The Chess Set From The Movie "Blade Runner" 21 October 2015
Blade Runner is a very cool movie. In it, Sebastian plays a game of chess against Roy Batty; the game pieces being all birds. There is a very good interpretation of the game pieces made by Rick at the Red Dragon Kipple Co., from whom I received my set. I am in the process of cutting out the bases of the pieces and filling them with lead and resin so they are bottom heavy. Then they will receive a wash coat - the black pieces will receive a dark grey wash, and the white pieces will receive a sepia wash.
3 November 2015
The pieces are all filled and sanded flat on the bottom. A bit of finessing and I will be ready to paint them. It was a nice day so I sanded them outdoors; that and the lead in the base drove me out of the house.
Rick is a master - check out the details on his pieces.
16 May 2018 Update
This project is complete - finally! I rubbed the shellac down with very fine steel wool and will give it a coat of paste wax.
2 November 2015
I have hollowed out the bottoms of all the pieces and tonight, filled the voids with lead shot and epoxy. Here are a couple of photos of the various pieces in various stages of filling. Hollowing out the pieces was a real pain.
The first photo shows the birds hanging in a frame I made to hold them upside down. They are at the stove so I can hasten the curing process. The second photo is of mostly pawns, which have been filled and the epoxy cured. I will sand the bottoms, then paint using an airbrush. The bottoms will then receive a piece of felt so they slide nicely.
26 Dec 2017
I painted all the black pieces and am waiting on the paint for the white. Here is the king, looking regal.
I painted all the black pieces and am waiting on the paint for the white. Here is the king, looking regal.
11 February 2018
I finally made some progress with the white pieces. Numerous bottles of white, off-white and various buff/tans, trying to get the right color. It turns out that ivory spray paint followed by sepia wash is perfect. The pieces have a piece of brown suede leather on the bottom so they glide smoothly. I will start working on the board this summer. The pawns are really cool...
I finally made some progress with the white pieces. Numerous bottles of white, off-white and various buff/tans, trying to get the right color. It turns out that ivory spray paint followed by sepia wash is perfect. The pieces have a piece of brown suede leather on the bottom so they glide smoothly. I will start working on the board this summer. The pawns are really cool...
27 April 2018
Now that the pieces are complete, it is time to build the board. I made two of them in case one goes south. They are being glued up on the kitchen island.
Now that the pieces are complete, it is time to build the board. I made two of them in case one goes south. They are being glued up on the kitchen island.
I'm still playing around with the color, but this seems good to me. I'll add a frame to the boards this weekend. The photo is scrap pieces - the wood is mahogany and bird's eye maple.
29 April 2018
Both boards are complete except for flat sanding the tops, which I will do tomorrow at school. Then the dichromate goes on followed by the shellac.
Both boards are complete except for flat sanding the tops, which I will do tomorrow at school. Then the dichromate goes on followed by the shellac.
30 April 2018
After a coat of dichromate and two coats of shellac, it is starting to look pretty good.
After a coat of dichromate and two coats of shellac, it is starting to look pretty good.