Well, it's about time I post up the step-by-step pics of this since I've had a few people (at cons and here on DA) asking about it. These are all the shots I took while working on this heavy thing. I hope people find the pics (and the explanation of each below) useful!

1) After deciding out all the measurements for the sword (I tried to make it scaled so it would look right with my height, since we don't know yet what the size of his sword really is), I drew out what was needed on a 4 foot long piece of poplar wood (it's strong, yet fairly light for what you get). From here I sawed it out by hand.

2) This is the blade cut out with all the edges filed down (it took a while xD)

3) This is the cut-out sword with all the paper templates for the various parts of the hilt I would be making. The ruler's there just so I could get a better feel for what the final length would be (and you can see the reference image I used). And yes, I know some things are missing, but don't worry, they'll be added in later!

4) The handle was a piece of wood that had a slit cut down the center so that the blade could fit into it. It was glued in place and also had two screws put in for extra security.

5) The handle was trimmed down and I started building most of the parts. The brownish stuff is florist's foam that I was able to file down into shape and then covered it with white glue and toilet paper (so that it wouldn't crumble if you touched it after, since florist's foam is quite delicate). Pink stuff is insulator foam, and, to get the stuff cut out like I did, I used a foam cutter (it basically melts the foam and makes it much easier to work with, I found). Balsa wood was also used for the...thing at the bottom of the image. And the black things on the handle, forget what they were called, but I got them in the bathroom section of Home Depot (two pieces back-to-back to get the look I wanted). Nothing was attached at this point.

6) I finished building all the parts (using balsa wood for most of the remaining stuff) and then attached it all using adhesive caulking. Wood filler was also used to fill in areas that needed it.

7) Painting stage! As I was using oil-based spray paint, it was very important that I coated the foam (I used acrylic paint, since it worked and I had plenty on hand) or else the spray paint would have basically melted the stuff o.o don't want that happening! Sadly, some of the insulator foam was affected, but the florist foam was still good due to the extra protection of the white glue. So, when you're painting it, make sure to test your materials! You wouldn't want to start painting the final thing and then have it ruined x.x

8) This was the old look for the sword at the end of the summer. I used black wood paint for the dark areas. But...as I kept looking at my sword and various pictures...I realized that I had missed some things and I didn't like how the blade part looked. So, after school started back up, I decided to modify it...

9) I chiseled off the old foam on the blade part, cut out 2 new insulator foam pieces and attached them, then gave a layer of wood filler (made it a fair bit heavier, but I wanted to make sure none of the foam would come in contact with the paint later on). So, while now it's a bit thicker than the blade probably would be, it has much more of a blade shape. I also attached the other little...thing (sorry, really not sure what to call some of the parts, but you can see what was added xD) and another small drum. Once again, they were made from insulator foam and florist foam (I found the florist foam was best for the cylindrical parts, very easy to work with...if extremely messy). I was now happy with the final look!

10) First shot of the back. This was when I was slowly adding a coat of paint, sanding it down, adding another coat, etc. Sadly, if I were to make any more changes to the back, it would be to have it be as identical to the front as possible. This is why when I get any pictures with the sword taken, I try to be very careful and make sure the "front" of the blade is what's facing the camera xD I highly doubt I'll ever go back to modifying this thing, so I'm stuck with the back as is (though it doesn't look so bad once the black paint's on).

11) And now, the final, final version of the sword. Once again, all the black and darker areas of the sword were painted with black wood paint. To get the grayer areas, I made sure to thin out the paint with turpentine. It was smelly as hell, but I think it looks much more like Noct's sword, especially compared to stage 8.

So, there it is. The step-by-step of the first cosplay sword I made (but definitely not the last). I hope people attempting to make their own prop find it useful! And feel free to ask any questions (either note or comment) you may have.

Length: 52" (it comes up to around my shoulder)
Width: Varies greatly. Engine hilt can be up to 18". Handle is 1 1/4". Blade varies from 6" where it meets the hilt, 4 1/2" at the thinnest point of the dip, 5" at the bottom curve, and then the tip.
Weight: Unknown, but it definitely is heavier than I first planned. Holding it away from my body for poses gets challenging after a few moments. I'm always jealous of seeing other people move their swords with ease xD
Time to Complete: Less than a year. But, school and the winter months where I could not paint it got in the way. Most of it was completed over a 2-month summer.

This sword actually broke a few times while I was working on it The balsa wood loop thing at the bottom broke the most, and I ended up trying to make it sturdier by attaching 2 more layers of balsa wood (so it's a bit thicker now, but stronger too). The thin thing at the top has also cracked a few times, and sadly continues to crack when I take it to conventions with how I normally hold the sword in poses. Even the entire sword fell over once and the blade cracked in two places (thankfully on the "back" but still...). Thankfully that was when I was working on it too, so I was able to mend it. So...be very careful when working on your props! ._.

(Everything crafted by me.)