AKIRA S.O.L.Targeting Pistol

M

ModelFX

New Member
I thought that I would post this up for those of you who are Akira fans - I loved the film and thoroughly enjoyed the comic series. There were numerous things that would've been great to have modelled, but the one that I eventually settled for was the Colonel's S.O.L. targeting pistol....Mainly because it wasn't too big, but still had a degree of complexity to it. After finding all the available references in the comics (not many - And the damn thing kept changing shape and design with each drawing!) I finalised the shape, working up in a card model first, then to a styrene master - moulding it and casting the central body core in resin. The item was then clad in brass pieces and other components. It has a laser diode and a red / green flashing LED in the rear viewport...So pretty much functions as the real thing (S.O.L. Satellite not included!) :):):)


http://db.tt/dRuhj4Fq
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awesome. why not the laser gun? very nice otherwise. i made the bike myself coupla days ago.
 
Strode said:
awesome. why not the laser gun? very nice otherwise. i made the bike myself coupla days ago.
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Hi, thanks for the compliment! I would love to have done the laser rifle, but at the time I did this (a few years ago) I wanted to make something that wasn't too big, but was interesting and had a degree of complexity....Something I could make on a tabletop.
Other items that I thought about were the S.O.L. satelite itself, and Akira's cryo chamber (always thought that looked like fun to make).
 
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oh man, now you're giving me ideas. all potentially great models waiting to come to life. Both the cryo chamber and the satellite are awesome. loved the comic. we'll see what you come up with next.
 
Strode said:
oh man, now you're giving me ideas. all potentially great models waiting to come to life. Both the cryo chamber and the satellite are awesome. loved the comic. we'll see what you come up with next.
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Sadly, I don't have the time at present (life tends to get in the way!) but yes, they would be great models to do! The flying platform from the comics was another idea to make (someone in Japan did make a kit of that, I believe).
There was a great (and extremely rare) artbook published around the time of the AKIRA anime called AKIRA MECHANIX - it did have some cool stuff in there: Full sized PowerBike mock-up, Laser Rifle, Flying Platform & Cryochamber models.....but no S.O.L. pistol! :lol
 
Have you not thought of perhaps having a go yourself at tackling the Laser Rifle? It would be a cool thing to see! :)
 
Haha. thanks for the compliment. I am already working on something new and it is a dense, detailed work. for me at least. i found a paper-model of the APU from the matrix movies. the model itself is very flimsy (being made out of paper) and so i decided to make it out of sturdier materials essentially from scratch. have to literally work with stuff lying around the house. 3 days and not even 10 percent done. trying to get it on the level that these guys are used to...here's a picture

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Holy Moly!! That is a BEAST! It is nice to see someone taking an interest in paper modelling - It's not exactly my first choice for material, but, card is a great (and cheap) material to build with!
That is a great piece of work there!!
 
Whereabouts are you based?
I remember in one of your previous posts that you said it was difficult to get materials and stuff where you were :-(
Thought of getting a few mail-order bits from online craft stores?
 
materials is the problem. i am using something called a sunboard. it's somewhat easy to cut while being about 2mm thick. layering one on top of the other to get each part. it's a long and tedious process.
 
Strode said:
materials is the problem. i am using something called a sunboard. it's somewhat easy to cut while being about 2mm thick. layering one on top of the other to get each part. it's a long and tedious process.
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Can't say that I have heard of Sunboard..... A card product?
 
ModelFX said:
Holy Moly!! That is a BEAST! It is nice to see someone taking an interest in paper modelling - It's not exactly my first choice for material, but, card is a great (and cheap) material to build with!
That is a great piece of work there!!
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i just got into paper modelling. i quit making things for a very long time due to lack of motivation and ****ty builds as i had no idea what to make and again, materials. paper models were really great in that if you do it right, something awesome and great looking can grace your desk.

ModelFX said:
Whereabouts are you based?
I remember in one of your previous posts that you said it was difficult to get materials and stuff where you were :-(
Thought of getting a few mail-order bits from online craft stores?
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India man. tis not a good place for hobbying. as you said in another post, money is a bit of an issue and i doubt if there are mail-order/online craft stores. have to look around. there was a good hobby store here but they shut down due to (presumably) lack of interest and bad sales. a bosch dremel here costs about 138 dollars. way out of my budget.

ModelFX said:
Can't say that I have heard of Sunboard..... A card product?
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i literally have no idea. i went looking for balsa and couldn't find it. i saw this waste board lying around a guy's store who was selling acrlyic sheets and thought what the hell, i'll try this. i seriously could not tell you what the hell it actually is or what it's used for...
 
India? I can't imagine a great deal of specialist model stores over there :-(
Well, on limited budget and resources, card modelling is the way to go....your APU is a heck of a project! Perhaps a Millenium Falcon or X-Wing could be possible project suggestions?
I saw a large card M.F. at the Model Engineers Exhibition in London some years ago....it was an impressive size (4 - 5 feet long I think)......perfect shape to model in card....
 
yeah. the beauty of card models is that the basic structure exists, allowing one to further develop or build on the existing shape. lets see how it goes. the APU is mad. many many fiddly bits and lots of confusion
 
Strode said:
yeah. the beauty of card models is that the basic structure exists, allowing one to further develop or build on the existing shape. lets see how it goes. the APU is mad. many many fiddly bits and lots of confusion
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Your APU model is impressive! Be proud of what you have done and keep going :)
You do realise that when your model is finished, you shall have to push that bar *just* that little bit higher..... :-D
 
Styrene works well. I have a Powerloader, The Normandy SR1 and a Skyrim frost dragon that are all both in process (ran out of Bondene so each is on hold....) using the plastic sheets instead of paper. I find the .020 thickness of styrene is ideal, and use of Bondene makes "thickening" sheets by lamination easy. It also bends for curves well, and can be putty filled and or sanded to get it just right. It is also easy to prime and paint.

Don't bother with balsa for all of it in my opinion. It is easy to work with but I find sheets are too soft and it is a pain to prime and paint being as absorbent as synthetic sponge in many cases. It is handy for support struts, large hydraulic cylinders, and the like.


May I ask where you found the APU plans? I had head rumors some existed, but this was a pattern I have yet to dredge from the web. This exo and the one from Avatar are both on my list of "Great Movie Exo Suits" I plan to build.
 
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