WORKSHOP

Brown Trout Finial

August 2023

I am a fly fisherman, and trout are the fish I travel with the camper to find. The stock eagle above the Doug flag never felt quite right, so I replaced it with something more personal: a brown trout.

I modified a realistic trout model with a base that would friction-fit the existing flagpole, then printed it on an Anycubic Photon M3 Premium in Siraya Tech Build resin. The resin's thermal resistance made it a good fit for a part that would live outside, while its workability helped with fitting the base.

Instead of trying to make the surface perfectly clean, I added casting-like imperfections with CA glue and primer. I then applied a mixture of bronze and brass metal coatings, worked patina into the surface, and sealed everything under a clear coat.

The finished piece is still resin, but the deliberately imperfect surface and oxidized color make it look more like an old cast-metal fitting, and much more at home above the camper's flag.