samiamuc
New Member
Recently I got a hold of the The Hobbit AUJ Chronicles of Design book. I opened it and was amazed by all of the sketches of the dwarves' accoutrements. The dwarves are my favorite race so I thought "How awesome would it be to make all of these everyday items and use them in my everyday?" So I will be posting a long series of all sorts of props based off of the sketches in the book.
I decided to begin with Dwalin's war hammer. It was my favorite weapon from the movie (aside from sting), so I really wanted a replica. I was surprised to find that while there is an available replica of Fili's war hammer, Dwalin's hammer is nearly nonexistent. I searched all over and found sometime on etsy (The GeekFoundry http://www.therpf.com/member.php?u=94161) who made them. I should say who had made them, since, due to costs, they no longer make/sell them. Since they were the only person I could find who ever made a replica, though not the most accurate, I followed the info from their page. In my search I had came across the following verry helpful images:
I knew that I could figure out all of the dimensions if I just had one starting dimension. I got these from TheGeekFoundry's thread http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=212926&highlight=Dwalin
I went with the head dimensions posted - 6.5 in high, 5.25 wide. From there I measured the rest of the hammer and scaled it up. I found, though, that in the process of scaling it up the precision was lost. Being a perfectionist, I knew this had to be exact. I zoomed in on the picture until the height of the head was about 6.5 inches, then I measured verbatim the rest of the hammer. Part of the way through this I noticed a problem with my reference images. I noticed that the concept art (the clear picture of the hammer on a white background) had quite a few difference from the actual prop. I then began taking my measurements from the photo of the prop. I'm a CAD person, so I'm modeling my hammer first, before I ever make it. Here's where I am now:
All that I have left is the detailing on the sides.
There are multiple ways I could make this, and I haven't decided yet.
The only thing I'm worried about is the painting. I haven't done any weathered looking painting before, and I never like the way it looks when others do it, so I'm not sure I'll make it look weathered in the painting, but only y putting dings and chips in the hammer, like the prop.
I decided to begin with Dwalin's war hammer. It was my favorite weapon from the movie (aside from sting), so I really wanted a replica. I was surprised to find that while there is an available replica of Fili's war hammer, Dwalin's hammer is nearly nonexistent. I searched all over and found sometime on etsy (The GeekFoundry http://www.therpf.com/member.php?u=94161) who made them. I should say who had made them, since, due to costs, they no longer make/sell them. Since they were the only person I could find who ever made a replica, though not the most accurate, I followed the info from their page. In my search I had came across the following verry helpful images:
I knew that I could figure out all of the dimensions if I just had one starting dimension. I got these from TheGeekFoundry's thread http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=212926&highlight=Dwalin
I went with the head dimensions posted - 6.5 in high, 5.25 wide. From there I measured the rest of the hammer and scaled it up. I found, though, that in the process of scaling it up the precision was lost. Being a perfectionist, I knew this had to be exact. I zoomed in on the picture until the height of the head was about 6.5 inches, then I measured verbatim the rest of the hammer. Part of the way through this I noticed a problem with my reference images. I noticed that the concept art (the clear picture of the hammer on a white background) had quite a few difference from the actual prop. I then began taking my measurements from the photo of the prop. I'm a CAD person, so I'm modeling my hammer first, before I ever make it. Here's where I am now:
All that I have left is the detailing on the sides.
There are multiple ways I could make this, and I haven't decided yet.
- The octagonal handle dowel will have to be ordered from a custom dowel company.
- I could route the head from a block of wood (or metal) and 3D print the rest, then paint it.
- I could 3D print all of the parts, then sand them down, then coat them in Bondo or XTC-3D and sand that down to get a smooth surface and leave it at that
- I could do the above step and then cast it in resin
- My favorite option, but the most expensive, would be to order it custom made out of metal through 3D printing, casting, or machining.
The only thing I'm worried about is the painting. I haven't done any weathered looking painting before, and I never like the way it looks when others do it, so I'm not sure I'll make it look weathered in the painting, but only y putting dings and chips in the hammer, like the prop.