Doctor Octoroc
Sr Member
I loooooooooooove weathered looks for this reason!
3d Printed Doctor Who Props by Doctor Octoroc (building & finishing thread)
- Thread starter Doctor Octoroc
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I loooooooooooove weathered looks for this reason!
The Next Doctor
Well-Known Member
Well I started this today
Nothing is glued together yet, as I need to wire it to light up, but since that is a skill I am lacking in, it might be a while.
Nothing is glued together yet, as I need to wire it to light up, but since that is a skill I am lacking in, it might be a while.
Doctor Octoroc
Sr Member
Woooooooooooo!!! That crackle turned out absolutely beautiful!
I WaNt OnE!!!
That looks absolutely Fantastic!
TickTockMan
Active Member
All I can say is WOW...
How! How did your crackle turn out that way?? Please tell me. Mine....sucked. Which is why I'm not putting it online yet!
GuardianFaolan
New Member
So I've pretty much never done this before, and I'm extremely afraid to start because I don't want to mess up the parts. Big question though, what have you all found to be the best way to prepare the material for paint, and then paint it, and what's the best glue to assemble it with?
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
Will another run happen for those of us who SHOULD have gotten the 8th Doctor's alternate sonic, but didn't?
The Next Doctor
Well-Known Member
I will post a tutorial on how I did mine this weekend. I need to find something to paint to show what I did.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 4
So I've nearly finished my 8th alternate sonic. There are a few things I need to touch up (scratched the switch ring when fitting it into place, and the inside of the grip screw holes need a dark wash to get rid of the white), and I may do another weathering pass. But here it is:
(Sorry for the dark pictures, they were taken in a bit of a rush)
I added a light crackle effect to the crystal, followed by a thin clear blue wash in the cracks. The original seems to have a slight blue tint when the light is off so I tried to recreate that but it turned out much less subtle than intended. I'd like to add an iridescent wash to it also.
Best representation of grip color:
I used Krylon ruddy brown primer, followed by a wash mix of acrylic clear varnish and burnt umber. Then I added some clear red tamiya to the wash, but didn't mix it in, so that i could pick up two distinct colors on the brush, and did another wash. Then a spray clear coat. I think I might like to weather the edges of the grips with a lighter color dry brush to better match the original.
The crystal glows a solid blue to the eye, but the camera picks it up as white. This is using an LED of my own since I ended up using the LED that Doc Octoroc provided in something else (oops... I needed one and it was the first I grabbed).
This was a really awesome kit and built up rather easily. Thanks again to Doctor Octoroc for offering it!
(Sorry for the dark pictures, they were taken in a bit of a rush)
I added a light crackle effect to the crystal, followed by a thin clear blue wash in the cracks. The original seems to have a slight blue tint when the light is off so I tried to recreate that but it turned out much less subtle than intended. I'd like to add an iridescent wash to it also.
Best representation of grip color:
I used Krylon ruddy brown primer, followed by a wash mix of acrylic clear varnish and burnt umber. Then I added some clear red tamiya to the wash, but didn't mix it in, so that i could pick up two distinct colors on the brush, and did another wash. Then a spray clear coat. I think I might like to weather the edges of the grips with a lighter color dry brush to better match the original.
The crystal glows a solid blue to the eye, but the camera picks it up as white. This is using an LED of my own since I ended up using the LED that Doc Octoroc provided in something else (oops... I needed one and it was the first I grabbed).
This was a really awesome kit and built up rather easily. Thanks again to Doctor Octoroc for offering it!
TickTockMan
Active Member
WOW...that blows mine right out of the water!! I LOVE what you did with the emitter and ESPECIALLY the grips...they almost look like mahogany! If I hadn't been in such a rush to finish mine, I might have tried that technique myself. If I get another 8th to customize, I'll probably refer back to this post for that reason alone. Outstanding job!
Thank you! I think yours looks really nice too. Your grips actually look a bit closer in color to the real one (I think mine are a bit dark).
Oh, I forgot to mention a some steps in my post!
Before applying crackle medium to the crystal, you need to wash it in soap and water and then add an acrylic clear coat as a base. Otherwise the crackle just flakes off. Then I followed up the blue wash with another acrylic clear coat to seal and further hold the crackle in place (I used Pledge/Future floor wax for the acrylic clear).
To strengthen the print, I applied some super-thin cyanoacrylate to the parts. The print material soaks it up like a sponge but it does make the parts more resilient. The parts can be a bit thin (especially on the 8th alt) so this is a helpful, though not necessary, step. I think it has a similar effect to that acetone/superglue technique mentioned earlier in the thread.
To hide the texture of the 3d printing process, I used auto body filler-primer. One or two light coats, then two heavy coats (not heavy enough to run, just enough that when wet the object looks nice and smooth). Then, once cured, the primer is wet-sanded to a smooth surface.
TickTockMan
Active Member
Thanks! For me, this kit was really a learning experience as it was the first 3D-printed ANYTHING I've ever worked with...and actually that was something I meant to ask you--how you managed to get your parts so smooth-looking...I'm definitely taking notes on this one! How high up in the crystal did you put your LED?? I have mine sort of "suspended" in about the center, which keeps it kind of evenly lit, but leaves the tip a little on the dark side (although photos of it lit up make it look a lot more solid...)
The LED in mine is right at the base of the crystal, but I am using a different one from what came with the kit (it's a water clear instead of diffused LED, as I used the diffused LED in something else). Before building it I did experiment with a diffused in the crystal and having it "suspended" in the center of the crystal looked the best to me too and provided the most uniform illumination 
Doctor Octoroc
Sr Member
That is damn gorgeous, sir! I'm so happy to see such beautiful results with these 3d prints! Way better than I even expected after my own builds.
I'm still anxious to see a finished River Song sonic...anyone? ANYONE!?!?
Also, I added photos of finished sonics to the first post so new visitors will see them when they begin the thread. I credited everyone above the photos and will add/update them as members post them!
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TickTockMan
Active Member
The "finished" gallery is a great idea! I'm putting a tentative "sinister" color scheme together for the next Alternate 8th Sonic I order (may as well just put me down for it now, Doc)...anyone else is welcome to try this as well...gunmetal or steel for the parts that are usually "gold", without rust but with many years' worth of accumulated grime (this may be where I use Rub N' Buff...), mahogany grips not unlike what E Williams has done, possibly even a little darker, black or very dark gray emitter cables, and an emitter crystal with a red LED and a light-to-medium red wash. Yeah, this has to happen...
TickTockMan
Active Member
Going very briefly off-topic, but just wanted to share with the class that apparently John Hurt's Sonic design is entirely different...some pics have come out from the "Day of the Doctor" shoot that will be in next week's SFX magazine, and one of them shows it partially:
I found this at 'Doctor Who' 50th anniversary special: New pics gallery
I'll be honest--I'm not sure which end we're even looking at here...the red tip suggests that it's the emitter, but it also seems to have a notch in its side like the ones of the classic era had toward their tail ends. In any case, I guess it answers our question to a degree about whether it's going to look like the ones that came before or the ones to come after. No matter, I'm still making a red-lit 8th Doctor's Alt
I found this at 'Doctor Who' 50th anniversary special: New pics gallery
I'll be honest--I'm not sure which end we're even looking at here...the red tip suggests that it's the emitter, but it also seems to have a notch in its side like the ones of the classic era had toward their tail ends. In any case, I guess it answers our question to a degree about whether it's going to look like the ones that came before or the ones to come after. No matter, I'm still making a red-lit 8th Doctor's Alt
Doctor Octoroc
Sr Member
It definitely looks like the butt of the 3rd or 4th Doctor's sonic, only with what looks like the emitter "magnet" from the 4th sticking out of the end - as if it's an interchangeable part. Looks like it's inserted into the tail, as opposed to just being an extension of it. Most interesting...and on a side note, rather disappointing. I know I'm not the only one that was looking forward to a new sonic design! Hopefully PC as the next Doctor gets a revamp instead of using 11's sonic. Or we can hope that he shoves it into a CTScan...
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