The Hunger Games "Arena Bow" replica

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

well, obviously since I'm posting in the off topic, non SW section, it means I've got yet another prop that I want to build that is from another movie franchise.  I'm still waiting for a nice day outside to re-pour my LOZ Master Sword pedestal, and in the meantime, I took my sister to see Catching Fire.  Seeing that movie reminded me of how much I liked the first Hunger Games bow (even more than the recycled avengers bow in the second one) so I set out searching for the right replica.  It became clear within 5 minutes that I was gonna have to tackle this one myself.  There is a company that claims to sell replicas of this bow, but really they aren't even close. 

My Hunger Games - View topic - Katniss' Arena Bow and Arrows TUTORIAL

I stumbled upon this, and it was a pretty good tutorial, but I don't really feel like doing all of the woodwork and the bow used is totally inaccurate (I don't need a super expensive custom bow, but the bow in the movie is a recurve bow and the tutorial used a longbow), so I started hunting for a base bow and meanwhile, whipped this model up in autodesk inventor software.  Took me all of 2 hours while watching the movie in the background.  Since I didn't mention it earlier, this model would be the custom handle of the bow.  If you watch closely in the movie, you can see the filled and sanded screw holes on the front of the bow where they attached the custom handle.  You really have to be paying attention, but if you see it, it's dead obvious. 





Then I found it.  The closest bow I'm gonna get within the ~$100 total budget that I was allowing for this prop.  It is curved much closer to the way the movie prop is and seemed like 50" was the perfect length for such a bow. 





Well, only one way to find out if the length is good or not.  I got extremely lucky and found this picture of Jennifer Lawrence holding the bow parallel to the camera lens, standing up straight, and a head to toe shot. 



A quick lookup of her height (and factoring for the boots) was all I needed to have a good estimation of the length of the bow, and it came out to 52.6"  Not bad.  My bow could wind up within 2% of the movie prop, especially when you factor in the bow being in front of her in the shot. 

So, with that shot, how does my 3d modeled grip compare?  The measurements from the picture come out to about 12.78" and my 3d model is 13.026" long.  For a prop like this, that's just about perfect once again. 

I'll be tweaking my model to bring it closer to the accurate length (and double checking my measurements to be sure it needs tweaking) and I'll either be ordering the handle from shapeways or having it 3d printed in a less expensive way somewhere else.  with .1" walls, it's $65 on shapeways.  I also need to wait for the bow to arrive to take final measurements so I can be sure that the custom handle will actually fit the bow, where I assumed I would be using the dimensions of the bow in the tutorial I posted above when I first made the model. 

Anyway, thanks for looking guys!

[Sidd]

Alex that looks pretty good

If you play it right you still might be able to shoot the thing when you are done.  I wouldnt take it over 30-45# draw weight at 28 inches if i were you, especially if you drill into the fiberglass bow.  bows have a tendency to end poorly if the structure is compromised.  its not fun


For some reason it kinda makes me want to make a Nightsister bow now.

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

the bow only has a 25# draw anyway. 

I'm also pretty confident that the screw holes won't compromise the structure that much, especially given that the movie ones were done the same way.  I can reinforce the area with more fiberglass if I really want to go all out, but I'd be more worried about the paint cracking when the bow is pulled back.  I'm not even sold on using screws anyway.  A nice epoxy should hold the handle on just fine.  it's not like this is gonna be a daily hunting bow or anything.  it's gonna be a wall hanger and maybe get fired a handful of times (if I feel comfortable doing it after the conversion). 

Also, accurate arrows would not be able to be fired.  the "hero" arrows have what looks to be acrylic fletching, which would not end well.   

In case my addiction to props wasn't completely obvious before now, it will be when I say I'm not even gonna look up that bow for fear of wanting it.  :P

[Sidd]

I think it would be more fun to have the prop that can actually be used like it was in the movie, but I am a bit of a weapons nut :D

but yes the right epoxy should work.  if I can epoxy the side panel to my car and JB weld rails to a rifle then the bow should be no problem.

For the paint light dusting coatings of this should work well
http://www.tcpglobal.com/SprayPaintDepot/ItemDetail.aspx?ItemNo=KRY+51511&gclid=CL3wwv_h3rsCFaxr7Aod12IAag

its pretty much the only silver paint i use and had never had a problem.  or you could just use Rub and Buff

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

I actually have some really good stuff straight off of the shelf at home depot, but I do plan on getting some testors model master metallizer aluminum plate  spray paint for this.  That's what the guy in the tutorial I linked used and his looks great as far as color. 

[erv]

I love that research phase, congrats & great project. I remember when I was counting the pixels on mc gregor's picture to have the right jedi belt width. Good memories.

[STARKILLER]

PSE Snake. Was the bow that was used (with that handle addition added on). Even comes in silver, though it's more expensive. You can get the black one for $40 and paint it after scuffing it.

[Xene]

you mean this snake?

Heritage Recurve Bows, Youth Recurves, Snake

cause given the dip on the lower limb after the handgrip looking at the pic of the girl id hae to say i doubt it~

[WookieeGunner]

That picture doesn't look like it,  but this pic has a bulge that could be covering the dip.

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32100000/The-Hunger-Games-the-hunger-games-movie-32160909-1000-625.jpg

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

Can't be that bow.  the one here is flat on the front.  You can see the seam in the movie where the flat front meets the edges of the handle (they sit flush, but are 2 slightly different colors, so you can easily tell the bow is flat).  The PSE snake is much to curved on the middle of the front (curved on the length of the bow) and it's at least 8 inches too long. 

Capitol Silver Recurve Bow

the pse snake appears to be the exact bow above (capitol silver recurve), but that's the exact replica I mentioned earlier that wasn't close to the movie prop in shape or size. 

I've even seen people take one piece recurves with a solid handle that is somewhere in the neighborhood of the one in the movie and spray the whole bow without any custom work.   Comes out pretty good.  I'm 99% sure the bow is totally custom though, as even the one used in the woods hunting are full custom. 


@Erv, thanks.  I love making props that are "quick and easy" like this one.  It's nice to be able to spend 5 hours total on a build and come out with something that looks exactly like you wanted it to.  Stuff like this is a nice breather from sabers and blasters.  It's nice when the research pays off as well. 

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

turns out I may have had her height wrong, which would bring the bow in the picture closer to 51.1", which is well within the realm of possibility that 50" was the exact length of bow used in the film once you factor in that the bow is about 10"-14" closer to the camera lens than the top of her head and heel. 

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

Well, good news, bad news, good news.

 the bow arrived today, but it doesn't look like it's gonna work.  the edges on this bow have like a .25" (radius) rounded edge, and there's not enough material to just remove it and have it look right.  I may still make up this bow anyway, and bondo the crap out of the handle (not the round edge, just the front where it's supposed to be flat) and have this be a functional replica or give it to my sister.  It would still look great to the average fan, and way better than the pse snake that is being sold as a replica on the site I linked earlier.  I'm a bit more anal retentive than that, so it has to be done right for me. 

As far as I can tell, there's 2 props in the movie (at least).  An aluminum bow, and a painted fiberglass or wood one.  At first I thought it was just my imagination, but this picture looks too convenient to be just good editing.  They probably also have one of each in the permanently drawn position.  Some shots need a bow like that while others could just be drawn and fired.  I read they had a regular and permanently drawn bow for the hunting scene at the beginning of the movie, so it's not a stretch to imagine they did the same here.   



There is some serious sheen there. 

Then, any time the bow is seen being drawn, it's clearly a painted bow. 





So, not to be discouraged, I've got 2 options here.  I can try to bend a non-functional bow out of aluminum, or I can cut one out of wood.  I'm not going to blindly try bow after bow, and even this one I have now with a good number of pictures available looked right, but when I got it, it wasn't even close.  Obviously, cutting one out of wood is not an ideal scenario, but if it's what I have to do, I'll put in the time.  No sense making one that's half right and then redoing it later when I decide I'd rather have accuracy. 

Also, I found someone to make a nice custom plaque for this that I'm going to send off to be signed. 



So, that's where I stand right now.  Either way, I'll be doing more research tonight and fully blueprinting the design that needs cut or bent.  Heck, I could even make one out of fiberglass like I did my armor, but I don't see the point in that.  It still wouldn't be functional. 

EDIT:  Here's my 1:1 template.  Still not sure how I'm gonna make it yet, but I'm gonna give it a go





And there is the template vs the bow I bought. 

[Khal]

nice little project there man. It's looking great!

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

The one picture is a force bent attempt out of a piece of scrap and the other is the finished one piece bow shape.  Still needs lots of sanding and finishing, but it looks great.  When strung it should hold a 95% perfect shape. 

To get the final shape, I used an oxy/acetelene torch to heat the aluminum stock and from there I was able to bend it nicely.  One side is perfect while the other has some high spots that need sanded.  In the end, it cracked in 3 spots, but luckily one of the guys at the shop knows how to tig weld, so he welded it back up for me and I grpund it down. 

I had to cut a piece of 2" aluminum stock lengthwise because they didn't have any 1 1/8" by 1/4".  I took it nice and slow on the bandsaw and it came out perfectly.  All in all, i'm way over my expectations for this prop so far. 

[erv]

that's really from scratch. Nice ! TIG welding is a must have skill (still need practice on my end to have a correct walk the cup pattern). Not that it help to look smarter in high society charity parties, but it allows to fix or build so many things.