I haven’t really had much time to continue with the Middle Earth map. I’ve finished a second copy and the edges came out much better. The trick was to tear them before the staining. It gave a much better result than doing it after the fact. Unfortunately I went too overboard with the spot staining, and some areas turned out too dark and murky. I’ll have to try and hold back next time. It’s so hard to stop the tearing that happens as well. I just HAVE to be more patient and let it dry before I touch it. It’s a fine line between it sticking to the surface of the table (well, washing machine) and having it rip. Perhaps I’ll dry the edges with a hair dryer and see how that goes. It needs to be consistent though. Another thing I realised is to do the folds in the map a lot earlier as well. After the second coat of wash is probably the best time. It doesn’t tear as much and looks a little more natural.
In other news, I was sent a copy of another map, this one from Raiders of the Lost Ark. At the beginning of the film, Indiana Jones is walking through the South American jungle looking for the golden Chachapoyan Fertility Idol. At one point he holds up a map of the area, torn and badly weathered. This is the map I have and it’s going to be my second weathering experiment. It was made by a fellow named Pat Riley who frequents the Replica Prop Forum.
Raiders of the Lost Ark Map
I’m also going to start making some more USB mods soon. At long last I found a Jack Sparrow Pez dispenser and I’m going to convert it for my sister for Christmas. I also landed a small Thomas the Tank Engine and a Lightning McQueen from the Cars movie. Both of them are pretty small so they should be ideal for custom USB mods. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Pez™ Dispensers
