Staff of Ra Headpiece From Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

This is the Staff of Ra headpiece from the first movie of Indiana Jones. It was designed by someone to reveal the location of the Ark of the Covanant. I`m really into making movie props, I`ve got a lot of them lying around. The third picture is my Indiana Jones collection. I made the headpiece out of stacks of paper for the paper contest, but it actually ended one day earlier than I thought it was going to :) The headpiece measures three and a quarter inches in diameter. Also, if any of you guys have any movie props that you`d like me to make, please tell me, because I`m always looking for any new ideas.

Materials :)

White fax paper

Earphone wires

Gold metallic paint

Gold wire

Black permanent marker

Glass gems, preferably red. I used green because it was the only color I had, but orange or yellow will work too.

Gold chain

Clear nail polish

Hot glue gun

Superglue

Pliers

Paintbrush

Scissors and X-Acto knife

Step 1: Tracing, Printing and Cutting

I`m sorry I can`t give you the picture in a pdf file, but my computer won`t support adobe reader. But, to save the first two pictures, on your computer, right click on the picture and press, save image as, and hit save. Next, shrink the picture to half the page, and then print them off. Now take the first picture and trace it four times on a sheet of paper. Outline the tracings with a black pen, and then copy it on your printer five times. Cut all twenty pieces out. Use the X-Acto knife to cut out the center pieces.

Step 2: Gluing

Start gluing the pieces of paper together. After about five pieces stop and place it under a couple of heavy books and let it dry for about half an hour, otherwise it`ll become warped. Glue another five pieces onto the first five, and let dry for another half hour under the books. Do this until all twenty pieces are glued together. Glue the top and bottom pieces onto both sides. Then let it dry under the books overnight.

The next day it should be as stiff as a board and just as hard.

For the raised lines around the piece I used earphone wires. Just cut off the ends and pull the wires apart. With superglue glue the wires onto the original picture following the lines on both the front and back. Glue on the little candlesticks on the tops. Let dry.

Step 3: Painting

Now that the wires are on, take your black marker and trace over the lines of the wings and the letters so that they show up through the paint. Next, paint a thin layer of the gold metallic paint over the drawings. After it dries, draw over the lines again. Continue in this way until the original pictures can no longer be seen through the paint. Let it dry completely.

Step 4: Gluing the Wire Rim

Take two long pieces of wire and clamp a pair of pliers on one end. Twist the wires together to form a long rope. You can also do it in a vise, and use both hands. When you`re finished, trim the ends to the correct length.

With the hot glue gun make a thin line around the outside edge of the headpiece and press the twisted wire into the glue all the way around. Hold it until it dries. Then while the glue gun is still on, glue the glass gem into the middle of the birds head. I also added a smaller gem of the same color onto the back as well just to make it look like the gem went all the way through, like the original one.

Next add two coats of clear nail polish to shine it up and protect the paint. I also added a gold chain.

Step 5: The Stand

You can also make a stand if you want, by cutting a piece of cardboard five inches long and one and a quarter inches wide. Fold it in half and cut a small nick in the top for the headpiece to sit in. Add a couple of coats of gold paint.