Introduction: Aging Medical Bones & "Fallout 3" Gore Bags.

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This instructable will explain how to quickly and easily add a bit of realism to the hard plastic bones you buy from medical supply companies, and give a suggested use for them in "Fallout 3:" Gore Bags.These bones are great for movie props or Halloween decorations, and WAY better than those cheap foam ones you get on the Halloween Aisle. I saw this same technique used before and thought I'd share it here.

Step 1: Supplies

Supplies you will need:

- Black Latex/Acrylic paint
- Wood Stain (Works better with polyurethane mixed in. I did this project without it)
- Rags
- Sponge Brushes
- Bones

A note about Wood Stain

The shade you use is all down to personnel preference. I chose a muddy brown "misstint" because it was half the price. The key is to not go too light or too dark. Shoot for the mid-range. I was going to buy a darker shade of oak before I saw this can of "misstint."

Where to get Bones

The company I prefer to buy bones from is the Anatomical Chart Company. They have a large range of everything from full size university quality skeletons to a bag of Misc. Bones. If you look around you may be able to find some of these items for less money. Most recently I purchased a bag of bone from Biovere for about half the price.

Step 2: Painting

1. In a separate container thoroughly mix a 50/50 water to paint solution. A little bit should go a long way.

2. Dip a rag into the Paint-Water then apply it to the bone. Be sure to work the paint into the all the over hangs and pits in the bone. Try to keep the paint thin and wipe in one direction so as to create a "grain" on the bone .

3. Allow the bone to dry.

Note: If you want, you can stop here. I think the bone looks 100% better already!

Step 3: Staining

1. Using a sponge brush apply stain to the bone. Once again being sure to get stain in the hard to reach areas.

2. Using a rag lightly wipe away the excess stain. You should leave just a thin layer (see below for why).

3. Allow to dry.
Note: if left on to thick it will take forever to dry. If you want it thick you will have to do multiple coats. Alternately you can wait about 12 hours and use a paper towel to wipe off what isn't dry, which creates an interesting look.

Step 4: Not-quite-Final Notes

Feel free to repeat steps 2 and 3 until you get the effect you want. I even did coat where I mixed a little of the paint and the stain to get a darker brown. You might also try staining or painting over some areas again while leaving others with just one coat.

You might also consider trying different colors of paint and/or stain to add more detail depending on how you want your bone to look (i.e. like it just had the flesh ripped off, like its been buried hundreds of years, etc.).


The sky is the limit.
Thanks for reading my first Instructable!
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Step 5: Do More: "Fallout 3" Gore Bags

This Instructable was created while I was in the process of making these mini "Fallout 3" Gore bags.

To make the meaty chunks I used the process found here to apply foam and paint to some of the bones (I did not use liquid latex).

I would have liked to; A.) had bigger net bags ( I made these out of part of an old discarded volley ball net) and B.) Made more meaty bits.

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