PCPD Badges

A week before principle photography began, Crash and Burn's costumes were ready and rehearsals were underway.
However, it was suddenly clear that an iconic emblem of Patriot City was missing - the Shields themselves. 

Shield of Justice

Up until this point, Crash and Burn had been wearing silver star badges that looked tacky and cheap.
The original idea was that it would be funny to have the main characters sporting such naff props.  With the overall upscaling of the costume however, it was clear they would not cut it.

Initially the idea was to order some pre-made replica badges from a professional company, however cost was an inhibiting factor - the other officers in the PCPD would need badges too and it would be preferable to have a unique badge for the actors to wear.

An emergency meeting was convened in a local pub were Tom and Ben Decided that the best option would be to cast their own badges in polymer resin.
Several ideas were knocked about, all reflecting the Totalitarian imagery they wanted Patriot City to reflect.

Stars and stripes, eagles, cityscapes and statues of justice were all popular themes, but it was a simple design Tom had scrawled on the back of a receipt that they settled on.

Ben took the rudimentary sketch and refined it into a scale technical drawing. 

Ben's original drawing.

He then carved a rough template out of a block of insulation foam.
Shooting had already begun now and most of the work was carried out in the ungodly hours of the morning.

At this point, Ben wasn't sure if it would work.

At this point, Ben still wasn't sure if it would work.

Okay, looking better.

More detail.

Blurry shot of it at the end of step one.

Alongside the foam negative, two more rough badges were hewn out - intended for use as stand ins for any distance shots Crash and Burn might appear in.  These still appear in the finished film, barely noticeable at distance from the real thing.


The foam base was then coated in modelling clay and many hours were spent shaping it into the basic shape of the badge.  Unfortunately the clay used wasn't the most suitable and the process involved much swearing and some blood.

I hope this isn't Chris's blood!

Sculpty sculpty.

more sculpting.

Looking better

Adding windows

Finally there.

With the clay model finished, Ben sealed it with a thin coat of varnish to waterproof it.

He then prepared to mix up the RTV Silicon from which the would would be made.

Ready to mix up some toxic goop!

The negative was attached to the base of a plastic tray with some double-sided tape and Ben painted a thin layer of Vaseline onto the model to act as a release agent.

Ben was really worried that it wouldn't work.

As usual with mould making, an ideal situation would be to remove air from the silicone using a vacuum.

However, Ben didn't have the necessary equipment and with filming taking place the next day, he instead improvised - applying the first layer of silicone with a syringe - squeezing it into the detailed areas and forcing out the air.

Once the first layer was done, the rest of the silicon was poured in to make the rest of the mould.

One of those moments in life that proceeds potential failure.

Is that good? Is it meant to look like that?

After the silicone had set, Ben nervously removed the clay model from the negative.

Well, both survived.

One bubble, but impossible to tell if it worked yet.

A small batch of epoxy resin was mixed up to test the mould with, ruining at least one perfectly good teacup.
The mould was then sprayed with CIL release agent before casting commenced.

Polymer resin - don't eat it!

After a few minutes (and once the resin was all lovely and warm) Ben removed the casting from the negative.
Hallelujah! It worked!

One nasty bubble, but easily repaired.

Crash and Burn's badges, fresh from the mould.

The badges were given a quick clean up to remove any flash, before being dusted with some gold paint.

Shiny!

The badge backs were then clumsily constructed from card and leather-effect PVC.

This would eventually get dropped in a toilet half-way through shooting.

With filming only a few hours away now, Ben went to bed - stinking of thinner and silicone.

A finished shield.

The next day several more badges were cast and painted on location, as extras were getting ready.


The badges were also lacquered to give a deeper shine to them, though oddly this didn't translate well onto film.
After the first shoot Ben took the badges home and gave them a dark 'wash' of paint - pulling up the detail. 
They were then drybrushed with gold, silver and bronze - before having a green/blue wash and another coat of lacquer.

This cartoony look, came out much better on the screen.

Crash and Burn with their finished 'Shields of Justice'.