In my Indy collection I've got a couple of Grails, one made by Alan Castillo and the other a CFO Magnoli. I love both of them, but still wanted to do my own version. I wanted one that was screen accurate to the Grail as first seen setting on the shelf in the Knight's room.
To this end, I used a screenshot to get a tracing of the Grail. I broke it down into several parts, mainly the cup, base, and stem. I did a template of each part, this would allow me to cut out each parts, then assemble. I don't know what this is called, so I'll refer to it as a wire-frame, similar to the wooden animal kits out there for kids. I've seen Volpin do similar and that's where I got the idea. With each part made into a wire-frame, I only needed to fill in the gaps between the parts using apoxie sculpt.
An example of the template I made to assemble each part of the Grail:
Unfortunately, I didn't think to get any pics of this step. Rest assured, it looked pretty rough for a while. Once I started filling in the low spots and priming, it really started taking shape. The good thing about the wire-frame is that it is easy to keep the correct dimensions. I worked the stem/base and cup separately. Put each on the lathe and turned them down with only sandpaper (they were already extremely close to the correct shape).
Once each piece was done, I only needed to connect them and blend the line. Then I was faced with a decision. Looking at screenshots of the Grail, pictures from the archives, and my CFO from Magnoli, it's obvious (and well known) the originals were made by hand on a wheel. Due to this, they might have a slight bend, some lines, imperfections, etc. Mine was perfectly smooth, straight, true, etc. So, idealized or true to original? In the end, I decided since the Grail would require aging, staying true to the original would look best and more natural. So I added a little bit more putty in some spots, spun it back up, and made it more like the original.
Here's a shot of Grail once this was done:
I wanted copies of it and an overall stronger piece, so I decided to mold and cast the original.
I had the option of doing a 3 piece mold or a single with jeweler's cuts. I opted for the single piece, as it likes to self align and I believe gives a better casting (less clean-up). The mold probably won't last as long since it's stressed more during the removal of the casting, but oh well.
Here's the mold. The first shows the silicone outside the mdf that was used for the mold box. I did two large keys on each side of it. For the mdf, I used wooden dowels for assembly, however, only glued one end. During the pouring of the silicone I held it together with clamps and just tacked the bottom on it. Once the silicone was cured, I removed the bottom and was able to just pull the sides off. During the casting process, I can just stick the sides back on, the dowels align the mdf, and large rubber bands hold it together. The flashing on the cast is very thin, such that I can actually remove all of it with my fingernail once it comes out. On the base, I have to cut the pour stem off and smooth it, but very simple and minimal clean-up overall.
Here's some shots of the mold and box:
For the casting, I decided to use resin with a ceramic additive. Allows the castings to be durable, while the filler adds some ceramic properties. Decided not to tint the resin, instead to paint them. I guess either way would have been fine, but I like the control I get with paint.
Here's a shot of the first casting from the mold cleaned up and primed (camera not on a tripod, a bit blurry):
I currently don't have any gold leaf, but just ordered some. Only thing is I'm going on vacation next week and with the holidays right around the corner, it'll be a while before I can devote much time in the finishing process. Certainly looking forward to the process of it though.
To this end, I used a screenshot to get a tracing of the Grail. I broke it down into several parts, mainly the cup, base, and stem. I did a template of each part, this would allow me to cut out each parts, then assemble. I don't know what this is called, so I'll refer to it as a wire-frame, similar to the wooden animal kits out there for kids. I've seen Volpin do similar and that's where I got the idea. With each part made into a wire-frame, I only needed to fill in the gaps between the parts using apoxie sculpt.
An example of the template I made to assemble each part of the Grail:
Unfortunately, I didn't think to get any pics of this step. Rest assured, it looked pretty rough for a while. Once I started filling in the low spots and priming, it really started taking shape. The good thing about the wire-frame is that it is easy to keep the correct dimensions. I worked the stem/base and cup separately. Put each on the lathe and turned them down with only sandpaper (they were already extremely close to the correct shape).
Once each piece was done, I only needed to connect them and blend the line. Then I was faced with a decision. Looking at screenshots of the Grail, pictures from the archives, and my CFO from Magnoli, it's obvious (and well known) the originals were made by hand on a wheel. Due to this, they might have a slight bend, some lines, imperfections, etc. Mine was perfectly smooth, straight, true, etc. So, idealized or true to original? In the end, I decided since the Grail would require aging, staying true to the original would look best and more natural. So I added a little bit more putty in some spots, spun it back up, and made it more like the original.
Here's a shot of Grail once this was done:
I wanted copies of it and an overall stronger piece, so I decided to mold and cast the original.
I had the option of doing a 3 piece mold or a single with jeweler's cuts. I opted for the single piece, as it likes to self align and I believe gives a better casting (less clean-up). The mold probably won't last as long since it's stressed more during the removal of the casting, but oh well.
Here's the mold. The first shows the silicone outside the mdf that was used for the mold box. I did two large keys on each side of it. For the mdf, I used wooden dowels for assembly, however, only glued one end. During the pouring of the silicone I held it together with clamps and just tacked the bottom on it. Once the silicone was cured, I removed the bottom and was able to just pull the sides off. During the casting process, I can just stick the sides back on, the dowels align the mdf, and large rubber bands hold it together. The flashing on the cast is very thin, such that I can actually remove all of it with my fingernail once it comes out. On the base, I have to cut the pour stem off and smooth it, but very simple and minimal clean-up overall.
Here's some shots of the mold and box:
For the casting, I decided to use resin with a ceramic additive. Allows the castings to be durable, while the filler adds some ceramic properties. Decided not to tint the resin, instead to paint them. I guess either way would have been fine, but I like the control I get with paint.
Here's a shot of the first casting from the mold cleaned up and primed (camera not on a tripod, a bit blurry):
I currently don't have any gold leaf, but just ordered some. Only thing is I'm going on vacation next week and with the holidays right around the corner, it'll be a while before I can devote much time in the finishing process. Certainly looking forward to the process of it though.
