Bluefive Indy Raiders gold idol finished!

[travsall]

Had this piece in a state of near completion for a while now, over a month! Damn good to finally put a finish to it! I've been wanting an idol since I first saw Raiders, and hadn't had any luck tracking one down that was in my price range and struck me just right. One of the important things I REALLY wanted to have was the glass eyes, one of those little know details, outside the prop world, that really sets this piece off! Bluefive's hollow cast resin idol made that possible finally. But finding a good set of eyes was a LOT easier said then done, that was the reason it took so long to finish, took me a little over a month to get a good pair I really liked, ended up going to Vandykes Taxidermy! Another thing I wanted to do, was something about the weight, as good as it can look, as soon as you touch or handle a hollow resin piece, it ruins the illusion of being real, so I ended up filling it with a cement compound, adding a GOOD 5 pounds to it! For the finish, I wanted a realistic aged gold appearance, I also wanted it to look like ILM had made it, so in other words, not exactly perfect I couldn't be happier with how it came out! I used the tip posted here about the gold buffing powder over gloss black model masters paint, worked like a charm! Without any further adue, here's the pics!

 

[Hedjii72]

Top notch! I hope to do the same with mine.

 

[BudaFett]

Wow that is amazing! What does the bottom look like?

 

[Robiwon]

That looks awesome! I love the eyes. While I cheaped out and painted my eyes I could always re-do them. How did you mount the eyes inside?

 

[jheilman]

Gorgeous and I second Robiwon's question. I'd like to add the eyes to mine. How'd you do it? Fish them in through a hole in the bottom or slice the thing open at the seam? Also, if you don't mind my asking, how much for the eyes and are they available online?

 

[travsall]

Thanks so much guys!! I really appreaciate the compliments!
buda, the bottom is solid, and smooth as glass! Same finish as the rest of it.
As for adding the eyes, simple little trick, all you need to do is cut out a square panel from the back to give you access to the inside. I used a dremel and cut off disk, if I did another, I'd probably just start the cut with the dremel, then use a hacksaw blade to make the cuts. To mount them, I used hot glue to hold them in place, put duct tape over the back to seal them from any leaking cement, then poured the cement in to hold them in place for good. After that i used a 2 part epoxy to glue the panel back in, and Bondo spot putty to fill the cracks. I actually have a couple pics I took after I had the back panel cut out

 

[Robiwon]

Very cool indeed. Almost the way the real prop was done. I may have to look into some eyes. (that sounded weird)

 

[allosaur176]

looks great!!!! When I get one of these, glass eyes are whats gonna happen

 

[Trilogy]

Nice job.

 

[Apollo]

Great job and the eyes defintely make the idols pop!

 

[agent5]

Pretty nice job on that. Here's the original used in the film after restoration and re-plating.

 

[travsall]

Oh wow! I hadn't seen the restored idol, I have a shot of it damaged in the Lucas archives and was really hoping someone had taken the time to fix it up, thanks a ton for posting the picture!

 

[hollywoodhardware]

Looks like a winner! The gold look is superb, I like it better than the plated look (although i have a plated one). Your's looks more realistic!

Thomas

 

[Brisco]

Can you give the exact details about the eyes that you ordered from Vandykes Taxidermy? Do they have a website? I am planning to replicate your work on my idol - though I doubt that I can do as good of a job.

 

[agent5]

I have a shot of it damaged in the Lucas archives and was really hoping someone had taken the time to fix it up, thanks a ton for posting the picture!

Any chance of you pm'ing me that pic? Pretty please?

 

[RelicMaker]

Travsall - What's the measurements of the eyes, in millimeters, that you ordered?

I got on Vandykes website, but they had tons from 6 to 14 mm!:wacko

~Brenton

 

[travsall]

The eyes I ordered were their 12mm iris x 22mm base here's the link right to them!
http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/product/01396066

Brisco, it's a fairly easy build, the tips I'd give are just make sure you get the mold seam as smooth as possible, and when you do the black base coat, use Model Masters gloss black and brush it on, but be careful of runs and drips. The buffing powder was from Hawkeyes Hobbies, here's a link to them too.
http://hawkeyeshobbies.com/catalog/powders.htm
it is messy, and I'd recomend a dust mask when you use it since it is actual powdered gold.

agent5 PM is on the way!

 

[bullwhipcracker]

Thanks for the link!
I just ordered some eyes!
Ron

The eyes I ordered were their 12mm iris x 22mm base here's the link right to them!
http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/product/01396066

Brisco, it's a fairly easy build, the tips I'd give are just make sure you get the mold seam as smooth as possible, and when you do the black base coat, use Model Masters gloss black and brush it on, but be careful of runs and drips. The buffing powder was from Hawkeyes Hobbies, here's a link to them too.
http://hawkeyeshobbies.com/catalog/powders.htm
it is messy, and I'd recomend a dust mask when you use it since it is actual powdered gold.

agent5 PM is on the way!

 

[RelicMaker]

Thanks for the link!thumbsup
I just ordered mine! I ordered the Hazel instead, since they looked lighter colored in the movie. The brown just seemed too dark.

~Brenton

 

[travsall]

No prob at all! Glad to help out! I thought about the hazel eyes too, they might be a little closer to the eyes used, but I liked the idea of the dark brown, it just made more sense in a way when you consider the artisans who supposedly made the idol. And the darker ones look a little creepier too LOL