My Dumb Projects

New Prop Blog!!

2010-03-04T15:39:00.002-07:00

I have heard the cries of the iPhone crowd and have started a new blog that will take over from My Dumb Projects.

Blind Squirrel Props

All the posts from here have been transferred as well as most of the comments. A few of the longer projects have been re-written to be one entry and irrelevant details have been omitted.

On the new blog, I've made it easier to find old projects by categorizing the posts, adding a search window and listing archived projects by name instead of by date.

For those who haven't noticed, I have a link to the right for my Twitter feed where I'll be showing daily progress on current projects (mistakes and all) and links for my prop-making friends. Be sure to check them out too!

See ya over there!

Fate Stay Night: Lancer's Spear

2010-02-22T09:13:00.004-07:00

I was commissioned to build Gáe Bulg, Lancer's spear from the anime "Fate Stay Night.

The final assembled spear is over 6' long.

It unscrews for transportation.

Detail of the head and tail pieces.

I used a great metallic red paint which looked like wet blood! The piping is puffy paint.

If you want to see how it was done, go to Blind Squirrel Props
Go to Projects > Anime > (arrow left or right at bottom of list) > Lancer's Spear

Guilty Gear: Paracelsus

2010-01-17T23:50:00.005-07:00

I was commissioned to build this massive replica of the Paracelsus character from the game Guilty Gear. It will be 6-1/2' tall.

The eyes can be rotated to look in any direction.

Detail of the face.

If you want to see how it was done, go to Blind Squirrel Props
Go to Projects > Gaming > Paracelsus

My Dumb Projects is dead....

2010-01-04T00:28:00.002-07:00

...but the good news is that it's being reincarnated in a cooler form!

My new site Blind Squirrel Props is taking over what I started here. It is the new home of my archived prop WIP posts. I've gone through all the entries, cleaned up photos and edited out anything that didn't make sense, and organized them into easy to search categories.

While you're there, be sure to check out a project that I've been working on (with my friend Arvin) for the past five years, COLLECTIVE. What started many years ago as a comic book has evolved into a multigenerational story line about the colonization of a distant planet. Read new chapters EVERY Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can also explore character bios and timelines. Maps, illustrations and other cool stuff are also on the way...all of it in the form of a future historical archive.

I will continue to keep uploading (semi) daily pictures of my prop building to my Twitter Feed and also post other information on our new blog.

I may continue to post some non-project related info here such as my supply recommendations (Part 1, Part 2) but Blind Squirrel Props will be doing the heavy lifting from here on out.

Thanks for reading this blog. I may not have a comment section on the new blog but I hope that you'll check it out and keep in touch!

Bababooey to you all!
BlindSquirrel

Buso Renkin: Sunlight Heart Lance

2009-12-10T11:14:00.002-07:00

I was commissioned to build Kazuki's weapon from the anime Buso Renkin. I did a 3D model to work out dimensions and proportions.

The shaft was too thin to embed a steel core so I started with 3/4" maple for strength and rigidity.

The grip widens near the head so I needed to lathe wood that would merge with the shaft. I cut a channel for a temporary maple shaft in two pieces of bass wood, bolted them together.

The assembly was shaped on the lathe and then the pieces were removed to be glued to the final shaft.

I used a Dremel sander to shape the transition to the square shaft.

I used the same method to turn the three rings and then attached it to the shaft.

The final shaft grip.

I inserted a threaded rod into the end of the shaft to hold the tail parts. The arrowhead was cut from a solid piece of maple, the ball is a wooden drawer handle and the part under it was turned from dowel.

The arrowhead inserts were made from scraps of maple. The tail spike couldn't be glued to the shaft until these pieces were in place.

Before I attached it, I cut the details and panel lines into the arrowhead.

I cut the tail details from thin styrene.

The recessed areas on the lance head were made from styrene. I used Pepakura to work out the geometry.

I cut the profile of the head from a thick sheet of styrene. I cut a channel for the shaft to fit into.

I then used styrene to lock a flattened area of the shaft into place. The shaft will be removable for shipping.

I cut the recess polygons from 1/4" MDF and used styrene to make the diamond details.

After the polygons were made, it became obvious that the recesses were too deep. I re-made both sides to the proper depth.

I attached both sides to the profile.

I glued styrene side panels to the head.

I filled the interior with expanding foam to support the geometry while keeping it light.

I started shaping the foam at the back.

I covered the exposed foam with Bondo.

More Bondo to form the tip.

The thickness of the plastic threw off the Pepakura pattern so I got some distortion and misaligned edges. I was able to correct these flaws with more Bondo.

The head so far.

After looking at the reference material, I discovered that the tip need a knife edge rather than the point I had. I added Bondo to build up some thickness and then sanded a proper knife edge.

A quick primer coat shows the nearly completed head.

After all the minor seams and flaws were filled, I painted the head with a base coat of silver.

I masked and painted the color areas of the head.

I cut the zig-zag detail from thick styrene and glued them into the recesses.

For some reason the polygons at the other end no longer fit after the orange areas were glued in. I would have to remove 1/8" from each edge to make them fit properly.

The final assembled lance. It is over 5 feet long.

It ships disassembled and will be glued together by the client.

Detail of the finished tail spike.

Lord Of The Rings: Helm Of The Witchking

2009-11-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

I saw some interesting tutorials on making props and costumes with hot glue and cardboard so I decided to try it out. The Witchking Helm has been on my build list for a long time and its simple shapes seemed doable in cardboard.

I used wooden dowels sharpened on the belt sander to make the spikes.

To get a rough forged texture, I coated the cardboard with Bondo filler.

I sanded the surface mostly smooth, leaving voids exposed to simulate corrosion or damage.

I glued on the spikes with a dollop of hot glue.

I used epoxy putty to make the base of the spikes, texturing the putty with coarse sandpaper.

I painted a base coat of black over the entire helm.

I used an iron based paint, leaving black exposed in the recessed areas.

I went over the helm with a wash of black to accent the recessed areas more.

A final drybrushed coat of silver pulls it all together. Edges are hit with a highlight of silver to simulate scuffed metal.

The final helmet modeled on my head casting. I made a black hood to be worn under it hide my face. Visibility is not too bad.

Detail view.

Detail view.

Side view.

Back view.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Ragnell Sword 2

2009-11-02T23:10:00.001-07:00

I received a commission to build another Ragnell sword and decided to make some changes from the previous build. If I don't mention it, I used the same technique as before.

In order to keep the grip as one piece, I glued and bolted together two pieces of basswood after precutting the channel for the steel rod down the center of each side.

I made a template of the curve on the bottom hand grip and drew lines for the fluting.

I carved out the grip flutes with blade, chisel and files.

The blade cap was made with pieces of 1/4" poplar glued together instead of MDF. I shaped it on the belt sander

After all the shaping was done, I filled holes and seams with Bondo.

To get a tight joint, I covered the blade with plastic wrap and filled the gap with Bondo, squishing out any excess.

Instead of using plastic for the trim, I used epoxy putty, sculpting and sanding it to shape.

I used silver and black metallic Rustoleum paint on the grip.

The final sword

Grip detail. I drybrushed some silver on the crossguard to bring out detail and tie the whole sword together.

This is how it was shipped. The client could glue it together upon receipt, although the fit was pretty snug.

Code Geass: Emperor Lelouch's Sword

2009-09-22T09:57:00.002-07:00

I was commissioned to make the sword of Emperor LeLouch from Code Geass. A scabbard to fit it was also requested.

Since the blade is so thin, I decided to make it from a solid piece of 3/4" maple. I cut the side profile on the table saw.

I then tapered the thickness of the blade using the belt sander.

I used a hand plane to bevel the edges of the blade.

I cut a slot in the top of the blade big enough to insert a 1/2" copper pipe which will serve as the handle.

I cut 1/2" MDF for the guard, running bolts through all the pieces to hold them together.

I cut the wings from 1/4" poplar and filled the gap between the MDF with more poplar.

The guard was getting too thick, so I re-cut it in 1/4" thick MDF.

Once everything was bolted and glued together, I puttied up the seams.

To further reduce thickness, I also re-cut the outer trim from 1/4" poplar. These also cover the bolts.

I routered out some shallow holes in the sides of the blade to hold the gems. I also cut some thin plastic to smooth out the bottom of the hole.

I made the blade gems using 1/4" acrylic, shaping it with a Dremel sanding drum.

After sanding, the gem was smoothed with a buffing wheel.

I cut trim from styrene and glued them to the holes.

The feathers on the wings were scribed using an Xacto knife.

The handle trim was made by heating and wrapping thin styrene strips.

Once it was wrapped around, it was trimmed flush. The ends were heated again and the soft plastic welds together.

The plastic trim was glued to the handle.

The pommel was a wooden drawer knob, secured with a threaded rod.

The hilt gems were cut from 1/4" red acrylic. The base was cut from thick styrene.

I glued mylar wrapping paper to the back of all the gems.

I painted the hilt in two gold tones.

When I got a shipping estimate, I found that the sword was too long to ship cross country for a reasonable price. I decided to cut the blade in half.

Fortunately there is a natural color split at the halfway point so the split wouldn't be too noticeable.

I drilled each end and glued an aluminum dowel into one side.

Back together! The client will epoxy it when he gets it.

The round beads were purchased and painted but I made the long beads from maple.

I glued some string into the end of the long bead and strung the round beads and grommet onto it.

I cut the sides of the scabbard from 3/4" MDF.

The top and bottom of the scabbard was made from 1/4" MDF. I glued in some fake suede lining into each side.

Once the sides were glued together, the MDF was sealed and the edges beveled.

I added two rings to the scabbard so that it could be worn from a belt.

I added styrene trim to the opening. I moved the trim away from the opening to protect the sword from getting scratched.

I added a heat formed styrene end cap to the scabbard.

The beads were glued to each side of the hilt.

The final hilt.

The finished sword in scabbard.

The sword outside the scabbard. The sword itself is over 5 feet long.

Doctor Who: Parallel World Transporter

2009-07-27T14:35:00.004-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of the dimensional jumper from the Doctor Who Series Four episode "Journey's End". This was an updated design of the device from "Doomsday".

I started with a block of Basswood and shaped it on the lathe. Here it is with a coat of primer.

The basswood is soft enough that I could hand carve out a section for a block of maple.

I used tin snips to cut the metal "tongue" out of an old hard drive sled.

I chucked 1/2" dowels into the drill press to make a "poor man's lathe". I shaped the pegs with files and sandpaper.

I cut a small piece of styrene to form the bridge connecting the two rings.

I attached some scrap plastic to a lathe faceplate and very carefully scribed the center disc lines.

A test fit of the peg.

All the parts finished and ready for painting!

The final assembled prop. The center yellow is a florescent yellow that hopefully will look lit up under a camera flash.

Side view showing its dimension.

It fits pretty comfortably in your hand. Eat this, Davros!

My Dumb Projects on Twitter

2009-07-15T09:07:00.002-07:00

As much as I personally maligned Twitter for being vapid and worthless, I may have found a good use for it. I am experimenting with posting pictures on a daily basis of my current progress....mistakes and all!

Check it out HERE:

I will continue to post WIP of completed project as usual.

My Supplies Part II

2009-06-22T14:43:00.002-07:00

Here's a few more items that I forgot on the last post.

Using a lathe demands that you locate the center of your stock. A Center Finder is also useful for locating the center in dowels

Craft Picks are really great for applying glue or putty or mixing small amounts of paint. The flat surface works much better than a round tooth pick.

The Contour Gauge is a great tool for matching edges that have to fit together. It's especially helpful for organic shapes.

Mechanical Pencils always keep a nice sharp point. I get 3 packs at a Dollar store. At that price, it's almost not worth re-loading the lead when they run out (but I do anyway).

I don't know if there's a big difference between Wood Glue brands. I've used Tite Bond and Elmer's and both apply smoothly and grip within a minute.

CA Glue is commonly known as "Super Glue". It comes in various thicknesses: thicker glue for filling gaps and thinner for running down seams. I buy the smallest bottle available as they tend to dry out quickly. Pour some out on a piece of cardboard and apply with a toothpick.

A Buffing Wheel inserted in a drill press, hand drill or dremel tool can remove scratches from sanding. I use it mostly when smoothing acrylic gems.

I use painter's Blue Tape for masking areas when painting. It makes a nice tight seal and doesn't peal up any paint it's covering. At least not yet.

In addition to sanding sponges, I like theses Sanding pads for smoothing round or organic shapes. It's good for tight areas too.

If you're doing any work with resins, it's good to have a Digital Timer to keep track of cure times. I also use it to keep track of how long it's been since I glued Part A to Part B.

A holdover from when graphic design was done on a drafting table, the Drafting Brush has second life dusting off my table, props and occasionally me.

I use a Hack Saw for cutting anything to big or unwieldy for the bench tools. Great for metal, PVC, wood...anything that won't yell and run away.

A Coping Saw is used when you need to make tighter turns than the hack saw will allow.

The Jeweler's Saw is for even tight turns. Great for sheet metal and tubing. The blade snaps easily so saw carefully and prepare to replace the blade often.

The Razor saw usually comes with a little miter box so it makes trimming styrene and wood a breeze.

A Shop Vacuum is almost essential for cleaning up all your "work residue". Plus it can be used to power your vacuum table.

Another refugee from my drawing table, I still use a Circle Template for marking parts for cutting or gluing.

I pick up Paper Plates at the dollar store and use them for mixing glue, Bondo or paint.

I'll add more items as I think of them. If you have any suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments!

My Supplies

2009-06-03T14:21:00.001-07:00

I get asked about the materials that I use quite frequently, so I decided to make a list to address those questions

Before I start building, I assemble as much photo reference as I can find. With any luck, I'll find a picture of the prop next to a full body shot of a person so I have reference to scale. Otherwise you have to look for something else to compare it to: a hand, a head, etc. Guns have their own scale as the pistol grip area is relatively the same size on all.

I draw up full size plans in Adobe Illustrator and print them so I have instant size reference while I'm building. Why measure when you can just lay the part on the drawing to compare!

For particularly complex forms or objects with layers, I'll do a virtual rototype in Strata 3D. By working in 3D, I can work out all the depths before building

I used Pepakura, a paper modeling program to generate a pattern for building the Giant Kunai knife blade. Those angles were too much for my mathematically-challenged brain to handle so I let the software do it for me.

MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) is available at any Home Depot or Lowes. It comes in 3/4" , 1/2", 1/4", 1/8" thickness, in sheets of 4' x 8'. MDF sands to a fine powder, has no grain, is easily shaped with dremel, hand tools or even utility knife. You can use any kind of glue on it and with an application of shellac, hardens to resist dents. Watch the cull bin for bargains! Why pay $15 for a piece that you can get for 51¢?

Basswood is a fine grain wood usually used for carving. It is similar to balsa but much stronger. When turned on a lathe, you can quickly get a super smooth surface.

Poplar is a nice fine grain hardwood, available at any Home Depot/Lowes.

Maple is a super dense hardwood. I use it when something needs extra strength but I can't make it out of metal.

Styrene Plastic
The plastic that's used in model kits. You can buy small sheets at most hobby shops but I buy mine from a plastic supply house in town in big 4' x 8' sheets. Some sign shops carry it too.

I've been getting all my casting materials from a local source. They carry the Polytek line. They are very reasonably priced, behave as advertised and have great tech support.

The other major brand is Smooth-On. I have nothing bad to say about any of their products that I've tried, I don't use them anymore because I don't have a local source.

If you have a Harbor Freight in town, you probably know what a great resource it is. Low priced tools and supplies for the hobbyist.
Stuff I buy regularly:

You can never have too many Clamps. These cheap plastic clamps will eventually break but since they're so cheap, who cares?

Rubber Gloves are essential. At the least it keeps paint off your hands but they can also protect your prop from oils from your hands and protect your skin from the horrible glues and chemicals that we use. The nitrile are more expensive than latex but tougher.

I hate sanding but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sanding Sponges. They last forever, work nicely on contours and prevent hand fatigue. The ones with the angled edge are nice for getting in all the nooks and crannies.

I also hate cleaning Brushes too. I buy a set of the small kids brushes, the 1/2 horse hair shop brushes and foam brushes every visit. Use it and toss it!

Mix as much 2-Part Epoxy as you need from the two-chambered syringe. Thick glue that stays where you put it and kicks in about three minutes. There's also a version that cures in 30 minutes but I can't hold something that long.

FolkArt Acrylics
are durable, lightfast acrylic paints. Tons of colors, cheap, fast drying, non-toxic, water cleanup. I'm done with the enamel rattle cans!

Future Acrylic Floor Finish is a great top coat that can be applied with airbrush or paintbrush. dries fast and smells good, too! It really makes metallic paint sing!

The Dremel was my first power tool and it still gets used on a daily basis. My PPSh-41 was built almost exclusively with this tool.

A Heat Gun is the Poor Man's Vacuformer. Heat styrene until glossy and then shape over a form.

Use Bondo Body Filler to fill big gaps, let it harden for a few minutes (until rubbery) and trim off excess with a knife. Sand smooth.

Bondo Spot Filler is the same stuff as model putty at a fraction of the price. Fills smaller gaps for a smooth finish.

Besides something to clean your brushes, you can use Lacquer Thinner to glue styrene together, apply it to a seam with brush or ruling pen and the liquid will run along the crack, MELTING the plastic together. Great for laminating plastic sheet into one solid piece. MUCH cheaper than Liquid Plastic Cement.

The Ruling Pen is an old school drafting tool is great for applying thinner to a seam or CA glue to a small area.

I just use cheap plastic Calipers but it does the trick. Great for measuring parts that fit together. An indispensable tool!

By all means, wear a Respirator to protect your lungs from dust (especially MDF), paint and glue fumes.

By no means are these the best materials to use, but it's what I like. If you have something that works better, leave it in the comments!

Dragon Quest: Roto's Sword

2009-05-28T10:51:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of the Roto's sword and scabbard from the game Dragon Quest.

For the blade, I glued together two sheets 1/4" Poplar with a channel cut to contain a 5/16" steel rod.

After cutting the profile, I shaped the blade edges on the belt sander

The grip was shaped on a lathe from basswood.

I used a long bit to core out the center to house the steel rod.

A test fit of handle on blade

The center rune strips were cut from thick styrene. I found Norse runes that closely matched the reference and carved them into the plastic.

For the pommel, I lathed a yoyo shape from basswood and then drilled out the base.

The pommel now fits perfectly on the handle.

I glued three pieces of MDF to form the guard, leaving a channel for the blade. It was rounded on the router table.

I used a series of files to carve grooves into the curve of the guard.

I glued the guard on to the blade and puttied up the seams. I also inserted screws to give the guard extra strength.

The "bird" shapes for the guard were cut from thick styrene.

I glued on the center rune strips.

To bridge the distance from the rune strip to the bird, I cut some MDF plugs.

Once the styrene was glued down, I used a heat gun to form the "feathers" around the curve.

Once both sides were shaped, I puttied up the seam.

A quick coat of primer to see progress.

I found some nice thick leather to wrap around the scabbard.

I made a scabbard box from 1/4" MDf and reinforced it with MDF in the inside corners.

I rounded it with the router.

The scabbard is to be carried across the back so I got a D-ring as an attachment.

I cut an aluminum strip and pounded it around a nail to form the loop.

I added the D-ring and riveted it to the MDF of the scabbard

I glued black felt into the inside of the scabbard to protect the blade.

I glued the top on and sealed the seam with putty.

To get the rounded profile on the tip, I glued on pieces of 1/4" MDF and sanded them to shape.

The gap was filled with Bondo and sanded smooth.

I heat formed thick styrene plastic over the tip to form the end cap.

Once the imperfections were smoothed out, I cut the decorative slots with a band saw.

For the scabbard collar, I heat formed more plastic around the opening. The blue tape is protecting the felt interior from dust.

I sealed the seam and cut the curved base.

I glued the cap and center band (also heat formed plastic like collar) and gave it all a pretty coat of primer.

I painted the blade and top coated it with Future to protect the finish.

The scabbard and all the "hardware" was also painted. The red applied smoothly...any imperfections you see are from my dusty fingers. It wiped off before top coating.

I applied some extra felt on the top edge to protect the guard when it's put in the scabbard.

Once the collar was glued on, I cut the slot for the guard for a proper fit.

A test fit showing the sword inserted.

I cast some resin gems and glued them to both sides of the guard.

I glued the leather to the scabbard and used upholstery tacks to simulate rivets. I trimmed the nail so that it only went 1/8" into the scabbard surface.

The back of the wrap covers the ugly rivets!

The final sword!

Sword in scabbard.

Super Smash Bros Brawl: Marth's Sword 2

2009-05-18T13:35:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make another Marth sword and scabbard from the video game Super Smash Bros Brawl. You can see the original build HERE. Having done it before, I was able to make a few refinements.

Instead of vacforming a shell over the pommel, I decided to build the bands from strips of styrene.

I made the guard a bit thinner than before so that the "arms" had a more pleasing edge

The scabbard end cap was made from thick styrene with holes cut into it.

Sides were added to make a box. The holes were backed with a very thin styrene.

I wanted to make the design on the scabbard with more relief so I made a master from thicker styrene and used scrapbooking brads for the rivets

I made a mold of the master.

I then cast copies of the master out of resin to be glued to the scabbard. The one on the left is the copy.

The painted design.

The final painted sword

The final sword in the completed scabbard.

I painted the belt loop to match the surrounding details so that it would blend in.

The final end cap. It is painted a slightly more yellow version of gold.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Hikaru's Sword

2009-05-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of the swords from the series "Magic Knight Rayearth". Hikaru's was the last completed of the trio.

For the blade, I used 1/4" Poplar with a channel cut to contain a 5/16" steel rod.

Once the basic dimensions were cut, I shaped the blade edges on the belt sander.

The blade was shaped to leave a 1/8" flat edge to make it "convention safe".

Much putty, primer and sanding later, I have a smooth blade.

The handle was made from Bass Wood and turned on a lathe.

I clamped a hand drill and cored out the handle.

I cut the scallops at the base of the handle.

I used half round styrene to make the trim.

I formed the detail at the top of the blade with thick styrene.

The flat gem detail at the blade tip was made with styrene with the bevel gap filled with Bondo.

The hilt center layer was made by gluing 1/4" poplar pieces.

The second layer was made with 1/8" MDF. The white plastic coating as sanded off.

I used a Dremel to round off the organic details.

A quick test fit of blade, hilt and handle.

I started adding layers of 1/8" MDF.

More layers added.

The completed guard.

The center was built up with 1/4" poplar sheets.

I added half round styrene trim.

1/2" MDF was used to make the base of the hilt center.

MDF was shaped to make the center plate.

The final painted guard.

I built layers with styrene and added a cast resin gem.

The pommel was a cast resin 2" sphere.

Cast resin gems added to all parts of the guard.

The final sword.

The handle comes off for easier shipping. It will later be glued in place

Magic Knight Rayearth: Umi's Sword

2009-05-11T09:12:00.003-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of the swords from the series "Magic Knight Rayearth". Umi's was the second completed of the trio.

Since this blade is so thin, I wouldn't be able to run a steel rod in the core. For maximum strength, I decided to use maple. I constructed a jig to tape the blade at a consistent angle.

I turned the wood to cut the front profile.

Once the basic dimensions were cut, I shaped the blade edges on the belt sander (not shown).

The handle was shaped on the lathe from Bass wood. I drilled out the center to accept a 5/16" steel rod for connecting to the blade.

I used styrene sheets filled with Bondo to shape the upper blade area.

I made a quick cast of the guard area to sculpt the dragons.

I used epoxy putty to add scales to the dragon bodies.

I sculpted the guard using clay trying to keep it symmetrical so the two sides will match up.

The completed sculpt. I made a mold of the body and head for casting in resin separately.

A test fit of a casting of the dragon. The gem master is made from a wooden sphere.

I added the plates to the base of the handle using styrene and Bondo.

I made a maple plug to attach the dragon guard to the steel rod.

The assembled guard test fitting with the gem master.

The assembled and primered dragon guard

The guard painted.

The final sword with cast resin gems.

Guard area details.

Detail of the hilt.

The sword disassembles for transportation although it will have to be glued before using.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Fuu's Sword

2009-05-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of the swords from the series "Magic Knight Rayearth". Fuu's was the first completed of the trio.

The poplar wood that I use for swords only comes in 4 ft lengths. To make up the extra length, I offset laminated the wood.

The wood glued together and cut to shape.

I shaped the edge on the sword with a belt sander and used putty to smooth the surface. Also shown are the other blades.

The handle was shaped on the lathe from Bass wood.

I used a long drill bit to core out the center to allow the 5/16" steel rod.

The collar of the handle has an irregular shape so I carved it out of the lathed shape.

The completed collar minus the recess on each side for a gem.

The pommel was formed by laminating 1/4" sheets of maple.

I attached it to a hand drill and smoothed out the base with files and sandpaper.

The final pommel test fitted to the handle.

The guard was made by glueing three sheets of 1/2" MDF together, leaving a hole in the center for the blade.

The guard rounded by router.

After the surface was primed, I cut the bird details from .09 styrene.

I used a heat gun to soften the plastic and press it around the guard.

I matched up the edges and puttied the seams.

While the putty dried, I added the second layer of detail with .06 styrene.

The completed guard attached to the blade.

The final painted and assembled hilt with cast resin gems.

The sword disassembles for transportation although it will have to be glued before using.

The whole sword. It measures 7 ft in total length!

Detail of the guard.

Detail of the pommel.

The Simpsons: Homer's Pig Crap Silo

2009-04-06T11:09:00.002-07:00

I decided to build a model of Homer's pig crap silo from The Simpson's Movie.

I found a tube that was exactly the right diameter to be in scale with the Simpsons action figures. After drawing the plate pattern, I started glueing on thin plastic to simulate the sheet metal.

After all the plates were glued on, I used puffy paint to add rivets.

I stacked MDF and sanded it to shaped on a "poor man's lathe" to make the dome.

After the dome was formed, I used it to (badly) vacuum form plastic over it.

The final model with Homer and Marge.

I hand painted Homer's "Pig Crap" message to the front...

...and his "Return" message on the back.

Wall-E: Toy Weathering

2009-02-27T16:07:00.002-07:00

I finally got this Interactive Wall-E ...it's been sold out since Christmas. It's great but needed a more accurate paint job.

I applied browns and blacks to build up a layer of filth and applied rust to match stills from the movie.

I opted not to do a full overhaul where I would fill screw holes and make him more accurate.

I used black to apply dirt in the eye socked and silver to simulate chipped paint.

I applied washes of brown to define detail in the rubber tread and rust and silver to bring out details on the wheels.

Seth Nightroad's Blade Forks

2009-02-17T12:28:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replicas of Seth Nightroad's blade forks from the series Trinity Blood. Since they are quite large, I decided to make them in parts that could be assembled later.

I made the center ring from 3/4" MDF with a PVC handle. I drilled through the center to allow a 1/4" threaded rod.

Nuts were glued into the ring and then secured with threaded rod.

I made the base from basswood shaped on the lathe.

The rings that make the ball cage were cut from a 3" PVC pipe.

I notched the rings so that they fit together.

The center ball is a wooden post cap that I drilled to allow a 1/4" threaded rod. I covered the threads with aluminum tubing.

I cut slots for the rings in the base cone

The third ring in place.

The base parts glued together. I added a steel screw in the end to protect the wood.

There is a ring of spikes around the top of the base unit. I needed a 5" plastic ring so I found a large PVC connector that I could cut rings from.

I used brass tubes drilled into the wood to support the plastic ring.

The ring was held in place by wood dowels.

The blades were made from 1/4" oak with oak dowels glued to the side for support.

The blade base was shaped from blocks of pine and glued to each side.

The blade support arms were made from 1/2" threaded rod, bent to angle and then glued into the ring handle. Brass tubing covers threads where I could use them, Bondo will cover the rest.

Threaded nuts were inserted into the blade bases.

I lathed some wood cones that form the end of the support arm.

A base for the ring handle was made from pine with threaded inserts.

The completed upper assembly. The spikes on top were made from pine blocks.

The staff section was made from PVC with a wooden dowel inserted to support a threaded rod.

To ensure the safety of those within poking distance, I decided to make the spikes from urethane rubber. After shaping a wooden master, I used clay for a simple push mold.

All the rubber spikes for both weapons!

The rubber spikes glued to the ring handle. A light dusting of the same gold will make it blend in but will remain flexible and non-deadly.

The cage ball was painted with an iridescent red paint and the spikes were glued on.

The completed forks beside a 48" ruler.

Detail of the blades and handle. Rubber washers help keep the sections from loosening.

All the parts disassembled for easy transportation.

Outlaw Star Caster Gun

2008-12-18T09:13:00.002-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of the Caster gun from the series "Outlaw Star". As an additional challenge, he wanted it to be able to load the shells into the breach.

I started working from the inside-out by making a master for the shell from Bass wood. The shell is about 3" long.

I masked off the design and then sprayed several coats of primer to build up some thickness. When the tape was removed, I had inset markings!

I made a mold of the master and cast five copies in resin. There was some cleanup to do but they came out pretty clean.

I used a PVC pipe for the receiver and drilled a hole for the pivot arm section.

Luckily, a PVC connector was exactly the right size for the pivot...no trimming needed!

I cut off the end cap and plugged it with MDF.

I cut the grip halves from 3/4" MDF.

I planned to use a wood screw combined with epoxy to attach the grip to the receiver.

I carved the recessed areas to the grip.

The slide was made from a section of PVC. I lathed an interior to the cap from MDF.

I cut a slot in the pivot PVC to allow the slide to move through.

The closed slide.

The trigger assembly was made from an acrylic rod with a sliding aluminum tube inserted. The trigger was made from laminated styrene sheets.

I screwed and epoxied the grip to the receiver and capped the pivot with 1/4" MDF.

The trigger guard was made from 1/8" styrene with an aluminum rod connecting them. There is a compression spring glued behind the trigger so that it moves forward.

I turned the barrel out of Bass wood on the lathe.

The pivot arms are made from stacked styrene sheets on a steel base.

The brackets that hold the other end of the trigger piston are made from 1/8" styrene. I made a small chisel to carve out the slots in the barrel.

I glued on half-round styrene piping to the gun. The tight curves were heated first.

The piping completed and primered.

The sights were made from 1/8" acrylic rods glued to styrene blocks.

I heat formed styrene rods for the tubes on either side.

The only gold color I could find that matched my screen caps was a Krylon Farm Equipment paint. It has a great industrial texture that makes it look like cast iron.

I back painted green acrylic and inserted it into the barrel.

The vents holes were cut from a thin sheet of styrene. It was glued over reflector tape....

...so that it would glow under a camera flash!

Here is the final assembled gun.

The individual shells painted to show accurate specs. FYI, there are 20 different shells on the show.

Detail of the barrel.

Detail of the receiver.

The arm swivels down and the breach opens.

Detail of the open breach.

A shell inserted.

The shell seated.

I shot a short video of the gun loading in action

Caster Shell Loading

.hack: Haseo's Weapons

2008-12-02T15:58:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make Haseo's weapons from the the .hack series.

I cut the body of the weapons from 3/4" MDF.

The points were cut from 1/4" poplar and then edged on the sander.

I cut a channel to house a 1/4" steel rod that I hand bent to shape.

I started to shape the bumps on the belt sander, rounding the outer edges.

Using a sanding drum in a hand drill, I shaped the depressions.

Gradually moving toward the final shape...

All major shaping done it's time to sand!

Both are sanded smooth.

The points are glued in and the whole thing is primered.

I glued on 1/2" MDF pieces to support the guard.

The pommels and the guard rings were shaped on the lathe from MDF.

The base for the guard was made from laminated MDF sheets.

I vacuum formed some .04 styrene for the detail on the guard.

I cut out each piece of piping and CA glued them to the master.

With the guard ring glued in place the guard master is done.

The back view.

I made a mold and cast two copies of the guard with resin plastic.

A test fitting of all the parts.

The guards were sprayed with a gold base coat and then hand painted black and red.

I left a section of raw MDF so the guard would have a better surface to epoxy to.

I glued acrylic gems to silver-painted washers and then attached them to each side of the points.

The final props!

Guard detail.

The props in action at YoumaCon 2008 in Dearborn, Michigan!

Yoko Ritona's Sniper Rifle II

2008-11-12T11:26:00.005-07:00

I had enough parts leftover from the commission to make a second rifle. I decided to make some modifications and paint it.

After painting the rifle, I used banner adhesive vinyl to make the marking on the barrel and stock.

I finished the magazine and added a fake bullet at the top.

I made a moveable spring loaded bolt from an inner PVC pipe and a wooden dowel.

I used real mounting rings to attach the scope.

The final piece...good enough to get you shot!

Yoko Ritona's Sniper Rifle

2008-10-30T15:53:00.003-07:00

I was commissioned to make Yoko Ritona's sniper rifle from the anime "Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann".

The pistol grip was cut from 1/2" MDF.

I cut the trigger from styrene and made the pivot from a nail.

I used small torsion springs to force the trigger to the forward position. Styrene was used to line the interior of the trigger cavity and poplar was used to make the trigger guard.

The muzzle block started as a 2" x 2" block of poplar.

I cut the angles on the table saw.

I threw it on the lathe and shaped the end.

I drilled 3/8" holes on each side for vents and drilled a 1/2" hole in the end of the muzzle.

The magazine sides were made from 1/4" MDF. I cut decorative slots in the sides with the table saw.

The complete magazine boxes.

MDF forms the box that holds the magazine.

I formed the magazine release by hammering aluminum sheet around a steel bar.

The shaped release lever, pivot pin and slots cut into the grip.

The release in place. A small compression spring keeps in pressed forward.

The body of the rifle is a 35" long piece of 1-1/2" PVC pipe. The rings at the rear sling loop and bipod were formed by cutting sections from a PVC connector.

The butt was made from a sheet of 1/4" MDF sandwiched by 3/4" MDF. I sanded the interior curve to meet the PVC body.

I drilled through the top of the PVC so I could access interior screws to hold the butt in place.

For the bolt slot, I drilled two holes and then cut between them, removing a section of the PVC.

I inserted a 1-1/4" PVC pipe into the 1-1/2" PVC body to form the bolt. For the handle, I used a socket screw and a bit of brass tubing to cover the exposed threads.

The assembled body so far.

To cover seams and make the butt more solid, I wrapped it with .04 styrene plastic.

I glued on some styrene strips along the edge. The bolt insert was capped off by a styrene plate.

The sight rail was glued and screwed on the top of the body tube, conveniently hiding the holes for attaching the grip assembly.

I found an inexpensive folding bipod at the Sports Authority but had to cut of a bit so it would fold up.

I used the supplied screws but attached the bipod from inside the barrel, through two access holes I drilled above them.

For the feet, I cut a square of steel and epoxied them to the legs.

I cut panels from sheet aluminum and attached them with pop rivets to the legs.

The completed bipod.

The bipod folded up.

For the barrel I used a 1" oak dowel. The fit wasn't tight so I used a section of PVC to act as a spacer. The slot at the bottom allows it to pass by the bipod screws.

Once inserted, it's held in place by two screws that use the bipod access holes.

I bought a set of sling mounts that screw into the PVC rings on the body and the barrel.

The scope was made from PVC (front and rear sections), wooden dowel, lathed wooden cones and MDF end caps.

I was able to get lenses the perfect size from a Dollar Store insect viewer. The front lens was the unmodified "viewing" lens and the rear lens was made from the enclosed magnifying glass.

The sight adjustment knobs were cut from a 1" dowel.

I cut posts from brass tubing that will also hide the knob attaching screw.

The final knobs.

I cut the front and rear scope mount out of 1/4" poplar.

I cut each in half and inserted long bolts to attach them. The bottom bolt goes through the rail.

The final assembled rifle with a coat of primer (per client's request).

The rifle is a massive 73" long!

Detail of the scope. I forgot to add the lens on the small range finder.

The folded bipod with added rubber feet.

The magazine is an open box so you have someplace to hide your weed...er...keys and ID.

Devil May Cry: Dante's Guns

2008-08-26T12:14:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a pair of static props from the video game "Devil May Cry".

I cut the frame for the guns from 3/4" MDF and used a router bit to cut slots for the trigger, hammer and trigger guard.

I made a 2" deep hole for the barrel. The rivets on the guns were simulated by drilling a shallow hole with a forstner drill bit.

The port on the top of the barrel was first drilled through with a 1/4" bit and then cut out with a razor saw.

I used a router bit to cut out the side slot and the ejection port.

I used strips of .040 styrene for the side of the slide. The trigger, guard and hammer were epoxied into place.

I used a strip of styrene for the rail strip.

More styrene shaped for the front sight.

Each gun had different hammers and rear sights. All were made from styrene.

Since I wanted to preserve the wood grain, made grips from 1/4" poplar.

The grips were shaped with router and sanding. The cameos on the grips were cut with a router.

The grips were stained. Ivory got a Maple stain while Ebony got an Ebony stain (not pictured)

After the wood was sealed, I pasted in laser prints to match the originals.

The inscriptions on the side were drawn on using a metallic paint marker.

Super Smash Bros Brawl: Marth's sword and scabbard

2008-08-11T14:56:00.002-07:00

I was commissioned to make Marth's sword and scabbard from the video game Super Smash Bros Brawl. Timing was short so there were a few short cuts.

I cut a groove through two sheets of 1/4" poplar to house a 5/16" steel rod.

I glued the wood together around the blade.

I cut the outer layer of the blade from two more pieces of poplar, including the inner slot.

I glued the outer layers around the inner layers.

Here you can see how the layers fit together.

With some tricky table saw work, I was able to cut the bevels on the blade leaving a 1/8 edge. And I still have all my fingers!

The drawings show the sword with a flat diamond at the tip but that would've made the point much stubbier. I decided to keep the profile accurate and bevel the tip.

I lathed the grip from a pine dowel.

The cross guard was cut from several thicknesses of MDF.

The MDF was shaped with belt sander, dremel and file to get the appropriate facets.

I cut the pommel piece from two layers of MDF and a channel for the rod. The facets were shaped on a belt sander.

I used my mini-vacformer to shape .09 plastic around each half.

I then cut the raised trim from the plastic shells.

The finished pommel, all puttied and coated in primer.

Since I didn't have time for drying, I painted the sword with acrylic paints. I found a great gold that looks as good as the enamel metallics!

For the pommel gems, I cut the shapes from 1/4" green acrylic.

I shaped it into a dome with the belt sander and Dremel...

more sanding with finer grit paper.....

...until finally buffing the gem to a glossy shine!

I used the same process for the large hilt gem, making it from laminated red acrylic.

Here are all the primer coated pieces together for a test fit. Obviously this was before the painting, but it didn't make sense to reveal it earlier.

With sword done, I could start on the scabbard. I cut the outer shape from MDF, leaving room for a lining, and glued the walls.

I used the scrap pieces from cutting the blade angle to make the inside fit better.

The box lid with the edges rounded with a router.

The tip of the scabbard was made from 1/8 MDF glued in place.

Time allowing, I might have made the design inset but glueing thin plastic to the surface had nearly the same appearance.

I heat formed thick plastic bands around the opening.

More heat formed details.

Since the scabbard need to be wearable, I needed a metal "belt loop". I had an old hard drive sled that would work.

I cut off a piece that had the right shape.

A bit of wresting over a vise and I've got a 1-1/2" loop! It was attached with 1/4" screw posts.

Here is is in place on the back of the scabbard.

With the bracket glued in, I glued in the black felt lining. The box could then be glued together and assembled.

Here is the final scabbard. The blue and gold details were cut out of thin plastic.

The final sword.

Naruto: Giant Kunai Knife

2008-08-06T11:29:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a replica of this traditional Japanese weapon....only HUGE! The client needed it 4 feet long for cosplay.

I constructed a 3D model of it in Strata and then imported it into Pepakura for conversion into a building pattern.

I printed out the pattern, cut the knife sides out of .09 styrene and then glued in ribs to support the form. I cut a hole through the ribs for a 1" dowel that will run through the entire prop.

The spaces between the ribs were filled with an expanding foam. The tip has been sanded flat in preparation for skinning.

The final panel was glued in place.

I used a 2" PVC pipe for the handle. I inserted MDF spacers to support the wooden dowel.

The handle slides onto the dowel and is glued into place.

The four sides of the back of the blade were glued into place and filled with foam.

The final blade painted with primer.

The end ring was made from layers of MDF to form a hollow box.

The box glued together except for the top so I can work out the handle join.

I rounded the box edges with a 1/2" router bit.

The box glued together with the handle opening cut out.

The interior was filled with expanding foam and the MDF was sealed with shellac.

The ring glued on.

The assembly was primered and then painted with Krylon satin black.

I dyed 1/4" cotton rope red (per client's request) and drilled a hole in the handle for the start of the wrap.

The final piece!

And to prove that it's actually big, here it is compared to a can of soda!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Ragnell Sword

2008-07-31T12:23:00.002-07:00

I was commissioned to make Ike's Sword Ragnell from the video game Super Smash Bros Brawl.

I started with a 5/16" steel rod for a core. I cut a channel through a 1/4" thick plank of poplar to contain it.

I glued 2 more 1/4" poplar planks around the steel and cut the blade profile.

I shaped the edge on the belt sander.

Much paint and putty later I smoothed out all the bumps. The decorative piece at the hilt is carved out of 1/4" MDF.

The cross guard was cut from 1/4" poplar just like the blade.

The cross guard was detailed with plastic sheets.

The second later was added to both sides.

I didn't like the blockiness of the guard so I popped off the plastic and sanded contours to the guard. I heat formed the plastic detail to fit.

The grip was lathed from a pine dowel. I cut it in two so that I could drill out a channel for the steel rod.

I made the blade "case" from MDF and sanded it to shape.

Once it was in place, I notched the case to allow the guard to fit.

I heat formed more plastic around the case and cut the trim out.

I used a blade to cut ribs in the trim.

The sword assembled and painted.

The hilt was painted with a metallic flake black.

Acrylic gems were glued in place.

The sword in action!

Even A Blind Squirrel....

2008-07-22T15:22:00.002-07:00

…can figure out how to set up RSS!

You can now subscribe to all the (infrequent) posts of this blog.

To the uninitiated, just click on the "Subscribe to Posts" link at the bottom of the right hand column. This will take you to a new page. At the bottom of the right hand column is a "Subscribe in mail" link, clicking on this will set up a RSS feed in you email program. It's easy!

Tenchi Muyo!: Tenchi's sword

2008-06-16T16:25:00.003-07:00

I was commissioned to create the hilt of Tenchi sword from the anime series Tenchi Muyo! This weapon creates a lightsaber-like blade (which I will not be building!)

After sizing my template to fit the wielder's hand, I cut it out of 3/4" MDF.

With a combination of exacto blade and Dremel, I carved the pattern into the MDF.

I didn't have any reference for the back so I extrapolated the front pattern to wrap around the other side.

Once it was cleaned up I painted my base colors with acrylic paint.

The wood grain on the butt was hand-painted to preserve an organic look.

I then took the base color and dusted back the lines.

I added 11mm ruby acrylic gems to each side and applied a wash to bring out the details of the carving.

The final front view

The final back view.

The prop in action!

Code Geass: Cornelia Li Britannia's SwordGun

2008-06-16T13:22:00.003-07:00

I was commissioned to make Cornelia's weapon from the anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

The guard pieces were cut from 1/4" poplar.

The pieces were glued together and sanded smooth. I left a little on each end to attach to the grip and basket guard.

The grip was cut from 1/2" MDF with 1/8 MDF grip plates. In order to later insert the trigger and other parts, I needed to be able to split it in half.

The basket guard was made from four 1/2" MDF sections. Each side's parts were laminated together and then each half was lightly glued for shaping.

Using the belt sander and Dremel I started to shape the basket guard.

After the rough shaping was done, I hand sanded it smooth.

I used the Dremel to hollow out the back of the basket.

To make the trim, I used an Exacto knife to trace the outline and then carved out the recessed areas.

The barrel was cut from a plain ol' pine 2x4.

After the board was cut to width, I cut the two 45º on top and then Dremeled out a slot for the front sight.

I then cut a slot on the bottom for the blade.

The bottom 45º of the barrel were cut on the table saw (at great risk) leaving the last 5 inches to manually shape. Inserted is the .060 plastic that perfectly fits the kerf of my table saw!

The plastic was then cut to shape. An edge was scraped using a pocket knife, as illustrated in my Spartan sword entry.

The grips were shaped. sanded and trimmed as the basket guard was.

The completed barrel and basket guard!

I pried apart the basket guard halves in preparation for connecting it to the other parts.

I hollowed out a recess for the trigger to operate.The trigger was cut from plastic, swivels on a nail and pushed forward by an ink pen spring.

The final assembly. The cylindrical part of the receiver was lathed from wood.

I used MDF to make a support for some some decorative plates that appear in front of the basket guard.

The decorative plates were cut from .060 plastic with a trim cut from .040 plastic.

I picked up some mirror rosettes to use as a round element on the basket. I substituted an nail for the center screw.

I didn't care for the way the block was looking co I made a MDF curved addition to make the visual transition to the barrel smoother.

The final painted piece!

Detail of the basket area

Detail of the pistol grip. I drilled a small hole in the butt post in case there was a need for a lanyard.

Muzzle detail. The barrel hole only extends 1" inside.

The pistol in relation to a hand. Pretty comfy!

The prop in action!

FINAL FANTASY XII: Penelo's Staff

2008-06-11T00:20:00.002-07:00

Penelo is one of the playable characters in the video game Final Fantasy XII. I was commissioned to create her magical staff.

I cut out the blade shape out of 1/4" MDF.

The edging was cut out of 1/8" MDF and glued on.

The end caps were also cut from 1/4" MDF. Once they were glued on, the entire blade was sealed with shellac and seams filled with putty.

The part of the staff that connects to the blade was lathed from 1-1/4" oak dowel.

The end cap was cut off the dowel to allow it to fit around the blade.

I cut a slot in the dowel on the table saw.

The head dowel with blade inserted. 1/8" MDF was later inserted into the gap between dowel and blade inset.

To attach the head and base to the staff, I used threaded inserts. The final piece will now break down into three pieces for easy transportation.

The blade was first sprayed with a base coat of silver and then masked off to paint the gold.

The base of the staff was also lathed from a 1-1/4" oak dowel

I ordered a bell from a medical supply company and disassembled it.

The striker was replaced by a wooden bead on a threaded rod. I painted the bell and strung beads on a length of cotton twine.

The bell assembly was attached to two elastic hair ties.

The elastic ties are doubled up and slide over the tip of the blade.

To attach the beads to the blade I made grommets from 1/8" rivets.

I drilled holes into the blade and glued the grommets into them.

The last touch was to wrap the bottom of the staff with a faux suede.

The final staff is well over 6' tall!

X/1999 Shinken Swords

2008-04-03T13:00:00.003-07:00

X is a Japanese manga and anime series dealing with superhumans battling in apocalyptic Tokyo. I was commissioned to make two of the Shinken (or Divine Sword).

Since I had to build two identical swords, I needed to make one master , then make molds and plastic resin copies. The sword is over 59" long and very thin so it would need a reinforcing core within.

I had a friend weld a 5/16" steel rod to a 3-16" x 3/4"" steel bar. I planned to make half the blade and guard cast cast copies to glue together around the steel.

I sculpted 1/2 of the guard from clay. I worked on a mirror thinking that it would give me a better view of the complete guard. I think it was too flat to make much of a difference, though.

To fabricate the ring around the star at the pommel, I inserted one PVC pipe inside another and cast resin between them.

The star was made from 1/4" square styrene rods.

The grip was lathed out of pine stock. I then sealed it with gloss black paint.

A thin rail runs down the center of the blade from the hilt. I laminated 2 layers of styrene and dremeled the characters into the surface.

I made half of the blade from 1/4" Poplar and glued it to a sheet of MDF. A resin copy of the hilt was also glued in place.

I drew a grid on the MDF to make sure the half would be symmetrical.

After I cleaned up all the flaws with putty and primer, I made a silicone mold with a plaster jacket.

The next day I slush cast two halves with plastic resin. I reinforced the resin with chopped fiberglass mat.

I used a trim router to cut a channel in each half to make room for the steel.

I mixed up a small amount of resin to glue the steel into the channel and then the two sides together.

I painted the blades with a gloss black to show any last flaws and to act as a base coat for the metallic paint.

I used a Krylon Chrome paint for the blade.

I masked off the silver and painted the hilt with a Krylon gold leaf paint. The sword was then coated with a protective top coat of Future.

I cut the lathed grip master into its components and cast them in silicone rubber.

I inserted brass tubing into the mold and cast plastic resin around them

The cast grips. Now to trim off the extra tubing and sand down the rough edges.

To make the basket guard, I glued together 4 layers of MDF. I then shaped it on the belt sander.

I used a Dremel to carve some of the surface detail into the guard.

To make the shield, I heated a piece of styrene with a heat gun and molded it to fit. I attached it with Bondo.

I used the Dremel to carve the edge scallops into the shield.

I heat formed some more styrene to fit the shield and cut two pieces of trim. After they were attached, I Dremeled the characters into the styrene.

The completed and primered Basket Guard. I made a silicone mold from this.

The cast resin basket guard.

Here are all the pieces in a quick test fit.

The grips are wrapped in a purple thread. To simulate this, I picked up some cotton twine and a box of Rit dye.

I did a quick test wind to find out how much it would take. The answer?....25 feet!

I notched the end at an angle and CA glued the end.

I coated the resin with grip with Elmer's wood glue and started winding.

The final grip.

The sword features a red hemispherical gem on either side of the hilt. I cut a disk from 1/4" red acrylic.

I used a Dremel sanding drum to shape the dome. Once it was sanded, I hit it with a propane torch to glass over the surface.

Here is the gem in place.

I inserted a bit of threaded rod into the bead between the grips. One end of the basket will attach here.

The other end of the guard attaches to either side of the hilt. I attached these with two small brass nails.

The final assembled swords. They are REALLY long (59")!

The swords in action at the 2008 SakuraCon in Seattle.

Titus Pullo's Knife

2008-03-14T22:56:00.004-07:00

Titus Pullo's Knife

I love the TV series "Rome" and decided to make a copy of Titus Pullo's knife. It looks like a pugio but considering how crude it is, I suspect Pullo lifted it off a dead Gaul.

I used layers of 1/4" MDF. Two layers for the blade and two for the grip thickness.

I rounded the grips with the Dremel and glued them on each side of the blade.

After gluing the blade halves together, I shaped the blade edges on the belt sander.

I coated the MDF with shellac and puttied up holes and gaps.

I painted the wood grip with a base coat of black with brown highlights. The blade was sprayed with a Krylon Chrome.

I wound the handle with a 1/4" strip of leather, trying to capture the spirit of the original.

The final knife! The wide blade looks like it would cause some real damage!

Boba Fett Kachina Doll

2007-11-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

For those not living in the Southwest United States, Kachina dolls are a native Hopi craft where figures are carved out of Cottonwood Root depicting spiritual beings, historical events and things in nature.

Wikipedia Kachina info

I saw a bunch of these at a local museum, and thought how much some of them looked like action figures. Perhaps "a long time ago" a Hopi fella happened to spot a certain intergalactic bounty hunter apprehending his prey, and decided to carve a Kachina of this obviously supernatural vision.

I had no source for Cottonwood Root so I decided to carve mine out of 4" x 4" x 8" Basswood. In order to maximize the size of the figure, I planned to carve the arms and rocketpack separately.

The first step was to cut of any excess wood (saved for arms and pack) and draw the rough figure for front and side profiles.

I used razor and hack saws to carve the rough silouhettes for both profiles.

I used scalpel tip X-Acto blades to start carving away the excess wood. The curved blades cut easily through the wood without crushing the grain as a straight blade would.

The head is better defined. I want to carve enough away to make sure of my proportion but not so much that I weaken the figure or prematurely remove a piece I need.

Helmet detail, probably too soon but I couldn't help it!

Belt defined and starting to remove wood between legs. I drilled through to make it easier to blade out.

More detail on the legs and it was this point that I decided to leave the base looking like rock. it just started to look that way all by itself.

More leg detail and still carving away the base.

Starting to define leg details like pouches and knees. STILL working on the base!

The base is pretty much done and I'm happy with the basic proportions. Now to add details without getting TOO detailed.

My first mistake. I cut off too much of the right toe so I decided to angle the foot down on a slope of the base.

All details filled in and sanded.

You can see the new foot position here. I think it actually makes the figure a bit more dynamic.

The left arm carved from one of the scraps. It was difficult to find a piece with the grain running in the right direction. If it ran perpendicular to the arm, it would be weak.

Right arm with pistol grip. I wanted to make the gun part of this piece but I had trouble with the geometry so I had to settle on adding it later.

The gun added to the arm

The shoulder stock was the part that gave me fits on the first attempt. It was much easier to do in sections.

The rocket pack was carved from Basswood but I used dowels for the cylindrical parts. the nozzles were attached with aluminum rods.

The belt pouches were carved separately so they could show motion.

I coated the entire figure in shellac which seals the wood and brings out the grain. Since the wood looked so good, I decided to only paint parts that were NOT representing fabric (or the ground).

I sanded a flat spot on the back to allow easy attaching of the rocketpack.

Kachina figures traditionally use cloth, feathers and natural materials to complete the figure. For Boba's cape, I cut a piece of bandana and distressed it on the belt sander.

All assembled!I used plastic coated wire for the hoses going to the gauntlets and the helmet "antenna" is a small piece of wood attached with a steel rod.

I wanted to make the Kachina using traditional methods (i.e. no power tools) and stylize the details through Hopi eyes. Unfortunately, Boba was also filtered through the eyes of a 21st Century geek so he's probably not stylized enough....oh well.

Boromir's Shield: Cover

2007-09-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

I was able to find some vinyl that exactly matched the leather used for the film shield. I cut off a square piece and then, starting at the center, glued the cover to the outside of the shield.

The cover completely glued down. The vinyl was stretchy enough not to crease or wrinkle.

After the glue had time to set, I used an xacto knife and trimmed off the excess.

For the outside rim triangles, I contact-cemented styrene to the vinyl and then puttied the seam to make it blend into rim.

I re-painted the rim and added the brass rivets to each outside triangle. The boss was then epoxied to the center of the shield.

The final shield. I used a wash of black to weather the shield and sprayed a wash of brown to simulate splattered mud.

Boromir's Shield: Hardware

2007-09-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Since the center handle needed to be strong enough to support the weight of the shield, I used a piece of 1/8" steel.

I cut out sections of the center ring and then cut grooves into the MDF to fit the steel. The ring sections that I cut out were saved to glue back in later.

I used pine scraps to form the handle.

The finished handle was painted with a glossy black and the exposed steel was painted with brass (color) enamel paint.

The handle was secured with brass screw posts that went through the entire shield.

The ring sections were glued back into place and them puttied.

The outer sling hardware was made from a 3/16" threaded rod. I removed the threads from the center with a bench grinder.

The threaded ends were inserted through the shield, cut flush and then bolted.

The bolts on the inside were countersunk and then puttied over.

Each of the rim "triangles" have three brass rivets. I used brass plated nails and trimmed off the heads to use as the rivets. I drilled a shallow hole and then epoxied them in.

For the inner strap bracket, I bought a 35¢ galvanized steel joist hanger and pounded it flat.

I trimmed out the shape and bent up the end.

The bracket was attached with three screw posts, drilled through the body of the shield. The heads were a bit big so I ground 1/32" off the diameter.

Boromir's Shield: Shield Body

2007-09-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

The shield was constructed out of two 3/4" MDF pieces, cut to 27" square.

I cut the circles with a jigsaw and glued the two pieces together.

My cheap-o lathe only turns over the bed but it has a disk sander on the outside. I suspect that this was stupidly dangerous BUT I took the sanding disk off the machine, drilled holes in it and mounted the MDF to the plate.

I started turning the outside of the shield first. Since my lathe doesn't have a cast iron base it will flex if there is too much weight on it. The MDF weighed about 20 lbs. I spun it by hand to get it going to take stress off the motor but once it got going at top speed (of the lathe's lowest setting) the weight made the ENTIRE LATHE wobble and shake! I used a foot switch to kick off the power and then lathed like crazy while it slowed down. This put a lot of stress on the motor and it would heat up fast. I only lathed for a few minutes at a time and then let it cool off. I expected at any second the whole thing would come flying apart, sending heavy chunks of MDF and broken lathe in all directions!

I was able to successfully turn the outside of the shield so I flipped the MDF on the lathe and started the inside. The shield had shed about 5 lbs so it was a bit easier to handle. I still worked the lathe the same way so I didn't ruin the machine. By the time I was done the shield dropped to about 8 lbs.

Here is the finished outside with the plate still attached. I brushed both sides with a generous coat of shellac to seal the MDF and then removed the plate and cut out the center hole.

The rim has four triangular pieces on each side. I used Aves epoxy putty to form the ones on the inside.

The rivets along the edge just happened to be the same size as ordinary thumb tacks!

I used an Xacto knife to cut the planks into the inside of the shield.

Unfortunately I found new reference that showed the planks at a different angle. I filled them with wood putty and then re-cut them.

I painted a base coat of black to the wood areas.

And then, using an old tube sock, brushed in the wood grain highlights.

Boromir's Shield: Boss

2007-09-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

United Cutlery planned an official replica of Boromir's shield but went out of business before it could be made. I was really looking forward to getting one so I'll make one myself.

I glued together two 3/4" pieces of MDF and lathed the boss (The metal center of the shield).

I used Aves epoxy putty to carve the wings.

I carved one star using the same method and then molded it in silicone. I cast copies of it in resin and then glued the pieces to the MDF.

The final primered boss.

Since the boss needs to be hollow, my plan was to make a mold and then make a slush cast in resin. I used clay to define the edge thickness.

I poured a layer of silicone over the boss.

I reinforced the rubber with pieces of cloth.

A plaster mother mold was cast over the rubber.

I slush cast a layer of resin into the mold and then a layer of resin with chopped fiberglass strands.

I needed to build an edge so the boss could be attached to the shield. I built up a barrier with clay and then poured resin into the edge.

With the clay removed, you can see the edge lip.

The resin boss demolded. I had some dents where the mold was too thin and pulled away from the mother mold. I filled some of them with filler putty but left a few because they looked like battle damage!

The final painted boss. I started with a coat of primer and then a coat of gloss black. The silver is Testors Metallizer Stainless Steel and the brass is enamel brass (which looked too copper) with a thin coat of gold. The whole thing is weathered with a solution of india ink and rubbing alcohol. It's sitting on a black plastic turntable.

Next comes the hard part...the shield itself!

Balrog Stand

2007-07-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Last year NECA Toys came out with a fantastic Balrog (from Lord Of The Rings) that I couldn't resist. He stands 24" tall and has a wings span of 42"! Unfortunately he is so top heavy, within a few days his legs would bend and he would fall over. The Balrog spent the next 9 months face down on the living room floor until I could devise a solution.

I decided to make a stand with a support to take all that weight off his legs. The cool dwarvish columns holding up the ceiling of the Mines of Moria seemed like a good solution.

I did my 3D prototyping in Strata3D, basing the details on the info I could get from screen captures. The column is smaller than it should be in relation to the toy but it looks better at this size.

The base was cut out of 3/4" MDF with steps carved using a router.

I laminated sections of MDF together to make the sections of the column.

I cut off the upper corners using the table saw and cut a piece of 1/4" MDF for the top.

I used various thickness of basswood to make the panels on the base. The thick, darker panels on the bottom are 1/4" MDF.

The final primered base.

I used the same materials and technique to flesh out the next sections.

This section of the column would actually ascend to the ceiling but I wanted mine to stop at Balrog waist level.

The completed column.

To make the Moria pattern on the base, I first printed it out to size on a laser printer (reversed). I put it face down on the platform, wet the back with lacquer thinner and then burnished the paper. The lacquer transfers the design on to the board...not perfect but good enough!

I then used a small router bit in my Dremel to engrave the pattern into the MDF. The white spots are wood putty where I messed up or slipped!

I then made a Silicone mold (with plaster bandage mother mold) of my wood column.

I cut a threaded steel rod to fit inside the length of the column and attached a length of wire at the top. The wire will eventually tie around the Balrog's waist seam and hold all the weight.

A piece of plywood holds the rod in the center allowing the wire to hang outside the mold.

I mixed up some concrete and poured it into the mold. The first result had some nice detail as well as some nice crumbly, damaged-looking areas. Unfortunately my mix was bad and the concrete wasn't very strong.

The second attempt had a good concrete mixture but I lost too much detail.

The third attempt worked just fine. I got some cool cracks at the base and interesting pits. While the concrete was still drying, I roughed up the top to look like the top had broken off. The upper part looks deformed but it must be the angle that I shot this...it looks better in person.

I secured the column to the base by putting exposed threaded rod through a hole in the base and attaching a nut. I then took Aves epoxy putty and covered the seam at the bottom and filled any cracks that I didn't like.

I then brushed on some acrylic paint to bring out the pattern.

I gave it a light sanding afterward to age the paint.

Everything got a grey overcoat to pull it all together and knock back the color.

I applied an india ink wash to bring out details and weather the piece.

The Balrog now has a new home and SO FAR the hasn't fallen over.

T.A.R.D.I.S. DVD Cabinet

2007-06-24T01:39:00.002-07:00

I became a re-born fan of the new Doctor Who so I was compelled to make a Tardis. I don't have the space for a full size TARDIS so I decided to make a miniature version that would house my Doctor Who DVDs.

To keep the rough grain look, I decided to use 3/16" Basswood. I inserted a strip of MDF for strength. The panel frames were cut out of 3/32" strips and glued together using a MDF jig to keep them all the same.

To add the interior router edge I had to build a jig for the router guide (1/4" MDF) to rest against. I then glued each frame to a sheet of 3/32" basswood (with the window areas cut out).

The routered edges on the door panels.

I added some styrene for the post details. I guess I could have used basswood but I thought that plastic would offer better protection against eventual bumps.

The panels were glued into the posts and beveled trim was added around and between the panels.

The base was cut out of 1/2" MDF with a 1/4" MDF insert to keep the walls square.

1/4" MDF was used for the area over the doorway with beveled strips to frame the doors.

The Police signs were made with 1/16" basswood. Eventually I'd like to add lighting to this model so I made the boxes removable.

I painted the insides black for the (eventual) backlighting.

I cut the roof out of 1/2" MDF on the table saw.

The final touch to the roof was a bit of corner detail. The roof is still removable.

I made the phone door out of plastic with a brass rod inserted as a hinge.

The door inserted into the door.

For door handles, I used staples.

I used pliers, tin snips and files to shape the staples into the handles for both the phone door and main door. They were CA glued in place.

I found some tiny brass hinges to attach the doors. Unfortunately I had to hang the doors to open out because of the limited space inside once the DVD's are inside. Oh well...

The window frames were cut from strips of 1/16" basswood. I made a jig out of MDF so they would all turn out the same.

After much experimentation, I figured out the window glass. I used .02 clear styrene, frosted it with Krylon Matte Finish and then added clear caulk, stippled with a toothpick, for the "shower glass" panes.

For the top lamp, I needed two plastic frosted tubes to make the inner and outer lamp lens. A Bic pen and a Dial Complete pump (area around the spring) supplied the parts.

The Lamp top and bottom were lathed out of a dowel, with brass rods forming the posts. To make the cage around the outer lens, I masked off the panes with scotch tape and painted with primer.

The assembled lamp.

To eventually light the windows, I built a interior box out of 1/4" MDF with tin foil reflectors.

The inner box was lined with black felt.

The lock was "lathed" out of a golf tee with a power drill and a file.

I picked up a doll house lighting rig with little bulbs pre-wired to a battery pack. I put a bulb behind each window, in each police sign and in the lamp.

The final TARDIS! The phone door sign is a laser print from a tight screen cap.

D. Gray-Man Sword

2007-04-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

My sister is a big anime fan so I decided to make a replica of this sword from D. Gray-Man for her birthday.

This sword was deceptively simple...In the end I actually made five before I finally got it right! If you see discrepancies in the photos, those are probably from previous versions of the sword, not the final product.

To make this sword safe for conventions and Cosplay events I decided to make the blade out of wood. I used a 3' x 1/4" x 3" piece of Red Oak and cut the beveled edge on the table saw. I figured out the angle I needed and cut a slot into a piece of MDF. The wood was put into the slot and the edge could be cut perfectly on each side!

The tip of the blade was hand ground on a belt sander. The blade in the anime has a tip that curves up like a scimitar but that wouldn't allow it to fit into a scabbard.

To remove the grain in the wood, I sealed it with shellac, primered, sanded, primered, sanded, puttied, sanded, etc. I left a trace of wood grain that is visible on close inspection so even the dimmest of convention security wouldn't think it was metal.

The blade was painted with a Krylon semi-gloss black. The blade was masked off to expose the edge so that it could be painted silver.

The hilt was constructed out of 1/4" MDF as a box. The center channel was cut out with the table saw and cleaned up with X-acto knife and files.

The white trim areas were drawn onto the hilt so they could be later masked off for painting

Seams and larger holes were covered over with wallboard joint compound and sanded smooth.

The trim was cut out of .040 strip styrene and CA glued to the MDF. The hilt pictured was an earlier attempt. I later did all the sanding and primer before the trim was glued on. The trim areas were masked off to the glue wasn't gripping paint.

I used a strip of half-round styrene for this band.

The grip was sprayed with Future Acrylic to protect the finish. Now it's nice and shiny! And it smells like citrus!

The scabbard was also made with 1/4" MDF.

To protect the blade's paint as it slid in and out, I lined the interior of the scabbard with a fake suede called mole-skin. It's soft like suede but ultra thin.

The scabbard halves with trimmed liner.

Once the two halves were glued together, I rounded the edge with a router.

The end was plugged with a small piece of MDF.

To make the opening a little nicer, I contact cemented a loop of mole skin around the opening....

I split the loop at the corners. I then coated the end of the scabbard as well as the facing fabric...

And then folded each side into the scabbard opening.

There! All perty!

I used two bands of .040 styrene to make the collar of the scabbard.

The final painted collar. This was later masked off and the body of the scabbard was painted with the Krylon semi-glass black.

The blade was glued in with some CA applied to the end of the blade. It's enough glue to keep the blade secure but not so much in case the blade ever needs to be replaced.

Hellboy's Right Hand Of Doom

2007-01-29T13:27:00.001-07:00

I was a HUGE fan of Mike Mignola's comic book "Hellboy" long before it was a movie. When Guillermo Del Toro's film adaptation came out in 2004, I was not disappointed. Besides doing a great job stitching together story elements from different stories into a cohesive plot, the production design was brilliant.

Even though there were official prop replicas produced, I had 8 days of unused vacation time and a pile of scrap MDF so I decided to make my own "Right Hand of Doom".

I wanted to make a wearable version of the Hand so I scaled the plans appropriately...maybe a bit bigger than the original just to accent the outrageous size.

I laminated a bunch of 3/4" MDF discs together to form the forearm, all hollowed out EXCEPT for the ends.

I cut the outer diameters so they would be close to the final contour I needed.

The forearm after being smoothed on the lathe. This really wasn't necessary although it saved me a ton of sanding.

After it was smoothed, I cut out the ends.

The hand was constructed the same way, but with only a small hollow pocket for my hand.

I cut a dowel (fitting inside the wrist) to give me something to hold while wearing the hand.

The two parts placed together. The hand was also lathed for smoothing and shaping, then the "palm" was defined with a cut on the table saw.

The final hand was to have a closed fist (unlike the open hand of the Official prop replica) so I had to form each finger joint individually to fit in this position. Note the extra knuckle on each finger!

More definition to the hand.

Here is the handle inside the wrist. The other notches are mistakes...I needed the Hellboy hand to line up with mine inside.

As most of the pieces were nearing completion, I needed to figure out how to replicate the ancient stone texture of the hand. On scrap of MDF , I started with a bullet-shaped grinding stone bit to rough up the surface.

Next I used a round grinding bit to add pits.

Then I used a fine grinding stone bit to add cracks.

The final step was to spray some red on it just to see how it looked!

Adding texture to the fingers...

Texture added to the hand...this is taking longer than I thought...

With the hand texture done, it was time to tackle the disk-shaped knuckle plates. Since the back of the hand is rounded, I had to cut holes for the disks to sit into.

All three in place.

Textured knuckles (and thumb plate) glued into place.

Forearm textured over several DAYS. Boy, I thought I was clever when I thought up the texturing method..

Cool crack!

After texturing, I sealed the MDF with a Sanding Sealer and then applied a rust red automotive Filler Primer. I Liked to color so much, I decided to proceed to applying the wash to bring out the details.

The hand all painted.

I planned ahead and added a lip at the end of the forearm so I could attach the hand with wood screws.

BUT before I could do that, I needed to line the inside to make it more comfortable to wear. I found a cool burgundy leather textured vinyl that would work great. I cut a piece to size, glued the seam with contact cement.

Since it's an interior lining the seam had to be glued on the inside...

The lining inserted into the hand...

The wrist end was tacked into place with small nails.

From the other end, I attached the hand to the forearm using long wood screws from the inside. Then Foam padding was inserted BETWEEN the lining and the forearm walls.

Then once everything was in place, I glued the edge of the lining to the forearm.

Anyone for a game of "Demon Proctologist" or "Alien Drug Mule"?

I used the same MDF method to build a sturdy base for the hand.

I wanted to make a nice logo plaque to mount on the base. I printed out the Hellboy comic logo in reverse, placed it face down on .060 styrene, wet it with lacquer thinner and burnished. When you remove the paper, a nice copy is magically applied to the plastic!

I trimmed out the logo with an exacto and glued it to heavy .090 styrene plastic.

I found some cool bolts in the junk can and drilled holes in the plaque for them.

The plaque was painted and weather exactly like the hand.

The final base. It was textured with shellac applied with a sponge and then painted black. I also added some felt bumpers to the top to protect the finish on both the base and hand.

Tah Dahhh!!!!!!

And since it's wearable, here's what it looks like on a human...

"Bronze Squirrel" - Full Head Casting

2007-01-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

My previous projects involving head gear were a complete pain to produce. I'd have to try it on to see how it fit and then take it off to make adjustments. The solution to this would be to work on a same size mannquin but as my melon is bigger than most standard forms, I'd have to make my own.

I didn't take any photos of the molding of my head, but I used the process detailed in this tutorial.

Tutorial

I assembled the 2-part mold and sealed up any holes.

I used a gypsum product, FGR-95 which is a super hard plaster to fill the base of the mold and when it started to harden, I scooped it up onto the sides to make a hollow casting. I mixed up a second batch and added glass fibers for additional strength and added it to the casting. After it was done, the casting was about 1-1/2" thick.

The demolded casting. Some nice detail but overall pretty rough....much cleanup to do.

Since I plan to use this for sculpting helmet and such, the ears would get in the way. I removed the ears from the head and re-cast my ears individually so they could be removable.

To dress up the casting when it's not being used, I made a base out of MDF and painted the plaster with a metal-based bronze paint.

I added small rare earth magnets to the ears and inserted screws into the head

I sprayed the painted bronze with Sophisticated Finishes Antiquing Solution.

Sophisticated Finishes

It actually reacts with the metal in the paint to produce a real bronze patina.

The final piece.

Poochie D

2006-11-25T22:12:00.001-07:00

The name's Poochie D,
And I rock the telly.
I'm half Joe Camel,
And a third Fonzarelli.
I'm the kung fu hippie,
From gangsta city.
I'm a rappin' surfer,
You the fool I pity

A glaring omission from the World of Springfield toy line was Poochie the Dog from the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show". I took as many screen caps as I could from the episode and made my plans to scale with the Itchy and Scratchy figures. I roughed out the figure with Sculpey on a wire armature.

I used Aves epoxy putty to add details.

The surf board was cut out of .09 sheet styrene.

The final painted figure. The glasses are .02 styrene, the base is MDF, the fanny pack is a small piece of MDF and the zipper tabs are tiny pieces of styrene.

The base was made to match the existing Itchy and Scratchy figures.

Flying Hellfish WWII Ardennes Playset

2006-11-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

For the playset for my WWII Simpsons figures, I chose the snow covered ruins featured in the flashback.

I cut the base and walls from 1/2" MDF to match the dimensions of the other World of Springfield line. The broken bricks were roughed in using the Dremel.

I scribed in the brick pattern using the Dremel with the router attachment.

The snow on the walls was formed by applying Aves epoxy putty over plastic wrap (so it won't stick to the MDF)

The snow on the ground was made with a coat of Sculpey. I placed the three figures on the sculpey to mark the positions of the foot holes. Once baked, I Dremeled out the foot holes so that they would look like they were standing in thick snow. And so they wouldn't fall over all the time!

The final painted set with the figures in place.

Flying Hellfish Target: Adolf Hitler

2006-11-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Since all "World Of Springfield: playsets have spots for three action figures. The natural third banana should be Abe's sniper target, The Fuhrer himself.

Let me just say that I have no Nazi sympathies and WILL NOT make copies of this figure. Do not even ask!

For a base figure, I started with a character called "Sarcastic Man".

I soaked the figure in boiling water to soften the joints and then popped off the head. I molded a rough head out of Aves epoxy putty on a screw and once that dried, carved in the basic features.

I continued to refine the facial features, form cuffs, collar and the lower part of the jacket.

Some more refining of the features, added putty glove cuffs, collar tabs and tie and then used strips of styrene to make the epaulettes and shoulder belt.

Added the collar over the shoulder belt with Aves putty. The putty is extremely strong even in paper thin applications!

More Aves putty to make the hat.

More styrene to make the belt and the band across the visor of the hat.

The final painted hat. Added are a styrene eagle and gold tabs at the ends of the band. The button on the ends of the band were made with a dot of CA glue.

The final painted figure in all his rat-faced glory! The swastika armband is a laser decal.

Flying Hellfish Montgomery Burns

2006-11-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

As I finished the Abe Simpson, I thought it would be cool to do some of the other characters from the episode and maybe even a playset to display them on.

Burns started with the basic figure with the hair, waist and trouser cuffs Dremeled off.

Using the Aves epoxy putty, I started building the collar, hair and fatigue pants.

The next putty layer consisted of pockets and the sweater draped over his shoulders.

And then finally the sweater sleeves hanging down the front.

In the episode Burns spoils Abe Simpson's shot at Hitler with a stray tennis ball. I cut small sections of wire and held the vertical and horizontal sections together with masking tape. I crossed the two sections and then added a drop of CA glue at the intersections. After that dried, the wires were cut to fit the styrene frame.

The final painted figure. I added a laser decal for his shoulder rank.

Flying Hellfish Abe Simpson

2006-11-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

Being a rabid Simpsons fan and collector, I patiently waited for an action figure of Grandpa Abe Simpson in one of my favorite episodes "Raging Abe Simpson And His Grumbling Grandson In "The Curse Of The Flying Hellfish".

It features a great flashback showing a young Abe Simpson fighting the Germans in the closing days of WWII.

I bought a used "Raging Willie" as he is one of the few Simpsons characters in shape and had a cool action pose.

I also referenced the Ranier Wolfcastle as McBain for the Simpsons-style of sculpting the military uniform and equipment.

I soaked the Willie figure in boiling water for a few minutes and then popped off his head. I used white tape to mask off the seams and used Aves epoxy putty to start building the new uniform pieces.

I started sculpting the head using Sculpey, keeping the size, proportions and features of the Older Abe.

Since Aves needs 4 hours to dry, I find it easier to work in layers. Features like the collar and pockets are applied and then trimmed while still wet.

As the sculpting was nearing an end, I had to address reattaching the head. I cut a small piece of brass tubing and crimped a slot near the base to lock it into the post.

Later in the episode Abe is wearing a backpack. I cut a piece of MDF to shape for the main section and side pockets. The straps were cut from .02 styrene (after MUCH prototyping)

The flaps were made from .02 styrene. The grenade was formed from Aves with a nail stuck in it. When it was dry, I stuck the nail in a drill and lathed in the horizontal grooves. I attached small styrene blocks for the upper part of the grenade.

The grenade ring was made from round styrene bar stock. I heated the plastic and wound it around a brass tube. I snipped off one link and then glued it closed. The ""handle" of the grenade was made from a sliver of aluminum.

The belt pouches were made from thick styrene with thin plastic folded over for the flaps, I put a dot of CA glue on the flap for a subtle button.

The canteen is made from MDF with a sliver of dowel for a cap. The canteen was a bit of a visual cheat. On a real canteen, it sits in a canvas pouch with two flaps holding it in. On mine, I carved a lip to imply a pouch and attached styrene flaps.

Breaking with my policy of never showing my mistakes, here's a good one! Once I put the head on the body, I discovered that Willie and Grandpa aren't in scale with each other! CRAP!

I found that Homer's brother Herb is more in scale with Willie. So I made a rough mold of his head and cast a new head in Aves. I removed the nose to make sculpting a bit easier.

The new head is a better fit! Whew!

I made another cast of the head for making a helmet that would fit. I covered the form with Saran Wrap and used Aves putty to sculpt the helmet. Afterward I used the dremel to thin up the interior lip.

The sniper rifle from the episode was nearly identical to one that came with the figure of one of Fat Tony's mobsters. I merely repainted it. Abe also used a Thompson Submachine gun and I couldn't resist building it. I used laminated styrene for the parts and a brass tube for the barrel. The muzzle was formed by putting Aves on the end of the tube and then putting the tube in the drill and shaping it with files.

The sling was made by cutting slots in the appropriate locations and then gluing in a thin piece of styrene.

Here is Abe Simpson all assembled and painted. I also added his sergeant's bars on his helmet and the Hellfish tattoo on his right bicep using laser decals. I did my best to replicate the details of the episode, fighting my urge to make the details "accurate"

2006 Blaster Building Contest Entry

2006-09-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

This gun was built for a contest run every year by the Blaster Builder's Club. The rules state that you must create a blaster of your own design using a toy gun as a base. You can see all the entries here.

2006 BBC Custom Blaster Contest Results

In my opinion, if you're going to make a blaster based on an existing gun it should complement and integrate the exposed elements but also should disguise the gun to the layman.

I started with a partial M-16 that I had sitting in my scrap plastic box for 20 years (See? NEVER throw anything a way!). Measuring this, I started designing my blaster, first in Illustrator to work out the basic look and then in Strata 3D to fine tune the design and work out all the dimensions.

I printed out the Illustrator layout to use as a template. The stock, handle/sight and half of the magazine were hack sawed off the toy to make room for the new parts. For the new stock I glued two pieces of scrap 3/47" MDF together and shaped it with a jigsaw and Dremel. The barrel is a length of PVC pipe.

A plug of MDF was glued into the magazine well for rigidity and to guide the new magazine.

I ran some 1/4" threaded rod down the length of the gun to attach both the stock and barrel. The stock was epoxied on and the seams were filled with epoxy putty.

The new magazine well was made from MDF as well as the "plate" that will eventually hold the muzzle shroud. All were attached using the threaded rod (test fitted here).

The magazine was also built out of MDF. The channels were cut using the table saw.

The screws secured the base to the magazine but were left exposed (for looks).

The magazine fit like a glove, needing no mechanism to hold it in place.

A test fitting of the progress...

The butt plate started as a simple MDF box.

...and was shaped on the belt sander to smooth all the edges.

The faux barrel was made by shaving a sliver off a 1-1/2" PVC pipe.

The receiver cover started as a simple MDF box, with notches ad supports allowing it to fit over the toy gun.

I wanted to preserve some of the nice detail on the side of the receiver. The M-16 has some cool looking switches.

I used scrap styrene to build new geometry on the sides while still taking advantage of the details I like.

Looking through my greeblie box I ran across an I.V. valve from when my cat was sick. I split it in half and applied them to both sides.

The cheek guard was a it tricky as it had to wrap over the flat top of the stock as well as the round tubing of the barrel extentions. I glued together 3 pieces of MDF with appropriate notches.

Rounding the edges with the belt sander...

Cut away excess....

And it slides on from the end.

The front of the scope was formed by melting a scrap of styrene around an oval piece of MDF.

The scope mount was made by gluing together MDF. The pink is Bondo Spot Putty.

The other scope pieces: 1" PVC to attach the front lens, Lathed wood for the body of the scope and a piece of 2" PVC for a last minute addition to the eyepiece.

The front lens attached to the PVC pipe.

To fake a lens, I grabbed some sunglasses from an eye exam and trimmed out the rear lens.

I painted the rear scope body and added a screw knob I found in the "screw can".

The assembled rear scope. The "lens" is held in place by the PVC eyepiece.

I screwed holes to attach the scope to the rifle

The final scope attached to the rifle with exposed hex screws.

The shroud was vacuformed over MDF masters.

The shroud halves trimmed out.

The two halves glued together with a thin strip of styrene along the seam for strength.

The shroud screwed to the plate.

After I painted the magazine it was too tight to fit in the well! So I tore it apart and sanded the sides. At this point, I decided to re-address the issue of a transparent magazine. But as I was in the final weekend before the deadline, I "cheated" and just printed them on a sticker! Looks great from the side but becomes less effective from more extreme angles.

Now that the magazine wasn't tight, I needed a way to keep it in. A spot of Velcro did the job.

The final submitted photos

This year's competition was extremely tough but I managed to tie for first place. In a tie breaker vote, I won the top spot!

This was a fun and educational project to work on. I spent about 24-30 hours constructing it and only had to spend $16 on paint.

Die Cast Battlestar Galactica: New Base

2006-08-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

This year Hasbro released a series of die cast Galactica toys, most recently a large version of the the Battlestar itself. Unfortunately it came with a large case that took up an unreasonable amount of shelf space. I had a few hours to spare so I decided to modify the base into something smaller.

I first cut down the base to a rectangle.

I built up the sides with styrene....

And then sanded it flush.

To emulate the armor of the Galactica, I attached styrene ribs to the surface...

And finished it off with styrene plates.

A coat of semi-gloss black, a wash of grey to bring out highlights and some silver to scuff edges.

The new Galactica with a smaller footprint!

TOKAMAK: Vacuum Forming Machine

2006-07-31T21:48:00.001-07:00

I've had quite a few projects where a vacuum forming machine would have been a huge help. It wasn't until I found a great site with a step-by-step tutorial on how to make one from scratch.

TK560

I also HIGHLY recommend reading the posts in his discussion board before and DURING your build. You'll find great information and advice from people who have already built one.

Discussion Board

And if your math skills are like mine, be sure to check out the oven calculator when it comes time to do the wiring.

Oven Calculator

Unfortunately I neglected to take photos during the early stages of this project. But as I followed Jim's tutorial closely I'll hit the high points and show where I deviated.

Due to limited space, I decided to build my machine where the oven would hang upside down over the forming surface. I built the supporting table high to alleviate too much stooping over. The vacuum surface is 21.5" x 21.5", made with MDF and covered in aluminum.

Since I can't weld I made my plastic-holding frames from canvas stretcher bars (like painters use). Inside I applied no-slip tread for a firmer grip. The lower frame is attached to a pillow block bushing that allows the frame to slide on steel rods up and down from the oven to the vacuum surface.

To allow for a tight grip on various thicknesses of plastic, I used window sash locks on each side.

I cut a hole in the bottom of the table and made a flange out of one of my shop vac's attachments.

The oven surface was made with concrete board and the ceramic posts were attached accoring to the tutorial.

The sides were cut from leftover concrete board, attached with scrap aluminum and sealed with furnace caulk.

The NiChrome heating element wire was a bear to figure out. Each segment had to have equal resistence for even heating. With the help of the oven calculator, and much advice from friends and the TK560 board, I was able to get the segments exact!

I built a supporting wooden structure to hold the oven. Please excuse my crap carpentry!

The completed oven in its frame.

Up until this point I had not yet decided how to support the oven over the table. Just in time, my friend Jeff gave me some Gorilla Racks and I happened to have some parts left over!

I attached a shelf support to either side of the wooden oven box, and then attached the vertical rack posts to the table. This also allowed me the freedom to change the height of the oven if I needed to.

So I didn't waste any expensive wire, I did a "dry run" with string. It gave me a better idea of how much wire I would need and helped me understand what I would eventually have to do.

The wires were attached to the segment posts and run out a hole to the switch.

The wires attched to a 20 amp switch.

All the parts assembled. I eventually moved the oven up to the top rung to make more room under the oven. I had to get new steel rails for the added distance but was able to find a set of 4 at a scrap yard for $6!

For my first test "pull", I wanted to experiment with different types of objects: A large smooth-sided unsanded MDF dome, A small unsanded MDF dome, a small flat-sided sanded shape and to fill the space a pocket knife and wrench. All pieces a placed on plywood risers placed on washers as not to disrupt the airflow.

The first test pull may not be considered a success my experience formersa but I was just giddy that it actually worked! The "tenting" between shapes can be corrected by adding more space between the forms. I expect a big shape like the large dome would have to be pulled by itself.

After the first pull, I saw some areas to improve. I flipped the sash locks so the frame could get closer to the oven. I also added a flip-up support half way up the rails to hold the frame for loading. Once the plastic is loaded the frame continues upward to be held in place by the two wooden "L" clamps"

I made an oven door with the last of the leftover concrete board and embedded a oven thermometer in the center. The door slides into aluminum U-channel attached to the bottom of the oven. Closed up the oven can get to 375ºF.

Now I guess I need to make something with this beast!

MUCH, MUCH thanks to:

Jim and the guys at TK560.com
My high school chum Jerry for the wiring advice
The overly generous Ron for the technical assistance, bushings, rails, multimeter and other goodies
Jeff for the Gorilla Racks (They make great shelves, too!)

Thanks guys!

Many months to build, cost $250-300 (visit your local scrap yard and cull-lumber bin!)

Stormbreaker: Beta Ray Bill's Hammer

2006-05-05T22:57:00.000-07:00

After building Mjolnir, I decided to build Beta Ray Bill's hammer Stormbreaker. This hammer was designed By Walt Simonson in his brilliant run on the Thor comic book in the late 80's.

The story is collected in a trade paperback "The Ballad Of Beta Ray Bill". Cool story and great Simonson art..a Must Read!

The title page of the trade paperback has a nice line drawing of the hammer and I used this as the template for my replica and scaled it to my Mjolnir. For your convenience, here is the PDF.
Template

For the handle I used a 18" long 1.5"(measured by inner dimension) PVC pipe with end cap

The end cap was cut to a height of 1.375" and a .25" bevel was sanded on the edge with the belt sander.

I cut out all the profiles from 3/4" MDF. Half the head profiles have a 1.75" hole drilled into them for the handle.

Two disks of MDF were glued together and then sanded down to a thickness of 1". I sanded a 15º bevel to the side.

The head profiles were glued together and the sanded smooth.

I drew a 4.5" circle where the striking surface will attached and then sanded edges to change the square profile to a circle. It's easy to draw, not so easy to make...

More sanding on the transition.

I sanded the axe edge on the other end.

More sanding to round the head.

Smoother still...

More sanding and shaping on the axe end.

I cut a 5.25" disk with a 15º bevel and screwed it to the head.

I applied Bondo to smooth out the surface and cover the seams.

As you can see, I am now building multiples and keeping the best one.

Stormbreaker has 3 rings at the point where the handle meets the head. I cut 2.5" disks from MDF and then cut 1.75" holes in them.

The rings were all rounded on the sander. Here they are on the handle.

The rings were Bondo'ed, sanded and primered.

The rings and handle were glued on with 5-minute epoxy.

The spike on top was sanded from a 1.5" wooden dowel.

The spike was cut off to length of 2" to fit into a hole routered into the top.

After MANY coats of automotive primer, I painted all the parts with Rustoleum Gold paint. Unfortunately the metallic gold is very prone to scuffing so I coated it with Dupli-color automotive Clear Coat. It dulled the finish a bit but not too badly.

The strap was made with the same method as Mjolnir....two strips of vinyl contact cemented back to back to form a loop.

Here you can see the lamination and the extra overlap that I included at the spot where it gets attached to the hammer.

I stained the vinyl with acrylic Burnt Sienna and black washes to get a more realistic leather.

A .625" dowel was screwed onto the cap (before it was glued on) and the the strap was epoxied to the dowel. I painted an upholstery tack with the same gold paint and attached it to the inside.

The final hammer. This turned out to be MUCH more difficult than I thought it would be but it looks good next to Mjolnir!

The handle of Stormbreaker is surprisingly short in comparison to Mjolnir. It seems that there's just enough room for Bill to get both his giant space-monster hands on the handle!

Woolly Mammoth: 1:3 scale Kit rebuild

2006-03-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

I got this kit back in 1972 and assembled it as only a child of 7 could...badly.

Somehow it survived my childhood and multiple moves to eventually return to my hands when my parents retired. I don't know how accurate it is but I thought it was a nice sculpt so I decided to rebuild it.

I tackled the base first by puttying up the two seams and giving it a coat of primer. The cliff took multiple coats of various grays and washes and I painted the rest in mud browns and greens for the vegetation.

I reassembled the legs and puttied the seams while rescribing the hair as best I could.

My original intention was to merely clean up seams, paint and then build the kit as designed. Once I put the legs on, however, the hips seams are quite pronounced and looked too "toylike" I puttied up the seams and then put it aside to dry.

Hours later, I was able to carve the hair into the putty seam and it matched pretty good.

Even with the seam covered, it still looked like a toy. I researched elephant muculature and built additional mass to the hips and shoulders. I put it aside to dry.

I sat at my work table to watch the last 5 minutes of a DVD and thought,"Maybe I can carve the hair into the wet putty"

As anyone with a brain might expect, it worked beautifully and I was able to do four legs in the time it took to CARVE one of the dry putty seams. I guess that's why kits were originally sculpted in wet clay.....DUH!

The head on the original kit was built to pivot on a ball joint for a limited range of movement. This created a massive gap in the neck area that I would need to fill. I chose to turn the head slightly to the left and tilt it. The seam was filled with epoxy putty.

The space to fill was so big it would have demanded a large amount of putty and could have become front heavy. I used aluminum foil to fill the big gaps and then covered that with the putty.

I scribed the neck hair into the (wet) putty. For realism I added little dangling clumps of hair from the bottom of the neck, hanging off the belly and from the tail

.

To disguise a pronounced belly seam I added a row of hanging fur down the belly.

Naturally a snap-together kit would not address an animals genitals. Seeing as the mammoth looks male (to me), If I didn't do something about it it would look strange. I based the penis sheath on modern elephants (You don't want to see what's inside...think "Dune") and according to a REAL frozen mammoth find, the testicles were internal...probably a good idea during the Ice Age.

During research, I read that mammoths only had 4 toes whereas modern elephants have five. Naturally the kit had five.

Naturally, I had to fix this. In the end, it was a good thing as I could make the toes protrude a bit and add bits of hair hanging over and between them.

I added model railroad gravel to the base of the cliff and little bits in crevasses. I watered down elmers glue and sprayed it over the gravel to lock it in place.

The mammoth was ready for painting. I painted the tusks with a basecoat of ivory paint (duh) and the rest of the beast with semigloss acrylic black.

The rest of the fur was drybrushed on with various shades of brown, leaving the underside black.

The toenails were painted with a light grey and weathered with various dark washes.

I based the painting of the mouth and trunk opening (?) on those of modern elephants, making them a pale greyish pink.

The tusks were weathered with multiple washes and the eyes were painted to match a modern elephants (strange, I know).

I added some railroad grass (very fine green threads that you cut to size) to the base as well as a dead tree that I recently discovered in a box.

So the mammoth would seem to be standing firmly on the rock, I coated the soles with epoxy putty and pressed it into the cliff (covered with Saran Wrap). After the putty dried I painted them with black washes.

Here is the final kit.

Thor's Hammer MJOLNIR

2006-03-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Walt Simonson's work as writer/artist on Marvel Comics THOR (late 1980's). Also being of Norse descent, I always wanted my own copy of Thor's hammer Mjolnir (pronounced myol-neer).

I recently removed a stake from a new tree and thought that this might make a good handle for my hammer.

I cut sheets of 3/4" MDF to laminate into a 9" x 4" x 6" hammer head. I drilled holes through the centers of all sheets although in hindsight, I guess I didn't need to.

The bevels of the hammer were cut by tilting the table saw blade 45 degrees.

The porous edges of the MDF were coated in Bondo spot filler and sanded smooth. I then gave it several coats of automotive sandable primer.

The "cap" was cut from a piece of plywood and given a bevel. The whole thing was sprayed with more primer coats and then finally a Krylon Aluminum.

I had trouble finding leather strapping in the right thickness or width but found a tan vinyl that I could cut myself. The grip was wrapped with four 60" straps in a tight overlapping pattern.

The butt was covered with a circular piece of vinyl, glued over the edges and then wrapped with more vinyl strapping.

The straps looked a bit flat and vinyl-y so I gave the wrapping an acrylic wash of darker browns to weather it.

The loop was formed by laminating the vinyl back-to-back.

The loop was attached with a wood screw with a plastic snap-top cover (painted silver)

The hammer is purposely huge, nearly 24" long (not counting the loop), and quite heavy.

Purists, no doubt, will see "inaccurate" details. Seeing how the hammer changes from artist to artist, I felt I could build it to my liking.

The Tick: Little Wooden Boy

2006-02-13T23:09:00.003-07:00

The Tick: Little Wooden Boy

For those of you that didn't see the episode "Little Wooden Boy and the Belly of Love", The Tick (a large, blue, strong but stupid and INSANE superhero) is upset that his sidekick Arthur wants to skip "Craft Night". Sulking in his apartment, the Tick sees "a little boy trapped in a block of wood"

After makings some measurements based on screen caps from the show, I cut the parts from a pine 2x4.

The arms were cut from pine, using staples and eye screws to attach them to the body.

The gouge was the hardest detail to reproduce as I had to interpret a drawing into 3 dimensions.

The face was painted on using red and black enamel paints. The "buttons" in the animation were hollow outlines which I interpreted as drill holes.

The arms are attached to the body with a staple and eye hook. The legs are attached with wood screws. The hole in the leg is significantly bigger than the screw to allow some side-to-side movement (presumably for martial arts moves). True to the Tick's craftsmanship, the legs are mounted asymmetrically.

Little Wooden Boy guards the city with an unwavering gaze! Beware naughty spawn! Little Wooden Boy is on the job!

Terminator 2 Vinyl Kits by Horizon

2006-02-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

The T-800 (Arnold) and the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) were two vinyl kits that I built long ago but never painted. Horizon kits are a joy to work on...exquisite detail, flawless part fitting and accurately sculpted. I wish I could take some credit for these beautiful models but all I did was paint them!

The T-1000 Came with different hands and optional "Crowbar hand". I used a comination of the spike finger, bullet strikes and blade hand.

The Simpsons: Safety Salamander Homer

2006-01-25T21:26:00.001-07:00

The Safety Salamander comes from the Simpsons episode "See Homer Run" that aired recently. In the past, I would've looked forward to buying an action figure of this character. But since Playmates discontinued their World of Springfield toy line, I guess it was up to me!

I started with a "Casual Homer" and added a piece of coat hanger wire to support the tail.

I added foil to flesh out the tail, covering it with Apoxie 2-part epoxy putty. I considered turning the tail down for stability but it just looked so much better up!

I used more epoxy putty to add details and flesh out the bulk of the suit. I was very careful to preserve the joints so the figure would remain posable.

The neck was sculpted to preserve the cowl lines and minimize the seam and the lips, eye sockets and finger webbing was added with Apoxie.

The finished sculpt coated with primer.

The belt was made from .03 styrene strips and the belt buckle and badge were carved from thicker styrene.

Stormtrooper Vinyl Model Kit by Screamin': Paint & Assembly

2006-01-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

I airbrushed the entire kit with an acrylic primer and then a Tamiya Gloss white. I originally intended to top coat the armor with a gloss coat but the Tamiya was glossy enough. The black undersuit was hand painted with a black semi-gloss.

After the armor was painted I assembled all the pieces. I added the right knee plate (scratch built from styrene), the belt drop boxes (laminated .09 styrene attached with a piece of .03 styrene) and the blaster.

The thermal detonator (back of the belt) was scratch built from a 1/2" acrylic tube, heat formed .06 strene detail plate, heat formed styrene end caps and silver painted .04 styrene bands. Sorry, no pics on this build.

Here's the kit without the helmet (I hate to cover up all that work!)

The base is a block of shelving wood with a styrene box built over it. I scribed in some deck plating and painted it in a gloss grey. A screw was set through the bottom of the base into the right foot of the Trooper.

Stormtrooper Vinyl Model Kit by Screamin': Blaster

2006-01-21T23:16:00.001-07:00

The Blaster looked OK at first glance but it's way too big, the casting is bad and the sights and folding stock are CARDBOARD. I downloaded the ENH version E11 templates from the Blaster Builders Club

http://www.imperial-fleet.com/bbcforum/viewtopic.php?t=104

and used these reduced to 27% to build a new one from scratch.

The barrel was cut from 3/8" brass tubing and the grip, magazine and Hengstler counter were made from laminated styrene. The receiver spring was made from copper wire wrapped around 1/4" aluminum tubing.

Pictured here is the completed magazine with styrene details. The front and rear sights were made from pieces of brass as were the folding stock and trigger guard. I removed the pistol grip that was molded into the Trooper's right hand so the new one could slide in. Unfortunately I couldn't attach the trigger or trigger guard until it was put in the Trooper's hand.

Here is the completed body of the gun. It has a 1/8" brass barrel, the muzzle is laminated styrene and the bolt handle is a VERY tiny nail.

The end cap was made by heating styrene and jamming it in a hole slightly bigger than the barrel.

I also made the caps for the Thermal Detonator with this method. Details were carved and filed into the end cap. I used a paper clip to bend into the D-Ring and cut one side off a small piece of square tube stock to hold it. I also completed the Hengstler counter with the twin tubes that will be attached to it with wires. I thought the folding stock would be too fragile to make operational, so I just made it as a solid piece to be glued to the gun. Here it is complete without the buttplate. At this stage I hand painted areas that would be hard to reach with an airbrush: Inside front sight, under sope rail, under dial on top of magazine.

I made the "scallops" (not sure what they're for....) out of 1/4" aluminum tubing, Dremeled to fit and super-glued in place.

Here is the barrel with magazine, front and rear sights, end cap and scope rail attached.

The scope was made from aluminum and brass tubing, a wooden dowel and the blue cone-shaped "clicker" from a Star Wars fan club ink pen. Thanks, George!

I stripped out a few wires from a 9-volt connector, wound them around a tube and super-glued them in place. This was by far the HARDEST part of the entire project. Those damn wires really didn't want to cooperate!

The t-tracks covering the barrel vent holes were made from styrene t-bars. All I had to do was cut them to length and taper the ends to make it look as if they were inserted into the holes.

Here is the final assembled gun with my hand and a penny for scale. I also used a little silver paint to simulate wear. I kept it pretty minimal as I figure a Stormtrooper with a cushy assignment like the Death Star probaly has pretty new gear and probably doesn't see a lot of action (Besides smugglers and Wookiees running loose...)

Or did I build a giant hand and big penny?....(That might have been easier)

And to really show why I had to build this, here is mine next to the kit's. I might have let it go if it weren't so oversized (maybe.)

Stormtrooper Vinyl Model Kit by Screamin': Head

2006-01-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

Another problem with this kit was the fact that they made no provision for mounting the helmet. You can see that there is barely a neck..I guess you are supposed to glue the helmet right on the shoulders of the 'Trooper.

I don't think so.

So the helmet would sit correctly, I decided to sculpt a head for it. And if I was going to go to the trouble of sculpting a head, I'd use my own! Here is the roughed out head in Sculpey (an artificial oven baked clay). It has a coat hanger wire inside that fits down a hole in the neck.

These really show how much neck they left off the kit.

This stage shows the completed head. Sculpey is a wonderful material as it sands and carves easily plus you can add clay anytime and it bakes right on!

Sculpey holds detail nicely but those damn ears kept breaking off. Pictured is ear #3!

Since I built a head, I needed to sculpt a neck seal to hold it. Since this would be part of the torso, I used Apoxie putty since I doesn't need to be oven dried. I pretty much glopped it on around the neck (covered in saran wrap) to get a tight fit. Once it dried I removed the head and carved the collar in shape, including the ribbing.

Here is the final head sitting snugly within its collar!

The epoxy putty is so strong I was able to keep the collar walls so thin that parts would show a slight gap!

Stormtrooper Vinyl Model Kit by Screamin': Helmet

2006-01-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

As seen in the previous post, the helmet was a big mess! Besides the general cleanup and edge refining that I did on all the other parts...

I cut off the "ears", extended and reshaped the "snout" with putty, removed the front grill and "microphone" tips, cut out spaces in the "teeth" and lined the inside of the helmet with epoxy putty.

The disk portion of the ears was made with styrene and the "track" running from it was epoxy putty.

I had to completely reshape the eye holes with epoxy putty. I pushed Sculpey through the eye holes from the inside and sanded the lenses round.

The holes in the "teeth" were backed with black tape. The grill on the snout was heat formed out of styrene, with the grooves filed into it. The new "microphone" tips were made from styrene tubes.

The inside of the helmet was painted black and the trim was made from a thick plastic coated cord from the craft store.

The final helmet! The blue hash marks along the jaw will be painted in later.

Stormtrooper Vinyl Model Kit by Screamin'

2006-01-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to build this kit after it had been sitting in my closet since 1993. At first glance, the detail looked great but as I started to research the "real" armor I noticed some problems.

All the pieces had really soft edges and inaccurate details. Some pieces could be brought up to "spec" with just some adjustment others would have to be trimmed away and rebuilt. Worst of all, the blaster was entirely the wrong size, a crappy casting and inaccurate.

Since the Stormtroopers had subtle differences in their armor over the original trilogy, I decided to give my trooper the armor and blaster from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. This trooper would have been stationed on the Death Star, so his weapon will have minimal wear and the armor will be nice and shiny!

To those experts out there, I did what I could with this kit. The only way I could've made it more accurate would be to build it from scratch. Some proportional problems I just had to live with. Vinyl is easy to cut but does not sand. Cleanup would have been easier if I had cast a copy in resin...maybe I'll do that for the Boba Fett kit.

I used an exacto knife to sharpen edges, re-shape armor plates and cut under the armor where appropriate.

At the waist, I had to reshape the crotch and butt plate and decided to remove the blocks that hang from the belt as they were molded in place and should hang free.

I toyed with the idea of removing the belt entirely and rebuilding it out of styrene but I was concerned about stability. I decided to just clean up the belt detail and reshape it later (it should not taper in as shown)

As vinyl kits are softer and subject to warping over time, I poured plaster into the legs.

The helmet had major problems in detail and proportion.
My "To Do" list:

1. Clean up lines
2. Remove large "ears" and rebuild
3. Snout too short and wrong shape
4. Eyes wrong shape
5. Putty over engraved "hash marks" on jaw (these are decals)
6. Rebuild snout details

The right knee plates too thick and soft. I tried carving them down to size but it turned out to be easier to rebuild this.

The left knee suffer similarly in that the detail is soft and the bumps are too big. I was able to successfully cut them down to an appropriate size.

The BIGGEST problem with this kit is the torso barely has a neck and there is no way to attach the helmet without gluing it directly on the shoulders.

HaLO 2 Master Chief Armor: Helmet fans

2005-11-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

After one night at Halloween, I discovered the helmet got hot FAST. The faceplate also fogged up.

Using instructions from jedi-academy.com I was able to install two 5v computer fans behind the "breather hoses".
http://www.jedi-academy.com/stormtrooper_helmet_fans.html

I have next to no experience with wiring but this was very easy. The second night went much better as I could hit the fans for a few minutes to cool down!

I finished out the interior with fun foam to cover some of the less attractive construction and cable tubing to hide the wires.

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Final pics

2005-10-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

After starting this in early August, I was done in time for Halloween. I'm pretty pleased with the final results although I KNOW I built everything the HARD way. The next armor I build will be vacuum formed.

Total build time: 240 hours
Cost: Approx $450

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Belt and Guns!

2005-10-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

All the belt pieces were simple box construction.

The belt itself was a $1 leather belt from a thrift store. I added a plastic buckle behind the belt buckle plate and heat curved the rest of the belt plates.

All plates were pop riveted to the leather belt. The boxes started out with snaps to attach them to the belt, but as I was building this for Halloween, I needed to attach them more securely. I used zip ties to make them impervious to drunken Yahoos.

The twin machine pistols needed to be light so I could attach them to the thighs. I used regular shelving pine to cut out the frame halves.

I wanted to have lights and sound for the guns so I bought two cheap ($5) toy space guns and stripped out the electronics.

Unfortunately the 2" speaker and the 3 "AA" battery compartments were too big for this gun. I replaced them with 1" speakers and a 2 "AAA" battery compartment.

I started shaping the gun frame and detached the butt plate from the gun. Had I more time I would have made the stock extend...Oh well.

I used my router and carved out room for the electronics. All light bulbs (5 or 6) were crammed in the barrel, the speaker sat behind two vents on the right side and the batteries were place in the butt.

The halves were glued together, some more putty and sanding and the front grip was formed.

Here is the final pistol. I used small round head nails for the studs on the grips, the front grip swivels up or down and the sights were made from styrene.

Here you can see the cell phone swivel I used to "holster" it to the thighs.

Not a lot of light but in the dark and with its multiple flashing bulbs it makes for a nice "muzzle flash".

The sad thing is that I wasn't able to take my guns into any of the Halloween parties I went to! Honestly I'm surprised it took so long for this to happen...you can't take a gun into a bar the other 364 days. Still, it sucks!

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Legs

2005-10-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

The thigh armor started out as one flat piece, heat curved to meet on the inside of the thigh.

Once glued, I cut out the two details over each knee and backed them with additional styrene.

Since the Master Chief uses two machine pistols but has place to stow them, I decided to incorporate holsters into the boxes on the outside of each thigh.

Each holster box was hulled and filled with expanding foam for strength.

To hold the guns, I decided to mount a cell phone pivot to each gun and make an appropriate slot on each box.

You can see how the pivot slides into the groove.

After the thigh piece was painted, I used "Foamies" fun foam to make the black inner thigh. this worked really well as it allowed my thighs to meet without scraping plastic.

Here the gun (details to come) fits into its slot. I later attached a small piece of industrial strength Veldro to the gun and the holster box at the vents to keep the gun from swinging around. It worked great!

The lower legs (or greaves) were perhaps the most difficult things to build. The shins curved both to the front and to the sides which prevented me from just heat bending this piece. I set up some shallow ribs and glued three pieces together. I later filled the length with expanding foam for strength.

The back of the clves were glued on with a similar technique. I decided to hinge the two inner calf plates so I could get the pieces on my leg.

The knee plate support was added at this time.

The ankle part of the greaves was a complex set of shapes that I first tried to build like the upper part. This turned out to be very weak and a complete pain in the ass to work with. After battling one into shape with less than stellar results, I scrapped this plan for a simpler approach.

As a base, I heat formed a strip around my ankle, open at the front. The boots are 1980's issue army boots from my high school ROTC days.

I then glued the ankle shapes onto the base. These were also filled with foam for strength.

Here are all the parts together. The ankle piece holds much of the weight from the calf plates and keeps the entire structure in place.

The knee pads consist of two plates: an upper plate that will be mounted to the greaves and a lower plate which will mount to the upper plate. The lower plates were made out of one piece of thick plastic with the edges heat bent. the pattern for the lower plate can be seen below them.

The lower plates are made from one piece of plastic with the side heat bent to form the distinctive box shape..

Here are both plates together.

Here are the greaves, assembled and painted. I later covered the interior foam with black fun foam.

The toes involved some radical heat forming over the toes of my boots. I just kept heating and squishing it until it took shape.

The top was notch out as well as the toe area. I heat formed a curved piece to fit within the toe notch and filed "vents" into it.

While the plastic was still hot I gave the toes a few dings to simulate battle damage. Weathering will eventually bring out these details. A curved piece was later heat formed to fit within the upper notch.

The instep is covered by a U-shaped plate. For this I heat bent pieces, backed up the holes with plastic and mounted the plate to the heel plate (not pictured). I used aluminum screw posts to mount them to the heels which allowed them to move as my foot did. Unfortunately, it also meant I had to remove the plate BEFORE I put on the boots.

Here are all the boot parts together.

At this point I noticed some of the laces were still exposed. I took some Foamies sheets, heated them and stretched them over 4 wooden dowels. I made a tool with 5 vertically mounted slats to push the foam between the dowels. The result is a flexible, ribbed "plate" to cover the laces. I later used this to make a ribbed collar (like the Stormtroopers)

Here is the final painted and weathered leg assembly. The thighs were later attched to the belt with a nylon strap to keep them off the knees.

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Arms

2005-10-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

The shoulder area of the upper arm looks complicated but actually came together rather easily. Thanks to the posterboard template I was able to cut out the pieces in plastic and, with the heat gun, folded it into shape.

A bit of sanding, some detail plates and the shoulder is done! The part that wraps around the upper arm (that this is attached to) was made by wrapping heated plastic around a large tube. I slit it on the inside for comfort.

The forearms were made in a similar fashion with heated plastic over a tube. Since the forearms taper at the wrist, it took some additional heating and forming to get it into shape. A second detail layer of plastic was heat formed and then glued over the first, making this a really SOLID piece of armor. Once again this was slit in the inside to allow my hand to pass through.

The complete arm at the primer stage...

and the parts with their base coat of green.

The plate on the back of the hand was made by slightly heat bending and then laminating two pieces of plastic.

To attach it, I used two straps of elastic...

...to fit across palm and wrist. The glove is a black cotton work glove (Fry's Supermarket 49¢!!)

A test fit of all the completed parts together.

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Chest Armor

2005-10-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Like the helmet, I first constructed posterboard templates for each part of this complex suit of armor. Being symmetrical, I only drew out half of the detail.

Using a heat gun, I carefully bent the plastic into shape. Larger pieces are much harder to form using the gun as you can only heat a small area at a time.

Once it was folded over, I glued the side panels to lock it into shape.

The pec plates were built out with supporting ribs of thicker plastic and filled with expanding foam for support.

The "shoulder boxes were built much the same way...

...as was the "vent box" at the base of the neck. I built a separate vented panel to fit into this later.

The "back boxes" were built around the shoulders.

The unit was fitting a bit funny so I decided to take a page from the Stormtrooper Armor guys and separated the front from the back, hinging it where the shoulder boxes meet the back boxes. This also allows it to fit over my head easier!
It was also easier to work on these as two different pieces. I added boxes below the back boxes.

I trimmed the bottom edge to the proper distance and added a second level of detail at the ribs and sernum. This also made it much stronger.

The upper stomach plate will be hinged after painting.

Painted all the parts with a few coats of primer and 2 coats of glossy green paint. This will eventually be weathered for a battle-scarred finish.

I epoxied web straps with industrial strength velcro at the joints.

The final armor! (There's a few more details I will add if I have time)

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Helmet Revised

2005-10-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

As it was pointed out to me by some wise-arse ;) on The RPF the brim on the helmet was too short. I thought that I could live with it but the more I looked at it, the more it bugged me. Adjusting it wasn't that hard as I just built a frame around the old one.

Of course, once the brim was extended, I had to also extend the rest of the top. Oh well...

Once that was adjusted, I had to re-do the faceplate. The new brim actually made for a more accurate flaceplate...I cut it out of .08 Lexan, glued it in place and put gold mirror tinting behind it. The gold mirror tint was hard to find but I was able to use the bottom part of a grey-to-gold gradation film. The "real" Halo faceplate has an embossed pattern on it so I cut the pattern out of styrene and (tack) glued it over the Lexan. I used a "chrome" metallic gold paint that has the same color (the photos don't show it accurately) but a differnet level of reflectiveness. Amazingly enough, the opaque pattern doesn't restrict my field of vision at all!

I have yet to add cooling fans, accent color and weathering, but it's basically DONE!

Now to finish the rest of the armor before Halloween!

HALO 2 Master Chief Armor: Helmet

2005-09-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

What a game! What a cool suit of armor! I wanted to build this suit but the real test is building the helmet. I figure if I can pull that off the rest of the suit should be no problem....right??....right?

I've seen other people make their Halo helmets by sculpting it out of clay, making molds, pouring resin, etc. Me only know styrene so that how me make it!

I started with a basic batting helmet. I found one that was a bit small on my enormous melon so that when the final helmet is complete I wouldn't look like a bobble-head. I tore out all the padding so I could add it later once I saw how the final helmet fit.

I cut off the visor (brim?) and a bit off the side to get the basic shape.

I screwed on a strip of steel for the jaw portion of the helmet.

To work out the basic shapes and how they fit on the helmet, I got a pack of poster board and worked out my templates ( I only did half).

Using sheet styrene I assembled the lower jaw. I made a track just below the top for the steel strip to fit into.

The visor and cap sections were built much the same way...kind of a hull structure (.080) that I would skin with thinner plastic (.040).

Unfortunately, I am not that precise with my cutting so I rely heavily on putty to cover my mistakes!

The back under construction....

and skinned.

I used a 2-part epoxy foam to fill all the structural parts. Now the helmet is solid and heavy! Bring on the Covenant bastards!

Here it is assembled with a thin support rail for the visor. I also inserted some rubber hose for the respirator. I plan to add cooling fans behind these.

Now..how to cut a face plate to fit. How about little strips of poster board taped together?

Flatten it out and trace! A perfect match.

Hoplon Sword Hanger

2005-08-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

After building my Spartan sword, I needed some way to display it (see 5-5-05 entry). I decided to build a mini Hoplon (shield) based on info from re-enactors' sites.

The basic flattened dome of the shield I heat formed from a small frying pan.

The dome was rimmed out and mounted on a flat disk.

I added some modeling putty to smooth out the seam so that it would look like it was made out of one piece. If'n I had a vacuum form machine, it could have been...plans are in the works to build one.

The painted shield. Unfortunately because of the weird shape it was impossible to mask off and paint it in the correct order (Gold-Red-Black). I had to paint the red first, then the black and finally the gold. The problem with this order is that because of the paint build-up, you get ridges next to the masked areas (the red doesn't look like it's ON the gold). Just don't look so close...

I found a plastic over-the-door clothes hanger at Wal-Mart for the sword holder. The clear plastic may not be "period", but it doesn't cover up the shield as much.

The trimmed and notched hanger on the hilt.

The hanger attached to the shield. The screw in the hanger goes straight through the shield and mounts it to the wall.

The final display!

COLLECTIVE Fuse Gun

2005-08-03T21:51:00.002-07:00

The Fuse Gun is a weapon of my own design from the comic book COLLECTIVE (check it out at www.dualityentertainment.com). I always thought it would be cool to make one after drawing it so many times from computer reference. I made some changes to the design as it took shape...some for mechanical reasons, others for aesthetic reasons.

The barrel is 1-3/8" PVC (with a 1" piece recessed within). I built a framework for the forward receiver out of styrene.

After framing the front, I covered it with styrene.

I built the grips out of styrene in box form to slip over the frame. A bit of Dremel sanding rounds out the edges of the grip.

The slide rails were built out of 8 sheets of styrene and sanded/carved into shape. The inner rail, where it touches the barrel, was formed by wrapping sandpaper on the PVC and sanding until my arm fell off!

The curved connector at the back of the barrel was made by heat(gun) forming a strip of .08 styrene over the PVC. A second strip was heat formed over the first to add thickness.

I cast a hemisphere (from a ping pong ball) out of resin for the barrel end. I sculpted a base from laminated styrene for the slide.

The completed slide

The slide and grip test fitted to the laminated plastic frame.

To mount the magazine, I cut a recess in the receiver to fit a magnet.

A quick test fit of the painted parts.

I added a lanyard ring to the base of the grip

I made a master for the magazine section with layered styrene.

This was molded and cast in resin. Unfortunately the resin was old and wouldn't cure completely.

But I used it as a form to heat shape styrene around.

I cut out the inside and replaced it with a styrene insert that would connect to the gun.

The completed magazine with steel plates added to connect to the magnet.

I added some socket bolts for the front of the magazine to lock into.

The final painted gun!

The magazine being removed.

PPSh-41: Final Photos

2005-07-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

The last thing to do was to stain and shellac the stock. Here are the final photos of this exhausting project!

This gun can be disassembled just like the real one...nothing is glued that shouldn't be. Eventually I will buy brass for the magazine and cast plastic bullets to fill the magazine.

Total build time: 120 Hours
Total Cost: $86
Total Weight: 2.25 lbs

PPSh-41: Gun Stock

2005-07-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

I originally intended to make the stock out of brich like the real gun, but pine proved to be more economical

Since I intended to router out the butt compartment and the slot for the receiver in front, I made the stock from two pieces of 3/4" pine, later to be glued together.

To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, there's the prop you intend to build and the prop you end up building. Even though I built everything to spec, because of my materials the receiver had to be thicker walled. In other words, the receiver wouldn't fit! I used some 1/8" basswood to widen the receiver opening and then laminated all the parts together.

Then, with the assistance of my trusty wood plane, I carved the rough shape of the stock's contours.

The stock after sanding.

I had to dremel out a notch above and below the grip to mount the receiver and trigger assembly.

The left side of the stock houses the rear sling bracket. I dremeled out this area to match a styrene bracket I had cut.

I inset the butt of the stock to accept the butt plate. I used the stock to heat form the sides of the butt plate out of styrene.

I used a loop of wire to join the ends of the styrene in place while the glue dried and glued the end of the butt plate to the sides.

The edges were sanded off and smoothed and the screw holes were beveled.

I glued in a small lip on the iside of the hatch and used a nail as a pin for the hinge.

With no reference for the INSIDE of the butt plate, I used a piece of steel as a spring to keep the door under tension.

PPSh-41: NEW Drum Magazine

2005-07-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the moment of truth is always when you start to combine parts. The drum magazine I spent ALL that time working on was TOO WIDE for the slot on the lower receiver. I had used a 3mm plastic for strength but didn't think it would affect the size that much. Unfortunately, if I was going to make a WORKING model, I needed a enough space inside for the bullets.

After pouting for a few days, I decided to remake the magazine with a thinner plastic. Fortunately I was able to use the old magazine as a form for the new one. Using a heat gun I was able to press the grooves directly into the surface of the top and bottom of the new magazine.

For the side of the drum, I used a plastic jug as the form and pressed the groove directly into that.

Inside the magazine is a track that feed the rounds into the gun. I was even able to heat form a groove in the track itself...just like the real one!

More putty to hide the seams on the assembled magazine. It didn't turn out as crisp and machined as I would've liked but I figure once painted and weathered it will look like it's been in a few battles!

This scoop is inside the opening of the magazine and guides the bullets out of the track. It was also (carefully) heat-formed.

This swiveling roller arm attaches to the spring case to push the bullets out of the drum.

The roller arm attaches to the spring case like so.

...and it all comes together. You can see how the clockwise rotating pusher arm runs through the tracks to feed ammo. Remember, I had no plans for the interior and it all had to be reverse engineered using cutaway drawings and photos. Is there a emoticon for patting yourself on the back?

The final touch is a small 'metal' loop that is attached to the side of the magazine. From what I've read, soldiers would loop string through it and tie it to their belt so it couldn't be dropped and lost!

PPSh-41: Barrel assembly

2005-07-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

I finally found a tube the right size for the barrel. Surprisingly, the barrel for this gun is only 10.5 inches! Once I had the right tube, I could finally drill a hole through the breach block

The dummy bullet that I made fits snugly in the breach.

and the barrel fits beautifully within the shroud. It is not glued, but held in place by a screw post.

PPSh-41: Drum Magazine

2005-07-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

The actual 70-round drum magazine is metal with embossed rings for strength (think the sides of an oil drum). Since I don't have a vacuum-forming table, I have to do this the HARD way. I glued rings on the inside of both the top and bottom of the drum ends...

...then attached the piece to my hand drill. I then used a blade to LATHE the grooves into the laminated plastic.

The other side I cut INTO the surface to fake the appearance of an embossed ring.

The wall of the magazine was a bear to figure out but I had an old gift can the right diameter that I could heat form the plastic around!

It even had an embossed groove just like I needed!

Here is the assembled magazine as seen from the back. Note the piece that the magazine release catches and the lip of the lid. the opening is where the bullets will come out.

Same thing as viewed from the top.

And then opened.

I dummied up a bullet from another kit with the same caliber (7.62x25 in case you're interested)

...I just made it shorter from an AK 7.62x39. The bracket will mount over the opening and allow the bullets to feed into the gun.

This box contains the spring (it winds like a clock) that pushes the bullets out of the magazine. Lots more heat forming in the dimple of the cap and the walls of the case.

The center pin has a ratchet cap that holds the lid in place as well as allows the center spring to be wound. For this I super heated some plastic and stretched it over a marker that had the right diameter.

Here you can see the completed cap, assorted hardware and the center pin. This was drill-lathed out of laminated plastic. It would've been MUCH easier with a REAL lathe.

PPSh-41: Magazine Latch

2005-06-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

The magazine latch (the part that keeps the magazine seated in position to feed bullets) was tricky to figure out but was in fact brilliantly simple in design. My biggest problem (as in the rest of this project) was getting the individual parts to work together and then fit and work with the lower receiver. You can see a mis-drilled hole when I was trying to figure out the correct position.

The latch in position shows how the latch rotates its the axle and, with pressure from a hidden spring, locks the magazine in place. The folding handle flips down and then moves the latch away from the magazine, allowing it to be removed.

Here are all the parts I have completed in relative position to each other. I'm getting close...

PPSh-41: Bolt

2005-06-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

The bolt pulls rounds out of the magazine, pushes them in the breach and fires them. Mine was made by laminating some 20-odd sheets of plastic together. Now it is a SOLID hunk of plastic! The metal strip on top is the extractor spring which I made out of metal from a picture frame.

The spring guide is a rod that acts as a guide for the bolt as it moves in the receiver. I used a long bolt, trimmed down the head with a grinder, and sheathed it with an aluminum tube. The bolt is pushed backward by recoil and hits a plastic stopper. For this I used laminated plastic.

I have not yet found a spring the right size for this part. It needs to be 5' long extended, 1' compressed, .25" inner diameter and you should be able to compress it with one hand. As I have looked in every local hardware store, I suspect I find it as part of some household gizmo. If you have a spring like this PLEASE contact me!

The bolt slides on the spring guide as shown. The spring will fit between the bolt and the brown piece.

The firing pin fits in the bolt face. For this I cut off a piece from a toy, put it in my hand drill and used a blade to lathe the tip. This piece is only 1/2" long.

When it's inserted, another pin locks it in place.

The safety on the PPSh-41 is a small sliding latch that locks the bolt in an open or closed position. It utilizes a small spring powered plunger to lock it in place. I had trouble finding a spring that small so I cut off a small piece of a rubber octopus's tentacle to push the plunger.

Unfortunately I couldn't build the bolt with an opening for the handle/safety because I wasn't confident that everything would line up correctly. After I marked the positions of the bolt in the receiver, I drilled, filed and cut the hole for the handle.

Once I glued it in place, a little sanding made it appear to be one piece. The handle is surprisingly solid although the spring I'm trying to find shouldn't cause that much torque.

Once again, please be on the lookout for the Mystery Spring. It could be anywhere!

PPSh-41: Trigger Assembly

2005-06-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

The front sight came together very fast (about 1 hour) so I forgot to take pictures along the way. I didn't have any good reference for the sight post so I modeled it after the front sight off the AK-47. It isn't glued in so when I get better photos, I can change it. The flat part is laminated styrene with a hole drilled for the post. The Ring was heated plastic stretched around a bottle. The "feet" were created separately because any applied heat would ruin the ring.

The extractor sits in front of the bolt and strips the expended casing out of the bolt face. A little glue and some filing for this simple part.

The selector switch (allowing either semi or full-auto fire) was a bit of a mystery for me. All I had to go by were some long shots and a cutaway drawing. Assembled I think its close...the actual construction is my best guess.

The trigger assembly involved much trial and error. I barely understand the mechanisms but everything seems to work!

PPSh-41: Upper Receiver Latch

2005-05-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

The piece on the left is simulating the big hunk of steel that forms the breach of the gun. If it isn't obvious, I made this piece by sandwiching a bunch of 3mm sheets together...the reddish stuff is putty.

For those who are unfamiliar with firearms operation, the breach is the part at the back of the barrel where the bullet is inserted. Eventually I will drill a large hole in the back of this piece to accommodate a barrel. The small hole that you see now is where the upper receiver is attached to the lower receiver.

The other piece is the latch that locks the upper receiver down to the lower receiver. I heated a sheet of plastic with the heat gun, stretched it over the wooden form that I made before to get the main arch. Then I heated the end and just SMUSHED it around to get the rounded end. A little sanding, a little putty and it looks like it was always one piece! The gripping edge was just some careful carving with a metal file. I then cut a long rectangular slot out of the top and attached a small piece of plastic that I heat bent around a pencil. This area will house a compression spring that keeps the latch closed.

A "L" shaped piece was glued on to the end that will fit into a slot on the lower receiver. Note the spring in place.

On the REAL receiver, a small "U" shape is cut into the top and the metal is bent up to form a catch for the spring. Since it would be extremely difficult to replicate this with the plastic, I just cut a piece and glued it on.

The completed latch! You can see the slot where the tab is inserted on the lower receiver. The white dot on the side of the latch is a pin that goes all the way through both the latch and Upper receiver. The pin actually runs in a small slot on the receiver (visible 2 photos up!) that allows it to move back and forth about 1/4"...enough for the latch to disengage.

It starts to take shape AT LAST! And the best part is that EVERTHING FITS AND WORKS! Yea! Me am smart!

PPSh-41: Misc Internal Parts

2005-05-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Using a cutaway poster as a guide, I built the trigger assembly internal parts and the rear sight.

The rear sight is pretty clever as it uses an inverted "v"-shaped piece of metal as a rocker spring to toggle two different sight apertures.

The trigger parts remain a bit of a mystery as far as their function and relation to each other. Hopefully all will make sense when I ASSEMBLE it.

PPSh-41: Upper Shroud correction

2005-05-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

I made templates on the computer based on the machinist's diagrams.

I measured twice and cut once.

and still....

The shroud holes on the left side weren't matching the holes on the right. There was a noticeable angle to the holes. sigh.

Fortunately it wasn't TOO hard to fix. I cut a panel with the vent holes and spliced it into the shroud. Lots o' putty and sanding and I'm back to where I was a day ago.

Oh well.

PPSh-41: Lower Receiver

2005-05-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

The lower receiver came together pretty fast so I don't have any progress photos. It's basically built like a box, the hardest part was the curved section at the back. I bent some heated plastic around a bottle with the right diameter and then glued it to the rest of the box. A little sanding and putty and it's one piece! Same goes with the curved "tongue" above it.

The big notch is where the drum magazine fits. Most of the rest of it will be inside the wooden stock.

I hit it with a little Testors metallizer "gunmetal" spray paint as a test. This paint will actually buff up a nice metal sheen!

PPSh-41: Upper Receiver

2005-05-12T01:40:00.000-07:00

Since this piece hinges and supports lots of other parts, I decided to try to form this from a single piece of plastic. I cut a piece of wood to match the INSIDE of the receiver and using the heat gun, wrapped the plastic around the wood.

Unfortunately, because of the length of the piece I couldn't keep a uniform level of heat on the plastic to keep the bends even. Not only is the receiver uneven and lumpy, but it turned out too wide.

My second rule of building (the first being "measure twice, cut once") is "don't be afraid to do it over". This time I cut out the sides of the receiver as individual panels and join them together like a box. I glued in a thin strip on the inside joints for support.

I glued the sides on to the top piece (a "u" shape) and then glued in a barrel support and the muzzle end.

Before I glued the bottom, I painted the inside as it would be next to impossible to paint it when completed.

A little putty, sanding and blading the edges to get the "bend metal" round edges that I tried to get with the first attempt.

Soviet PPSh-41 Submachine Gun

2005-05-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

I've always loved the look of this gun so I have decided to try something ambitious by re-creating this one as accurately as possible. I plan to make it as functional as styrene plastic will allow. Obviously it will NEVER be able to fire anything, but I'd like to have little plastic bullets in a spring-loaded drum magazine which will cycle into a little plastic chamber and then get ejected by a little plastic spring-loaded bolt!

My web research has produced actual machinists diagrams of most of the parts of the gun. Others I will have to extrapolate from photos. I will also carve a birch stock to complete the authenticity.

Information on the real gun can be found here...
http://www.ppsh41.com/

My progress will follow....

Spartan Hoplite's Sword (Xiphos)

2005-05-03T17:06:00.001-07:00

After reading Frank Miller's "300", I became interested in the ancient Spartans. I based my pattern on actual spartan swords from museum collections, not the horrible movie.

I cut out three 3mm sheets of plastic based on two photos of actual swords. Clamping them together, they still had too much flex. I got a piece of flat 3mm steel (3/4" wide) and cut out a channel in the inner layers.

I added two more shaped layers to build up what was described in my research as a "diamond profile". On retrospect, I should have used full blade width layers as the shaped ones caused gaps that had to be puttied later.

I used the long blade from my Swiss Army knife to shave a blade edge on the sword. Hold the knife's edge PERPENDICULAR to the surface of the plastic and you can shave the plastic into shape. This also works as a alternative to rough sanding.

Next comes the boring part where you fill all holes and imperfections with model putty. Be prepared to apply multiple coats and spend some time sanding.

The pommel was constructed by cutting elliptical disks of different sizes with a rectangular hole. The "cap" I made separately to make it easier to get a file into the hole.

The hand guard was constructed as a box which fit over cross members that were cut as part of the sword body.

The grips were cut out of 1/4" walnut and Dremel sanded to shape. Note the tabs at either end to tuck into the pommel and hand guard. I then used some stain to bring out the grain and seal the wood.

After painting, all the pieces were glued on completing my Spartan Hoplite Xiphos!

The final sword.

Sauron's Mace

2005-05-02T00:46:00.001-07:00

This mace started as a quickie prop for my Sauron Halloween costume. The shaft is a cedar closet dowel, cut hexagonally with a hacksaw. The head piece and butt were pine discs of various diameters on a threaded rod. To get it done in time, I cut flat styrene blades and glued them to the head.

After the holidays, I decided (or was compelled by dark forces) to bring the mace up to spec. The blades were re-cut out of 3 sheets of 3 mm plastic laminated together. I used the Dremel sander to grind the bevels on the blades and modeling putty was used to build the raised dividing fins. The new blades were glued to the head with 2-part epoxy.

The grip ribs and spiked band (halfway up the shaft) are styrene. The hand guard was made with a pine disk and wood putty.

I added the "Black Tongue" runes to alternating facets of the shaft with craft "puffy paint".

The whole thing was painted with Testors Aluminum Spray Paint. For the weathered look, I applied a wash thinned-down black enamel paint.

Total build time: Approximately 30 hours
Total cost: $20

Logan's Run Sandman DS (Deep Sleep) Gun

2005-04-11T01:51:00.001-07:00

This gun is from the 1976 sci-fi film "Logan's Run". I was able to find some very detailed plans online, including WORKING acetylene blasting models (as in the film)! I used plans from the original prop maker, Richard Coyle. It's rare when you can find any sort of detailed specs, so this was a joy to work on.

First, I cut out the grip halves and trigger according to the plans. I used .08 sheet styrene laminated to build the right thickness. The muzzle was cut out of PVC and beveled on the end by attaching it to a drill, turning it into a makeshift lathe.

I wanted to be able to pull the trigger so I took a spring from a crappy ball point pen and inserted it under the trigger (deviating from specs).

The Receiver tube and gas cannister are stock PVC parts cut to size. There is a small barrel hidden within the muzzle shroud...for that I used the barrel of an old dried up marker. The knob at the end of the gas cannister is laminated styrene. The stage came together pretty fast, so I don't have photos of the assembly.

I then airbrushed the interior of the muzzle. For final painting with spray paint, I didn't want to miss or overpaint any of these confined areas. The receiver tube was epoxied to the grip and puttied to hide the seam. I cut out the grip plates from sheet styrene and sanded them to shape.

I masked off the trigger and the interior of the muzzle and gave all the parts 5 coats of primer, sanding where needed.

I made the ignition plug (below the muzzle) according to the plans but it just looked like a spark plug. Since mine didn't have to work, I scrapped the part and rebuilt it using a plastic wall anchor and a metal dowel. It is the same size as the original part, retains the spirit of the original but looks more futuristic.

Same situation on the arming switch in front of the trigger. The original plans call for a toggle switch. I adapted a bolt for a decorative substitution.

The final paint for the grip plates was Krylon gloss black (many coats). The rest of the gun was painted with semi-gloss black (Also many coats). Krylon suggests that spray paint be given 5 to 7 days to cure, so I waited to epoxy on the grips. The grip plates look strange only coming up halfway, but I was surprised how comfortable they were when assembled! Very solid hold and a ambidextrous thumb rest.

Imperial Stormtrooper Blastech E11 Blaster Rifle

2005-03-27T01:23:00.001-07:00

This replica of the "Return of the Jedi"-era Imperial Stormtrooper Blaster is entirely handmade from PVC pipe (all tubular elements) and styrene plastic, the exception is a resin pistol grip. If you want to build one, go to the Blaster Builders Club at http://www.imperial-fleet.com/.

The stand was made with sheet styrene. I tried out a new weathering technique by first painting silver as a base coat. Then I took mustard (yes, the condiment!) and squirted it anywhere I wanted "damage". White is sprayed over as a topcoat. Once that dries you can wash away paint over the mustard so it looks like old paint flaking off!

This gun is based on the WWII British Sterling Submachine gun. Looking at photos of this weapon helped but many of the details were modified for the movies.

The sight rail is made by sandwiching 11(?) sheets of plastic together into one solid piece. I use lacquer thinner to weld the pieces together for a fast and solid bond. The scope mount is removable and made with the same technique for all the pieces. The Scope is made from PVC (big cylinders), Plastic funnel, lens from disposable camera and a transparent action figure stand (rear eyepiece).

The Stock extends and locks just like the real one. I even put in a small spring in the butt plate so that it snaps back in place when folded up.

I started building before I realized there was a difference in the weapons used in the original trilogy. My barrel cutouts are from "A New Hope"-era while the rest is ROTJ. Oops. Perhaps a model variant between the eras?

The prop has a working trigger and safety, which took some figuring out as the "forward" position is "FIRE" and the "vertical" position is "SAFE". The trigger has a small spring pushing it forward and the safety employs a double lever that blocks the trigger when on SAFE. The pistol grip itself is a resin copy from a REAL Sterling, I bought from a guy at the Blaster Builders Club.

The barrel is PVC pipe. The sling ring, front site and heat vents were all formed by using a heat gun and bending 3mm styrene plastic into shape. It takes some practice (and burns) but you can achieve some unique shapes.