Kagune Build From Tokyo Ghoul!

This build is going to be a prop from the anime Tokyo Ghoul. I recently watched the show for the first time and thought that it would be extremely fun to build one of the coolest looking weapons from the show. This entire build is done with limited material and should not have to cost you a lost of money to complete! Although it looks very complicated (which it is), with a little bit of hard work and dedication you will be able to make this at home if you so desire! This project would be perfect for anyone who is a fan of the Tokyo Ghoul series and also for people trying to cosplay as one of the characters.

The whole project ended up being huge! When compressed, the project is around 7 feet long, but when it is fully extended, it is around 10 feet long. Surprisingly, it is quite durable and light weight. This would make it perfect for any convention you wanted to go to!

I hope you enjoy the build!

Supplies

This project doesn't require too many supplies and all of the supplies needed are relatively cheap. In fact you'll most likely have most of the material needed at your house!

- CARDBOARD [cost $0]

- PAPER [cost $0]

- Pen [cost $0]

- HOT GLUE [cost $4]

- Three 1/2 inch WOODEN DOWELS [cost around $7]

- 1 inch PVC Pipe [$4]

- OPTIONAL: 1 can RED SPRAYPAINT [cost $4]

-OPTIONAL: 2 cans WHITE SPRAYPAINT [cost $8]

Total cost of the project without paint: $15

Total cost of the project with paint: $27

Its completely up to you to decide if the extra money is worth it to put a coat of paint on the project. I personally felt like it tied it all together but it still looked really good without the paint which you will see later in this project

Step 1: Tracing the Design

The very first step you need to take before you can do anything is to trace out all of the pieces that need to be cut out to form the project. For this project there are not actually a lot of different pieces that you need to cut out. Instead it is mostly just a couple of pieces repeated over and over again.

- For cutout number 1 (which I will be calling the Top Piece) the dimensions are 9 1/2 inches by 7 1/2 inches. In total you will need to cut out 14 of these pieces

- For cutout number 2 (which I will be calling Side of Top Piece) the dimension are 9 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. In total you will need to cut out 14 of these pieces.

- For cutout number 3 (which I will be calling Edges of Top Piece) the dimensions are 9 1/2 inches by 2 3/4 inches. In total you will need to cut out 28 of these pieces.

- For cutout number 4 (which I will be calling Middle Piece) the dimensions are 9 1/2 inches by 6 1/4 inches. In total you will need to cut out 14 of these pieces.

-For cutout number 5 (which I will be calling Side of Middle Piece) the dimensions are 9 1/2 inches by 2 3/4 inches. In total you will need to cut out 14 of these pieces.

- For cutout number 6 ( which I will be calling the Stinger because of the shape) the bottom dimension is 7 1/2 inches however the top is up to you to design. Look at the picture above and you will know what I mean. In total you will need to cut out 2 of these pieces

Once you have all of these shapes traced out onto cardboard, we are ready to move onto the next step.

Step 2: Cut Out All of the Pieces

Be extremely careful on this step. You want to be as accurate as possible so that all of the pieces fit together perfectly. Make sure to cut out the exact amount needed for all of the pieces as listed in the previous step.

To cut out the actually cardboard you have a few options. I used an box cutter and often used a ruler to get the precise cuts I wanted. If you have a laser cutter at your disposal then I highly recommend using that to get exact cuts.

Make sure to keep your hand at a safe distance from the blade at all points in time. Be sure never to leave the exposed blade laying around while you leave or close up for the day.

It took so long to cut this out by hand but it was so worth it in the end. In fact, I had blisters on my hands from opening and closing the blade so many times haha. Cutting out this many pieces by hand kind of reminds me of sanding stuff because its a lot of effort and at times it doesn't feel like you're making much progress but by the end you realize how amazing it looks!

Step 3: Get the Hot Glue Gun Ready

This might sound self explanatory but be sure to get the hot glue gun prepared for the work you are about to do. Make sure that you are in a good environment to glue where it can't mess anything up. I usually have either a plate or a piece of cardboard underneath where I'm gluing because it gives me a place to wipe away any excess hot glue that I might have after I'm done gluing a certain piece. This will keep your workspace much cleaner.

Also be sure to keep the hot glue gun away from any children because it could cause burns if they are not careful.

Step 4: Start Gluing "Top Piece" to "Side of Top Piece"

Now that you have cut out all of the pieces and you have the hot glue gun ready to go, its time to start putting some stuff together. You should have 14 pieces of the cutout Top Piece as well as 14 pieces of the cutout Side of Top Piece. These pieces need to be put together to form 7 individual other piece. The final product for each one of these 7 pieces should look like an open ended box. This is displayed in the pictures above in case you are not quite sure what I am talking about.

To actually glue these cardboard pieces together, you want to do an even coat of hot glue on the edge of the piece you are working with.

The side with the dimension of 9 1/2 inches on the Top Piece should be hot glued to the side of the Side of Top Piece that also has the dimensions of 9 1/2 inches. This ensures that the pieces fit perfectly and will line up with the rest.

Just repeat this process until you are finished with 7 pieces that look like open ended boxes!

Step 5: Alter All of the "Side of Middle Piece" Pieces

Now that you have cut out all 14 of the Side of Middle Piece pieces, theres one more thing you have to do to them before they can start getting glued to the Middle Piece.

I probably should have done this in the first place when I was making the trace for all of the cutouts, but what can I say every creator makes a mistake or two. Its part of the process thats makes building different things so interesting and exciting!

SO what you need to do to alter all 14 of the Side of Middle Piece cutouts is to cut a slit that is roughly 1 inch tall and goes across the majority of the piece in the middle of it. If you are in any way confused what I mean by this, then reference the picture and you will get a good idea what I'm talking about. Use a box cutter to cut out these pieces like you did for the original cut outs.

The reason for this cut is because this is what will allow the project to move around and be fully functional when the wooden dowels are in place.

Step 6: Start Gluing the "Middle Piece" to the "Side of Middle Piece"

This step is very similar to step 4. For this step you need to start using the hot glue to connect the 9 1/2 inch "Middle Piece" side to the 9 1/2 inch Side of Middle Piece side. This will once again form a open ended box look but the distinct difference this time is that there will be a slit running along the Side of Middle Piece that was created in the previous step.

You should have to repeat this process until there are 7 of these combined pieces that look like the open ended box.

Step 7: Test Fit

I still have a lot to do to all of the individual parts before it turns out looking how I want, but I also wanted to do a quick test fit to make sure that all of the parts fit together and have room to wiggle around. That will be very important later in the project when we go to make it fully functional

I first got all of the Top Pieces and Middle pieces together so that I could start connecting them. The plan to make these fit is to run a wooden dowel through the slit in the Middle Piece that is connected to the Top Piece. For right now I am just putting the Middle Pieces inside of the Top Pieces to create the same layout as the weapon in the actual show.

I'll still need to add the spikes and edges to the sides of the pieces so that it actually looks how it does in the show but until that step this is a good dry fit.

Right now there is nothing that is physically connecting them but it gives a really good idea of how it is going to look when the build is completely finished.

Step 8: Cut Out the Spikes of the Weapon

These blades/spikes are going to attached to the side of the prop to give the effect of a sharp edge. I referenced a picture from the show to design how I wanted the blades to look. In the end I went with this design and I think it turned out very nice.

I used a box cutter once again to cut out the pattern. I know I've said it before but please be care when handling these blades being that they can be very dangerous if misused.

In total I cut out 7 of these blades. This is because it is going to be attached to just on side of the Top part.

Step 9: Creating the Sides

This step requires that you get out the 28 Edge of Top Piece pieces that you cut out as well as the blades you cut out from the previous step.

You are going to be connecting these piece to form a triangle like shape at the edges of the Top part. This will create the appearance that the sides are more fluid and like an actually weapon that has sharp edges.

On the other side you will do the same thing but this time however you need to include the black cut out like it is pictured above. Make sure that all of the blades are pointed in the same direction so that the project doesn't look weird. Connect all of this with hot glue. You may want to add more hot glue on this section because it is in more danger to breaking being that it is on the outside.

Step 10: Creating the Stinger

Cut out 2 copies of the Stinger from the cutout section in Step 1. You will have to create the sides of the Stinger. They are 3 1/2 inches tall but the length depends on how big or small you make the Stinger. This part is kind of up to you. Be sure that the bottom is open so that it can be attached to the rest of the build.

Just like the other parts, attach all of this with hot glue. Before you try and glue the side pieces, be sure to roll it up because it then makes it easier to form to the right shape.

Once again I cut out these pieces using a box cutter. You're really going to have to work with the side piece to see how long it needs to be depending on what shape you make the Stinger.

Step 11: Cut the Wooden Dowels

First you need to get three 1/2 inch wooden dowels. They can easily be purchased at places such as Home Depot, Ace, and Hobby Lobby.

You are going to want to cut them into sections that are 8 1/4 inches long. You do this you are going to want to use a saw and be careful so that the cuts are clean and precise. If you have some other way of cutting them at your house that works just as well then by all means use that instead.

You are going to want to repeat this step until you end up with 14 of these wooden dowel sections. This is going to be used to attach everything together at the end. This is what will allow the project to move around freely and function how it did in the show.

Step 12: Attaching the Dowels

For this step I used a pen to poke holes into the sides of the Top Parts. As pictured above I used the sharp part of the ball point pen to form holes at each side. This allowed me to shove the wooden dowel in. This isn't yet permanent because the way that the pieces will connect is by running the dowel on the Top Part through the slit in the Middle Part.

You may have to put a little bit of force into this step because the hole created by the pen is much smaller than the wooden dowel itself so you have to put effort to make it go through the hole. After you have done this once though it is pretty easy to take it out and put it in again at will.

Repeat this process until every Top Piece can run a wooden dowel through each side of it. This should fit 13 dowels. Then you have to do this on the Stinger part where the 14th dowel goes.

Step 13: Creating the Handle

This is one of the easiest steps of the whole build. Use the 1 inch PVC pipe and cut off a section that is 8 1/4 inches long. This will be used as the handle.

You will have to cut a hole on each side of the Top Piece you choose to put at the end so that you can run the PVC pipe handle through it.

Step 14: Painting the Middle Parts Red

For this paint job I used a Rust-Oleum Sunrise Red. This gave me the color I was looking for to complete this build. It was dark enough to give off the feeling of how it is portrayed in Tokyo Ghoul yet light enough to clearly contrast the white paint that is in the next step.

To effectively coat something in spray paint, the best tactic is to no hold down the sprayer for too long. Just stick with brief and light coats until the project is completely painted. This will help prevent the paint from dripping down and looking weird.

I made sure that I coated every piece with the same amount of paint as the last one so that all of the parts looked exactly the same. This is key to making the whole project seem even and uniform.

You don't need to coat the inside of the parts because that will not be visible at all when the project is put together.

Step 15: Painting the Top Parts White

This time I used a Rust-Oleum Gloss White to paint the Top Pieces. Use the same tips and tricks for spray painting as mentioned in the previous step.

Step 16: Painting the Pattern

I took a good look at the design in the show and I used that to paint out the pattern that I think would look the best and the closest to the real thing.

I got the paint from Michael's and it was called Crimson Red. I then used a paintbrush that I had sitting around my house and got to work.

This took a long time to accurately paint the same patter on all of the sides of any part painted white. Thats a total of 15 different sides I had to paint! It was definitely worth it though. I really like how the pattern turned out! It really tied the whole thing together. In my opinion it was the step that made the prop go from cool cardboard weapon to something that was straight out of the show.

Step 17: Assemble!

You're almost done! The only thing left is that we have to now put it all together. To do this we just have to run the wooden dowels through the slits in the red parts and go through both sides of the white parts!

Once this is done, you'll want to add some super glue to the sides of the white parts to make sure that the wooden dowels are locked in place.

I don't have a picture of this but if you want it want it to contract and expand then you will need to attach a string to the Stinger and run that up to the handle.

Step 18: Finished!

The prop is now completely finished! I'm really proud of how this build turned out! I think it looks just like how it did in Tokyo Ghoul!

Just to remind everyone, this is a build of Fueguchi's kagune from Tokyo Ghoul. If you haven't seen the show then I hope you still enjoyed this build that I put my heart and soul into making. In total it took around a week of hard work to finish this project and I'd say that week was well spent.

Its sturdy enough that it can be swung around like you can see in the pictures! The string also makes it easy to contract the project. The whole thing is around 10 feet long when extended and 7 feet when contracted.

Thanks for checking this out I hope you all liked it! Let me know if you decide to build one yourself!