Silver Leaf Armor

Discussion of custom parts made for the Castle Theme
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TwoTonic Knight
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Silver Leaf Armor

Post by TwoTonic Knight »

Since I mentioned this before, and Blasterman mentioned the technique on another thread, I thought I'd show the results of my experiment with this. To repeat how the process is done:

I prepped the armor by spray-painting it black. I was unsure how the leaf would cover in the recessed areas, and I wanted them black if they showed. You can skip this if you like, and it may work better with the gray, anyway.

First, a glue is applied. The silver leaf is effectively an extremely thin and fragile foil that comes in small sheets. It can be cut for ease of handling, and multiple layers can be pressed on to cover missed spots - which you generally have to do get into recessed spots. Once the leaf is on, it is still fragile and is best covered with a clear sealer.

There are a variety of brands - some come with the glue and sealer, some have seperate bottles for each.

You simply can't get a smooth textureless surface - it gets all sorts of micro-fine lines that gives it a satin brushed-steel look from any kind of normal viewing distance, and not the glassy polished look of the Lego Pirate chrome breastplate. I stuck the camera up close for these shots so the texture could be seen.

Image


Image
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The Blue Knight
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Post by The Blue Knight »

Hmm, not sure about this. Would it be possible to cover a helmet, and/or helmet-visor combo? The overall effect might be quite nice. I didn't know there was a silver leaf, are there any other types? Bronze leaf for instance would look great on a Hoplite army from the Bronze Age...hmmm...
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TwoTonic Knight
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Post by TwoTonic Knight »

The Blue knight wrote:Hmm, not sure about this. Would it be possible to cover a helmet, and/or helmet-visor combo? The overall effect might be quite nice. I didn't know there was a silver leaf, are there any other types? Bronze leaf for instance would look great on a Hoplite army from the Bronze Age...hmmm...
Actually, yes, I did a grilled helm at the same time, but I haven't cleaned up the grill yet, nor sealed it. It makes a nicer combo than what I slapped on for the photo, but overall I'm not entirely satisfied with the technique. The more relief the part has, the more difficult it is to do.

Depending on brand, there are a variety of colors: brass, bronze, gold, silver, copper, antique silver, antique bronze, etc. I'll present my Rub'N'Buff experiments at a later date (same idea, different material, different results).
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
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[img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/corsair/C ... ippler.jpg[/img]
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The Blue Knight
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Post by The Blue Knight »

Tech question TTK. How did you get my quote at the tpo of your reply? Thanks in advance from an acolyte (that's computer fool in old English).
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Post by TwoTonic Knight »

The Blue knight wrote:Tech question TTK. How did you get my quote at the tpo of your reply? Thanks in advance from an acolyte (that's computer fool in old English).
"

No, that quote mark immediately above isn't a mistake, it's the answer. Look to the right in the area immediately above and you'll see a quote mark in a word balloon. Click on that and you'll bring up a reply box with the message your clicked the quote marker for already displayed.
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.

[img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/corsair/C ... ippler.jpg[/img]
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The Blue Knight
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Post by The Blue Knight »

TwoTonic Knight wrote:No, that quote mark immediately above isn't a mistake, it's the answer. Look to the right in the area immediately above and you'll see a quote mark in a word balloon. Click on that and you'll bring up a reply box with the message your clicked the quote marker for already displayed.
Excellent. Now another question if you feel so inclined. Kaloo gave me some sticker making advice in the chain mail thread. basically it was to copy and paste things into a word doc and play with them from there. But when I copy, then go to paste, it rarely ever pastes. In fact only once by sheer luck, and on Kaloo's avatar! Got any clue about where I'm going wrong. I'd love to make a few chain mail torsos. Front and back!
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Todd
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Post by Todd »

Try using publisher and doing a defragmentation on your computer. :)
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Post by The Blue Knight »

Todd wrote:Try using publisher and doing a defragmentation on your computer. :)
What's publisher? Yeah, I have since doen a disc defrag. I am able to get almost all images now.
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Sir Terrance
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Post by Sir Terrance »

Do you have a pic, of the visor helm silver leafed? Could you just spray paint the parts?
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Post by TwoTonic Knight »

Sir Terrance wrote:Do you have a pic, of the visor helm silver leafed? Could you just spray paint the parts?
I never actually cleaned it up - there's bits of loose silver leaf floating about the grill. It's such a pain I haven't bothered. You need sunglasses to look at it, anyway. I prefer my second experiment with Rub'n Buff (see thread under that name). I keep meaning to write that one up for a How-To article so you don't have to go on safari to find it.

And, going on a quick safari, the Rub'n Buff thread is currently at the top of Page 2 of MOC if you want to take a look.
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.

[img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/corsair/C ... ippler.jpg[/img]
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