The Green Dragon

You can search far and wide,

You can drink the whole town dry,

But you'll never find a beer so brown

As the one we drink in our hometown!

You can drink your fancy ales,

You can drink 'em by the flagon,

But the only brew for the brave and true

Comes from the Green Dragon!

For this Instructable I made the sign of the Green Dragon Inn at Bywater. I also made a post for it to hang from.

Materials for the sign:

• Foam
• Concrete/cement
• Acrylic and spray paints

Tools for the sign:

• Exact-O knife
• Sand paper and small files
• Paint brushes

Materials for the post:

• Square metal pipes
• Spray paint
• Eyelet screws
• Chain

Tools for the post:

• Wire feed welder
• Grinder/saw

For the base of the sign I used foam, but you could totally use wood if you have the carving and woodworking skills that I am greatly lacking in. And since I am lacking in these skills, I used foam. So first I printed out a picture from online of the Green Dragon Inn sign and cut it out.

Then I laid this on the piece of foam and secured it down. Using a pencil, I traced the details on the paper, pressing it into the foam. Then I removed the paper and retraced the lines on the foam in sharpie marker. Next I cut the outline of the sign out.

Using an Exact-O knife, I cut out the top half, leaving an even space of edge all around, as shown in the picture above. Then I cut out half of the foam in the lower area, leaving the letters and dragon intact, an also cutting half of the inside edge away. Again, the pictures above can probably explain better than I can. Then I sanded everything smooth.

I forgot to carve the detail lines in the wings, legs, and face before I covered the whole thing in cement, so remember to do that first and it makes everything a whole lot easier.

At this point I covered the sign in cement. I used a paintbrush as to make sure to get in all the nooks and crannies. I covered the front, sides, inside edges, and back in a few layers of the cement. When all was completely dry, I sanded it just a little to make it look nice, but not so much as to get rid of the stone texture. The sign is supposed to be made of wood, but I have no woodcarving skills whatsoever, and I thought a stone texture would look just as good.

For the base coat I spray painted the entire thing white. This will make all the other colors on top nice and bright. For the background I painted a dark brown with acrylic paints. Over the dark brown I dry-brushed a lighter brown to bring out the texture.

I then made a black wash by mixing black paint and water. I lightly brushed this over the painted parts and let it seep into the deeper parts. This will give it an older weathered look. I did the same thing with the green on the dragon, and the yellow on the letters and horns. I then painted the letters gold.

The sign has been completed! I think it turned out really nice. Now it's time to get started on the post.

For the post I used a 25 inch long square pipe. I marked and cut 20 inches. That leaves a 20 inch piece and a 5 inch piece. Set the 5 inch piece aside for now. Mark the center of the 20 inch piece, 10 inches on each side. Then cut a 45 degree angle on each side towards the 10 inch line. Now bend the pipe and you should have an L shape. I know that probably didn't make any sense at all, but hopefully the pictures will help. Anyway, weld the seam shut. I then sanded the welded seam smooth with a grinder.

Next using the 5 inch piece cut it at an angle on both sides so it will sit flush between the 90 degree angle. Weld this piece on and grind it smooth.

I screwed the eyelets into the post and the sign. I spray painted the post and the eyelets black, then I attached them both with chains.

Done! I hope you enjoyed the Instructable and learned something new!