Inspired by Game of Thrones, Cora has written another beautiful blog
https://teveelvrijtijd.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/game-of-thrones-drakeneieren/
Let there be no doubt about it: Game of Thrones fans everywhere have been anticipating the season finale of Game of Thrones for the past few weeks, hoping that, spoiler alert, it would finally happen. Since this post is full of spoilers, a warning to read: if you have HBO GO or are a good internet pirate, read on. If not, now is the time to stop. Game of Thrones is very important; so important, in fact, that one Niall Lucy dedicates a line to the book and television series in his book A Dictionary of Postmodernism . He writes: “[…] So enter the dragon, again, Of course we can't look for dragons beyond representations of them. But what does it mean to be looking of them outside an imaginary text such as Game of Thrones in which they figure as mythical beasts? The persistent ant talismanic question “Where are my dragons?” is for Daenarys Targaryan a methaphore for finding a way out of exile and a home, not to mention literally finding her abducted phantasmagorical offspring.” Right, if you want to be known as an author, you just throw in a good quote. That's what I do, too.
What are we learning today? Something really cool, and possibly my hardest DIY so far. Today an explanation on how to make your own Game of Thrones dragon eggs from acrylic resin. First I made a dummy from styrofoam. Based on this dummy you make a mold, and you can use this mold countless times to make eggs. Actually, this DIY is suitable for Daenerys, since she is missing a dragon.
Supplies:
– Styrofoam egg of 15 cm (€3.50 at Pipoos )
– Foam rubber (€0.99 at Pipoos )
– Epoxy support cap set (€47.50 at SiliconesandMore )
– Acrylic resin set (€11.50 at SiliconesandMore )
– Condensation silicone (€19.95 at SiliconesandMore );
– Gesso (€1.99 at Action);
– Acrylic paint (€1.99 at Action);
– Wood wool (€7.50 for 3kg box via Disposable Discounter );
– Wooden box (€14 via Marktplaats);
– Hand cream/Vaseline/etc.;
– Plasticine clay; https://www.siliconesandmore.com/nl/plasticine.html
– Brushes;
– Cling film;
– Gloves; https://www.siliconesandmore.com/nl/latex-gloves.html
- Apron;
– Cutting mat;
– Digital scale;
– Glue gun;
– Stirring sticks;
– Mixing cups; https://www.siliconesandmore.com/nl/mengbeker.html
- Paint;
– Brushes;
– Sponge;
– Crown stones;
– 3x LED candles, small fitting (€11.99 each at Bol.com );
– Cord without earth (€5.99 for 5 meters at Praxis );
– 3x small fitting;
– Cord with switch;
Step 1: Making a dummy
First, you need to make a dummy. I looked at several DIYs on the internet, and decided to make a dummy from this video . It's simple: draw a few scales on your foam rubber, and trace them about 50 times. Daenerys' eggs are slightly burned/fossilized on the bottom, so don't start gluing the scales at the bottom, but about 3 cm from the bottom. Glue the scales next to each other, and make sure they don't overlap. When your first row of scales is done, glue the second row on top of it like roof tiles, so that the foam is no longer visible. I glued smaller scales on top of the egg, so that it still looks neat. Finish it off by gluing a small circle on top.
I have treated the bottom of the egg with glue from a glue gun. In the youtube tutorial worbla is used, a thermoplastic that cosplayers use for all kinds of props . Nice stuff, but very expensive; so it is not necessary. Squeeze a few fillings from your glue gun empty onto your egg, and thus form the petrified look of the dragon eggs yourself (and cheaply).
The dummy is almost finished! The only thing left to do is to fill in the gaps between the scales. For this I used gesso, a type of plaster paint that is used by painters as a primer for artwork. Apply a thick layer of gesso to the entire egg, so that all the holes and gaps are filled.
Step 2: Making a mold
Making a mold is not a difficult task, but it does require some precision (and a digital scale). Cover one half of your egg with a layer of plasticine clay about 0.5 to 1 cm thick. Make a raised edge of about 3 to 4 cm, and press holes in this edge with a small object. These holes are called keys. If you pour silicone over the mold, these keys will remain visible. When you press the two mold halves together, they fit together perfectly because of these keys. I used beads as key pushers, but you can also use a marble, a dice, or something else of this size.
To make the silicone you need three components: Silicone C20 A, Silicone C20 B, and Thixo C.
Add 2 grams of B-component per 100 grams of A-component. Use a digital scale for this, and pay close attention to using the correct units ( cough, Cora… ). Add 1 drop of Thixo per 100 grams of A-component, and mix all components well. Pour the mixture over the dummy, and use a spatula to distribute the mixture over the egg. Make sure everything is well covered, and that no air bubbles are created. Leave a little of your mixture in your mixing bowl to solidify, you will need these pieces later.
After a few hours, the silicone will have hardened. Remove the hardened silicone from the mixing tray and cut it into squares of approximately 1 by 1 centimeter. These are silicone keys and ensure that the mold will fit into the hood later. Make a new amount of silicone mixture in the same way and stick these squares onto your silicone mold. This second layer provides extra strength.
When this second layer has also hardened, make a third layer. Again, use 2 grams of B component per 100 grams of A component. Now add 6 to 10 drops of Thixo instead of 1. Thixo ensures that the mass becomes thicker and hardens faster. Mix everything well and apply a final, thick layer of silicone to your mold. Make sure that the keys are largely covered under a layer of silicone. Also make sure that the layer is nice and even, otherwise you will have unnecessary problems in step 4.
The other side of the egg also needs to be covered with silicone. Remove the layer of plasticine clay from your mold; you can store this clay for at least 1 year. To make sure the two molds don't stick together, grease the raised edge with hand cream or Vaseline. Make sure everything is greased well, otherwise you will have to cut a part of the mold loose. Repeat the above steps, and your mold is finished!
Step 3: Make a hood
It would be nice if you were there already, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because your silicone mold is very wobbly, you need to make a support cap, which gives shape to your project. Making that support cap was both the most fun, and the dirtiest part of this project, because the cap smells like ammonia. The support cap gets incredibly hard, and if you spill it on your clothes/table/equipment, you might as well throw it away. So wear gloves and an apron, and work on a cutting mat.
The support cap consists of two components: carbon fiber, and a blue liquid. Mix 20 grams of liquid per 100 grams of fiber. Make sure you knead everything well, otherwise your mold will lose its strength. Then cover your mold with a layer of about 0.3 to 0.5 centimeters of kneadable support cap. Let it harden for about 16, and then apply the layer to the other side.
Step 4: Loosen and pour
I spent too much time on this step. To separate the support cap and the mold I used brute force (read: kitchen knife), but actually that is not necessary at all. If you have made the mold smooth with a spatula, it is a matter of a bit of wiggling. Once the mold and the cap are separated from each other, you can start pouring your egg!
Again, use a digital scale. For every 50 grams of liquid, use 100 grams of powder. Make sure you get a layer of resin of about 0.5 cm. In the case of my 15 centimeter egg, that meant 150 grams of liquid, and 300 grams of powder. Mix it all together with a spatula, and remove all lumps. Coat both halves of the mold with a thin layer of liquid acrylic resin, making sure all the cracks are filled. Pour the rest of the resin into an egg part, and press both parts firmly together. I then taped the mold together, you can also use glue clamps.
Now comes the most relaxing part: the mold has to be rotated for a long time, so that the resin is evenly distributed over the entire mold. Since there is no oxygen near my mold, I had to rotate it longer than the instructions stated. To be on the safe side, I rotated my egg for about 30 to 45 minutes. Good time to watch a series. Then leave the mold alone for another hour, and your egg is done! First remove the support cap, and then carefully pull the silicone mold off both halves. The result is certainly worth it, and it is fantastic how detailed the acrylic resin is. You can remove any irregularities with scissors and a file.
Step 5: Painting
I'm not a hero with a pen or brush, but even I can do this. I first practiced on an egg that had failed, because cough I had dropped it while spinning . A blessing in disguise, because it allowed me to experiment with paint. Buy cheap acrylic paint at the Action, and get started! I tried to follow the example of the series as much as possible, and I am certainly not dissatisfied with (read: quite proud of) the result.
Step 6: Making lights
With this step I found myself in uncharted territory. Can you even drill through acrylic resin? Fortunately, it turned out to be a piece of cake: drilling through acrylic resin is incredibly easy. Drill a lot of holes next to each other with a wood drill. When you have drilled enough holes, the bottom will fall out by itself. Not the prettiest hole, if that's your thing , but still. If the hole is still a bit too small, you can make it bigger with a file.
The wires of the eggs are not visible in the final product, but that is no excuse not to do it properly. Connect all the wires with a terminal block to the switch and the plug, and check that everything is connected properly.
A giant hole at the bottom of your eggs is of course very ugly; time to fix it with everyone's best friend: the glue gun. Hold the socket so that it does not rest against the inside of your egg. I think I used one cartridge of the glue gun per hole, but it was definitely worth it. Once the glue has dried, you can use a mixture of gesso and acrylic paint to cover up the ugly color. The advantage of this construction: the lamp does not touch the egg, and the socket is nicely concealed. The disadvantage is that if the lamp breaks, you have to pull out the glue. Fortunately, that is not so bad, because you can simply stick the sticker back on afterwards.
Step 7: Where are my dragons?
I bought a beautiful box for €14 via Marktplaats. Fill the box with wood wool, and paint the top layer with brown paint to give it a more authentic look. Drill a small hole in the bottom of the box, so that you can pull the cables through the box. Tape the terminal block with insulating tape, so that it looks like a block in a cute latex suit. (I have to be careful with such jokes, once a month someone comes to this blog in the hope of learning to make a dildo themselves, who knows what I'll wear now) Connect everything again, and you're done. Cover the box with wood wool, hide the cables, and you're finally done.
The result is really unparalleled cool. Did I already say that this is my coolest project so far? Oh yeah, I've said that about other projects too. Anyway; this is now number one. Here's another beautiful video of the eggs.
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