How to kill boredom when you are not building observatories.
The answer to my boredom prayers, to keep me sane and creative.
Found a cool site called the 405th. It's very geeky and nerdy so it's right up my alley. These guys use scratch-building and Pepakura techniques to build 3D wearable armour. It could be just a helmet, or full-body complete with lighting, mini arc-reactors and energy weapons.
There's Stormtrooper helmets (Clone Trooper and the newer ones), Halo armour, Predator heads and much more. I'm thinking of making a collection of sci-fi helmets to adorn the observatory.
The cutting, folding and shaping is very fiddly, technical and requires a lot of concentration, patience and planing.
Once the paper/card is shaped, resin is applied to the outside to stiffen, then the inside is lined with fibreglass matt, sanded and trimmed.
The outside is then bogged with car-body-filler, sanded, shaped and cut in with fine details.
Lastly, it is primed, painted and clear-coated with high quality automotive paint for a movie-grade finish.
Humble beginnings with stunning results. (I've included someone else's pic of their attempt.) Here's where I am at so far. Just applied the first coat of resin to the outside. It looks a bit rough, but you just wait.
P.S. the old paper shuttle is one I made a couple of years ago. Need to dust it off and repair it to hang in the observatory, along with my paper Cassini and Galileo models.
Baz.
Last edited by bloodhound31; 05-08-2012 at 06:14 PM.
Thats wicked Baz!
I'm going to have a look at this site!
BTW why 'dust off' the shuttle?. It's been Moth Balled..... so the dust will give it some authenticity.......
Just kiddink.....
Bartman
Thats wicked Baz!
I'm going to have a look at this site!
BTW why 'dust off' the shuttle?. It's been Moth Balled..... so the dust will give it some authenticity.......
Just kiddink.....
Bartman
LOL Bart!
I warn you, the 405th forum is a strange beast. It's hard to get answers sometimes and often when you ask a question, rather than answer it you will get directed to stickys and FAQ's. If you are new, it can be difficult finding what you want. Patience and perseverance is the key.
There are not enough hours in the day (or night) to do what I like to do.
I have so many hobbies that need to have my time spread about
This of course leaves no time for "chores" like painting the house, digging the garden, cutting the lawn etc. that "she" who must be obeyed believes is necessary.
There's Stormtrooper helmets (Clone Trooper and the newer ones) ...
You should consider joining the 501st Legion. It sounds like they're right up your alley. I'm not a member but I've met some of the guys - they're a good bunch and do a fair bit of charity work.
There are not enough hours in the day (or night) to do what I like to do.
I have so many hobbies that need to have my time spread about
This of course leaves no time for "chores" like painting the house, digging the garden, cutting the lawn etc. that "she" who must be obeyed believes is necessary.
Barry
You underestimate me Barry... If I have an hour of a day (after I have done the, "chores") I get twitchy and need to have something creative to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Astro_Bot
You should consider joining the 501st Legion. It sounds like they're right up your alley. I'm not a member but I've met some of the guys - they're a good bunch and do a fair bit of charity work.
First sanding and shaping layer of body-filler done, ready for the next layer. Got some edges to match up a little, but fitting together better than I expected.
This mask has been bugging me and I've come to the decision to trash it and start again.
The problem is that I printed it off without the numbers, as I did not know about them at the time. Nor did I know that the lines indicate hill folds and valley folds.
This has resulted in torsion of both the faceplate AND the helmet, making it warped and uneven.
Plus, there are parts I would not bother with and parts I would not cut next time. I would also make the helmet and mask together as one, fibreglass and bondo, then cut the faceplate off after, to ensure perfect alignment.
Tony Stark is the extraordinary engineer and his suit should reflect that in it's precision. I can't live with a warped helmet.
In saying that, getting this far has been an AWESOME learning experience. I've never worked with car-body-filler before, but it's great stuff to work and shape. I can't wait to start again, knowing what I know now.
There's a school of thought that the first run of anything significant should always be a prototype/learning experience, and the result put aside, never used, no matter what the personal attachment. The premise is that large endeavours are too complex to plan precisely and that inevitable changes, particularly in materials and manufacturing, will compromise quality unacceptably.
Large projects often entail not ony prototyping (and various associated development models and testing regimes) but also Production Testing and Low Rate Initial Production - all aimed at permitting unforeseen problems to be identified and rectified at the lowest reasonable cost.
OK, starting again from scratch, this time scaled to fit AND with the edge ID printed on it, to help me align. Now I know which lines represent hill and valley folds, it is soooooo much simpler to assemble correctly instead of GUESSING!
Using the edge ID numbers really makes a difference to the shape and overall appearance of this thing! Who'd have thought hey? Jaw and bottom half of faceplate assembled.
If I have an hour of a day (after I have done the, "chores") I get twitchy and need to have something creative to do.
I went to the site and my Nortons antivirus blockede a " Root bot " attack straight away !!! scary stuff , enter at your own risk 
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The 405th .
