The Path to the First Blade
Apr. 17th, 2017 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)

It's a project that began in the simple observation that my husband's winter beard was attaining Cain-like proportions, coupled with the fact that I had talked him into attending another Creation SPN Con, this time in Seattle. While I was trying to convince him that a Cain cosplay would be amazing and fun, and he could absolutely pull it off, I started looking around for a First Blade replica. There are a lot of ideas for this out there, from versions that would come completely finished and with a Magnus-worthy stand to some pretty cool DIY ideas, but finally I found what I felt was the perfect combination, from an Etsy store called RoadSoFar, which sells a resin replica of the Blade that I could paint myself. One of my hobbies, before school and then SPN took over my life, was painting miniatures so I had the supplies, though my painting skills were quite rusty. (The little figure I talk about in that early link remains unfinished, btw.) A full scale project like this one was something I had never done. But I ordered the piece and started trying to remember how to do it. Luckily, the owner of the Etsy shop knows his stuff, and he also sent instructions!
Step 1: Prep work and base coat.
This is crucial! The replica is beautiful, but it was not perfect when I received it. Sanding down the seam lines and other imperfections caused by the molding process is the key to everything. And I have to admit, I did not do as expert a job here as I could have, as I discovered after cleaning and priming the piece that I had left numerous small bumps on the surface of the teeth, that showed up like grains of sand all along the line. I went ahead and did the base coat--this was a mistake. Once finished with the initial coat, my husband felt strongly that they detracted from the look. Since he was going to be the one carrying it, and because he was right, I went back and worked off my paint and primer and on back down to the resin with a coarser sandpaper than I had initially used. I polished those teeth til they would have shone had they been actual bone! Then I had to tape off the rest of the Blade, reprime the teeth, and repaint the base coat.

I used a gray model primer, and flat-finish acrylic craft paint--ivory for the teeth, a light sand color for the bone, and black on the hilt wrapping.
Step 2: The tribal markings.
My instructions noted that there's some debate among users on whether or not to include the thin red lines and dots near the Blade hilt, since they don't show up in the initial versions of the weapon. I decided to put them on after watching Crowley's "howl at the moon" speech from "Do You Believe in Miracles" -- several times. When Crowley puts the Blade in Dean's hand and then turns it over onto his chest, the markings can be clearly seen. I was surprised, though, by how small and close to the hilt they are. I used this as a guide for my markings:

Dark red model acrylic paint, and very small brushes did the trick. I did have to do a fair bit of clean-up work on this part, sharpening the lines by way of repainting the errors with the sand-colored base. The bumps and grooves that made up the bone texture also caused the red to "bleed" to the point that the lines looked like razor cuts in some spots. An interesting look, but not what I was going for.
Step 3: Ink and stain.
First, the finished step--

You ever have the feeling, when working on something, of "Good God, what have I done?" That's how I felt with the first swath of chestnut brown model ink. The idea is to use the watery but intense color to highlight the texture of the piece, but it is difficult to work with on such a large surface. Even though I watered it down before applying, it came on way too strong in some places and did not settle into the cracks like you'd think it would. When I was done, my son called it a "blood wash". The only thing that saved it was using a damp cloth to wipe the high spots down and even out the tone.
Then, a note on the teeth--

The most difficult part, as it turned out, though I'm pleased with the final result. I wanted the teeth to have a bit of a sheen, like actual teeth would, but the base coat was completely flat. My first attempt to achieve this was to mix some pearly white model paint with the ivory base and dry brush over the ink, but the effect didn't quite come through. I wound up going back to the craft store for a satin paint, and went over the teeth with that. I think it worked well.
After all of this, I was a bit gun-shy about using the stain which the instructions recommended. Instead of the "thin coat of brown paint" which the maker suggested, I went with a gel stain (usually used for antiquing) in a walnut color. This worked beautifully, as I could control the application, and wipe off as I went. To get the almost-black grime along the base of the teeth, I started with a thick coat of the walnut stain and then brushed lightly upward to "age" the enamel.

All in all, in spite of the missteps, I think it came out rather nicely. If you want to try your own project, or a similar one, I hope this account of my trials and errors might come in handy!
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