Whenever I have leftover plastic from whatever I’m doing, I try to dump it into existing molds until they’re full, since otherwise it just hardens in the mixing cup and is wasted.  Since I use a few different dyes in the plastic resin, this also means I get daggers and swords which look to me like insects with markings saying “stay away”…

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I had a question on how I made my swords shiny, like this (which has other issues):

This is an insulation foam carving, coated with 3 coats of Smooth Cast 320 plastic, wet sanded, then coated with one extra coat of plastic.  After that, I painted it with Rustoleum gray primer, and sanded it to 1000 grit wet sandpaper.  Then I painted it with Rustoleum gloss black automotive paint, and finally coated it with Velspar “brilliant metallic” silver paint.  I have not yet coated it with gloss coating, since this item has other problems, but when I do such coatings, I use hand painted gloss coat, as spray painted gloss coat will dull the silvery/chrome finish.

Hope this helps anyone who is making similar items!

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Well, 2011 was quite the wild ride.  It was my first year completely as a contract worker (rather than salaried, as I’ve been in the past), as well as the first year I worked two jobs (since one wasn’t paying).  I let myself get out of shape far more than I should have, but I’m starting to reverse that trend.

Highlights of the year:

• Walking home with a heavy car battery when my car died
• Decided to buy a 3D printer to work with my prop making ideas
• Tried all sorts of ideas for making silicone molds, most of which failed
• Figured out that my 3D carver was skewed for at least a year or two, resulting in bad carvings (and a few bad molds)
• Started learning how to use an airbrush

And plans for next year:

• Get back in shape, I hope
• Make a bunch of cosplay props for people
• Finally quit one of my jobs
• Finish some armor!

Hope everyone out there has a safe and happy New Year’s.  Stay safe, use a designated driver, a cab, the tipsy tow service, or whatever else you can to stay off the roads if you’ve been drinking.

Originally published at A Quiet Path. You can comment here or there.

Post in progress as I complete this prop… photos and details behind the cut.

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Just needs some slight cleanup, then it’s ready for a mold…

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Apparently the router melted some hot glue, which melted foam, picked up the foam bits, let them re-solidify into a disc, which then cut way more than the 1/8″ of the router bit would normally… first it carved the right side, but when it moved to the left it picked up the extra material, as seen in the first two pictures.  The result?  A whole bunch of cut away details that should’ve remained in the final picture…

On the plus side, I’ve improved the carving program since that carving, so it will be faster to re-create it.

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Testing out a new idea for mold making (and some updates to my carving program), but for now, also working on other props…

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Got some molds for the Eye of Thundera working, so cast some copies to insert into the swords and daggers I’ve been working on.  I think I’m finally happy with the shapes of the swords and daggers, so I can make molds of the full items shortly and start casting actual items.

The Zelda stuff is for later, but I was able to create it while waiting for stuff on the Thundercats work to dry and such.

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But coming along…

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Working on both old and new Sword of Omens, and a double sword stand for display and pictures.  So many props at so many different levels of completion…

Originally published at A Quiet Path. You can comment here or there.