I think it's easier to pay to get a part cast in metal than to try and do it yourself. I teach a class on aluminum sand casting, but the devil's in the details. If you want a high quality part it's usually better (and sometimes cheaper) to go to the professionals. I use a small metal casting studio called JR Casting. They're in the bay area, so it was really easy for me to visit their shop to talk about how they did what they did. Check for a lost wax or investment casting house near you. You'd be surprised at how many there are in the world.



I drove the waxes down to JR, they cast them in metal and I got them back a few weeks later. The metal took a little cleaning up and sanding down but it was soon looking pretty sharp. I brazed a pin and some rings on the back to attach the whole thing to a belt. After that I made the metal look old and worn to match the Bioshock aesthetic with gun blue. You'll need some kitchen gloves, a disposable container and some sand paper to do this process. You put your part in the container and let it soak in a little of the solution. After the metal has darkened you rinse it off and can restore some of the shine with the sandpaper to help bring out the detail. If you can't find gun blue around you, you can use a bunch of other solutions. Mine just took some polishing and sanding and...

