Collection Spotlight: The Homemade Hero

Hello Zelda Dungeon. In today’s second Collection Spotlight, we see that collectors come in all shapes and types. Some collectors gather games, some collect guides, and some collect keychains and posters. Other collectors shy away from merchandise and seek to create their own props and costumes that they can identify as their own. Today’s Collection Spotlight features Nick, who wanted to be a real life Link. This collector shows us that Link can be created by searching autobody shops and hardware stores. Hit the jump to learn about this week’s unique collector horde as well as some great personal stories.

I’m Nick, a 20-year-old Computer Science major at UNBC, in British Columbia. I was first introduced to the Zelda series with the GameBoy Advance version of A Link to the Past when I was in elementary school. I played it all the time. A Link to the Past was a common occurrence after school to rush over to my friend’s house and we would figure out a dungeon or play Four Swords. After finishing A Link to the Past, I saved up some money and headed to EB Games and picked up Oracle of Ages. Game after game followed after that and it quickly became apparent to me that Zelda was going to become and remain my favorite gaming franchise.

Games (in order of release):

— Link’s Awakening

— Oracle of Ages

— Oracle of Seasons

— A Link to the Past/Four Swords

— The Wind Waker

— The Minish Cap

— Twilight Princess (Wii)

— Phantom Hourglass

— Spirit Tracks

— Ocarina of Time 3D

— Skyward Sword

— The Wind Waker HD + Zelda GamePad

— A Link Between Worlds Golden 3DS XL

Virtual Console:

— The Legend of Zelda

— The Adventure of Link

— Majora’s Mask

I know what you are thinking, “That is not an impressive hoard of games.” However, the main focus of my collection is my array of cosplay props that I have built or acquired over the last two years or so.

In fall of 2012, I was talking with some of my friends about what all they had been doing over the summer. They told me they had taken a road trip to Seattle for PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) and had gotten back just a couple days before. They couldn’t stop raving about how awesome it was, and invited me along for the next year. I knew that at PAX, I’d have a great opportunity to meet and hang out with a ton of other Zelda fans, and the best way to meet other Zelda fans, I thought, was by making an awesome Link cosplay!

Halloween was right around the corner, and with school in session, I didn’t have much time to do shop work. So I hopped onto the internet, ordered up a replica Master Sword, Hylian Shield, made some belts from thrift store handbags, found a rustic looking keyring at a second hand store, found a cheap blonde wig at a Halloween costume place, and called myself Link.

It went over pretty well at my school, but I wasn’t super happy with it. I decided that I would wait until university got out in April and then I’d go crazy and make a bunch of props myself, instead of relying on internet-bought stuff, which I now knew could fail me. After a lot of hard work, I created possessions that make me proud.

Homemade Items:

— Shadow Temple map

— Fairy Boomerang: the boomerang is a solid piece of stained and painted ash. I finished the boomerang in around five days.

— Lens of Truth: the lens is made with brass rings, a steel O-ring, a lead fishing weight and some dollar store plastic crystals. The Lens of Truth took maybe a week to finish.

– Hookshot: The hookshot took around two weeks. Finding the individual parts to put it together was a bit of a challenge, and it required a few afternoons of searching hardware stores and autobody shops.

— Forearm bracer

— Utility belt

— Mirror Shield: I am most proud of ever making. I ended up putting almost a month of work into the shield (~150 hours of shop time) It is the pride and joy of my collection, and was a labor of love for me. It was the project that really taught me that I can make something cool if I put the time and planning into it, in addition to teaching me how to use a bunch of shop tools that I hadn’t needed before. Polished aluminum works really well for making a mirrored surface; as an added bonus, just like in the Spirit Temple, the pattern would reflect onto a surface with a light shining on it!

Non-homemade Cosplay:

— A leather rupee wallet with rupees (see utility belt picture)

— A Master Sword

— A green hat/tunic

— A Hylian Shield

— Ocarina of Time

— A chain with the three spiritual stones from Ocarina of Time on it

— A ring of small keys

As for what I want to do to expand my collection in the future, that really depends on if there are new cool items that come out of a future Zelda titles. I’m thinking about making an Ice Rod and Fire Rod from A Link Between Worlds.

Even if you don’t think you have any sort of prop-making ability, I encourage everyone to go out on a limb and try it! You never know, you might be amazing, and in a few years, your gaming rooms could be filled with Zelda items in real life, that you can be proud to know you made yourself!

Well Zelda fans, there you have it. I hoped you liked Nick’s collection and are interested in sharing your own stories or learning about someone else’s.

In closing I ask, would you like to see your collection spotlighted on the website? Do you want to share how you got into Zelda and show off the items you have and are proud of owning? Send me an email at tyler@zeldadungeon.net using the basic structure I have. Include some pictures, a little background of who you are, how you got into Zelda, your first Zelda game, a listing of the items you have now, what you hope to own in the future, and your favorite item. OR, if you didn’t like my set up, send me your version of how you want your collection showcased.

NO COLLECTION IS TOO SMALL OR INSIGNIFICANT. Please do not be frightened or discouraged when you see these showcases. The emails I’m receiving about hesitant collectors have been great. Your collection is good enough. We want to see yours. Please don’t hesitate to email me.

Also feel free to comment on whatever you like. Let’s talk about how awesome the items like the Hookshot and Mirror Shield are. Ask me about how this item or that was built, or if you want to talk Zelda items, please by all means, I love talking about all these different books, games, and trinkets. See you next time.