Haysian Ore medallion (Rose and Paige Tico's Medallion)

Now available to order. See the Project Run thread for details.

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Today I modeled up a double-sided Haysian Ore Medallion

Note Zenix already has started one of these, so check his out also.

For mine I used my favorite CAD software: SolidEdge. It really isn't made for something like this, but it actually has spline tools which are easier to use than Illustrator or CorelDraw. There is one scene in the movie which really gave away that this medallion is double sided. Just before DJ shorts out the circuit, he flips the medallion, revealing the other side.

To that end I have made my medallion double sided. One side is "Paige's Side" and the other is "Rose's side", referencing the side they are looking at in the scenes in which they touch the medallion. There are most likely four unique patterns, but they don't get as much screen time, and so aren't as recognizable.

Along with reference photos of the prop taken at Disneyland, I was able to model both sides.

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First, I determined scale from the scene in which DJ causes a short circuit. In that scene there is an SMA type RF connector. Something I work with every day. I know they are exactly 8mm wide. Using that as reference, I determined the Medallion is 57mm in Diameter.

I made the outline in CAD, and then hand traced all the various shapes for each side. Each one is a bit rough in order to sell the hand-made look of the object.

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Next I etched the model using the sketches and rounded the edges. I could try to 3D print this, and hope the hand polishing done later would impart some soft effects.

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Instead I brought the model into Meshmixer. It has a fairly useful sculpting tool which I used to smooth out the sharp edges, which at the same time adding random rough spots and pitting. Hopefully this will make the final 3D print look authentically handmade.

However, after all this work, arriving at this step, I think I got the black marks spaced a bit to wide apart. Perhaps if I get time in the next week I will go back and re-do the model with tighter lines.

This weekend I started from scratch and this time I traced the center-line of the artwork instead of trying to trace the edges.

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I then offset each center line until I had the pattern as an even 0.5mm wide channel.

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Next, I exported the very precise CAD model into Mesh Mixer. In here I split the model into five sections so I could roughen up the surfaces without smoothing the corners of the etching.

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I then used the various sculpting tools to apply a texture to the surface, emulating a hand-made / rough cast object. This pushed the polygon count into the millions, but mesh mixer also has some good reduction tools. Once you really learn all the controls it is almost as powerful as some very expensive polygon modelers. Tip: Read their online help!

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After more hours than I would like to admit: Here is the final result.

I re-stitched the five separated sections back together. This turned out to be the most tedious part. Mesh Mixer has a great "Zipper" tool that brings two edges together, however there were a lot of edges in the model to stitch. The automatic solid/re-meshing tools just keep killing the details, so it had to be done one area at a time.

Once stitched back into a solid object: I went back into and carefully rounded off all of the sharp edges. Then I added in all the various quirks and unique flaws that are present in the reference photos I could find.

Finally, I punched a 4mm hole using the Boolean tools. The end result is uploaded to Shapeways, but I am not going to offer it for sale until I receive my own polished brass casting in a few weeks. Hopefully they aren't too heavy with the polishing and keep in some of the unique details. Otherwise, I will have to order it in raw brass.

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Finally, about the chain/rope that hangs this necklace:

In the movie I believe that Paige has it hanging using a waxed cotton cord. (It is black, and knotted)

Rose uses at least two different cords. When she is first holding the medallion, it is attached to a black cord (like Paige's). Later it hangs it with what looks like steel cable, but it also seems more flexible. It may be silver wire. When shown at Disney it was on what was clearly a 1x7 steel cable, which is not flexible at all. (But it sure looks cool and industrial)

It took two weeks to get made and then another to get snail-mailed. But I received my prototype Medallion from Shapeways.

I ordered it in Polished Cast Brass. Above you can see it next to my month old brass Sabacc Dice. The brass will age and darken over time, making it closer to what is seen in the movie.

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The actual size of the medallion worked out perfectly, although I may make it at least 1mm thicker.

My only gripe is that it looks like Shapeways took a belt sander to the surface rather then "hand polishing" it with a wheel. There are some significant scratches left behind, and they flattened out both sides totally destroying all the surface details. Plus they squared off the nice rounded edges.

So I think I will end up having to order this in raw brass and polish it myself. I will still offer it in this form for anyone who doesn't want to do that work themselves.
It still looks worlds better than the various iterations I have seen on Esty and eBay.

I can't decide on how to age the etched areas. Ink, acrylic paint, brass aging chemicals, or time?

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To hang the medallion I ordered two different necklaces chains. The left chain is a twisted rope stainless steel necklace. It is flexible and comfortable.
The right is actually just 1/16" industrial stainless steel braided cabling (and crimp). While it is flexible, it is not as comfortable. The tight brading catches hair too easily. Perhaps that was the reason why Rose was wearing her medallion around her jacket collar instead of her neck.

To that end, I will use the cable for product photos, but hang it from the other necklace chain before I give it to anyone as a gift.

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I also ordered a few sets of claps. The bottom clasp is magnetic. So you can pull off that cool "Rip the medallion of your neck like you just don't care" maneuver you see Rose do in the movie. The other clasp I just like because of the knurled effect, and the fact that it looks sort of like a tiny Count Dooku lightsaber.

The small chain shown is what you get if you order a necklace chain direct from Shapeways. It is so thin I wouldn't trust it to hold more than an origami medallion.

I made the medallion thicker (3mm total) and ordered it in raw brass. This time I will polish it myself by hand.

I also ordered a few other materials just to try it out.

No love for Rose Tico? :cry

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Well today the Raw Brass 3D print arrived. I thought it would be a bit rougher, however apparently even the raw brass parts go through a magnetic polisher. The resulting finish simply looks amazing. There are some scratches visible on the surface, but that just adds to the hand-made and lived-in look.

All these photos are of the raw part received from Shapeways. Later I plan on aging it a bit, and adding the black to the etched areas.

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Both sides look great. I also ordered the medallion in plastic, bronze and acrylic, but all of them showed huge differences in the texture of each side due to the printing orientation.

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Now available to order. See the Project Run thread for details.

Here is the same design in three different materials:



Raw Brass, (overly) Polished Brass, and Bronze Steel.

I have opted to only offer the medallion in Raw Brass, as this offered the most detail, as well as being the more accurate to the movie. At first the brass appears to be very bright as compared to the film, but over time it will darken. The one in the middle is a month older, and has already started to darken.

Does anyone have ideas on the best way to add the black fill to the etched areas?

i think the best way to add black to only the etched areas would be to make an acrylic wash and buff out the higher areas, the paint will stay in the deeper parts and give it more of an aged look