This project started as a single prop request for Dead Rising 4 and quickly grew into a small batch of custom display pieces for Xbox Canada. One of the bats was used as a giveaway for EB Games, while others made appearances at Toronto Fan Expo and an X16 launch event.
The base of the build was a solid wood bat. One of the main challenges was figuring out how to hide the battery pack for the LED lights without any exposed wires or wall plugs—especially since the piece needed to look good from all angles. I ended up carving out the top section of the bat to house the battery pack internally. The original LED kit came with a solar panel, but I swapped that out and soldered a battery-powered solution to give us more control and cleaner visuals. The LEDs also had a few lighting modes built in.
For the barbed wire, I wanted something that looked convincing but stayed safe for public handling. I used leather strips, tied and trimmed to mimic sharp barbs, then painted them metallic silver. They held their shape well and looked sharp—without being dangerous.
The handle was wrapped with white hockey tape and aged with a bit of black acrylic and dirt to give it a gritty, worn-in feel. Everything sat on a custom pine base that was stained and finished with faux blood effects. The angled logo plaque added a nice touch for presentation.
What started as a simple build turned into a really fun creative challenge, and it was great to see the props out in the world getting attention.
