Grail Diary weathering / distressing.

[OfficerMD]

Hi!

So yes, I’ve read a bunch of posts over the years about doing the Grail Diary but ultimately decided I don’t have the time for the project (buy a blank journal and do it by hand). First time I tackled it was well over 15 years ago. So I hope you can excuse me for not remembering everything.

I don’t have a lot of time these days either but by chance found a Diary on AliExpress for 15€. And I thought - whatever, I’ll see if it is something that can be displayed straightaway or “pimped out.”
It is printed but it is pretty solid quality.
It just looks too crisp, some of the inserts are missing and the elastic band was missing too. The leather (or high quality pleather is solid, feels nice and I already went ahead and punished it for a few minutes to get it a bit used. The colour is too light as well.
But for the price - it is pretty nice. Of course being a scan + print means some pages are not as crisp as others but acceptable for me. Brown paper envelope was also included and looks the part.
I’ll attach some pics.

Now to the weathering. Was thinking coffee / tea for making splatter and discolouration on the pages while being careful not to make the text wet as I fear the ink might become unreadable. Suggestions on application? Sponge brush would make even discolouration but I think some splash or splatter effect would be interesting.
What about the covers? Black shoe polish might make it darker brown plus some sanding paper on the edges and spine trib break em a bit. Any other (and better) suggestions? What about the cover corners? They’re broken up at least in some places with the cover carton showing through? How to achieve this?

Last but not least - any suggestions on the inserts? Was thinking I’d make a few myself, at least the ones that are missing.
Like I said - read a bunch on it but looking for solutions that are applicable on my journal.
Sorry!

Thanks,

-J

Pics as promised:

 

[Brendan]

I used model-weathering powders on my grail diary and I’ve always been happy with the results. I used a technique that involved scattering some powder on the page and very carefully blotting (not smearing!) and then blowing away the excess to create a convincing antiqued effect without the telltale paper crinkling and possible ink smudging caused by coffee.

By the way this is a “Henry Jones story version” diary that I got from Indy Magnoli many years ago, way back when he first began producing a printed replica.

 

[OfficerMD]

View attachment 1654439 View attachment 1654440
I used model-weathering powders on my grail diary and I’ve always been happy with the results. I used a technique that involved scattering some powder on the page and very carefully blotting (not smearing!) and then blowing away the excess to create a convincing antiqued effect without the telltale paper crinkling and possible ink smudging caused by coffee.

By the way this is a “Henry Jones story version” diary that I got from Indy Magnoli many years ago, way back when he first began producing a printed replica.

Oh that’s actually a really great idea on weathering the pages! Do you have a recollection which pigments you used? I’m actually not very familiar with weathering powders. I tended to just weather my models using dry brushing and washes as a kid/youngster.
And your diary looks awesome!

 

[Brendan]

Oh that’s actually a really great idea on weathering the pages! Do you have a recollection which pigments you used? I’m actually not very familiar with weathering powders. I tended to just weather my models using dry brushing and washes as a kid/youngster.
And your diary looks awesome!

Many thanks, friend! I don’t recall the specifics, this would have been more than 15 years ago, but it was definitely an “earth” tone (as opposed to rust or soot). I don’t have any of these powders on hand currently, but I was thinking of picking some up to experiment on weathering a Time Bandits map replica that I have.

 

[OfficerMD]

Got me some powders to test on the book. Umber looked spot on as did dark yellow ochre colours. Sorry to batter you with questions but how did you bind/fix the colouring to the pages? Like I said, haven’t used powders before but I know they need to be fixed at least in modeling.
Thanks in advance!

-J

 

[Brendan]

Got me some powders to test on the book. Umber looked spot on as did dark yellow ochre colours. Sorry to batter you with questions but how did you bind/fix the colouring to the pages? Like I said, haven’t used powders before but I know they need to be fixed at least in modeling.
Thanks in advance!

-J

Ugh, sorry for the delay in responding. When I did this, I blotted the powders with something — a tissue, probably — and then gently blew away the excess, and I found that the powders left a nice stain behind on the page that worked well. I was very careful not to smudge or smear anything, which would have spoiled the effect. All these years later, the staining still holds up. I wish I could remember what type of powders I used.