Ok, so this is nothing new, but it's been a long time since I hand finished a Holy Grail replica, and getting Restaurajones' Grail Lion display was just the excuse I needed.
So, I started with one of the spare unfinished grails I have from the run I did years ago, cast from one of the original props. I painted it in a couple of coats of the usual clay red (Light Red Oxide, is the actual color I used) acrylic. I then used some of the adhesive that came with a gold leaf kit I bought years ago. The stuff dries relatively quickly, but stays tacky for a while, so there's no rush.
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I tried to coat the inside of the cup as fully as possible though, like the original I was basing this on, there are still small cracks so some red is visible.
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I let everything dry overnight, though from what I remember, it's usually fine to proceed after only an hour or so... maybe even less. I rubbed off the excess leaf with my hands.
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I used to use plain greys to "dust" my replicas, but this time I used a color called "mushroom" which is more of a tan/grey. I applied it with a sponge in a couple of layers, making sure some areas were almost completely opaque (entirely covering the gold leaf). Finally, I added a little light grey into the mushroom to add some lighter patches like the hero prop.
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And finally a shot of the Grail in its new home:
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Kind regards,
Magnoli
