There are so many props from Skyrim that I would love to own, and after finishing my first project (The M4 Shuriken), I planned on building something small, like one of the daggers. Then I got a bit ambitious, and decided to build an axe!  I really like the look of the Dawnguard War Axe from the Dawnguard DLC, especially the stylised sunburst runes on the side, and wanted to try making something with realistic looking metal.

The axe head was build out of layers of MDF and styrene, with the bevels and blade sculpted from Apoxie Sculpt. I cut a window into the top layer of styrene and inset the runes over a coat of Rustoleum Textured paint to add extra detail. The brackets are also styrene, bent slightly to fit the curve of the axe as it tapers towards the back.

The head and brackets were molded (using Smooth On Mold Max 40) and cold cast with aluminium dust. This is the first big mold I’ve made, and I put a lot of work into claying it, getting the seam line as perfect as possible (this is especially important for cold casting, as you want to have as little flash on the casting as possible). I brushed on a print coat and let it cure for a few hours, then poured in the rest of the silicone to make the block mold. When casting, I dusted the mold with aluminium powder, as well as mixing powder into the resin (Smooth On Smooth-Cast 300). I was pleased with how clean the casting was, which required minimal clean-up. I lightly brushed it with steel wool, then spent some time polishing it with Autosol Metal Polish.

In game, the metal is heavily weathered, but I liked the shiny look of the metal after I had polished it, so I just gave it some light weathering with black acrylic paint to bring out the detail of the runes and the bolts on the brackets. I brushed the paint onto the runes, then wiped it off lightly with a paper towel, so that some remained in the recesses.

The haft was shaped from a 2’x4’ I picked up at the local DIY store, with a socket at the top that fits into the axe head. I also embedded two threaded rods when connecting the haft to the head to give it additional strength. The wood is slightly grey and worn in-game, so I soaked steel wool in vinegar overnight and painted this onto the wood to weather it. You have to be careful with this process, as if the mixture is too strong, or left soaking for too long, it can dye the wood black or rusty brown. I was pleased with the resulting colour, but in order to prevent the acidic mixture coming into contact with the leather or plastic, I sealed the wood with clear coat. Unfortunately, this made the finished wood look much browner than the weathered grey look I was going for, but it still looks a lot better than the raw wood pre-treatment, and I’m happy with the result.

I bought a vegetable tanned leather hide (from Tandy Leather) and cut, stretched and dyed it for the grip. The grip is held in place with a criss-cross pattern of leather cord, and some PVA glue to make sure it never slips.