Gorgon Talisman from Sarah Jane Adventures

[Conncur1708]

A few weeks ago I was commissioned to make the Gorgon Talisman from the Sarah Jane Adventures story 'Eye of the Gorgon'. I had very little to go on here, as there were only two images online and I could only find really blurry  versions of the episode to re-watch for reference, but I think it turned out pretty well despite that..

After drawing out the talisman whilst waiting for the materials to arrive, I began sculpting it from Plasticine clay. This took a few days, and was a bit of a struggle as I've not done much clay sculpting before. It was easier than I expected however, as I found the plasticine a lot easier to work with than the clay I had used in the past, (plus I got some fancy new sculpting tools which helped a lot!)

So after that was done, it was onto the mould. I made the walls out of Lego, and sealed the edges before pouring the silicone. Like a true genius, I barely ordered enough to make a usable mould of the talisman itself, so had to order more to make the mould for the blue gemstone pieces.

Once the silicone cured, I cleaned the mould out and then started on the first casting. I used Polyurethane casting resin, and the first casting went pretty much perfect. The only problem was the two necklace rings I added to the sculpt, which didn't come out in the casting. I realise now that this was bound to fail, so now I know to consider basic physics before making a mould!
When the resin cured, I sanded down the edges and smoothed out the back. This was when I added two silver jump rings to the top for the necklace chain. Then I put a coat of primer on and left it for a little while.

Eventually the silicone arrived to make the mould for the blue parts. I used a coat button (filled and sanded) for the large blue stone, and a small pearl button for the second round piece at the bottom of the talisman. The mould worked pretty well, so I started working on the blue stones, where I encountered a few minor issues..

This was my first time using any of these materials, so I wasn't entirely sure what I needed to do. The silicone and polyurethane were 1:1 mixes, so were pretty easy, however the epoxy resin was a bit more complicated.

Firstly, I was mixing such tiny amounts that measuring them properly was tricky. First I tried a 2:1 mix (with some metallic blue pigment) but this ended up not curing properly. Then I tried a 1:1 mix and the same amount of pigment, but this also didn't cure right. Eventually I figured out that I needed to use less pigment and more hardener, which worked a treat.

Painting the talisman was fairly simple. I sprayed some gloss black over the primer coat, then the gold paint over that once it dried. I let this fully cure and then weathered it with a few dark washes. Then I simply glued the gemstones in and put a coat of clear lacquer over it all. Then after adding the chain, it was finished!

This was my first time doing any of the sculpting/mould making/casting, so I'm really happy with how it all went! It's not a prop I would even have looked at doing before, so I'm very grateful to the client for requesting it. Plus since it was a commission, I actually remembered to photograph the build process!

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[Cardinal Hordriss]

That is gorgeous! I wish I had the sculpting skills to make my own.