Tutorial: Sailor Moon's Wand

How to make Sailor Moon's Moon Stick/Crescent Moon Wand

In this tutorial I will be making the extended version of Sailor Moon's Moon Stick as seen in the first arc of the manga.
You can use this tutorial to make the traditional hand sized Moon Stick by using shorter/thinner PVC and making slightly different details.

Materials:
a. (3-4) 2oz packs yellow polymer clay (I'm using crastsmart brand from Michaels)
b. (1-2) 2oz packs white polymer clay
c. (1) small bottle pink acrylic paint (I'm using Apple Barrel in Bright Magenta 20591)
d. (1) small bottle yellow acrylic paint (I'm using Apple Barrel in Yellow 20502)
e. (1) small bottle pearly white acrylic paint (I'm using FolkArt in Metallic Pearl White 659)
f. (1) can pink spray paint (I'm using Krylon in Watermelon) (OPTIONAL way of painting)
g. (5-6) feet of 3/4" in PVC pipe, cut into two sections (I'm 5'4" and I'm using about 66", or 5'6" worth of pipe)
h. (1) 3/4" PVC pipe coupling (used to connect the two pieces)
i. (2) 3/4" PVC end caps
j. (1) 30mm or 40mm faceted crystal sphere (I buy mine here: [link])
size is up to you, 30mm is a bit bigger than a quarter I use this size for the regular size Moon Stick, and 40mm is about the size of a golf ball which I use for the tall Moon Stick

You will also need:
high gloss clear coat (to seal the paint) (I like to use Future Floor Polish)
super glue
hot glue gun + a couple hot glue sticks
PVC glue



Step 1: moon shaped top
To soften the sculpey use your hands to knead it until it becomes pliable. Using the yellow sculpey, form the now pliable mass of clay into a ball. Roll the ball out into a thick roll, then roll out the ends to be thinner. Shape the roll into a crescent moon (a). Using the crystal ball, press into the moon in the place where you want it to sit (b). Remove the crystal. You should be left with an indention in the clay where we will later glue the crystal on (c).

Step 2: modeling details
We will use one of the end caps as a base for the top of the staff.Using the white sculpey this time, press sculpey around the cap and smooth it out by gently rolling it along a flat, clean surface. Connect this piece to the bottom of the moon we made in step 1(a). Next make a few disks by making small balls of clay and flattening them (b). I made 2 little-bit-larger-than-a-quarter disks and 2 thumbtack sized disks.lastly make two wing shapes (c). I usually make extras of some shapes in case I break/ruin some.

Step 3: bake your sculpey
Bake at 130F, I baked the small pieces for 15 minutes and the large moon piece for 30-45 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake or under-bake your clay. LET THE CLAY COOL THOROUGHLY before doing anything else with it. I suggest waiting 24 hours, but wait a couple of hours at least.

Step 4: prepare your PVC to be painted
Sand your PVC pipe carefully (outside preferably) to get rid of the numbers/bar-code that are printed on the pipe. Sanding also preps the PVC to be painted. We are hitting two birds with one stone here. Also sand the coupling and end cap. Go ahead and attach the end cap to the bottom of the lower piece of the staff.
[LINK] is a good thread with tips on working with PVC pipe.

Step 5: painting
Using either a palette or a plastic bowl, make two mixtures of paint: yellow+pearl white and pink+pearl white. I mix my colors with the pearl paint because it adds a bit of shimmer to the color which looks nice for this staff. Use 3-4 coats of paint on everything: clay details (a), pvc pipes and coupling and end cap(b), and the moon (c). Paint using many thin layers, wait 15-30 minutes between painting said thin layers.

Step 6: assembly
Using the PVC glue, swab the inside of the end cap which is in the bottom part of the moon piece with glue and attach this to the PVC pipe that does not have an end cap on it (a). Next using super glue or hot glue, attach the wing pieces to the largest disk. Attach this disk to the bottom part of the moon piece. Attach the other disks in the same manner (b). At this time you can also go ahead and glue the crystal ball in using hot glue or super glue. Lastly using the PVC glue again, swap the inside of one end of the coupling connect this to the bottom PVC pipe portion of the staff.

Step 7: clear coat everything
Apply 2-3 coats of clear coat to the ENTIRE staff to give it a glossy, high shine finish. This also serves as a protection for the paint.

You're finished! Now you have a Moon Stick of your own. Time to go save the universe!




Please comment with any additional advice/tips. This is my first time making a tutorial and I'm sure to have left out a thing or two somewhere.
Thank you and Enjoy!