Hi Guys, I was aked to post a few pics of the display I made with some dimensional refernce points on it. I decided that if I was going to go that far I'd share the methods I used to create the piece from scratch. The gauntlet started out as the arm on a lifesize resin Predator 1 statue (see www.dazbland.com for the history on this unlucky piece ) I'm now working on transforming this guy into a Pred 2 so the arm had to go anyway. The tutorial below (if thats what you'd call it) is just a summary of what it took and I'd be more than willing to answer any questions by PM or e-mail.
The Gauntlet
1) I removed the gauntlet and the hand and hollowed it out.
2) I gave the entire piece including the blades a mat black undercoat.
3) The metalic coat was a pearlecent silver which I applied by airbrush. This stage caught me off guard because I didn't read the instructions on the paint when I bought it
.....then had to make a curing oven out of a large card board box and my wifes hair dryer! lol The paint goes from a dull grey to a stunning shiny silver when its cured!!
4) Next I applied a very fine sporadic coat of gloss black which I rubbed off with a cloth while wet allowing the silver coat below to shine through. This ages the piece and has to be done over and over on different parts depending upon the look you're going for.
5) Once the aging coat was dry I wanted to detail some of the scartches and gouges so I used a KRYLON Silver Leafing pen to create areas where it looks like the bare shiny metal of the gauntlet is exposed through all the layers. This again is redone over and over until the weathered and beaten look you're going for is achieved. NOTE - It's worthwhile practicing this technique on some junk items before you attack your pride and joy!
The Base
1) I took an IKEA drawer front and drilled 2 holes for the dowell stands. I know.. I know... but it was cheap and really well suited... for anything but being a drawer front lol!! The measurements on the dowell holes have to be quite accurate because of the length of the gauntlet and the minimal areas you have to fix the dowells.
2) Once the holes were in I applied some corregated pipe conduit along the back of the base for effect. This matched really well the effect olong the edges of the scrap computer gauntlet top I added this in for effect also. I then used the painting prodcedure above on the base to achieve a matching finish.
3) The gauntlet was then glued onto the heads of the dowell stands and touched up with an airbrush to hide the glue
I hope this helps anyone if they're messing around or contemplating having ago at a display piece. Thanks for looking
Darren
The Gauntlet
1) I removed the gauntlet and the hand and hollowed it out.
2) I gave the entire piece including the blades a mat black undercoat.
3) The metalic coat was a pearlecent silver which I applied by airbrush. This stage caught me off guard because I didn't read the instructions on the paint when I bought it
.....then had to make a curing oven out of a large card board box and my wifes hair dryer! lol The paint goes from a dull grey to a stunning shiny silver when its cured!!4) Next I applied a very fine sporadic coat of gloss black which I rubbed off with a cloth while wet allowing the silver coat below to shine through. This ages the piece and has to be done over and over on different parts depending upon the look you're going for.
5) Once the aging coat was dry I wanted to detail some of the scartches and gouges so I used a KRYLON Silver Leafing pen to create areas where it looks like the bare shiny metal of the gauntlet is exposed through all the layers. This again is redone over and over until the weathered and beaten look you're going for is achieved. NOTE - It's worthwhile practicing this technique on some junk items before you attack your pride and joy!
The Base
1) I took an IKEA drawer front and drilled 2 holes for the dowell stands. I know.. I know... but it was cheap and really well suited... for anything but being a drawer front lol!! The measurements on the dowell holes have to be quite accurate because of the length of the gauntlet and the minimal areas you have to fix the dowells.
2) Once the holes were in I applied some corregated pipe conduit along the back of the base for effect. This matched really well the effect olong the edges of the scrap computer gauntlet top I added this in for effect also. I then used the painting prodcedure above on the base to achieve a matching finish.
3) The gauntlet was then glued onto the heads of the dowell stands and touched up with an airbrush to hide the glue
I hope this helps anyone if they're messing around or contemplating having ago at a display piece. Thanks for looking
Darren