009: A look to the future...

Hello again!

So today I'm looking ahead on two projects that are on the way to being started.

I have line outlines for my next two props, the Gears of War 3 Lancer and Retro Lancer. I went into Adobe Illustrator and did the line work. Took around 3-5 hours, but I'm getting pretty fast. I'll put up the smaller pictures here, but I'll also link the imgur files which has the full size versions.

 Links:

Lancer
http://imgur.com/22CAoie
Retro Lancer
http://imgur.com/w4fPzFd  

I'm excited to get into my workshop and get going on it! 

008: RE:6 Pistol update / Back to it!

So, it has been a long time.

A big part of this is due to the lack of a workshop.

And getting used to my new job at the middle school.

So anywho, I just never completed the SoL, (Sword of Light) that costume got delayed last second, and I had issues with the fiber-glassing. I will finish eventually though.

However the backup costume became the main costume last second and so I have a ton of pictures to put up of the HK VP70 build I did. A few things I want to say first are these: 1.) Paint job was rushed and rough. I was painting on a balcony in january. Spray paint did not do what I wanted. 2.) The gun ended up too thin. by about 1/4". I learned that I need to start big instead of trying to build up. 3.) This was my first run with mdf and I absolutely loved it. I had a jig saw, a dremmel, and thats it. So I am excited to add some tools, get in my new garage, and get going on new projects soon!

Well I thought I had a ton of pictures. In fact I know I had a ton of pictures. But apparently they are gone. So here are the after photos.

 I changed the HK to MR for personalization.

 The size was good, just a bit thin.

The laser sight was a plumbing piece that looked decent.

I made a holster from foam core board and foamies.

My bum, and the holster. It held up the whole con and more!

I'll be back with more updates very soon. I have the line work for my next couple of projects done up and we should be moving into the house mid July, so I'll finally be in my garage/workshop!

007: More SoL progress

Well, today was another day of progress, but it's the best kind of progress. The kind where your vision starts to come into focus and gets really exciting. Today I crafted the blade in preparation of fiber-glassing the week of thanksgiving or a weekend soon.

Onto the pictures!

Here is the blade, roughly shaped out of EPS, or Expanded PolyStyrene. This was cheap and super lightweight. I used a super dull dremmel sanding head to shave down the EPS, which couldn't support much force for fear of snapping.

Next I covered this in masking tape. This is simply a layer of protection for the EPS as fiberglass resin will eat the EPS. I made sure to cover the whole thing with a solid layer of tape.

Here are the pieces so far. Clockwise from bottom left is the Pommel, the PVC Handle, the Crossguard, The blade (taped up), and the 1/2 in Dowel rod that runs through the sword.

Here is a picture of the Dowel rod sitting in a recess within the PVC recess.

From there the PVC will slide down into the recess. Once all the pieces are in a finished state, it will be put together permanently.

The the cross guard will slide down and it has a recess on the underside for the PVC handle part.

A pic of the recessed underside of the cross guard.

It is very exciting to see something you plan on paper start to resemble your prop in real life!

006: First test fit

Risky back again, and today was an exciting day! Today I was able to call the basic sanding/shaping done and drill open the holes for the pvc to slide into. This allowed for a quick test fit to see how it was coming along.

This sword is a two-handed sword, so I had to initially trim down the pvc a bit as I over-estimated the length.

 

Here is another reference shot for comparison.

Next up will  be the blade build, then test fit and primer.

005: Back at it!

So after a brief hiatus, I'm back at it with the Gourry SoL. The break was income induced, I need so many tools and accessories that even basic work is sometimes halted till payday. As I am a father and husband, I have to make sure bills are paid, food is on the table, and gas is in the car. Also since I am new to the prop making hobby, my supplies are sparse as of yet.

What I was missing were dremmel tips. I had a lot of sanding to do sans a belt sander. And the amount was multiple millimeters of mdf, a bit more than what i could manage by hand in a reasonable amount of time. Sure if I was perhaps more dedicated, or obsessed, I could have hand sanded it, but it honestly ended up being a case of needing the right tool for the right job.

So I was able to get the right tool today at Harbour Freight!

So without further ado, lets see the results of today's work.

 The Hilt:

The Pommel:

I may take some more off the pommel, but overall I'm pretty happy with the overall shape of both pieces. I'm especially happy since I only have a dremmel to do all of my sanding. 

I'll take tomorrow to measure out and cut the handle using 1/2" PVC. I want to use PVC so I can allow the blade's tang to slide in and get held in place with a nut and bolt. The core of the blade will be a dowel rod. 

Thanks for coming around and watching what I'm up to!

004: Deja Vu

So today I got out again, in between getting grades done for my 6th graders, and started on the hilt for the Sword of Light, henceforth known as SoL. So I restarted after learning a lot the first time through and I had better results this time.

As I mentioned last time, this go round I did not laminate them first, but am doing that after initial shaping. I'm also learning about how hard it is to get cone shapes to match...

After my day's work, I went from 3/4 in. MDF to these two pieces, laminated together at the end of the day. I am discovering and rewriting my wish list everyday. Today at the top of my list went C-clamps as I ended up holding everything I cut, drimmeled, and sanded.

Tomorrow, I'll do a lot more hand sanding with some 100 grit to finish up the shaping and I'll also be working on the crevices between the tail spikes on the hilt. They still need some love and attention. Soon it will be time to bondo and sand in a perpetual loop into infinity. And beyond.

003: A Day of Learning

So today was my first dedicated day to my first build. Boy, did I learn a lot today!

So first up, I learned just how nice it will be when I have my own shed or garage to work in. Big props to my good buddy LB3 for the backyard, but oh how nice it will be to organize my stuff!

Next I learned that my thoughts on the pre-cut laminating were a bit off. I got some functional pieces but I'm gonna take a second stab at it tomorrow with un-laminated parts. For the tools I'm using and the depths I'm cutting, separate pieces are the way to go.

Lastly, and speaking of tools, I have learned that while I have the bare minimum to do this build, it will be neither easy nor quick. I'm ok with this! This is no problem! I will persevere and this will make this build all the more sweet.

So here is a pic of pictures from today's build, and I have a lot of ideas for tomorrow's restart. And hey that's the point, right? Live and learn?