My replica of St Edward's Crown
Hello everybody!
I've been fascinated by the Crown Jewels for some time, though I must admit it started with seeing Johnny English when I was kid
Let's jump 17 years and here I am, well versed in prop making and 3D modeling, so why not finally make one!
My initial goal was naturally to make it as accurate as possible, so I started by getting myself familiar with the actual look of the Crown. You'd be surprised how many photos available online aren't the actual crown, but replicas too.
So after finding a dozen photos of the real Crown, I did a camera-solve and modeled my Crown over the image of real one, but having in mind it should be able to disassemble in multiple parts for easier 3D printing.
The printing itself took more than two weeks, since I used the best resolution I could get. The base is printed in ABS plastic, which gives it more sturdiness than other commonly used materials for printing.
After printing was done, I did several rounds of sanding to prepare it for most important part- gilding!
With primer filler applied, I painted it with a couple of layers of gloss red (usual base for gilding).
Gilding was incredibly fun process for me, and highly rewarding. Nothing, not any available spray paint beats the look of actual gold leaves, because you actually get metallic surface with metallic golden reflections.
My Crown also has inner skeleton which holds purple velvet so it doesn't sag down.
Ermine is made from faux fur.
Nearing the end, probably the most fun process was adding jewels and gemstones to the Crown.
And in the end, here it is, (mostly) jewel-by-jewel recreation! ?
