Loki's Chitauri Scepter from The Avengers (2012) This a replica of the short staff Loki used to mind control Hawkeye and several others, and escape from the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. This item is approximately 96 cm long (36 in). This version is redesigned to increase the ease of building and strength of the joints. It also uses an Arduino Pro Mini with an Addressable RGB strip to animate the crystal and give this item more power. Notice: This device will not grant you the ability to fire energy blasts or take over the minds of your enemies. Such upgrades are welcome as derivatives. ** I initially designed the Scepter when cosplaying as Loki for the Avengers movie release. I decided that every villain needs a weapon and my 3D printer (Replicator Dual, MKI) needed to start earning its keep. It went well but eventually the lights burned out. I decided to do better. I designed the scepter in SketchUp by taking a side on picture of the Scepter from the movie previews and tracing it. I added what detail I could eck out of the relatively grainy footage. From there, I started until I had a solid block model. I keep all my designs saved in git repositories so that I can back up to any point I have saved and adjust the design from there on. That is what I did with this version of the scepter. My first scepter used a modified light bulb, a 9v battery, and some blue ant farm gel to make the illuminated crystal. This time, I wanted to do better. I decided that I wanted to try out RGB LEDs and arduino technology inside of a piece for the first time. I browsed through SparkFun's website for hours reading up on LEDs, arduinos, batteries, everything. Eventually I settled on using an arduino pro mini, a dip switch, and a RGB LED strip. I went back to the 3D model to design in hollow spaces and access points for the electronics. It took me hours and several prints to get the final spacing right for the components. I hadn't learned the joy of rechargeable batteries yet, so this piece had four AA batteries jammed into the body. That was one of the most difficult design parts. Making the body hold all the batteries in an hidden but accessible compartment. I printed nearly 15 different structures before I finally had something that worked. ** Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbkO0hRC_IIf you have a bit of skill at electronics/code, the comments in Loki_Ravestick.ino (see the bit bucket page in the instructions) should help you figure out the basic wiring I used. The LED strip should be connected to ground and +5v at the arduino. From the arduino, the data line of the LED strip should connect to pin 12. For the DIP switch, one pin of each switch should be connected to arduino pins 2 through 9. The other pin should be connected to ground and +5v as is standard for buttons on the arduino (see this for a guide) The wires for the LED strip should be about 1m in length, long enough to run up the length of the staff. If you have any questions, send me a message.