Okay, so I decided to try my hand at making a trophy replica recently. It wasn’t for anything super official, more of a personal project, really. My kid’s team had this little local competition, you know, just for fun, and the prize they got was… well, let’s just say it lacked a certain oomph. Looked a bit sad, honestly. So, I thought, hey, I could probably make something that looks a bit more like a proper trophy, something they’d actually be proud to show off.
Getting Started
First thing I did was look up some pictures online. Just general trophy shapes, nothing too fancy. I wanted something classic looking, like those old-school cups. I figured I needed a base, a stem, and the cup part on top. Simple enough, right?
Then I went scrounging around the garage and the shed. Found a decent block of wood that looked about right for the base. For the stem and cup, that was trickier. I didn’t have anything just lying around that would work.
Materials I ended up gathering:
- The wood block for the base.
- An old plastic vase I found tucked away – kinda had the right cup shape if I cut it down.
- A piece of thick wooden dowel rod for the stem.
- Lots of wood glue and some stronger epoxy stuff.
- Sandpaper – different grits.
- Metallic gold spray paint. Definitely needed that shiny finish.
- Black paint for the base.
- Some masking tape.
The Actual Making Part
Alright, the fun part. I started with the base. Cut the wood block to a size I liked, then spent a good while sanding the edges to make them smooth and slightly rounded. Didn’t want any sharp corners. Once it felt nice and smooth, I gave it a couple of coats of black paint. Set that aside to dry completely.
Next was tackling the cup. That plastic vase was thin, so I carefully measured and cut off the bottom part using a small hand saw. It was a bit jagged, so more sanding was needed to get a clean edge. Then I drilled a hole in the bottom, just big enough for the dowel rod.
The stem was easy – just cut the dowel rod to the length I wanted. Sanded the ends smooth. Then came the assembly. I used the strong epoxy to glue the dowel rod into the hole I drilled in the plastic cup part. Let that set properly. Then I drilled a matching hole partway into the center of the wooden base and used more epoxy to fix the stem (with the cup attached) onto the base. Had to prop it up carefully while the glue dried so it stood straight.
Once everything was solid, I masked off the black base carefully with tape. Took the whole thing outside – spray paint fumes are no joke! – and started applying the gold paint. This took a few thin coats. You gotta be patient, let each coat dry a bit before the next one, otherwise, it just drips and looks awful. Learned that the hard way on a previous project. Got a bit of paint on my fingers, but that’s part of the process.
Finishing Touches
After the gold paint was totally dry (I left it overnight just to be sure), I peeled off the masking tape from the base. The line wasn’t perfectly crisp, but good enough for a homemade job. I thought about adding a little plaque, but decided against it to keep it simple. Just gave the whole thing a final wipe-down.
And that was pretty much it. Stood back and looked at it. You know what? It didn’t look half bad! It definitely looked more like a trophy than the original little thing they got. It wasn’t perfect, mind you. If you look closely, you can see it’s handmade. But it had weight to it, it gleamed under the light, and it felt substantial.
Was it worth the effort? Yeah, I think so. Took an afternoon and a bit of the next morning. Seeing the kids’ eyes light up when I showed them the ‘upgraded’ trophy made it totally worthwhile. Sometimes making something with your own hands, even something simple like this, is just plain satisfying.
