PlayfulWolfCub
-
Posts
636 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Articles
Media Demo
Everything posted by PlayfulWolfCub
-
Hi guys. At long last I've made my very first Star Wars prop sales thread! It feels very cool http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24179-screen-accurate-e11-power-cylinders/ Could everyone on the "No obligation Interest List" who is still interested please post on the sales thread with your name and the letters & names of the shape(s) you'd like. This will secure your position on the waiting list. Cheers, Andy
-
No problem Matthias. Bear in mind that if they're the ones from Matt Black they're 5.5mm diameter rather than the 5mm I believe they were so they'll look slightly different You haven't seen my pdfs yet! lol Thanks, Patrick & Rob, for your encouraging words... I'll shut up & take money now! (...well, in a little while... I've got all the materials ordered but I'd rather not take anyone's money till I've got finished sets of Cylinders to send out.) Cheers, Andy
-
Hi guys... so I’ve finally finished my Power Cylinders and Replica E11 Blasters project! To those of you who’ve been following this thread from the very start, thanks for your support and well done for hanging in there – it’s been a long, convoluted journey! Instead of uploading lots of high-res photos I've made a pdf gallery which you can download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a9dfofb9kpi6zp1/E11%20Replicas.pdf (It displays better if you download rather than viewing online, and you get the bookmarked contents list) I’ve also put a summary of everything I’ve learned about the Cylinders project into a pdf: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s53lnuh9rq5xe7a/E11%20Power%20Cylinders%20Analysis.pdf (This displays better as a download too. It isn’t quite finished yet but the link will update automatically if I make any changes.) As a taster, here are the front covers and one "E11 Replica Blasters" page based on one of my favourite scenes from the film... Now that I’m happy with the accuracy of the Power Cylinders I’ll make a sales page. I’ll put everyone who is on the “No obligation interest list†at the top of the orders list. If you’re still interested please let me know in the sales thread, saying which shape(s) you want. They’ll come with the same amount weathering as the ones in the “E11 Replicas†pdf unless you ask for something different. (Please note that some shapes are unweathered and each one is hand-made so obviously each set will look slightly different. I’m happy to do custom requests though it might cost extra and if you ask for pink ones I’ll need payment in advance... lol) Feel free to offer constructive feedback on the pdfs. Maybe I missed something out or made a mistake or whatever... Hope you enjoy them. Cheers, Andy
-
Thanks guys, I'm glad my experiments are still entertaining you. lol Vern, you get the prize for "most creative feedback"! You make a very good point Stefan. It's in my nature to try to make things the absolute best they can be and sometimes I don't recognise when it's time to say "that's good enough." However much detail I put in I don't want to charge more than I'd pay for a good Hengstler or M38 scope. So perhaps £85 / Euro100 / US$129 plus shipping (+ fees if people want to pay with PayPal). That's a very good price for the amount of work they take but some people won't have that sort of money for Cylinders so i'm intending to offer unassembled kits as well for maybe half the price. This is a new idea that I'm thinking about but the kit would include: 1 x fully shaped steel baseplate, 2 x steel outer cylinders with vent slits, 4 x copper end caps (pre-drilled for bolts), 4 x steel end nuts & bolts 2 x aluminium internal cylinders 1 x 4mm steel nut, 4 real resistors, short length of woven sleeving 3 x aluminium replica capacitors 0.7mm wire for capacitors What wouldn't be included: solder or glue (I'll test to see whether the kit can be glued together) zinc-plating process (because it has to be done after soldering) paint weathering powders fancy presentation box I think people could have fun with these kits and all the hard work will have been done. Anyone like the idea? In terms of time scale, I'll try to get a sales page up this weekend with some really nice photos and start taking real orders for fully finished sets. Thanks Chris, hope you're doing ok now mate I won't be using glue on the fully finished sets because there are no parts that were glued on the originals. I'll test glue a kit together though, if people like the idea of the kits. It won't look as accurate but it might be an option for folk who can't solder.
-
Hi guys, time for a long overdue update.... I found a less shiny paint which I think looks really close to what the proppies used on the MSE. I've checked under different lighting conditions, unweathered, slightly weathered & very dusty. I'm pretty happy with it & I think it's likely that they used the same on the E11s. In the pursuit of total accuracy I've been looking at the ceramic tube that can be seen through the rear vent slits & in some of the landspeeder photos. The one I've made in these pics is from FIMO, weathered with paint & modelling dust. By the time it's sealed in the cylinders it's just as effective (& far more heat resistant) to use metal tube with a covering of ceramic paint I'm not sure I've mentioned the slits before. They're only at the back and only appear on a few photos. When I solder the end caps onto the outer cylinders the solder flows into the joint & creates an airtight seal. When soldering the cap onto the other end, the air inside expands and pushes the end cap off a bit. Maybe that's why they put vent slits in? I had another spectacular capacitor explosion when I got one too hot. I swear I haven't pulled the foil strip out - this is exactly what it looked like after it exploded - it fired the rubber bung clear across the room. I'm guessing it's because the capacitors are airtight and contain acid-covered foil which gives off a gas when heated. It got me thinking though... I'd like to make the capacitors more authentically with rubber bungs crimped in an aluminium tube if I can. I'm waiting for the right colour rubber to arrive & trying to find some effective circular crimpers. This is pretty much the very last detail to finalise before I post loads of pics of all the Cylinders shapes, finish the website resource/pdfs & make a proper sales page Cheers, Andy
-
Thanks guys How much better can they get? I want them looking so photo-real that if I told you I'd found one of the original radar racks at a militaria fair & cut them up into Power Cylinders you'd believe me! (Of course, if I actually did that, the MSE builders would hunt me down and force me to dress as an Ewok! lol) This set is getting closer. I'm quite pleased with the look of the chips & I don't think I've over-weathered it (yet). I've realised the satin black I'm using is slightly too shiny though. I'm using the MSE as reference. Obviously the E11 Cylinders were used horizontally so the dusting would be on the baseplate, not the backplate but if I can match the MSE photos I've got a reference model copy the other way up. I'm sure that some people on the interest list would prefer me to make them a brand-new looking set (& I'll be happy to do that to order) but I want to get the weathering right first so that that option is there too. Cheers, Andy
-
lol... thanks Sergiu. Please note, they're not finished in those photos - that's pre-weathering. Some of the lumpiness in the paint finish you're seeing is masking fluid ready for pulling off to create "chips". I'll post weathered pics as soon as I'm happy I've got them screen-accurate. Cheers, Andy
-
I wasn't keen on my weekend weathering - I couldnt get exactly the right feel. Practise makes perfect though (hopefully). Here's a couple of shots of the 5 screen-matched variations before I started taking paint off though. The bubbly bits are masking fluid under the paint. I'd appreciate peoples' thoughts on the backplate edge smoothness. It's quite tricky getting the balance between hand-made and futuristic & all the photos we have are fuzzy. We know the proppies cut the backplates by hand & probably didn't bother filing them very smooth but if I leave them too rough they're a safety hazard & look poorly made. In any case, perhaps they actually did file them smooth for the actors safety? What do you think - would you like rougher or smoother edges on yours? Cheers, Andy PS - You'll spot the missing nut. That's Shape D (from Han's promo Tunisian) & the nut is missing on the original.
-
Looking really nice, Chris. Do you think you'll leave them looking fresh out of the Blastech factory or give them a bit of weathering? Cheers, Andy
-
Just a quick teaser of my Shape D (Tunisian version) progress. (It's deliberately out of focus to approximate the photo of the original.) I think it's nearly there - just a bit more tweaking needed to get a few elements slightly more accurate (including the weathering - I overdid it on this set). The other 4 Cylinder shapes are finished, but unpainted - photos of those soon e now
-
C3PO always dreamed of kicking some TK butt & those are the perfect Power Cylinders for his blaster! Cheers, Andy
-
Thanks Lee, will PM in a sec. That last photo is really nice, it's like a fine art print you could mount & put on the wall Cheers, Andy
-
That's very cool, thanks Lee I'd love to love more pics of these parts, if you have them. Even if they seem like shots we already have. I agree with Matthias's reading. I wonder if that's a ^ symbol after the 7210 (or 721D). Is there an electronics symbol that looks like that? The ACR might also be AER. Might it even be AERO... ? (Just guessing now) I look forward to hearing anyone's theories on what this new info tells us Cheers, Andy
-
PS - I reckon your brass Cylinders are going to be so pretty that you need to buy a gold-plated Sterling to mount them on!
-
Great job Chris! Really looking forward to more pics of your all-brass version For steadying the file you could try clamping something to your bench just in front of the work to rest the file on. This was one of my "backwoods" set-ups before I got my little lathe. Not pretty, but it worked well enough. Cheers, Andy
-
Thanks Ron, & thanks to all you guys posting encouragement, I appreciate it lol.... yes, hopefully I'll be able to send them all out in presentation/display boxes just like that one Jeff & Mark, thanks for your interest - I've added you to the "no obligation" list. I'll post an update about how well the rubber stamp works as soon as I've tried it. Cheers, Andy
-
Hi guys. I've give my mini Cylinders update & then I'll reply to your comments. I've been trying to find a source of original capacitors for a year now and have had very little luck so I'm going to make my own. Here are some photos of making aluminium ones on my lathe & my first trial at printing the text on them. I made a cutting tool roughly the right shape for the capacitor ends. It's not exactly the right shape but it was near enough for a trial. Finished off the shaping with a file: Then drilled a hole in it for the wire. Here's the prototype capacitor with 3 different capacitors that are the same size and shape as the original ones. The text is my best guess at what the originals said on them. (They'll be painted but the text should show through on the underside.) The first method of printing didn't work at all well so I've ordered a rubber stamp to be made with the text on it & I'll try a more permanent ink. I'll let you know how well that works. I think it's worth posting a photo of the unsuccessful trial, just to show the idea. Sorry it's so long between updates. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather after the Easter snow has gone! Cheers, Andy
-
Thanks Sergiu
-
&, since the Variations webpage isn't very pretty yet, here's the draft Welcome page:
-
Mini update... I’m still really excited about this project but healh problems have meant I’ve not been able to actually make anything. In the meantime, I’ve been putting together a website of Cylinders info. It’ll go live when I’ve taken good photos of all 5 of the main variant shapes. Here’s a sample diagram I've made for the site, showing the arrangements of nuts, holes and rear components on the different pairs of Cylinders as they were cut from the full rack (as seen on the MSE droid): & here's a "Cylinders Resource" webpage in progress where I've separated the chart I posted earlier into 5 to make it clearer. The 5 shapes at the bottom will be hotlinked to changes the info & pictures according to which one you select: (The top right photo is of Brent's set which I rushed a bit to get it to him for filming. I aim to get the finish on the main run to look more "vintage".) Cheers, Andy
-
Hi Vern, The diameter of the original capacitors varied slightly around 5mm. The ones Rob gave out varied around 5.5mm. I can make you half-completed "kits" to the shape you choose when the sales thread is up. You may need to file the capacitor holes a bit to fit exactly & then you'll need to fit the resistors & sleeving on the back. Or you could post me the caps & I can fit everything. Cheers, Andy
-
Hi Craig. I've put you down as interested in a couple of sets. I'm back on with the Cylinders now after some health problems. I'm reluctant to give a specific ETA as I've posted a couple of times "ETA a few weeks" & then it hasn't happened. Watch this space though Cheers, Andy
-
Glad you like it guys. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long for the rest of the research &, of course, the finished Cylinders sales thread
-
Sorry guys & thanks for your patience. Progress hasn't stopped, just slowed down due to family stuff. I'm also making sure I've got everything absolutely right before I can say "I think these are the most accurate Cylinders possible" & I needed to go through ANH frame by frame to try to identify how many distinct shapes they cut the Cylinders to. As a taster, here's the table I've made showing the best screen appearance of every visible set of cylinders. I've charted which character used them and the details of the E11 they were attached to. Some are my "best guess" and some I couldn't quite decide about so some of the table details will change but you get the idea. Cheers, Andy
-
Me too! lol Sorry guys, I've been extremely busy but have added everyone to the "No obligation Interest List" Ron, to my knowledge these are the most accurate Cylinders anyone's tried to reproduce. If anyone has had a go at this level of detail before they've kept very quiet about it. I don't think even George Lucas has any of the original Cylinders on his E11s so the ones I sold Brent might possibly be the most accurate ones in the world?!? (They were my only finished set, I don't even have any of my own yet! lol) I'm making sure I get chance to make some more Cylinders over Christmas. I have a bit of a confession to make though.... *hangs head in shame* ....I've recently been doing some work on another replica Star Wars prop with someone who was really keen to get their idea into production and wanted my mad attention to detail. It's very exciting - a really great prop that's never been available to buy before! I'll post news & links here. Cheers, Andy