Hellboy II elemental egg

Honus

Honus

Sr Member
This is a project I've wanted to tackle for quite a while and after giving it a fair bit of thought I think I have a good idea as to how to make it.

For the film I believe two eggs were constructed; the first actual size (I'm guessing approximately 4" long with a 3" diameter, maybe even a bit smaller?) and a second that was quite large that was used for the sequence where the egg opens up to reveal the elemental bean- I'm guessing that it was either animatronic or cable control.

What I want to make is an actual size egg that opens up- an animatronic egg display piece. I plan to do this by having the egg mounted to a base and having servos open the upper section and the lower section of the egg. The servos will be hidden in a box underneath the egg. The lower section is pretty tricky as there are 24 individual plates that open outward and they open at different rates. I would also like to make the bean glow during the animation sequence. At this point I think I have the majority of the mechanics figured out and I plan to construct the egg shell by forming brass sheet over a wood mandrel. I imagine one of the hardest things to accomplish will be having the plates close properly- it will require very precise fitting and manufacturing of the mechanics.

What I am looking for now is help with any good reference photos or any related information as there doesn't appear to be much available. I have a few screencaps from the standard def DVD and there is one small picture of it in the book Cabinet of Curiosities (which is excellent by the way- a must read for Guillermo delToro fans.) I also have the book on the making of Hellboy II: The Golden Army but other than a couple of diagrams/sketches there isn't much there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A couple of pics of the egg-



 
Sorry I can't help with research, but I will be following this for sure. I'd love one, although I'd be happy with a static display piece - sounds amazing!
 
I'll post some pics of my design sketches when I get a chance. I figured it was time to put my jewelry making skills to use on a really cool prop piece. This is going to be a real challenge and as always I'm sure I'll learn a lot in the process. :)
 
I can ask around for you as my friends company made the eggs and beans for Hellboy II. I can't guarantee anything as the owner will not let have any reference as he gets paranoid about black market replicas of props he's made. Just in case it gets back to the production houses. Maybe one of the other guys will have something?

I saw it at the workshop before it went out and it's even more impressive in the flesh!

Great project.... looking forward to seeing more. :thumbsup
 
sskunky said:
I can ask around for you as my friends company made the eggs and beans for Hellboy II. I can't guarantee anything as the owner will not let have any reference as he gets paranoid about black market replicas of props he's made. Just in case it gets back to the production houses. Maybe one of the other guys will have something?

I saw it at the workshop before it went out and it's even more impressive in the flesh!

Great project.... looking forward to seeing more. :thumbsup
Click to expand...

Thanks so much- any additional information would be awesome! I can understand and respect the owner's point of view. I know I will only be making one egg. :)
 
Found a wood egg at a local craft store for $2. The length is about right but unfortunately the diameter is way off. I also don't know if the film version had a round or flat bottom since it's very hard to tell by watching the film.

 
well its easter time...so I would scope out the plastic easter eggs ..plenty of sizes to choose from...u can use the plastic cases as molds or just etch the case itself !

your first pic looks like the bottom may be round ...but the second pic shows it opened up and standing on its own--so it must be flat bottomed ??
 
Lot of work there if I was u I would start by geting all the info I could get after that a prototype out of cardboard go from there gool luck will keep my eye on this


It will be funtastic
 
buckettt said:
well its easter time...so I would scope out the plastic easter eggs ..plenty of sizes to choose from...u can use the plastic cases as molds or just etch the case itself !

your first pic looks like the bottom may be round ...but the second pic shows it opened up and standing on its own--so it must be flat bottomed ??
Click to expand...

Plastic won't work for me- I'm much better working with metals. :)

I'm guessing there were a couple of versions of the small egg in the film. The open version that you see standing on its own was able to rotate on the box top in the film (during the sequence when Nuada is assembling it) so I'm thinking the bottom had a flat area where it was attached to the table/rotating mechanism- it looks like it does when you get a very brief side view of it in the film. The egg that Nuada is holding in his hand is first the small version (closed) when he takes it out of his pocket, then switches to the large version during the opening sequence and then switches back to the small version (opened) when he removes the elemental bean- all of these appear to have a round bottom but I can't be 100% sure due to the angles at which it is seen.
 
Dvizza 1988 said:
Lot of work there if I was u I would start by geting all the info I could get after that a prototype out of cardboard go from there gool luck will keep my eye on this


It will be funtastic
Click to expand...

Cardboard prototype won't really be necessary. The egg mandrel will need to be slightly smaller due to the thickness of the brass sheet used- I'm starting off with material around .030" thick but I can run it through a rolling mill if I need to reduce the thickness slightly. Once I anneal it I'll hammer form it over the egg mandrel and then trim each panel to the required shape. Believe it or not that's actually the easy part. The tough part of the fabrication is all of the pivot points required as they really can't have any slop in them if it is to close correctly. I'm still finalizing all of the mechanics but I think I have the assembly sequence and how all of the parts have to fit together mostly figured out.

The other tricky bit is the required motion ratio for each hinged piece and making sure I can translate the vertical motion of the control rods through the egg center into the proper range of motion for each of the moving plates. There's not a lot of room in there so the vertical motion is fairly restricted. The way I have it figured out right now is the pin at the top needs to raise up- this will activate a microswitch that triggers the opening sequence- I have another method of activating to opening sequence if that doesn't work out. A hollow rod that goes through the center of the egg will move downward and open the four plates in the top egg section. A second hollow rod will move upward through the bottom of the egg- this will move the control rods that open the plates on the lower egg section. Getting all of this to move correctly without any binding is the real challenge. The egg in the film opens in a very slow and smooth motion and I really want to get that part right.
 
Dude why not go mechanic if to say your not and going electronics i only say this cuz woy where going to use a servo what i was thinking was buy looking at it a pin
on thethe bottom with a spring on it ween you wint to move the top part it would move a rod with a gear opeing theas it passd a release mechanism lost of little olod clock parts just an idey sry for tue typos doing this on a phone lol
 
Dvizza 1988 said:
Dude why not go mechanic if to say your not and going electronics i only say this cuz woy where going to use a servo what i was thinking was buy looking at it a pin
on thethe bottom with a spring on it ween you wint to move the top part it would move a rod with a gear opeing theas it passd a release mechanism lost of little olod clock parts just an idey sry for tue typos doing this on a phone lol
Click to expand...

Not 100% sure what you're saying but the reason for using servos is that I can control the timing and movements in a very precise manner and it's the most practical solution. I originally had considered a spring drive system so the egg would not be attached to a platform but it would not fit inside the egg and it would be difficult to control the spring release force in order to obtain the controlled movement I want.
 
Just an incredible undertaking. If you have the skills to build this, and it certainly sounds like you do, this is going to be awesome to watch! Subscribed!
 
ahoudini said:
Just an incredible undertaking. If you have the skills to build this, and it certainly sounds like you do, this is going to be awesome to watch! Subscribed!
Click to expand...

Well I figure I won't know unless I try, right? It'll certainly be a change of pace from my latest animatronic projects, which have been larger in scope in terms of physical size and electronic complexity but less mechanically complex.

Working on a project this size is right in my fabrication comfort zone since I make stuff like this at my day job-


 
This thread is more than 7 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

orntar
Hellboy Samaritan display stand
Replies
2
Views
151
DaveChaos
DaveChaos
D
Kroenen Face/Bust sculpt 2023 - Hellboy
Replies
4
Views
388
JOATRASH FX
JOATRASH FX
Starganderfish
Best Hellboy (2004) Samaritan 3D model for printing
Replies
1
Views
420
Talisen
Talisen
G
Hellboy rosary
Replies
4
Views
671
ReplicaZero
ReplicaZero
BingoMaru
WIP Hellboy display
Replies
2
Views
929
Mottrex
Mottrex
Back
Top