Making Bolvars hammer, was definetely a difficult and long project.
3D Printing
I started with the skulls, since i wanted to experiment with casting them, so I got two 3D printed skulls made to be about the correct size i wanted.

Casting
I made a form, and placed them within after filling out the holes and such in the skull with clay, to get the proper casting. Then i poured thickend latex over it, to catch all the details, and finally i poured in plaster to support the latex casting.
Then i used foam clay, and placed it into the latex form, i pushed it into all the details, and finally added bits of foam, to fill out the middle of the skull, and finished it with the foam clay.
Highly detailed result
That i did to a large and small skull, which resulted in these two highly detailed skulls.

Unfortunately even though the big skull is looking absolutely awesome, its not nearly beastly enough, so i had to scrap it, and carve one my self. Which is not easy!
Carving the skull!
I carved the skulls from two large pieces of foam glued together, and drew on the shape, and started carving. I added the backing to match the propertions better.
Finally with these two sides complete, I could begin with the base of the hammer it self.
Base hammer build
I made it with with thick pieces of foam glued together, with a softer foam on the front, for the hitting surface, since it would make it more bounce instead of hard, and therefore safe for larp.
For the next part, I glued on the sides and started to add the spikes on the front, again made maybe a bit wider and less “sharp” to be larp safe.
Adding durable spikes
Then I made the spikes for the back, Witch I recessed into it, to give it way more strength in case of it being hit on.
The bottom with skull and spikes
Then i made the bottom where i used the small skull I casted earlier. The spikes on the bottom are made so they should be more durable when in use for larp.
Spikes and further details
Added more smaller spikes, and the “branches” covering the surface, and finishing the surface generally with battle damage and the cracks.
Latex and finish
I finished it by spraying it with latex, metal base color with metallic dry brushing, and some blueing, wich on these images appear a lot harsher than in real life.
Although I haven’t got an image of it, i finished the handle with a black leather wrap.
This was just a short post about the build of this hammer, it took several weeks to complete, and an entire weekend to paint, because of all the cracks, details and the sheer size of it.
But in the end, im satisfied with it. I made it with only the images from the initial trailer with Bolvar, so the reference images were of poor quality. So there is certainly differences between the result and how it actually looks.