msleeper
Sr Member
Been working on some major upgrades to my Ultron, specifically the helmet.
First off, I had it sent out to get 3D printed on a Zcorp 650, via TheObjectShop. The helmet barely just fits inside the printer dimensions. Cleanup and up-poly of the model took a lot longer than I'd like to admit, but it was well worth the effort.
The Zcorp 650 prints in a plaster type of material, so the print has a very fine, sand-like texture - and that wouldn't do at all for our final version. So I set about cleaning up the surface doing the ole prime-and-sand. There were also some pits and other small problems that I had to use spot putty on. This took about 2 weeks mostly non-stop.
After about 5 passes, I was satisfied with the master. The transition from the fresh print to the perfectly smooth, shiny surface is dramatic. Now we're ready to mold it. 3 days and about 25 hours of work later, we have some of my best molds yet.
So far I've pulled 3 test casts out of it, and none of them are really satisfactory. The first one was far too thin in the back, but I hit it with a quick coat of silver spraypaint and now it lives on the mannequin in the workshop. The other 2 are a bit more passable, but not exactly what I would call satisfactory.
In the meantime, my friend whose costume this is has been working on upgrading the electronics. In between screwing around in the shop that is.
He made a completely custom 8x24 LED matrix which we will install into the mouth, which is controlled by an Arduino. Once the helmet is finished we will install that and I will program it to have a randomized, "glitter" type effect. But we're also going to have a party mode where it will scroll text.
2 weeks until Dragon Con and we are nearly finished with the upgrades. All that's left is to pull a satisfactory casting from the mold, finish it up and paint it, and install the already completed electronics package.
laellee - I tried emailing you. Give me your shipping address, I really want to send you one of these things.
First off, I had it sent out to get 3D printed on a Zcorp 650, via TheObjectShop. The helmet barely just fits inside the printer dimensions. Cleanup and up-poly of the model took a lot longer than I'd like to admit, but it was well worth the effort.
The Zcorp 650 prints in a plaster type of material, so the print has a very fine, sand-like texture - and that wouldn't do at all for our final version. So I set about cleaning up the surface doing the ole prime-and-sand. There were also some pits and other small problems that I had to use spot putty on. This took about 2 weeks mostly non-stop.
After about 5 passes, I was satisfied with the master. The transition from the fresh print to the perfectly smooth, shiny surface is dramatic. Now we're ready to mold it. 3 days and about 25 hours of work later, we have some of my best molds yet.
So far I've pulled 3 test casts out of it, and none of them are really satisfactory. The first one was far too thin in the back, but I hit it with a quick coat of silver spraypaint and now it lives on the mannequin in the workshop. The other 2 are a bit more passable, but not exactly what I would call satisfactory.
In the meantime, my friend whose costume this is has been working on upgrading the electronics. In between screwing around in the shop that is.
He made a completely custom 8x24 LED matrix which we will install into the mouth, which is controlled by an Arduino. Once the helmet is finished we will install that and I will program it to have a randomized, "glitter" type effect. But we're also going to have a party mode where it will scroll text.
2 weeks until Dragon Con and we are nearly finished with the upgrades. All that's left is to pull a satisfactory casting from the mold, finish it up and paint it, and install the already completed electronics package.
laellee - I tried emailing you. Give me your shipping address, I really want to send you one of these things.
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