Aragorn Ranger costume WIP
- Thread starter Feezle-Nuts
- Start date
Charles Kline
Sr Member
Wow, great progress.
Nice job on the leather work.
Nice job on the leather work.
Anybody have any tips on achieving a uniform dye application. In the past, i have dyed a couple of leather pieces, but not very successfully. With these so far, i tried using a rag to apply it, but as you can see, it is splotchy.
PadawanLearner
Well-Known Member
the best way to get an even coat would be to spray it.
Otherwise you can use a wool dobber or a sponge to try and get an even coat.
Otherwise you can use a wool dobber or a sponge to try and get an even coat.
LizardJedi
Sr Member
I find those cheap disposeable foam paint brushes work well for applying dye evenly... at least better then the wool daubers.
Anybody ever use Esquire Instant Color? Well if you still want your leather to look like leather....don't. :cry
It is like paint. I figured the shine would go away when it dried but it didn't. It looked like I had sprayed them with Nu-Life spray.
So anyway...tried to salvage. I took a pencil eraser to the threads. Since they were coated in wax, some of the color did come off.
I then took the rag that I used for the real dye yesterday, soaked it, and scrubbed the surface of the bracers. Luckily, some of the color did come off. Unluckily, the parts that did come off were red underneath.
In natural light, they don't look too bad. Under a flash....well you can see. It would have been nice if the worn through parts would have been more light brown/tan. Oh well.
I tried to get buckles today but Hobby Lobby only had 2 and I didn't want to take the chance of not being able to find two matching. I'm going to check Wal-Mart.
Any suggestions on what to use for the silver paint on the tree and stars? I'm going to paint them and then after it dries, rub the majority off. I want it to look like this:
Also, any ideas on getting rid of some of the shine?
It is like paint. I figured the shine would go away when it dried but it didn't. It looked like I had sprayed them with Nu-Life spray.
So anyway...tried to salvage. I took a pencil eraser to the threads. Since they were coated in wax, some of the color did come off.
I then took the rag that I used for the real dye yesterday, soaked it, and scrubbed the surface of the bracers. Luckily, some of the color did come off. Unluckily, the parts that did come off were red underneath.
In natural light, they don't look too bad. Under a flash....well you can see. It would have been nice if the worn through parts would have been more light brown/tan. Oh well.
I tried to get buckles today but Hobby Lobby only had 2 and I didn't want to take the chance of not being able to find two matching. I'm going to check Wal-Mart.
Any suggestions on what to use for the silver paint on the tree and stars? I'm going to paint them and then after it dries, rub the majority off. I want it to look like this:
Also, any ideas on getting rid of some of the shine?
I used a swivel knife to cut the design, and then stamped the lines to give it contrast.
Ttaskmaster
Well-Known Member
Have you tried plain old-fashioned boot polish?
I have never used boot polish. You mean use it to dye the leather? To be honest im not sure of the purpose of it.
kibosh
Sr Member
Funny. I'm building a Tusken raider, and I got a pair of leather pants from the Salvtion army for $7. They were far too red, so I used blask shoe polish on them, and they came out perfect.
Very simple way to dye leather!
Ttaskmaster
Well-Known Member
My home-made Aragorn outfit was too light and brown Kiwi shoe polish darkened it enough, with a uniform finish, to achieve a reasonable effect.
Later I had one tailored and I weathered that by just treating it like ****e and rolling about in filthy dirty places. It picked up a darkened tint and looked pretty decent after about 3 months.
Later I had one tailored and I weathered that by just treating it like ****e and rolling about in filthy dirty places. It picked up a darkened tint and looked pretty decent after about 3 months.
Does the shoe polish rub off? I'm wondering if i should get black shoe polish...how well does it take? Would it make them too black?
Everyone posting that they either have an Aragorn costume, or are working on one, any pics?
Ttaskmaster
Well-Known Member
As I said, I used Kiwi brown.
I won't post pics, because it's an outfit inspired by (and ripping off ideas from
) Aragorn's, not an actual Aragorn replica. In addition, the fine detailing of the finish and so on has been utterly distressed by years of abuse running around in the woodland.
As for the polish itself, no, it doesn't rub off. You work the polish in like you do with a normal pair of shoes. Use a cotton ball or a lint-free cloth. You then buff the resulting shine OUT by buffing with a soft-ish brush.
Don't use a proper soft buffing brush because it won't scratch the surface enough to dull it... unless you have many hours to spend doing this.
I won't post pics, because it's an outfit inspired by (and ripping off ideas from
) Aragorn's, not an actual Aragorn replica. In addition, the fine detailing of the finish and so on has been utterly distressed by years of abuse running around in the woodland. As for the polish itself, no, it doesn't rub off. You work the polish in like you do with a normal pair of shoes. Use a cotton ball or a lint-free cloth. You then buff the resulting shine OUT by buffing with a soft-ish brush.
Don't use a proper soft buffing brush because it won't scratch the surface enough to dull it... unless you have many hours to spend doing this.
Guardian Devil
Sr Member
Here's the only picture I have of my WIP at the moment. Sorry for the crappy quality. This was taken before I got the jerkin and before I did the weathering, so it's a bit behind the times!
Here's the version Im shooting for:
That is awesome! I'm jealous. Did you make a jerkin or buy one? I just found the suede for my jerkin. Ill be ordering it soon.
Im going to search for buckles tonight and if i find some, Im going to try the shoe polish on the straps. If that works out, ill put a coat on the main part too.
Im going to search for buckles tonight and if i find some, Im going to try the shoe polish on the straps. If that works out, ill put a coat on the main part too.
kibosh
Sr Member
As I said, I used Kiwi brown.
I won't post pics, because it's an outfit inspired by (and ripping off ideas from
As for the polish itself, no, it doesn't rub off. You work the polish in like you do with a normal pair of shoes. Use a cotton ball or a lint-free cloth. You then buff the resulting shine OUT by buffing with a soft-ish brush.
Don't use a proper soft buffing brush because it won't scratch the surface enough to dull it... unless you have many hours to spend doing this.
Yeah, I used kiwi black, and zero smudges onto anything else. Once it dried completely, it didn't go any where.
defyitall
Sr Member
I don't have pics anymore but I built my own bracers in 2003. I can tell you that the buckles on the screen used pieces were custom and had a unique flared shape that is really hard to find. Like all the buckles in the movie pretty much.
I used D-rings like the kropserkels and it was a bad choice. They never stayed tight and I was constantly tightening them.
As far as getting rid of the shine...uh...sand paper? I mean you have to weather them anyway.
How are you going to tackle the under bracers?
I'll see if I still have my template file at home.
I used D-rings like the kropserkels and it was a bad choice. They never stayed tight and I was constantly tightening them.
As far as getting rid of the shine...uh...sand paper? I mean you have to weather them anyway.
How are you going to tackle the under bracers?
I'll see if I still have my template file at home.
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