This project started out as a Jimm Flintstone resin shift knob. I have a good friend that collects Spartan warrior stuff so I converted this from a piece that started out as a skull wearing a German helmet. I ground off all the Nazi badges and reshaped the helmet with a Dremel tool and made the rest with sheet plastics and Evergreen pieces.
At this point I painted it a mix of gold,copper and brown and called it done. It was darker than the pictire show.
I gave him the finished piece and he was happy, but returned it to me later to repair something he had damaged. I fixed it and set it next to my saltwater aquarium and it sat for several weeks,waiting on him to pickup. One day I noticed something different, the salty conditions had reacted with the paint and created this patina effect that actually helped it out in my opinion. He Loved the effect.
You know , I had completely forgotten about that. There was a time I had a few salt water aquariums around our house. I used to keep the Pacu’s in my work room. I never thought about the nice patina, but I knew it happened the longer something sat close to that Fish Tank!
So, from that time forward while I had them I would set my ships on a hangar rack OVER the tank to get that effect. Looked great on Workboats and Ironclads! And it was fun watching the fish trying to get a nibble of them! My Pacu’s had a weakness for Blueberries!