Lord of the Rings signs and plaques

First up is my take on the Prancing Pony sign seen in Fellowship of the Ring. I was going to do it 2 sided, but decided against it as it will only be displayed hanging on a wall or in the back of a cabinet and why go through all the extra effort.

I started with getting as much reference as I could and that was with a couple of stitched together screen shoots from the movie.



and then I found a great shot of the prop it's self and made my templates from it.



I started by getting a decent size 16"x10.5" and tracing all of my patterns onto different thicknesses of MDF



I don't have a ton of photos of the in between process, but was a early start.



and rough letters



Here is where I am now after sealing the letters and gluing them on. A lot of additional refinement and rivets placed. I still have more work to do, more refining and aging before final sealing can begin.







I added a fair amount of weathering and aging including the large paint chip on the horse and begun sealing with primer. Still a ways to go before molding though.





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Next up I started on the Green Dragon sign as well so I can mold and cast them together.

As this sign is not seen in the moves as far as I can tell and the only reference material I have is both from WB store in the form of coasters and T-shirts. Weta also sells a very small magnet.




There is also a tavern floor plan that was drawn by Daniel Reeve that also has a more detailed version of the dragon that I believe this poster is made from that I also used.



I scaled both my templates pretty close to the same size as the Prancing Pony and made in much the same way with layers of MDF.
Here is the base. letters and top layer dragon all cut out on the scroll saw.

And after the first day of initial carving and blocking out shapes. There will be an additional border put all the way around, but that will be one of the last things to be done as I still need access all the way around.

Here is where I am now as well as a size comparison next to the pony sign.





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I sanded and sealed the letters. Glued on the dragon and the finished letters, made the tongue out of magic sculpt and did more refining. Still need to the outside border and seal the entire thing.





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I finished putting the outside trim on and primed.





Here they are together. Also worked on the Pony as well. Added some more distressing, hard to see now but will help add some age to the final piece.

Next up is a Lord of the Rings one to put behind some of my statues,



The size I was going by was also one that would fit into my collection as well. Behind some of my statues on my glass shelves. Anything can be made to any size, but cost of both material, shipping as well as time to reproduce, finish and paint, etc all take into consideration.

As I have already got a pretty good start today and may get about 80% completed the size is pretty close to being chosen, but I think 20" may be a good compromise? and leave enough space around the boarder.

Here is where I am now.



Template and main letter cut out.



Contouring the letters.





and one with a tape measure to show relative size.



I plan on doing a raised frame boarder and distressing both the boarder and the background to match the letters.

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I decided to add a little bid of texture to the background and age it a bit, but not too much to over power the sign. Kind of a rock or stone feel to it. Nothing has been glued together yet and can still be changed if everyone things it should just be a plain background.

Very Impressive. Nicely done!

Really cool! What did you use to carve the rest of the detail with after you cut the basic shape out with your scrollsaw?

Love em! I saw you mentioned molding them? Any chance you might be considering a run?

Class A work!!

Marvellous craftsmanship! I thought these were CNC when I first saw them, and the fact that they're 'old school' makes them even more impressive!

Escher said:

Really cool! What did you use to carve the rest of the detail with after you cut the basic shape out with your scrollsaw?

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I used my rotary tool tool with various bits to rough in the shapes and a very cheap set of carving tool found at the craft store. These detail sanders and needle files really help define the details.

TJack said:

Love em! I saw you mentioned molding them? Any chance you might be considering a run?

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Thanks! I do plan on doing a run on these eventually. As I primarily post on LOTR forums the run will start there first and if there are any left I'll start an interest thread here.

Stivie said:

I used my rotary tool tool with various bits to rough in the shapes and a very cheap set of carving tool found at the craft store. These detail sanders and needle files really help define the details.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s18/N2Darkness/Prancing Pony/2016-08-03 20.37.27_zpsvhtdc4mu.jpg



Thanks! I do plan on doing a run on these eventually. As I primarily post on LOTR forums the run will start there first and if there are any left I'll start an interest thread here.

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There's a LOTR forum??

Here is the finished master of the LOTR plaque. I plan on using gold leaf for the lettering and the boarder. As the background has a rock / lava texture to it weathering with a grayish powder or dust would look cool.





and all 3 together



I'm thinking of making 2 more plaques. Something Rohan related (kind of like the banner or flag) and a crest with the tree of Gondor. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Like this


and this

warrenhouck said:

There's a LOTR forum??

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A Weta site - The Flame of Udun. Mostly statues and collectibles, but a nice artist section as well.

https://www.flameofudun.net/

United Cutlery - most LOTR related - just not a lot of activity as only a few core members

http://www.ucforums.com/

I go by N2Darkness on both of these.

Stivie said:

A Weta site - The Flame of Udun. Mostly statues and collectibles, but a nice artist section as well.

https://www.flameofudun.net/

United Cutlery - most LOTR related - just not a lot of activity as only a few core members

http://www.ucforums.com/

I go by N2Darkness on both of these.

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Oh nice! I'll have to check them out. And definitely keep an eye out when you do a run on these plaques!

Stivie you have no idea how speechless I am right now??? I'm building a Lord of the Rings theater, actually I've chatted with you on that thread! Anyway, the concession area is the Green Dragon and I specifically built a recessed area complete with lighting to display a sign if I could ever find one. I literally have been looking for something for the past 2 years when I find this....I am blown away at the level of detail in these signs! You are a truly skilled artist!!
And I absolutely need the Green Dragon sign!! When do you think you will be making these? Honestly, I can find uses for all of them, but the Green Dragon will complete that part of the room!!

this is awesome work. what do you seal the mdf with?

breen2057 said:

this is awesome work. what do you seal the mdf with?

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Thank you!

I have used spray lacquer or spray acrylic sealer for all of the lettering (stuck to a piece of masking tape) and sanding between coats (it's easier to sand lacquer or acrylic than paint) Then use spray primer for everything else. It takes a lot of coats to seal end grain of MDF. You can also cover any rough areas with wood filler or spot putty which also helps a lot.

Stivie, your passion for LotR never ceases to impress me and bring a smile to my face. Your work is just incredible! That Green Dragon plaque is really cool!

This is amazing!

woow ! Great work

Thanks everyone! :cheers

I started work on the Rohan plaque and decided to go a slightly different route. I started with the flag design and cut out the horse.



But didn't want to go with the additional designs and changed up the outside shape.



Added wood grain texture to the MDF and glued on the pieces to some white pine.



As this is still a master and being made from actual wood this time I decided to stain before sealing.





I'm having a lot of fun with these and may do a few more. The tree of Gondor is next and I might to the White hand of Saruman and eye of Sauron as well.

You Sir, are out of control! ... In a good way.

I'm interested in the Prancing Pony too if that ever happens! Please add me to your list!