The Hunger Games "Arena Bow" replica

[Xene]

Very nice work~though i have to ask since i found this~

Jennifer Lawrence Shoots the Hoyt Buffalo Bow and Easton X7 Eclipse Arrows in

(havent seen te movies yet DX) Is this the bow you were looking for?

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

No.  That bow was from the second movie.  I knew about that one already.  It was either make the first movie one myself or get the $800 one from the second movie and paint it.  That bow was also hawkeye's in the avengers. 

@erv, yeah, tig and mig welding are on my todo list, but thankfully the guy who patched thid up for me was a real expert at tig welding, so the aluminum didn't warp or anything. 

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

sanding has commenced.  Tough to do powdercoating (for other builds) when it's -10 degrees outside, so I'm using the time to work on this. 







This is the picture I'm trying to match



I'm gonna have to try and get a good shot of the bow in the same position and see if I can replicate "similar" lighting.  That will determine if the bow needs polished or not.  This seems to be the only scene where the bow is unmistakably made from brushed aluminum as everywhere else it's too grey to be metal.  I seriously doubt they went through the trouble of making the bow look shiny with CGI in just this one scene but not anywhere else.  That goes double because all you can see here is the back of the bow, and it's not a closeup.  If they had gone through the trouble, I bet they would have covered the mismatched screw holes on the front as well. 

EDIT: Oh yeah, I'm going to watch the movie again tonight (just bits and pieces) to be sure my angles are right on the tips. there aren't many shots except the one above that show the tips from straight on.  So far I've "finalized" only one side of each tip as I haven't sanded the opposite edge fully yet.  Once I even them out, I'll d a bit more research to be sure they're right and if they are, I'll cut the notches for the bow string (another thing that is hard to find a pic of).  I really need to just buy a blu ray drive for my computer so I can take screen caps. 

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

so, I primed and painted it last night, but the paint didn't want to sit right for some reason.  So, I re-sanded everything and I'm all set to paint it again.  I did snap some pics in the meantime though. 

I wound up hand filing most of the arrow rest in the bow (the bow follows the cutout in the grip) and the notches for the bow string.  The notches came out 95% perfect after some cleanup, which I'm fine with since the string will cover a good portion of them.   It's also not a very fun project to file through .25" aluminum, and that's really the only reason they aren't 100% perfect.  Usually I have no problems filing matching geometry on parts, but the thickness coupled with the weird angle made this one really tough. 





I did make the bow cutout flush with the handle cutout.  I just never took a picture of it finished I guess. 











Now, be careful if you compare the last picture to the promo pic I posted way above.  The grip is totally different in the promo pic.  In the movie, on the edge of the grip that traces the arrow rest, the further up the bow you go, the more radiused the edge of the grip becomes.  In that promo shot in the first post, it's totally flat edged there.  That's not the only difference, but it's the big one for sure. 



and that's where I sit right now, ready for a repaint. 

Oh yeah, the bowstring pictured will not fit this bow, it's just there for show.  The actual string will pull the bow tighter together and will be all black, just like in the movie. 

EDIT: Also, I am probably still going to have a grip 3d printed.  I just wanted to make up this wood one so that I can include pictures of the "finished" bow when I send my plaque to get signed.  I'm not going to epoxy it in place until I'm sure one way or the other.  I just have to tweak my model a little bit to match with the bow, and everything should be good.  The wood grip was also a very easy piece.  The whole grip including remaking it (drilled the arrow rest hole after shaping it instead of before, then the drill bit splintered out the top) took less time than making 2 of the string notches. 

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

so, I wrapped this up today, and it came out fantastically.  I still need a bowstring, but I'm not entirely sure where to start for that.  I'm not sure if I can just order a 47.5" longbow string or if I have to figure out how that converts into recurve bow strings.  I also have to make sure the loop at the end is wide enough to fully slide over this bow.  Since it's made from aluminum, I can't overextend the bow and then let it flex back into the string.  I have to start from the middle of the bow and work my way out.  anyway, here are some quick pics I took of it in my backyard this morning.  I'm gonna find a better spot and take some good pics tomorrow, but for now, this is what it looks like.  Might need one more coat of paint on the grip too, but I'll determine that later on. 









At this point, I'm also gonna add accurate arrows and a quiver to my "to do list" which always seems to get longer no matter how many tasks I complete.  The quiver looks to be an aluminum tube cutout to look like an upper and lower band with vertical stripes in between and most people think there are only 2 stripes, but I'm convinced the pattern goes all of the way around.  The fletching is totally custom, and I guarantee they have hero fletching and functional fletching.  No way the 1/8" acrylic fletching would fly at all once it hit the arrow rest. 

I was looking into the catching fire stuff too, since I already know what kind of setup she uses (hoyt buffalo with silver riser and black limbs, 58" by my calculations, easton x7 eclipse arrows) but I hit a wall when I found that the arrows don't come in full black and you can't even buy a broadhead for them.  Sure I can powdercoat them (since they're aluminum) and find some 99% accurate fletching in black, but the tips will be tricky.  I'll have to wait for the bluray to come out so that I can model the tips and identify the nock and fletching.  It would also help to know what kind of length to use, but I'm guessing it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 23"-25" (guessing by measuring, lol).  If I could find the arrows in the proper length with factory black nock and fletching, I'm sure that would be what they used, but the tip still has me guessing. 

[Sidd]

Take it to Gander mountain they may be able to make you a bow string.  Or maybe The Marksman out in Norton, they do have an indoor Archery range and a shop.  I dont know if they go string making or not, and their website is blocked here at work Akron Indoor Shooting Range Handguns, Shotguns, Archery in Northest Ohio


edit

Survival Bow Making(Making a Bow String)

[Darkjedi]

" Outdoor World" maybe....I don't know? I know a few buddies into archery bought stuff there " high end" stuff.

It's great, great fandom. I've heard people finding arrows and parts of the bows out at the filming area. I know your quiet a bit away. Maybe they have some sites of the fans selling it. But the prices may be steep.
 
 I saw it on a show once that Hollywood prop auction show.  I may be crazy.

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

I'd love to just get a picture of a screen used arrow.  That would help me figure out what kind of custom tips and fletching I'd need to make. 

The Hunger Games Arena Bow replica

anyway, there's a video I shot.  it's kind of long because I'm assuming lots of people will stumble on it that didn't read this whole build log.  it won't hurt my feelings if you guys skip the first bunch of it.   :D

EDIT: So, it looks like my fears have been realized.  The fanmail address isn't really having a high rate of success anymore.  I basically have 2 choices.  I can send my request with tons of pictures of the bows I built and say "please pass this on to jennifer herself given that this isn't an "ordinary" request or just return it in it's original condition" in a polite way, or I can try to get the autograph(s) another way.  I really don't know how else to do it though.  I've never really cared about getting an autograph before (I mean the few SW ones I have are amazing, but I've never felt the need to "hunt" for one before) and I can't explain why I want this one "so" badly.  Honestly it defies all logic, as I don't usually care if every prop I have has a matching autograph, but for some reason, these ones are really special.  I just can't put it into words.  The second I ordered the plaque, something clicked and now I'm stuck in limbo until I get the autograph.  Talk about OCD, lol. 

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

here's a quick pic I snapped of the display on my wall.  I am running out of wall space, but it's not a big deal.  It's not like I would sell stuff just to make room for more.   :))  Eventually I'll have them displayed throughout my entire house, but it won't be for a couple of years. 



I also added another coat of silver to the handle.  There were a few spots that you could see the grain of the wood (almost like it absorbed the paint through the primer) even though there was no roughness there.  It was all perfectly smoothed with 400 grit.  the second silver coat eliminated the issue. 

I'll take some really good pictures of this soon.  Maybe even tonight when the other bow arrives. 

[erv]

nice !
what is the little white prop below, I can't see any display sign ? oh, wait... thermostat ? probably a replica from star trek or something ?  ;)

nice addition to your collection

[COUNT DOOKU]

Looks really good Alex.  8)

I found one picture that might help with the arrows. Not great, but a start.

The pic is bigger if you open it up in a new window.

[ANAKIN SKYWALKER]

Thanks.   8)

Unfortunately, that's the wrong bow/arrow set.  I'm hesitant to even look at thag picture because from what i've seen, that bow was in the permanently drawn position for that scene.  That may help eventually with the length of the arrow if I can find something as a reference point. 

@erv, lol, yeah, it's a thermostat. 

My catching fire bow is waiting for me at home right now.  I'm a little short on reference pics for that one, but hopefully I can see enough of the parts that need fabricated to model them. 

[COUNT DOOKU]

Oh you meant the practice arena arrow. Yeah, that one is hard to find.  :P Sorry.