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| Fig. 1 Brass spear glued into place on an unprimed hoplite. This is a Gorgon Studios Etruscan hoplite (click to enlarge). |
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| Fig. 2 These spears are about 1 3/4"(45mm) long. In 28mm scale (1:56), this translates into just over eight feet (2.5 meters). |
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| Fig. 3 Burnished spear blade; a groove separates the spear head from the "wooden" shaft. This allows some dark wash to seep into the groove and distinguish the steel from the wood. |
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| Fig. 3 This is meant to represent the spear's bronze butt spike. Actual spikes appear to have been thinner, longer, and had three or four sides, but this works for me. |
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| Fig. 4 Painted spear in the hand of another hoplite figure from Gorgon. |
How did you get this blade so thin as opposed to the one in part 1. It looks incredible. Did you file it without the lathe afterwards or something. Please tell us! :D
ReplyDeleteI just now saw this comment - sorry for my late reply.
DeleteAfter hammering the end of the brass rod flat and cutting the rough shape of the spear head with snips, you can remove further material to make the "blade" shape using sandpaper. To do this, place some fine grit sandpaper on a flat surface, hold the brass rod in your hand at a shallow angle, and take material off the rod as if you were sharpening a knife on a whetstone. Turn the rod over to grind away at the different facets of the blade in order to create the shape of the point - you will need to grind/sand at least four sides for the basic spear head shape.
For sandpaper, use at least a couple of progressively finer grits, such as 320 and then 600. You can get a surprisingly smooth finish this way. Good luck!
Also, a lathe isn't needed to do the turning part - you can put the brass rod in an electric drill chuck, and that will work just as well.
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