Loki's Daggers, Marvel Cinematic Universe - Overview

10.05.22

Introduction

Welcome to the Overview for a project to make daggers inspired by those used by Marvel’s Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Here I can offer you a little insight into the blades that demanded attention, and the character that brings them to life!

While this unlicenced replica can be used for decorative purposes or as a cosplay prop, the main reason for building it is because I loved the look of the daggers and found myself pausing the show to get a closer look. At that point, it was inevitable what would happen next! MUST MAKE!

Check out the link at the bottom of the page for the Assembly Guide if you’re thinking of Printing It Yourself and watch this space as I get the first full build of a pair of them documented soon!

Loki Odinson, God of Mischief

Burdened with glorious purpose, Marvel’s deception of the God of Mischief is one of the most long-standing and charismatic characters, not just in the Thor films, but across the entire span of what the MCU offers!

There is no character that we have seen in the MCU change quite so much (often literally) as the original villain from Phase One evolved into a fan favourite anti-hero.

Some actors feel so appropriate for their role that it becomes impossible to imagine any other trying to take their place. This is absolutely the case with the incredible work Tom Hiddleston has put into Loki for over a decade now.

Season One of Loki was very well received and season two has been confirmed, and it’s really not difficult to see why! With a stellar cast of characters, a well-paced unfolding plot with huge ramifications for the MCU, astounding visuals (especially if you love swirling purple and metallic green) and great character exploration, Marvel’s Loki was an absolute highlight for 2021.

Dual Daggers

The MCU has a tendency for characters to be defined by their weapons, be it a shield, bow or gigantic green fists. For Loki, this is no different. While he may have a fair variety of tools at his disposal, such as illusionary magics, a sharp tongue or a few inherited Jotunn skills, none are as iconic or cool as him dancing through a fight dual-wielding his deadly daggers!

These daggers are beautiful! Aesthetically pleasing, relatively simple in design with a lot of potential to really make this item shine with a good finish! Despite the low-tech nature of the weaponry, these knives do a great job of matching quasi-retro-futuristic the setting.

In terms of size, they really are rather long for daggers! However, anything over 500mm is going to start bordering on shortsword dimensions, so I’ll be aiming for roughly between 350mm – 450mm. That being said, the planned length is going to be a bit difficult to say before I start printing, and once my basic design is ready, I may have to create a few with different dimensions to play around with before settling on a size I am happy with. Once I know the sizes, I’ll be able to see which printers would be best to use for which parts. The more I can use my resin printer on this project? The better!

There are a few decent images that show the daggers clearly on the internet, but I ultimately went for one I had taken while watching it:

And despite the daggers alluring me to craft them as soon as possible, the Golden Sword he uses, which may be Laevateinn caught my attention, and may also be a future project.

The Process

I have made a fair few swords, and while I have also made a few daggers in the past (Rikku’s from Final Fantasy X-2 and the Sentinal Skin variant of Irelia’s Daggers from League of Legends) those were both unique, whereas these are more standard for what you’d expect from a dagger.

Life is so much easier when building if I can make each component that is a different colour separate, then assemble once painted. This is definitely the case here and should help give an amazing look to the finished piece.

Each dagger is comprised of three sections:

The Bronze Handle
The Metallic Black Hilt
The Steel Blade

But while one part for each colour is my go-to approach, the smaller nature of these blades (in comparison to the swords I have often made in the past) means there may be the option to print the entire unit off as a single piece. The max height on my main printer is 470mm, so I’ll definitely be looking at that as an option!

Honestly, excluding the actual size I’ll end up with, I can’t see anything on these blades that hints of a potential problem. Who knows, this may be my first project in which “Prototype I” is actually the “Final” model!

The Result

For now, it is just the 3D Model and the first printed one that has been completed, which you can see below. As the first Prototype and beyond gets completed, this will be updated so watch this space!