Introduction: Minfinity Gauntlet (the Infinity Gauntlet- But Mini!)

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About: I'm an Lord of the Rings fan (books, not movies) and lover of many fantasy books, as well as a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Everyone who has seen Marvel movies can agree that the props are awesome. Lots of people want the collectors versions of the arc reactor, the infinity stones, the infinity gauntlet, etc. But if you are like me and don’t have anywhere near the money for those, then we have to resort to other means.

Introducing, the Minfinity Gauntlet. It’s small, made of polymer clay, which is easily found in craft stores and is quite affordable for even the average teenager. It has all the infinity stones, and it’s small size is a huge wow factor. Who doesn’t like the idea of a pocket size all-powerful world-destroying weapon? Nobody. Ant-man loves the idea. Now, let’s cover our materials.

Supplies

Polymer clay, in gold and another color. (I use scrap pieces from other projects)

Small glass beads (1 for each infinity stone. Make sure you get all of them!)

White acrylic paint (this may be confusing, but trust me.)

Tools

A small ball tool. If you don’t have one of these, the round head of a pin works just fine.

A needle tool. The other end of the pin works for this!

A rolling pin. Not the one you use for food! Polymer clay isn’t food safe, and you’ll want something smaller anyway.

A blade. I have a special clay blade, but an exacto knife works perfectly. I ended up needing one in this project anyway.

Step 1: Setting Up for Success

Tips for working with clay.

1. Wash your hands! Lighter colors really show the dust that comes off your hands. While that won’t be a huge problem when working with gold, it’s a good habit.

2. Cut your fingernails! Long fingernails make little dents and marks all over your project, especially if it is small. While some marks are inevitable, cutting your nails greatly reduces the risk.

3. Pick a variety of reference images. I have a digital art rendering, a picture of a collector’s item, and a picture of a plastic toy. Choose ones from different sides, and in different positions, so you can get the most realistic look that you can.

4. If your clay gets too warm, it squishes around a lot. If your clay feels too squishy to work with, throw it in a freezer or fridge for a minute or so to firm it up.

Step 2: Starting the Shape

With the Reality Stone, reality can be whatever you want it to be, and that’s about how it is with polymer clay. To get started molding it into the gauntlet, get your not-gold clay and get a big blob about the size of your thumb. Then start rolling it around on your work surface. I use a ceramic tile, as it’s smooth, easy to clean, and can actually work as a baking sheet for the clay. Anyway, roll it around until it mushes around easily without cracking. Then roll it into a log about as thick as your thumb. Look at your reference image, and determine what position the fingers and palm will be in, and start molding the clay into the palm shape. For me, that meant making a bit of a wrist by narrowing the log, then flattening and bending the soon-to-be palm slightly back. This is the body of the project, so make sure this is how you want it before moving on. That includes making sure the bottom is flat. I then hollowed out a whole in the bottom so it used less clay and would bake faster.

Step 3: Covering the Shape

Now that you have a Thanos-hand-shape, it is time to cover it in gold! Roll your gold clay out really thin, and then drape it over your hand shape. Rub and smooth gently with your fingers. Don’t worry about getting seams nice. Just make sure the palm and bottom are still smooth. It is very important that you don’t poke through the gold layer, because gold clay doesn’t patch well.

Step 4: Details!

Start rolling out little sausage shapes from your gold clay to be fingers. Don’t attach these to the top of the hand, stick them to the back, blending them in. This will create a much more natural look. Position your fingers to match the picture you want. (mine are in the snapping position). Then start adding details. Now, because the gauntlet is so detailed, I’m not going to give you exact steps. Instead, I’ll give you some techniques to make the different sorts of details.

Rolling snakes out and sticking them on makes the seams on the palm very well.

Roll out and cut rectangles and panels to make the layers of the gauntlet.

Press the tip and sides of your needle tool into the clay to make details too small to form from clay, like the detailed edges.

DO NOT PRESS IN YOUR BEADS YET! Wait for the next step.

Step 5: The Infinity Stones

Take your ball tool, and make little hollows for your beads. Don’t just push in, but press while moving the head of the tool around a little so the space will be big enough to hold the stones. Then, using the head of your ball tool, paint the spaces white on the inside. Weird? The white will actually make the colors of your glass beads more vibrant. Then, once the paint is dry, you can press them in and wrap thin snakes of clay around them, blending into the rest of the clay.

Step 6: Baking!

Once the detail on your gauntlet is looking right, it is time to bake! Following the instructions on your package, bake the piece until finished. A few tips for you are:

Fully baked clay isn’t fully hard until it has cooled, so don’t leave it in just because it’s still not hard.

Put a little tin foil tent over the fingers. Because the fingers are thin, they will burn if you don’t protect them like this. Bakers do this for piecrusts too.

A hard piece makes a sort of clinking sound when tapped against a plate or ceramic tile.

And, baking clay smells kind of bad, and burning clay smells worse! I bake my projects in a toaster oven in my garage, so I don’t get my house all smelly.

Please make sure to wear an oven mitt and to follow all appropriate safety precautions. Thanos may have blackened his hand using the stones, but that doesn’t mean you need to burn your hands making a model of them.

Step 7: The End(game)

Now your gauntlet is done! You can touch up burnt patches with acrylic paint if you need too. Then, it’s time to find a place to display it. I have a mini “glass case”, actually a plastic container that I bought Dungeons and Dragons dice in. It’s the perfect size for my model. Here you can see it sitting next to my computer mouse for size comparison.

Thank you for reading this Instructable. I have never yet had someone post in the “I made it” section, so if you do follow this, please show me! If you have any questions, please ask, I would be happy to help. Thanks again, and I love you 3000!