Soda Popper (Baaawwnk) - Team Fortress 2

Archive&Future

Archive&Future

Sr Member
Force-a-Natures.
Force-a-Nature everywhere. Or at least that's what it can feel like when trawling through the swathe of scout cosplays that are scatter(gunned)ed throughout the internet.

So I and my friend John (partner in crime..?) have decided to embark upon a joint project: a pair of Soda Poppers.
Okay well, the deal with John and me is generally that I do all the technical work and about half of the actual making, while he gets hold of half of the materials and he does the other half of making. As such, I shelled out some doh on molding materials, and he got hold of a block and a bit of mahogany, with which we shall make the stock. I started off by making a dirty 1:1 diagram in Inkscape

tumblr_mleoepFLod1rvpchho1_500.jpg


John then turned a block of oak to create one barrel.

tumblr_mleogcdBor1rvpchho1_500.jpg


Which was then covered in two very thin layers of bondo (with sanding inbetween)

tumblr_mleoi0JTO81rvpchho1_500.jpg


And then waxed

tumblr_mleoj7PrwT1rvpchho1_500.jpg


Some days later... my order from MB fibreglass arrived!

tumblr_mleom4gE3N1rvpchho1_500.jpg


Then today, John made an MDF mold box, after which Diva and I made a clay..thingy..with the master embedded in it

tumblr_mleopfFds51rvpchho1_500.jpg


Now, this is my first time ever with any kind of molding silicone, and so a lot of this is very very far from good. My only hope is that it actually works

tumblr_mleorjj8KP1rvpchho1_500.jpg


tumblr_mleou30yTj1rvpchho1_500.jpg


The pour was good up until the dregs of the mix came out; badly mixed and full of bubbles. I only hope that it will still work

tumblr_mleouzTeGJ1rvpchho1_500.jpg


I still can't quite take in that that was a whole bottle used for just this half of the mold!

[Stating up front: we will be making a pair of these guns, on for John and one for me. As you can imagine, we will be making molds for a lot of parts of this gun; and as such there is a possibility of kits in the future, should there be enough interest.]
 
Last edited:
Big(ish) update!

So, the mold half turned out alrighty; so I poured the other half too (apparently I have no pictures of that??)

tumblr_mm4y5c1lEj1rvpchho1_500.jpg


But the whole mold is messy messy messy so it's not something I want to show off anyway.
I cast a solid test piece:

tumblr_mm4yaztyBn1rvpchho1_500.jpg


As far as casting goes: it's pretty good! As far as what we wanted: not that great

tumblr_mm4ycr6eoZ1rvpchho1_500.jpg


However: Mahogany stock baby! Awww yeah

tumblr_mm4yf4GNWn1rvpchho1_500.jpg


tumblr_mm4ygaFVLO1rvpchho1_500.jpg


John and I work with extreme professionalism
*snort*

tumblr_mm4yjxSx0b1rvpchho1_500.jpg


But my ghetto solution did work

tumblr_mm4ylbnQ8Y1rvpchho1_500.jpg


I did another, better, cast in the same way

tumblr_mm4yncEju71rvpchho1_500.jpg


tumblr_mm4yoskdQE1rvpchho1_500.jpg


John has hilariously TF2 proportions anyway so he's a good model for this gun :D
As already said (I think?) we'll be making at least 2 finished guns.
 
Not much interest in this thread apparently, maybe I should scrap it and make an iron man build?

Anyway, we bondo'd all along the seams and imperfections on the barrels

tumblr_mn7svwEnGG1rvpchho1_500.jpg


Then primed with a bley primer

tumblr_mn7sxcrlSF1rvpchho1_500.jpg


tumblr_mn7sypLlN21rvpchho1_500.jpg


I also learned how to use a lathe today, normally this is all John's department, but we're both learning from each other either way

tumblr_mn7t5cdoZH1rvpchho1_500.jpg


The piece I turned was then cut in half on the bandsaw, and bondo'd to a block of wood; then planed and sanded into shape.

tumblr_mn7t75ZsBK1rvpchho1_500.jpg


tumblr_mn7t8cquug1rvpchho1_500.jpg


A rough assembly; I had to hold all the parts in place to stop them from rolling around, so you can't really see much of the work we did

tumblr_mn7takoGrD1rvpchho1_500.jpg


tumblr_mn7tgnaF8f1rvpchho1_500.jpg


We'll probably get to work on it some more next week
 
Hey there - don't be discouraged by lack of comments. I for one think this is a great build and I'm looking forward to seeing more progress. I'm a huge TF2 fan and am actually in the planning phase of creating my own level one sentry from scratch (non-motorized). Keep up the good work!
 
BeastOfTheDeep said:
Hey there - don't be discouraged by lack of comments. I for one think this is a great build and I'm looking forward to seeing more progress. I'm a huge TF2 fan and am actually in the planning phase of creating my own level one sentry from scratch (non-motorized). Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the support! I look forward to seeing your sentry turret, I always love those builds.

Also, throwing this out to everyone here; there appear to be two versions of the soda popper.

20110625211812!Soda_Popper_1st_person.png


Soda_Popper_1st_person.png


This sudden realisation has thrown me off a little...Could anyone explain why there are two versions?
 
I have the answer! - the "two versions" are actually the same; but let me explain. It appears that the model on top is being ran on a "lower" graphical setting than the screenshot on the bottom. This is called LOD or level-of-detail. Hope this helps.
 
BeastOfTheDeep said:
I have the answer! - the "two versions" are actually the same; but let me explain. It appears that the model on top is being ran on a "lower" graphical setting than the screenshot on the bottom. This is called LOD or level-of-detail. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Aha! Good thinking. It's either that or (as I just found out) the lower model is a 2012 remodel of the original, which would explain the differences.
I think we're going along the 2012 model version for ours
 
BeastOfTheDeep is right, the top model is the lower detail version. Look at the bandage wrap on the hand on the right side, it is clearly lower resolution than the other (and looks like they did a **** poor job of UV wrapping it too). If you're worried, you can try extracting the models from the game and importing them into a 3D program, Blender has some great SMD importing tools. Or if you don't want to jump through all of those hoops, ask nicely and I'll see if I can do it for you!

And yeah, don't sweat not getting a ton of responses. The RPF isn't super game-centric to begin with, and you didn't put up reference photos in your first post to give people an idea of what it should look like.

So anyway... You said your first pull out of your first box mold wasn't what you wanted - what went wrong with it? As far as using up less material, why did you have a good 2" or 3" on the bottom side (which seems extremely excessive!), but only 3/4" or 1" on the sides? For a big box mold like that, the side wall thickness should be plenty to keep the mold stable, and having that much empty space in the bottom is just wasted money. Assuming you use the same brand and type of silicone for your other box molds, you can cut off the excess on the bottom of your mold here, cut it into strips or chunks or whatever, and use it as filler in your next mold. That way it won't be a total waste.

As far as reducing bubbles in your silicone, assuming you don't have access to a vacuum pot (maybe post in the JY and see if someone in your area has one and can rent it to you?), the way I reduce bubbles in my molds is doing the ghetto thin drip pour. There's a term for it but I can't remember it now. But you pour the silicone slowly so that it comes out in a thin string which pops and reduces most of the large bubbles. The silicone I use also has like a 60 minute pot life, so if yours does then don't be afraid to pour it back and forth between 2 containers to mix it better and to slow pour it to get the large air bubbles out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
msleeper said:
@BeastOfTheDeep is right, the top model is the lower detail version. Look at the bandage wrap on the hand on the right side, it is clearly lower resolution than the other (and looks like they did a **** poor job of UV wrapping it too). If you're worried, you can try extracting the models from the game and importing them into a 3D program, Blender has some great SMD importing tools. Or if you don't want to jump through all of those hoops, ask nicely and I'll see if I can do it for you!

And yeah, don't sweat not getting a ton of responses. The RPF isn't super game-centric to begin with, and you didn't put up reference photos in your first post to give people an idea of what it should look like.

So anyway... You said your first pull out of your first box mold wasn't what you wanted - what went wrong with it? As far as using up less material, why did you have a good 2" or 3" on the bottom side (which seems extremely excessive!), but only 3/4" or 1" on the sides? For a big box mold like that, the side wall thickness should be plenty to keep the mold stable, and having that much empty space in the bottom is just wasted money. Assuming you use the same brand and type of silicone for your other box molds, you can cut off the excess on the bottom of your mold here, cut it into strips or chunks or whatever, and use it as filler in your next mold. That way it won't be a total waste.

As far as reducing bubbles in your silicone, assuming you don't have access to a vacuum pot (maybe post in the JY and see if someone in your area has one and can rent it to you?), the way I reduce bubbles in my molds is doing the ghetto thin drip pour. There's a term for it but I can't remember it now. But you pour the silicone slowly so that it comes out in a thin string which pops and reduces most of the large bubbles. The silicone I use also has like a 60 minute pot life, so if yours does then don't be afraid to pour it back and forth between 2 containers to mix it better and to slow pour it to get the large air bubbles out.
Click to expand...

OOoho a big comment!

I see what you mean about the resolution, you two are definitely right about that. Either way, it doesn't make a difference to our build as we're going with the most detailed version we could find. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate it a lot.

As far as the mold is concerned, there's a lot I did wrong with it; but more importantly a lot I learned from it. I didn't really need to do a box, I should have used an old cardboard tube or PVC pipe instead, it would have wasted far less silicone. I used something like 1.7L of rubber, an expensive mistake to make, but at least I learned what not to do for next time.
My first pull was misaligned somehow, I ended up with wonky seams. Also the rubber picked up the brushmarks from using vaseline as a mold release; I had no silicone spray at the time so we heated up vaseline and spread it thinly over the master, before pouring rubber.

I'll be more aware of what I need to do, and how silicone works, when doing my next molds.

Thanks for your tips by the way, very useful!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Haystack Hair said:
... I see what you mean about the resolution, you two are definitely right about that. Either way, it doesn't make a difference to our build as we're going with the most detailed version we could find. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate it a lot.
Click to expand...

Just as an aside, if you download Source SDK, you can also view the model with the "built-in" model viewer to get it from all angles for detail work.
 
Resurrection commence - any word or update on this Haystack? I haven't gotten to my sentry, which is another story. Please don't tell me you've abandoned this :(.

PS: I enjoyed your model-work on the X-Wing as well.
 
BeastOfTheDeep said:
Resurrection commence - any word or update on this Haystack? I haven't gotten to my sentry, which is another story. Please don't tell me you've abandoned this :(.

PS: I enjoyed your model-work on the X-Wing as well.
Click to expand...

No it certainly isn't abandoned :D, but John and I haven't had the time to work on it. This is a personal project between us, we're currently working on a commission project you see; we're making the Sydney Sleeper for a customer. As soon as that's done then hopefully we can get back to this one!
 
Why didn't you just use PVC pipe for the barrels instead of molding a piece of wood.
It would have saved you a ton of money and time.
Even if there is a taper all you had to do was cut a wedge and glue it back together.
 
This thread is more than 9 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

KevinD
Blakes 7 Mecron 2 knife
Replies
0
Views
226
KevinD
KevinD
ZRE1990
Dune Part 2 Water of Life decanter
Replies
8
Views
1,790
ZRE1990
ZRE1990
pakken
Factory Entertainment MIB 2 Neuralyzer issue - not powering on
2
Replies
21
Views
1,076
pakken
pakken
Raven1973
Rambo First Blood Part 2 HALO Parachute Jumper Display.
Replies
4
Views
419
Raven1973
Raven1973
PlanetAlexander
Half Life 2 Headcrab Hand Puppet
Replies
2
Views
1,005
PlanetAlexander
PlanetAlexander
Back
Top