Total Disaster First Try
Started simple – grabbed some modeling clay I had lying around from my kid’s art supplies. Squished it into a rough trophy shape on my kitchen counter while dinner was cooking. Looked okay until I tried adding those fancy crown details… pffft, turned into a total mess. Melted bits from the clay dryer made weird drips on one side. Honestly? It looked like a sad, lopsided muffin. Trashed it right there over the sink.
Digging Deeper & Finding Tips
After that mess, I actually bothered doing some digging online – no way I was wasting more supplies. Stumbled across a few guides talking about trophy copies. Seemed like five things kept popping up:
- Weight Matters: Real ones feel heavy. Plain plastic or clay feels like a toy.
- Shine is Key: Dull finishes scream fake from a mile away.
- Crown Ain’t Optional: Those little arches and lions are the whole point.
- Base Blues: Plain base? Nah, gotta have that league name and ball pattern.
- Gold Ain’t Just Yellow:
Round Two: The Actual Build
Went shopping Tuesday night after work. Grabbed:
- A heavy glass vase base from the thrift store ($2!).
- A sturdy plastic ball for the main body (kid’s sports aisle!).
- Thin craft wire and pliers for the crown parts.
- Two types of gold paint – metallic and an “antique gold”.
- Black modeling epoxy putty (not clay!) for the details.
Thursday night was build night. Super glued the plastic ball onto the heavy glass vase base – immediately felt way better, solid weight. Took the wire and twisted small arches, glued them in a circle on top of the ball for the crown base. This part was fiddly as heck. Bent like three before getting six that looked semi-even. Used tiny strips of that black epoxy putty to cover the wire, smoothing it with a wet finger to look like the solid crown parts. Pressed little blob shapes on the crown tips for the lions (they look like peas, honestly, but hey). For the main base, rolled out a thin snake of putty, pressed it around the glass base to form the band, then painstakingly etched “PREMIER LEAGUE” and the ball pattern onto it with a toothpick. Took ages and my eyes were crossing.
The Make-or-Break Paint Job
Let it dry overnight – seriously, DO NOT TOUCH IT. Friday evening: paint time. Primed the whole thing white first. Lesson learned from past projects: primer helps the gold stick. Did thin coats of the metallic gold first. Waited an hour. Then did a super light dusting with the antique gold spray paint on the textured bits like the etched letters and crown tips. Boom. That subtle difference? Massive. Suddenly didn’t look like cheap plastic anymore. Let it dry fully overnight.
Final Result & Thoughts
Put it on the shelf Saturday morning. Not gonna lie, it’s not perfect. Up close, you can totally tell it’s homemade. The lions are vague blobs, the lettering is kinda wobbly. But from a few feet away? Under the shelf light? Looks legit cool and has that satisfying heft. Whole project cost maybe $15 and some serious elbow grease. Learned it’s all about getting the heavy base, nailing that crown shape (however roughly!), and layering the gold paints. Would I do it again? Maybe, but I might splurge on a little lion mold next time!