Uncharted 2 belt buckle

I picked up the brass buckle with no coin holder and no holes...but the back of the buckle has pilot holes for drilling the holes. I figure I can do some modifications and spend a little more money and pick up a brassy coin holder from another buckle.
 
Couldn't the coin be created to give off the illusion of depth in the spots between the "Sun Rays" just by shading the metal darker? Or am I way off?

Has anyone really settled on what exactly the color of the buckle is? Is it silver or is it the brass color like the UC3 buckle?

This seems to be getting a little to complicated considering it's just a belt buckle. :(
 
Couldn't the coin be created to give off the illusion of depth in the spots between the "Sun Rays" just by shading the metal darker? Or am I way off?

Has anyone really settled on what exactly the color of the buckle is? Is it silver or is it the brass color like the UC3 buckle?

This seems to be getting a little to complicated considering it's just a belt buckle. :(

Im certain the buckle in the game gold or a brass color, not silver.
There isnt a single shot of the buckle being silver in the entire game.

On a real buckle, the way you can tell if its silve is by looking at the brightest area where light is reflecting off of the buckle.
If it's a silver buckle reflecting yellowish light, it will have alot more white reflecting off of it than if it was made of gold or brass.

Anyhoo, I got my buckle today. I ordered a used gold buckle which has enough weathering to make it look a bit brassy without that gaudy bling feel.

IMG_2240b.jpg
 
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Im certain the buckle in the game gold or a brass color, not silver.
There isnt a single shot of the buckle being silver in the entire game.

On a real buckle, the way you can tell if its silve is by looking at the brightest area where light is reflecting off of the buckle.
If it's a silver buckle reflecting yellowish light, it will have alot more white reflecting off of it than if it was made of gold or brass.

Anyhoo, I got my buckle today. I ordered a used gold buckle which has enough weathering to make it look a bit brassy without that gaudy bling feel.

IMG_2240b.jpg

That looks like a good start! And that color is PERFECT! That's why I was a bit hesitant to order a gold/brass one.....too damn blinged out!!
 
So...

the shaping of the coin is more or less done. This now fits perfectly into my bezel. The surface is concave to emerge slightly over the bezel. There is now a "coin-like" border or deepening to make it really 3D.

Before making the molds for metal casting, a lot of clearing work will be necessary to smooth the surface (in between the rays it will stay rough)...
 
So...

the shaping of the coin is more or less done. This now fits perfectly into my bezel. The surface is concave to emerge slightly over the bezel. There is now a "coin-like" border or deepening to make it really 3D.

Before making the molds for metal casting, a lot of clearing work will be necessary to smooth the surface (in between the rays it will stay rough)...

NIIIICE!!! :cheers

And it fits into the buckle?! Perfect. Can't wait to see that coin cleaned and painted up! LOVE your work!!
 
Figured this might help some of you who are deciding on what kind of buckle to buy.

Front, back, and side shots. It's hefty without being heavy. The front "ring" isn't loose, and doesn't seem to move at all. The hook on the back that attaches the belt to the buckle is pretty long, so even with thick belts, this one is a good option.:thumbsup

This one is the $7 one from the eBay shop, in their silver/black combo. I love it! I know, the brass/gold one looks more the part, but I thought it looked too shiny and new. I'm not in the weathering game either, so I went with this. Hope this helps!
 
Figured this might help some of you who are deciding on what kind of buckle to buy.

Front, back, and side shots. It's hefty without being heavy. The front "ring" isn't loose, and doesn't seem to move at all. The hook on the back that attaches the belt to the buckle is pretty long, so even with thick belts, this one is a good option.:thumbsup

This one is the $7 one from the eBay shop, in their silver/black combo. I love it! I know, the brass/gold one looks more the part, but I thought it looked too shiny and new. I'm not in the weathering game either, so I went with this. Hope this helps!


That looks sweet, man!

Its a shame these buckles arent made from a brass base....Then we could simply strip the plating off of it.
 
I think I may just go for the gold one....It'll go good with my Caddy and my gold tooth. LOL

Seriously though, I think you could probably dull down the shine on them.
 
I'm sure there is some way to weather them (brillo pad comes to mind), but I'm just worried I'd mess it up in some horrific way, strip the gold color off of it, and you'd see the steel under the gold. If I weather the silver/black one, it'll just look duller, not a different color.

Pics of the caddy and tooth? :D :D :D
 
I'll take them after I release my first rap album. LOL

About the buckle.....I doubt I'd try and rub off the finish using something that abrasive but there might be something I can use to dull the shine a bit, if it's shiny to begin with. It might not turn out to be that bad in person. You never know what kind of lighting conditions this stuff is taken under.
 
Proceeded with the finishing of my UC2 buckle.

I think it is pretty easy to dull the chrome finish of the silver buckles. If one do not have two left hands, there is not much that can go wrong. In the end it looks like old silver (see picture before and after grinding).

The more chrome you remove the more will the underlying copper layer become visible (you see some of these areas in the picture). These are good news because the copper can be easily electroplated etc.

At the moment I will leave the copper as it is, because I like that "heavy aged" look a lot...
 
Proceeded with the finishing of my UC2 buckle.

I think it is pretty easy to dull the chrome finish of the silver buckles. If one do not have two left hands, there is not much that can go wrong. In the end it looks like old silver (see picture before and after grinding).

The more chrome you remove the more will the underlying copper layer become visible (you see some of these areas in the picture). These are good news because the copper can be easily electroplated etc.

At the moment I will leave the copper as it is, because I like that "heavy aged" look a lot...

Beautiful! Love the look of the "Aged" one. So all you did was grind it?
 
Something I'd thought I'd share. These shots here are from early preview photos from Uncharted 2. As you can see the original buckle was NOT the "Rising Sun" as seen in the final build of the game. I started putting my UC2 outfit together pretty early on and used these as a reference for the buckle at the time. Given it was just a plain silver one it wasn't to hard to find a close match. This is what I've used since then because I could never find the right match to the "Rising Sun" buckle.

00_jpg_display.jpg


unchartedamongtheive2.jpg


My "early concept" buckle..

2011-03-26201945.jpg



In regards to the current Coin Buckle's you guys found. I still don't think the frame is exactly right. The buckle's outer shape does not totally match the rectangle frame you see in the game and the posters. In fact the outer shape of the coin buckle's seem to fit INSIDE the rectangle outer frame of the buckle with the "Rising Sun" taking up most of the buckle. It definitely looks larger than the coin slot.

Uncharted2.jpg
 
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