Annddd here we go. What follows below is a picture tutorial on how to construct the Jedi Holocron that I've shown in the pictures so far. We'll start with what supplies you need to get started.
-Baseball display cube (4 inch cube), you can get these online relatively inexpensively and they are pretty much essential to making this prop
-Craft foam painted gold that you get at any craft store for the sides, 2mm foam to be specific and regular metallic gold acrylic paint
-Blue transparent film which is a file folder cut into squares (really optional since the LEDs are blue as well but it does add a cool look to it)
-4 blue floral LEDs from a craft store, 4 is a bit overkill but if you want it super bright then that is the way to go. Many craft stores have good coupons every week so take advantage of those. This particular 4-pack set of floral lights costs around $7-8 but I got them for $4 with a 50% off coupon. It pays to check, trust me.
-Either glazing spray or some sandpaper to make the cube more opaque, even balled up wax paper in the middle of the cube works better than it sounds.
Here are the 3 main ways that you can help make your cube more opaque. Sand paper can be used to rough up the sides, glazing spray can be used to give it a nice look, or you can ignore both of those ways and just go with the wax paper inside the cube route (that is what I ended up doing.) Note that the cube in this photo is not the one I ended up using for the finished product, I had a brand new clear cube that I decided to use instead.
Now starts the more time consuming portion of this prop... cutting out and painting the sides. I freehanded the design from looking at an image of the Holocron on the Clone Wars show. It isn't 100% identical to the one on the cartoon but it is a very close relative. The far left is a cardboard template that is used to trace onto the foam to make sure every piece is the same. The middle is obviously unpainted foam and the far right is a completed piece. Painting can drive you nuts after a while because every edge and surface will need at least 3 coats of gold paint, possibly more. You can cut back on this a little by sealing the foam with white glue first. Then the paint won't soak into the foam as much.
The blue sides are an old blue file folder that I cut up. You can usually find something similar at a department store in the stationary section. As long as it is blue and partially see-through it will work here. In this picture I am making sure that the blue square and foam pieces match up well with the sides of the cube. If you are making this then you will notice how the cube slides together and that you won't be able to glue the entire side onto the cube because it needs to slide apart. Just glue everything you can and check routinely by sliding it apart to make sure everything lines up correctly.
Nothing fancy here, I used white glue and a chisel brush to smooth the glue over the sides of the cube and stuck the blue pieces on. Watch out for major air bubbles but you'll probably get a few small imperfections which is ok. Once this baby is lit up there is no way you are going to see them.
To glue on the gold pieces I used white glue that is a little thicker than the regular kind and is super tacky. I just painted it onto the foam with a paint brush to make sure it didn't run and carefully set the pieces onto the cube. You have some time before it sets so you can scoot the piece around to get the perfect spot before letting it dry. As always, it dries clear so don't worry about that too much.
LEDs are incoming. As I mentioned above these are floral LEDs and I glazed the domes a little with glazing spray to diffuse the light further (the wax paper does a better job).
Using some wax paper just ball up the LEDs inside and then fit it into your cube. This takes a little practice but you'll get it after a few tries. The wax paper gives the inside an amazing look because the folds of the paper catching the light makes it look like actual material moving around. It's hard to describe but the effect is pretty awesome.
That's it, please let me know if any of you out there decide to make one and I would
LOVE to see pictures if you make on yourself. A word of warning, bounty hunter Cad Bane steals Holocrons, don't let him steal yours...