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-
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-