Home page
Resume
Store
Prints
Support me via Paypal !

Fountain Guard Armor

Another Gondor armor I always wanted to craft !
Thanks to the recent Weta statue of the Fountain Guard, plus this time the return of the king bonus, I had more rock-solid reference material I could study (it was especially helpful on the belt, which is not just a loop wrap but something I didn't really understood until then ^^")
As for the previous Gondor armor, I used graphite powder over flexipaint silvergrey with a dirt layer (always !) to achieve a nice believable metallic look :)
And for this one I took the time to re-learn sewing. This was the scariest part, I did it at the very last, but it was surprisingly fun & interesting to achieve ! So...new skill acquired haha (or skill level up maybe, since I already assembled a few capes before)
I also upgraded my swords builds to get better details on the pommel and a truly sewed leather wrap on the handle, instead of wrapping up like a tennis racket, haha. And it's much more comfortable to hold as a bonus !

These first nice photos of the finished armor were all taken by my dear father using a Nikon D700 :)

These first nice photos of the finished armor were all taken by my dear father using a Nikon D700 :)

It all started with this. A problem to solve ; aluminium wire was too weak for chainmail on the Gondor Armor, I tried punching rings, result : more robust, better "handcraft" look, beautiful accidental reflections

It all started with this. A problem to solve ; aluminium wire was too weak for chainmail on the Gondor Armor, I tried punching rings, result : more robust, better "handcraft" look, beautiful accidental reflections

Yet, 2mm wire turned as 11,5mm internal diameter rings was a weak starting combo. After trying various other sizes, I choose 2.5mm wire and 10mm internal diameter, as is it was already much stronger, but punched...it's a really, really solid combo

Yet, 2mm wire turned as 11,5mm internal diameter rings was a weak starting combo. After trying various other sizes, I choose 2.5mm wire and 10mm internal diameter, as is it was already much stronger, but punched...it's a really, really solid combo

I punched them one-by-one, making the whole robe took me a lot more time than just assembling rings as I did before (3 weeks for a full suit vs 5 months for "just" a robe)

I punched them one-by-one, making the whole robe took me a lot more time than just assembling rings as I did before (3 weeks for a full suit vs 5 months for "just" a robe)

Initially I wanted to do the arms, but once I took a look back at tower guard's references, I figured out this wasn't needed at all. Which was cool since punched rings were not as flexible as regular rings (I guess it's due to their rectangular profile)

Initially I wanted to do the arms, but once I took a look back at tower guard's references, I figured out this wasn't needed at all. Which was cool since punched rings were not as flexible as regular rings (I guess it's due to their rectangular profile)

Good point for punched rings also : it has a better adherence for acrylics ;) So no need to go for complex chemicals to worn the aluminium, just mix muddy colors, paint, wash, paintover...it's like kid's work ^^

Good point for punched rings also : it has a better adherence for acrylics ;) So no need to go for complex chemicals to worn the aluminium, just mix muddy colors, paint, wash, paintover...it's like kid's work ^^

Then, let's get serious : the core part I wanted to nail was the chest, I bought the towerguard statue from weta which of course was a fantastic ref throughout the whole build, as to see what I missed on the previous Gondor torso. So I re-adjusted it

Then, let's get serious : the core part I wanted to nail was the chest, I bought the towerguard statue from weta which of course was a fantastic ref throughout the whole build, as to see what I missed on the previous Gondor torso. So I re-adjusted it

Same goes for shoulderguards, which is a tricky design part of the Gondorian armors, looks simple from afar, but it has lots of really subtle lines, angles...etc. Most of the time building it was just observing the refs. I use UVs as a blueprint :)

Same goes for shoulderguards, which is a tricky design part of the Gondorian armors, looks simple from afar, but it has lots of really subtle lines, angles...etc. Most of the time building it was just observing the refs. I use UVs as a blueprint :)

I always make a first test build assembly in cardboard. This also helps later cutting the EVA parts

I always make a first test build assembly in cardboard. This also helps later cutting the EVA parts

I also upgraded all armors with a gorget. I missed this part on the previous ones and not only it makes them more detailed, but it also saves your throat/neck from being stressed by the chest/shield straps. It's so much more confortable !

I also upgraded all armors with a gorget. I missed this part on the previous ones and not only it makes them more detailed, but it also saves your throat/neck from being stressed by the chest/shield straps. It's so much more confortable !

Here's the result on my cardboard armor :) I also tried making my own belt buckles using 3mm aluminium wire, punched, polished, painted...well, "nice", but not practical if you have to make all buckles of just one armor, so these were the only two I did

Here's the result on my cardboard armor :) I also tried making my own belt buckles using 3mm aluminium wire, punched, polished, painted...well, "nice", but not practical if you have to make all buckles of just one armor, so these were the only two I did

After that, back on EVA. I made two of them so the armor I made last year could benefit of it :)

After that, back on EVA. I made two of them so the armor I made last year could benefit of it :)

The backplate was quite difficult to thermoform, best was to really link parts, then heatgun all and place them compressed somewhere for a minute or two

The backplate was quite difficult to thermoform, best was to really link parts, then heatgun all and place them compressed somewhere for a minute or two

Here I figured out how to "sculpt" curves with EVA. You just need to draw a "profile" and this will represent caveat/bump curves.

Here I figured out how to "sculpt" curves with EVA. You just need to draw a "profile" and this will represent caveat/bump curves.

Really enjoy the shape taking its volume :)

Really enjoy the shape taking its volume :)

And even without the tree and painting details, it's already a beauty !

And even without the tree and painting details, it's already a beauty !

First study of clothes, accurate with the ref but I find it not good enough on logic part ; if you remove the upper coat, well, the underparts looked a bit unbalanced

First study of clothes, accurate with the ref but I find it not good enough on logic part ; if you remove the upper coat, well, the underparts looked a bit unbalanced

So I adjusted them and added progressive sleeves, giving a more detailed result. Instead of adding triangles to widen the robe, I've simply widen the bottom of the main pieces :)

So I adjusted them and added progressive sleeves, giving a more detailed result. Instead of adding triangles to widen the robe, I've simply widen the bottom of the main pieces :)

In order to keep a neat consistency between tunics, I "unwrapped" a shirt, projected it on cardboard and used that as a base. Then I added desired length from the end of that skirt to get perfect results on me :)

In order to keep a neat consistency between tunics, I "unwrapped" a shirt, projected it on cardboard and used that as a base. Then I added desired length from the end of that skirt to get perfect results on me :)

Cape was more of a challenge. It had to perfectly fit on the shoulder and full of nice wrinkles on the bottom. So a quite large assemble of huge cloth cuts. I used 5m x 1.5m, almost no waste. It's a heavy one !

Cape was more of a challenge. It had to perfectly fit on the shoulder and full of nice wrinkles on the bottom. So a quite large assemble of huge cloth cuts. I used 5m x 1.5m, almost no waste. It's a heavy one !

Belt was difficult to nail just from watching the films on prime, I bought the blurays in a local store just to see if there was more into the bonus and hell yeah ! Everything you might expect is here, not the best resolution (DVD limits), but good enough

Belt was difficult to nail just from watching the films on prime, I bought the blurays in a local store just to see if there was more into the bonus and hell yeah ! Everything you might expect is here, not the best resolution (DVD limits), but good enough

I still need to make a really good looking armor stand, a wooden cross is simple and does the job but it's weak and stresses armor top links, I want to keep my crafts in a good shape on the long term ! So soon enough I'll make that as planned here ;)

I still need to make a really good looking armor stand, a wooden cross is simple and does the job but it's weak and stresses armor top links, I want to keep my crafts in a good shape on the long term ! So soon enough I'll make that as planned here ;)

Report