Yeah, the sapphires on the standard glamdring are... Well, I think they may actually be plastic- back when I used soot to antique, I accidentally got the sapphire too close to the flame and the surface bubbled a bit. Does glass do that?

But with the MC version, it's fine- actual sapphires used there (completely opaque and the wrong shape, but sapphires nonetheless, hehe).

Tried my first round of paint stripping, masked off the grip... Left the 1/2-hour brush-on stripping solution on for 45 minutes, went at it with a Scotch-brite... It got like half a layer off (and the paint is a satin clear coat with the creepy blue stuff on top, so not very much progress), so right now round 2 is happening (cleaned off all the gunk from round 1 before I started) >.<

[quote=""Thranduil""]Agreed, but I think we're safe. I'm pretty sure they are glass. The glue that holds them, well that's another story; it may be effected by solvents.
And watch the leather too, unless you want a worn look. My Shards leather has a really nice, very old worn look to it now. [/quote]

Actually I'd like to see a picture of that as I still need to weather my version of the shards I did.

Alright, so I took a scalpel and made a microscopic cut on one of the sapphires on my glamdring (for the greater good, eh?), and it is indeed plastic.

Stay far away from those would be jewels if you're doing it the easy way.

What a bummer. Plastic. Now I really want to replace them. Even glass fakes would be better than plastic.

N2- I'll get the Shard's out and shoot that pic for you. I still have to pull out my WK dagger anyway. It was way too cold yesterday, didn't want to open the closet and let all that cold air into the bedroom.

Wow, plastic? I didn't think they'd go that cheap on us, especially after seeing the photos of that HEWS tang of yours, Thrand. But then again, this is probably one of the most produced UC LotR swords, along with Sting and Anduril, so I guess cutting corners isn't all that shocking.

I checked out my WK Dagger and retract my opinion on stamping. Seems it's definitely acid etched or burned in with an electrode.

And here's the pick of my Shards grip. Giving it some more thought at this point; I did not use paint stripper on the leather because I was afraid it may be excessive, instead I used lacquer thinner on a rag and carefully rubbed off the paint, then gave it a quick once over to even it all out. Using lacquer thinner on a clean rag, one can keep going over it according to desired result.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Wow, plastic? I didn't think they'd go that cheap on us, especially after seeing the photos of that HEWS tang of yours, Thrand. But then again, this is probably one of the most produced UC LotR swords, along with Sting and Anduril, so I guess cutting corners isn't all that shocking.[/quote]

Cutting corners is understandable to a degree, but my guess would be that glass vs. plastic would be about pennies, as in two cents worth.

And due to it being one of the most produced pieces, it's corner that shouldn't have been cut.
Oh well, doesn't matter to me. From the moment I decided to modify, it was always going to be real sapphires.

The created sapphires used in the MSSC would be in it already cuz I can get those for about 70 bucks (or less), but I don't like how light blue they are in color.

So it's real deal low grade AAA's I'll be getting

I wonder why Weta's synthetic sapphires are so pale. I've seen my share of synthetics that are darker and still high-quality (I think. I'm not a jewel e xp ert)... I'll have to give them an e-mail and ask if the sapphires are going to be that light on the final product.

Actually, I don't mind plastic sapphire's on Glamdring at all. It looks like a jewel, and at such a small scale, the only way I could find out if it was plastic was to make a small cut in it.

The thing that does bother me though, is that it goes all purple in direct light. For god's sake, it's plastic, getting it the right colour should be the simplest job in the world...

[quote=""Thranduil""]I checked out my WK Dagger and retract my opinion on stamping. Seems it's definitely acid etched or burned in with an electrode.

And here's the pick of my Shards grip. Giving it some more thought at this point; I did not use paint stripper on the leather because I was afraid it may be excessive, instead I used lacquer thinner on a rag and carefully rubbed off the paint, then gave it a quick once over to even it all out. Using lacquer thinner on a clean rag, one can keep going over it according to desired result.
[/quote]

Thanks for the pic, it looks great! I think I might give it a try.

Hope this isn't considered necro-posting because I need an answer.

Jamanticus, can you help me out here?

Remember I bought MR's "Royal Vambraces" (Aragorn's kingly vambraces).

All the trim work is aged silver, except for the buckles. For some unfathomable reason (read: stupid) they used brass buckles.
Well, I'm changing them. I bought some solid brass buckles with a nickel finish. But they are pretty shiny.

What can I do to age them to look like old silver, but without e xp osing the brass?
Would it be something simple like using real fine steel wool on them?
What else would work?

Steel wool could do the job, definitely. If the extra-fine stuff doesn't dull the finish any, I'd just try a grade a bit more coarse. Ultra-fine sandpaper would work as well. After that, if the finish is still too bright-looking, you could dilute some black acrylic paint with water (I've heard of people using isopropyl alcohol or windshield wiper fluid to dilute as well), coat the entire buckle in it, and then wipe it off- it'll leave black in the tiny crevices to give a nice antiqued look, and will also dull it a bit.

You could also spray the buckle with a matte clear coat (I like Testors Dullcote) to take the shine off. If you want to black wash it afterwards, just make sure that it's the same paint type as the stuff you used for the clear cloat.

Here's an example of what one coat of flat clear coat can do to help dull the shine of a metal piece:





...And then there's always the option of using muriatic acid to dull the shine of the nickel. Fun, dangerous, would probably get the job done, but too hard, hehe.

Thanks much Jaman.

Will try the steel wool first and go from there.

Will probably NOT try the muriatic acid, though.
Would just as soon stay away from anything super caustic, if only for my own safety.

Good luck with your project, Deimos.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Good luck with your project, Deimos.[/quote]

Thanks Fin.

Will post the "before-and-after" pics. of my first "character improvement" project.

(Sounds almost like something you would hear a preacher say in a sermon ....)

Alrighty- since my lovely Ringwraith sword is on its way here from JustinTD (after being lost in the mail for several months), I decided to finish up working on Gimli's walking axe in celebration.

A pic of what the thing looked like new:



And then revitalized (although I may have put one too many notches in the edge of the axe):



The wood of the handle needs more nicks and dents though. Maybe tomorrow

Wow! Another great piece Jaman! Those notches look great, really adds to the piece!

[quote=""Jamanticus""]Alrighty- since my lovely Ringwraith sword is on its way here from JustinTD (after being lost in the mail for several months), I decided to finish up working on Gimli's walking axe in celebration....although I may have put one too many notches in the edge of the axe.[/quote]

One cannot have too many notches in one's axe. It shows that it is a frequently used, mighty weapon.

Thank you both

Did manage to scratch and dent the wood bit of the handle today, and now the thing's going on my wall next to the battle axe. Now where'd that camera go...

EDIT: Ah, there it is.

Apologies for the weird lighting and cable. I think the Borg might be assimilating my house



If I'm not careful, I might end up getting that bearded axe as well to finish out my Dwarven weaponry wall. Horrific balance and feel, but I'll be darned if they don't look stunning on a wall

This new pic shows off those notches much better.
Looks great

Excellent! I agree, you should get the Bearded Axe...as should I.

Keep up the good work!

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Excellent! I agree, you should get the Bearded Axe...as should I.... [/quote]

You know, I didn't care for Bearded Axe at first.
And I have the Walking Axe, which I like better than the Battle Axe.
The Battle Axe has always struck me as "prop-like".

But graduually I've come to appreciate the Bearded Axe even more than the Walking Axe.
It looks like something you might really find hanging on a wall of mediaeval castle.

So, like Fin, I'm thinking I should acquire it.

Great work with your swords, especially with the Witchking.

Thanks, Nazgûl. I ought to break out the camera again to shoot another pic of the Witch-king's sword edge. The original turned out to not just have a few notches like mine, but was so full of notches that there almost wasn't any part of the edge that wasn't jagged, so I went at it again with the dremel

I'd love to see some new close-up pics of your work. Would be interesting to compare them to my original Witchking sword, which hopefully arrives till the end of the week. =)

There we go, took some more pics of the sword with its newly wonky edge and real rust!

I'm very happy with it now because the whole piece looks coherent with itself. Same color of oxidation on both the hilt and blade, woohoo.



And some links to closer pics below.

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq83 ... 1306523172

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq83 ... 1306523198

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq83 ... 1306523218

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq83 ... 1306523244

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq83 ... 1306523370

Great job, that's what I call a wrecked sword! Looks pretty genuine to me.

Definitely an awesome job Jaman!
Truly looks genuine.

Your work on Herugrim and the Witchking's sword is incredible! (my favorites of your work) I'm especially impressed by the latter, very nice distressing and aging.

Thank you very much for the compliment, Captain Ember! The Witch-king's sword has been the most abused UC replica I own, and I don't mean all the notches and pitting, hehe. That thing served as a trial-and-error teaching tool for me for a ton of techniques I'd never tried before, and I'm just happy it ended up turning out well enough to hide a few of the icky early mistakes I made with it.

Now, this next piece is not a UC piece, and is in fact an actual sword, but I figured I might as well just keep it in this thread.

That Gen2 Irish sword I purchased was nice and simple, but that simplicity made it stand out in a not too good way with the rest of the swords in my collection. My solution to that? Add some detail to the finish! Aging this thing was a completely different process compared to those stainless steel wall hangers I had worked with before, so its finish is not as good as whatever real sword I age next. Still, I'm happy with it.

Ingredients to distress this sword: vinegar and table salt.


After a few days:

Looks awesome Jaman

I'm really thinking about trying to age / distress Stings scabbard. Some antiquing on the cast metal parts and some distressing on the leather. Any suggestions from the kings of giving things character?

[quote=""N2darkness""]I'm really thinking about trying to age / distress Stings scabbard. Some antiquing on the cast metal parts and some distressing on the leather. Any suggestions from the kings of giving things character?[/quote]
This hasn't been taken kindly in the past, but my reasoning behind black shoe polish is that it doesn't effect the piece itself. The metal pieces on this scabbard will take the polish well, darken, and give it the look you may be looking for.

And the best part is; If you don't like it, you can remove it. No harm done.

[quote=""Thranduil""]This hasn't been taken kindly in the past, but my reasoning behind black shoe polish is that it doesn't effect the piece itself. The metal pieces on this scabbard will take the polish well, darken, and give it the look you may be looking for.

And the best part is; If you don't like it, you can remove it. No harm done. [/quote]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do have some antiquing medium that can be removed as well. I do think I'm going to put a few dings and scratches in it as well. Here is a pic of what I'm going for. If it doesn't turn out well I can always replace it with a new one as there pretty cheap.

Looks like Jaman's advice is needed. He's really good with that antiqued aged stuff.

Well I went for it. I little sandpaper, knife scrapping and leather conditioner for the leather and some nicks and scratches and some antiquing medium for the metal parts and this is what I came up with.

Before

After

a few close ups.

And back with all the other stuff.




I also found a little tutorial online on re-doing the NC Bilbo's pipe to look a lot better and I may give that a try.

It's funny how much that pine cone stands out in your table chest.
It looks fine in there, but it's like one of those tests where they ask which item least belongs with the others.

Are you diss-ing my pine cones? I needed some other natural elements to add to the table, things that Bilbo or Frodo may have picked up on there adventures as keepsakes.

Wow, N2D...that coffee table just gets better and better....

FIRST DIBS ON IT WHEN N2 DECIDES TO SELL IT!!!!

Think you might put Sam's "Real Elvish Rope" in there?
It could be placed partway underneath stuff, with just a little bit e xp osed.
That way you can see what it is, but not like having the full coil sitting on top of everything.

The thing about the rope is, it was in both the book and the movie.
So it's 100% accurate to have it in your display (if you so decide)

Is that Phial of Galadriel the one put out by Noble?
I really like the way you have it set in the wooden box.

Edit: Oh Yeah, great job on the scabbard. Love the antiquing on the metal parts.
Jaman, you got competition!

Thanks! Yep that is the NC Phial, I have had a few ideas about trying to light it up from underneath. I do like the idea of the Elvish rope, I'll start doing some searching to a close equivalent. My guess is I'll find something close and it will have to be died a slight grey color.

Thanks for the ideas and the compliments.

[quote=""N2darkness""].... I do like the idea of the Elvish rope, I'll start doing some searching to a close equivalent. My guess is I'll find something close and it will have to be died a slight grey color.

Thanks for the ideas and the compliments.[/quote]

Grey with just a hint of a silvery sheen, depending on the light.
Good luck finding something like that though.

[quote=""N2darkness""]Thanks! Yep that is the NC Phial, I have had a few ideas about trying to light it up from underneath. I do like the idea of the Elvish rope, I'll start doing some searching to a close equivalent. My guess is I'll find something close and it will have to be died a slight grey color.

Thanks for the ideas and the compliments.[/quote]
Nope, not dissing the pine cone.

Concerning the elvish rope. I'd suggest Jo Ann fabrics in the drapery department. You'll find various thicknesses of soft ropes used for tie backs. Grayish silvery color shouldn't be a problem.

[quote=""N2darkness""]Are you diss-ing my pine cones? I needed some other natural elements to add to the table, things that Bilbo or Frodo may have picked up on there adventures as keepsakes.[/quote]

N2D, have you thought about some leaves that look like Old Toby or Long-Bottom Leaf?
If you can get a good view of the " 'baccy" that Merry and Pippin discover in Isengard, you might be able to find some similar looking leaves at Michaels.

You could look for some real leaves that are similar, and it would be aromatic, but it would also eventually crumble and disintegrate.

I know the fakes aren't the natural stuff you mentioned you wanted, but it would come pretty close.
Or you could find some [fake] leaves that look like normal US grown tobacco. It's all very similar anyway.

Whatever you use, you could either strew it near the pipe, or make up a pouch similar to the one Merry gave Pippin (when he left Edoras with Gandalf) and have the contents spilling out a little near the pipe.

You can bet that every one of the Hobbits, not to mention Gandalf, Gimli and Aragorn, carried tobacco pouches (just like their creator )

[quote=""Thranduil""]Nope, not dissing the pine cone.

Concerning the elvish rope. I'd suggest Jo Ann fabrics in the drapery department. You'll find various thicknesses of soft ropes used for tie backs. Grayish silvery color shouldn't be a problem. [/quote]

Juneau, drapery cord was the first thing I thought of to get the right color.
But all the drapery cord I have ever seen is always twisted with one of those tassle things hanging off it.
You can always cut off the tassle, but I wouldn't know how to straighten out the cord, if it can be straighened out.

You might be able to special order something that isn't twisted...

Once again great suggestions! I took a few screen captures from the movies and it does look like actual rope with a light grey and a silver highlight.


On the "old toby" pipe weed, I have been looking for a tobacco pouch for awhile now, but haven't found anything close yet. Might have to make one of my own out of a old piece of leather.

After seeing that rope again I'm thinking maybe you should check toy stores for jump rope. Maybe there making something with metallic threads intertwined.

Drapery ropes are available in bulk by the foot.

The tobacco pouch sounds like a great suggestion too. Deimos.

Here is my feeble attempt as elvish rope. I tried dying some nylon/acrylic rope to give it a blue/grey color and a little silver highlight. I may try again. What do you think?

Looks OK...passable. No one would have any doubt that it is the rope Sam carried (mainly because there is no other rope in the story! )

Try Thrandy's jumprope suggestion....can't lose anything by trying (except a few dollars)

Also try this: all cotton clothesline. Cotton, being a totally different material than synthetics, will accept the dye differently.

And if clothesline is a bit small in diameter, get thee to a Jo-Ann's and ask for "cotton cord".
It's in the section for making curtains, it's on spools in all different diameters , and an off white color.
It's priced either by the foot or by the yard, so you can buy as much or as little as you need.

After you dye it try using silver metalic spray paint on it.

It would be just a light dusting. I’m thinking it will “take” in the same way spray paint takes to any fabric , like when you [unintentionally!] get overspray on yourself.

Good luck! I have every confidence you will come up with a "Sam's Rope" that we will all envy.

Edit: Every time I see that Red Book in your display I get just soooooo envious. We wants it, yes we do!