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Well, here it is... My thread of beating up my UC Lord of the Rings prop replicas.

Well, not beating up- well....Not *always* beating up the props.

So, here you go. Starting with Anduril.

Sword arrived looking okay, but I decided some dents, scratches, and dulling of the clearcoat would do it some good.

And now onto Glamdring. Really didn't look as ancient as I wanted it to, so I did the dents, scratches, scuffing, dirt buildup, and a bit of clearcoat removal to help get it looking old.





Aaaand, now... Let's see... The High Elven War Sword!

Didn't want to do too much to it. Just wanted to mess with the blade a bit and give it the standard beating that I did to the other two swords to make it look like a genuine Second Age weapon. A bit of black tinting fluid, and the blade was taken care of. Buffed bits of the brass parts with steel wool to make them shinier, then dented, blackened the dents, and hung on the wall.

Okay, now for the Witch-king's dagger.

Did what all of the folks here did. Just blackened the blade in select spots (using olive oil, a blowtorch, and some flat black paint) to make it look decrepit. After that, shined up the pommel and selectively smeared a bit more flat black paint on there to make it look closer to the original. Finally, broke out the trusty dremel and cut more notches into the blade. Smaller notches so it'd stand up to closer scrutiny.







Then there's Herugrim. Absolute pain to weather. Gave it a mild greenish patina and lightened the clearcoat a bit so it didn't look black and gold.

Still doing some final additions to the finish of the Witch-king's sword. Very fun to distress.

Here's just my darkening of the pitting on the blade, with more pics of the final product to come:




Put Renaissance Wax on all the sword hilts and blades I weathered so the finishes wouldn't tarnish any more than I wanted them to in places where I removed the protective clearcoat.

Please, give me some advice for more distressing techniques!

WOW! They look fantastic. Anduril looks the best in my opinion. Although the ageing applied to Herugrim looks fabulous!

Why, thank you.

Anduril was a fun sword to work on. SO much easier than Herugrim. Come to think of it, there are a few swords I might retake some pics of in better lighting. Most of mine are either in dim lighting, or in glaring, ugly lighting. I'll see about taking some pics using natural daylight with these swords... After all, it's a great excuse to use my new tripod!


Same old process for this one as with the other ones. No paint involved this time, though.

wow that ranger sword looks so much better. You did a great job with that

They all look great! But what'cha gonna do if, one of these days, you really need to sell these (God forbid!)?

(Just joking - you'll probably never even consider the idea.)

My weathered versions have sold quite well (at least, the ones I had the heart to sell. You do get kinda attached to a prop the more you work on it)

I don't see weathering as devaluing to these props. Quite the opposite. After all, the originals were all beat-up (with several exceptions like Anduril's newly-reforged blade), and on purpose, and there are people paying 3X as much (or more) for versions that are closer to the originals, one of those aspects being the distressed finish.

And I mean, take this for example...

"Eeew, that Morgul Blade, the weapon of a powerful servant of the most evil being in the world, is all wicked-looking and corroded and blackened! Yuck, I'll stick with my clean version with the shiny new blade."

I'm sure there are people who would say that, people who want their replicas to be in mint condition, etc. And that's cool. Having mint prop replicas definitely has its own merits, and there are very many collectors who prefer their props that way.

Then there are people in the other camp who want lots of their prop replicas distressed, since very many of the originals were so (although maybe these same people would want other props cleaned up so that they're closer to their respective originals).

That's how I see weathering. The unweathered versions... They don't give you as close a bond with the character who wielded them in the film or book, because they don't have a finish that's properly suited to them. They lack that spark of life, that aspect that makes them seem 'real', if that's an applicable adjective to high fantasy.

And I respect UC a ton. Huge amount, and all of their reasons for not releasing their replicas distressed are all completely valid. There are certainly a number of people who wouldn't want a weathered version of a prop. There's also the fact that weathering takes time and energy, which would drive the prices of the props up, to the sadness of everyone.

However, if someone wants something a bit more authentic-looking hanging on their wall, I'll be here and happy to oblige.

EDIT: It's the before-and-after pics that I live for when I weather my props. Still not done with WiKi's sword, but making progress. A comparison of where it was, and where it is now:

wow the witchking's sword looks great there. Are you planning on ageing any more of your replicas?

Well... I'm running out of replicas to distress . I mean, I'm planning on doing a bit on Gimli's axes, just on the shiny top area with the walking axe and shiny brass area with the battle axe... (I love the finish on the axes except for those tiny areas)

But after those, I'm out of stuff to weather. Well, I just got a nice new airbrush, so maybe I'll try to find a more brownish color of paint to make the High Elven sword more accurate.

Might darken the pommel of Hadhafang a little bit...

But other than those things, I'll have no replicas that I need to age when I'm done with the Witch-king's sword. Darn it, now I'm feeling sad

Really superb work. You may be aware of this, but anywhere you removed the clear coat, the plating underneath will start to oxidize over time. I tried to fix up a mark on one of mine, saw the clear coat was flaking. Then I thought I may as well remove the rest with Acetone. I think it was only within a few weeks, but it started do discolor, and fingerprints were literally rusting into the surface. Put a clear coat back over it and it stopped.

I emailed UC and Kit Rae about it and was told the cast parts are actually plated in a type of dark nickel or brass to get the right metal look, polished a bit with steel wool to brighten it, then clear coated to seal it from the air. Apprently any type of plating other than chrome will oxidize in open air.

ooo. I will have to be careful with my guards and pommels.

Anyways look forward to seeing more distressed replicas

Bang up your car =D

[quote=""Domenicnas""]Really superb work. You may be aware of this, but anywhere you removed the clear coat, the plating underneath will start to oxidize over time. I tried to fix up a mark on one of mine, saw the clear coat was flaking. Then I thought I may as well remove the rest with Acetone. I think it was only within a few weeks, but it started do discolor, and fingerprints were literally rusting into the surface. Put a clear coat back over it and it stopped.

I emailed UC and Kit Rae about it and was told the cast parts are actually plated in a type of dark nickel or brass to get the right metal look, polished a bit with steel wool to brighten it, then clear coated to seal it from the air. Apprently any type of plating other than chrome will oxidize in open air.[/quote]

Yup- the Renaissance Wax I put on the hilts after I'm done with them is my way around that. Seals them so that they won't oxidize, and it's invisible, which gives it a very nice advantage over a clearcoat.

[quote=""Jamanticus""]My weathered versions have sold quite well (at least, the ones I had the heart to sell. You do get kinda attached to a prop the more you work on it)

I don't see weathering as devaluing to these props. Quite the opposite. After all, the originals were all beat-up (with several exceptions like Anduril's newly-reforged blade), and on purpose, and there are people paying 3X as much (or more) for versions that are closer to the originals, one of those aspects being the distressed finish.

And I mean, take this for example...

"Eeew, that Morgul Blade, the weapon of a powerful servant of the most evil being in the world, is all wicked-looking and corroded and blackened! Yuck, I'll stick with my clean version with the shiny new blade."

I'm sure there are people who would say that, people who want their replicas to be in mint condition, etc. And that's cool. Having mint prop replicas definitely has its own merits, and there are very many collectors who prefer their props that way.

Then there are people in the other camp who want lots of their prop replicas distressed, since very many of the originals were so (although maybe these same people would want other props cleaned up so that they're closer to their respective originals).

That's how I see weathering. The unweathered versions... They don't give you as close a bond with the character who wielded them in the film or book, because they don't have a finish that's properly suited to them. They lack that spark of life, that aspect that makes them seem 'real', if that's an applicable adjective to high fantasy.

And I respect UC a ton. Huge amount, and all of their reasons for not releasing their replicas distressed are all completely valid. There are certainly a number of people who wouldn't want a weathered version of a prop. There's also the fact that weathering takes time and energy, which would drive the prices of the props up, to the sadness of everyone.

However, if someone wants something a bit more authentic-looking hanging on their wall, I'll be here and happy to oblige.

EDIT: It's the before-and-after pics that I live for when I weather my props. Still not done with WiKi's sword, but making progress. A comparison of where it was, and where it is now:



[/quote]

Wooaaw that's a great job you've don there.
Are you having all the swords of lotr uc in your collection by now ????.

Nah, my collection is just moderate. I'm happy that way, though.

So, more weathering progress. This time, Gimli's battle axe.

UC did a nice job on the bladed bits, but the brass in the middle.... Ick, ick, ick, ick. It's like toast. Just plain bland toast with nothing on it at all.



So, I added a bit of dust from all that time sitting in Moria, some dried Orc blood (man, was that hard to get xD), some very mild patination, and some wear around the handle.

So, here you go:



But, I didn't do the weathering just freeform- wouldn't have known what to do if I didn't use a few pics of the original as reference (made it slightly more weathered around the brass area for spite, hehe).

Overall, very fun and educational e xp erience for me. Now to attack Gimli's walking axe. And continue attacking the Witch-king's sword.

its beautiful

wow that is great

Yup, looks awesome. You do nice work. Love the wear on the handle.

The axe looks awesome, nice work.

There is a way you can make the witch king sword more authentic. First use some sandpaper to brighten up and matten the thing in the middle of the handle, then apply some matt varnish to it. Have yet to do it myself, but should do the trick.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. It means a lot, really- and thanks for the tip, Darlak! I shall try doing that to the middle metal bit on the sword.

It's always great for me to hear weathering tips, because in truth there are virtually zero tips online to be found about the subject. Still, I guess it makes it fun because almost all of it is learned (at least for me) from e xp erimentation, other people, and from The Colouring, Bronzing, and Patination of Metals

And on the Witch-king front, finished aging the leather grip except for adding a dusting of dirt around it, which I'll do when I try pitting the blade a second time (EDIT: Want to hear about how the first attempt went? Well, long story short, I ended up with an etched blade instead of corroded one. Forgot that pitting requires only small localized pockets of air instead of having the whole thing e xp osed to air). Going for deeper, non-machined pitting, so I'll be having some fun with full protective gear, hazardous chemicals, and a lot of dirt to stick the blade in this weekend.

[quote=""Jamanticus""]Thanks for the compliments, everyone. It means a lot, really- and thanks for the tip, Darlak! I shall try doing that to the middle metal bit on the sword.

It's always great for me to hear weathering tips, because in truth there are virtually zero tips online to be found about the subject. Still, I guess it makes it fun because almost all of it is learned (at least for me) from e xp erimentation, other people, and from The Colouring, Bronzing, and Patination of Metals

And on the Witch-king front, finished aging the leather grip except for adding a dusting of dirt around it, which I'll do when I try pitting the blade a second time (EDIT: Want to hear about how the first attempt went? Well, long story short, I ended up with an etched blade instead of corroded one. Forgot that pitting requires only small localized pockets of air instead of having the whole thing e xp osed to air). Going for deeper, non-machined pitting, so I'll be having some fun with full protective gear, hazardous chemicals, and a lot of dirt to stick the blade in this weekend.[/quote]

Look forward to seeing your finished product! Been following your thread and have really enjoyed the end results. Keep up the good (distressing) work.

[quote=""Jamanticus""]Thanks for the compliments, everyone. It means a lot, really- and thanks for the tip, Darlak! I shall try doing that to the middle metal bit on the sword.

It's always great for me to hear weathering tips, because in truth there are virtually zero tips online to be found about the subject. Still, I guess it makes it fun because almost all of it is learned (at least for me) from e xp erimentation, other people, and from The Colouring, Bronzing, and Patination of Metals

And on the Witch-king front, finished aging the leather grip except for adding a dusting of dirt around it, which I'll do when I try pitting the blade a second time (EDIT: Want to hear about how the first attempt went? Well, long story short, I ended up with an etched blade instead of corroded one. Forgot that pitting requires only small localized pockets of air instead of having the whole thing e xp osed to air). Going for deeper, non-machined pitting, so I'll be having some fun with full protective gear, hazardous chemicals, and a lot of dirt to stick the blade in this weekend.[/quote]
Maybe you should check out some model railroading sites and see if their offering tips on how they make their miniatures look aged. That's a real art in it's self.

[quote=""Thranduil""]Maybe you should check out some model railroading sites and see if their offering tips on how they make their miniatures look aged. That's a real art in it's self.[/quote]

Right you are. Railroad weathering sites are what introduced me to some miraculous things, like Tamiya weathering pastels and various weathering dusts. I have only barely scratched the surface, so I should look into that more- thanks for mentioning it!

Okay, update on the Witch-king's sword. The blade is finally almost done. Air pockets turned out to be the ticket for further corroding the blade.

Materials used: H2SO4, dirt, blackening solution (aka diluted black acrylic paint), wire brush (destroyed it in the process), steel wool, burnt umber, dremel cutting wheel.

First, I stripped everything off the blade and cleaned it, then brought it outside, placed it on some impervious plastic, and covered it in dirt. This would create only pockets of air for the acid to attack instead of having the entire thing open to the air (which would've created just a kinda snowflake-ish very light etch, not what I wanted). After the dirt was packed on, sprinkled the acid on (in full protective gear, just to be safe. Sulfuric acid burns are about as pleasant as having hot lava splashed onto you). Probably used around 1/2 cup of the stuff to cover the whole blade. Let it sit overnight to eat away.

Next day, took the acid-dirt off the blade, cleaned it. At this point, the blade was still covered in dark blue oxide from the acid. Took out the dremel with wire brush attachment and stripped that oxide off (making sure to wear my respirator. Wouldn't want to breathe that stuff in!).

After that, put the cutting wheel in the dremel and did preliminary notching. These would be the notches in the blade that were minor, just to very subtly ickify it. I'll be tackling the big notches soon.

After the notching, I went over the blade with the blackening stuff and removed as much as possible so that the only remaining black was in the cracks and crevices. Now, knowing that the originals were actually rusty, I did a second wash of burnt umber to brownify the blade ever so slightly.

Oh, and I rubbed some dirt into the handle and weathered that up.

So, here are the pics!





Compared to what it used to look like:

Okay. Witch-king's sword is done, except for dulling the middle handle bit.

Come to think of it, I don't know why I haven't done that yet, as it's only around 2 minutes of work...

Anyway, corroding the hilt was more difficult than I thought it would be. The plating is completely immune to even strong acid, so I had to punch holes in it so that my chemical would have something to corrode (thanks for the insight as to the main hilt metal, Thranduil!). That was a lot of holes to bore >.<

Oh! And made the blade as heavily notched as the original was:

Looks excellent!

beautiful...

WOW! First N2's shards and now this.
I'm lovin' the wide variety of talent in here; thinking we will have plenty of visitors with all there is to see from so many amazing person's.

Damn, Jaman. That looks awesome. You've really added character keeping with the stories. I do have a second Witchking sword that I've done some work on. But, you've really inspired me to try working on mine even more. Great stuff!

Thanks so much, Steel Servant- glad to hear that you'll be continuing work on that deliciously evil sword, too!

Okay, new project!

I was perusing yesterday and found one of my posts back before I got my MC Glamdring. It said something like, "Oh, I hate that antiqued finish on the hilt. I'm stripping that varnish off right when I get one!"

Well, took me this long to finally do it. Haven't finished yet, but here's an idea of how gorgeous (and more movie-accurate) part of Glamdring looks without that strange, bluish stripey varnish:



(also gives you an idea of how obscenely dark the varnish is!)

More pics to come.

I haven't really been reading this thread, so forgive me if you've already mentioned it, but are you just using steel wool to take that flaky junk off? Because if so, I did this to my ranger sword and Glamdring and IMO it made them 10x better. The ranger sword was a dull, dark gray when I got it. So much of that crud on it, it felt like paper, not steel. So I steel wool'd the crap off and there's a gorgeous metal look and feel underneath. Now it's the color it should be too.

Yup, steel wool! Brilliant stuff, gets the paint coats off and keeps the metal underneath in perfect condition

It's amazing how much lovely the UC swords are when you get strip the ugly off them

I think I remember you using steel wool (can't remember which thread you mentioned it in), which is what made me switch from using a wire brush.

(The wire brush was good for getting paint off quickly, but it was a bit too easy for me to make mistakes with it, hehe)

Oh yeah, ok. I knew I'd mentioned it before but wasn't sure if you were here or not at the time. I was surprised at how much better it makes the pieces and wondered why exactly that stuff was used if all they do is make them hideous. It's not like my swords rusted in the... 5+ years they've been without that coating. So it obviously serves no practical purpose.
I suppose it's not that bad on some of them, but my ranger sword was particularly and unusually dark (like I said -- dark matte gray), which made me curious. I noticed a little flaking on the hilt and scraped it away with my fingernail, surprised to see shiny metal underneath. So I watched that for a while then said.... to hell wid you (in my best Conan voice) and gave it a full scrub. Don't regret it.

Looking very good, Jaman. Can't wait to see more progress on this one, I know how carefully you treat your children...or Glamdrings, whatever you want to call them...same thing.

[quote=""Sedhal""]Oh yeah, ok. I knew I'd mentioned it before but wasn't sure if you were here or not at the time. I was surprised at how much better it makes the pieces and wondered why exactly that stuff was used if all they do is make them hideous. It's not like my swords rusted in the... 5+ years they've been without that coating. So it obviously serves no practical purpose.
I suppose it's not that bad on some of them, but my ranger sword was particularly and unusually dark (like I said -- dark matte gray), which made me curious. I noticed a little flaking on the hilt and scraped it away with my fingernail, surprised to see shiny metal underneath. So I watched that for a while then said.... to hell wid you (in my best Conan voice) and gave it a full scrub. Don't regret it. [/quote]

Yes I too would love to see some finished pics of the end results on both Glamdring and the rangers sword! You guys have definitely peaked my interest.

This has brought back a memory of when I first came here and very reluctantly admitted my intentions to modify (tamper with) my UC LOTR swords.

I remembered fearing a loud cry of "Foul!"

Glad to hear about others doing what they deem to be best for their pieces.

man those swords look beautiful I want to take that varnish off of my ranger sword so bad but I am scared to

[quote=""Sedhal""]I haven't really been reading this thread, so forgive me if you've already mentioned it, but are you just using steel wool to take that flaky junk off? Because if so, I did this to my ranger sword and Glamdring and IMO it made them 10x better. The ranger sword was a dull, dark gray when I got it. So much of that crud on it, it felt like paper, not steel. So I steel wool'd the crap off and there's a gorgeous metal look and feel underneath. Now it's the color it should be too.[/quote]
How long did you steel wool it because I did it to mine and it stripped some junk off but still had the gray color

It takes a good amount of elbow grease to get the paint off; very thick coat. You'll immediately notice when you get all the paint off of a spot, though- the nickel alloy (or whatever it is under there that's impervious all sorts of nasty acids) plating underneath the paint is very shiny and silvery.

Yep. The color MAY not change a whole lot but the texture and finish should. Parts of my ranger sword are still the same gray variation underneath the flaky crap, but it's shinier which brightens it up a bit. You'll definitely notice when you take off what you need to. It's like the difference between... well, paper and steel.

You can save some elbow grease if you use paint stripper.

Speaking of which, thank you for the amazing idea that I can't believe I wasn't thinking about until now, Thranduil

Getting the paint off of Glammy's sapphire area is proving problematic, and your answer will, I think, make getting all the rest of it nice and shiny exceptionally pain-free and easy. Thanks!

through long sessions of paint remover sand paper and steel wool we have my finished shiny, more movie accurate, non junky varnish ranger sword I took a couple pictures to show you. On one it shows the edge of the crossbar there are dark grey spots which is that old gray flaky varnish to give you a bit of contrast. This was totally worth it. Now I just need to buff out a few scratches and give it a good polish

Much better, man. Looks great!

Now THAT's what a sword should look like- beautiful!

Just a word of caution, if the "sapphires" on glamdring are made of plastic, stay FAR AWAY from nail polish removers and paint strippers of similar solutions, it's gonna melt the plastic.

[quote=""Darlak""]Just a word of caution, if the "sapphires" on glamdring are made of plastic, stay FAR AWAY from nail polish removers and paint strippers of similar solutions, it's gonna melt the plastic.[/quote]

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.