superjedi
Sr Hunter
Hi TDHers!
Have some slack time between commissions, so I took the opportunity to complete a small project that I've been wanting
to do for a long time now--namely, make a display plaque for my helmet collection! Since my helmet collection encompasses
lids from the McQuarrie concepts through the screen-used buckets, the theme I chose was: BOBA FETT FROM SKETCH TO SCREEN.
First and foremost, a giant THANK YOU to Mynock for helping me out with this!! He has his own 3D printing set-up, and he
was instrumental in making the lettering for me.
I contacted Mynock about doing the lettering, and he had me send him the text that I wanted, along with a file containing
the font. The font is "Viner Hand ITC." I explained how large I wanted the plaque to be and he "grew" the letters for me!
He said (if I remember correctly) the material is just ABS plastic. Here's how the letters looked when they arrived.
The extremely thin film you can see around some of the letters was taken care of with about 15 minutes of sanding. I then primed
the letters with some Duplicolor filler primer and let them dry overnight.
I chose that font specifically for the type of finish I had in mind. I wanted a weathered, rusty metal look, so I looked into several
methods of achieving this type of finish. I settled on a faux finish kit by Sophisticated Finishes. It's their Rust Antiquing Set.
The kit contains 2 products: a water-based paint that contains iron particles, and a chemical solution that actually oxidizes the
iron in the first part. Pretty clever, these humans.
I applied part 1, the iron paint, and let it dry. Since it's a water-based product it dried very quickly. I did a second coat just to make
sure I had good coverage. After only about 30 minutes or so, I laid the painted letters on a large plastic lid from a storage bin and flicked
the rust solution on with an old toothbrush. The rusting solution is just a water-thin mix of chemicals. If you've ever used a product
called "Blacken It," it's pretty much the same thing. In the morning, the letters had rusted out nicely! Here's an example.
I thought of a couple of ways to mount the letters, and for now I went with simply gluing them onto glass in a floating frame. I got the frame
for about $12.00, so if I decide to do something else down the road, it wasn't a huge investment. To glue the letters onto the glass, I used
Testors Clear Parts Cement. This is made for attaching parts like canopies or windows. It's sort of a modelers' version of white (Elmer's) glue.
It dries quickly and it's crystal clear. It's this stuff.
I lined up the letters and used some strips of painters tape to mark out my working area, and to keep the letters straight.
After the glue dried and I assembled the frame, this is what the finished plaque looks like.
In different light, the rust patina really changes tone! It looks very realistic.
Here are a couple of close ups of the letters to show the unevenness of the rust.
So that's it! The plaque will reside on top of my two Ikea Detolf cases, and I will look at it and enjoy it. LOL
Thanks again to Mynock for "growing" the lettering for me!
Have some slack time between commissions, so I took the opportunity to complete a small project that I've been wanting
to do for a long time now--namely, make a display plaque for my helmet collection! Since my helmet collection encompasses
lids from the McQuarrie concepts through the screen-used buckets, the theme I chose was: BOBA FETT FROM SKETCH TO SCREEN.
First and foremost, a giant THANK YOU to Mynock for helping me out with this!! He has his own 3D printing set-up, and he
was instrumental in making the lettering for me.
I contacted Mynock about doing the lettering, and he had me send him the text that I wanted, along with a file containing
the font. The font is "Viner Hand ITC." I explained how large I wanted the plaque to be and he "grew" the letters for me!
He said (if I remember correctly) the material is just ABS plastic. Here's how the letters looked when they arrived.
The extremely thin film you can see around some of the letters was taken care of with about 15 minutes of sanding. I then primed
the letters with some Duplicolor filler primer and let them dry overnight.
I chose that font specifically for the type of finish I had in mind. I wanted a weathered, rusty metal look, so I looked into several
methods of achieving this type of finish. I settled on a faux finish kit by Sophisticated Finishes. It's their Rust Antiquing Set.
The kit contains 2 products: a water-based paint that contains iron particles, and a chemical solution that actually oxidizes the
iron in the first part. Pretty clever, these humans.
I applied part 1, the iron paint, and let it dry. Since it's a water-based product it dried very quickly. I did a second coat just to make
sure I had good coverage. After only about 30 minutes or so, I laid the painted letters on a large plastic lid from a storage bin and flicked
the rust solution on with an old toothbrush. The rusting solution is just a water-thin mix of chemicals. If you've ever used a product
called "Blacken It," it's pretty much the same thing. In the morning, the letters had rusted out nicely! Here's an example.
I thought of a couple of ways to mount the letters, and for now I went with simply gluing them onto glass in a floating frame. I got the frame
for about $12.00, so if I decide to do something else down the road, it wasn't a huge investment. To glue the letters onto the glass, I used
Testors Clear Parts Cement. This is made for attaching parts like canopies or windows. It's sort of a modelers' version of white (Elmer's) glue.
It dries quickly and it's crystal clear. It's this stuff.
I lined up the letters and used some strips of painters tape to mark out my working area, and to keep the letters straight.
After the glue dried and I assembled the frame, this is what the finished plaque looks like.
In different light, the rust patina really changes tone! It looks very realistic.
Here are a couple of close ups of the letters to show the unevenness of the rust.
So that's it!
The plaque will reside on top of my two Ikea Detolf cases, and I will look at it and enjoy it. LOLThanks again to Mynock for "growing" the lettering for me!
