed wire. I made spikes around the top for my costume. You can use all sorts of things to make decoy add-ons. You can make nails out of foam and/or paper. There is all sorts of combinations.I used small cardboard tubes and made cones out of paper and glued it to the tip and around the top of the bat.