Arc reactor MK 1 high-fidelity/low-cost

[CoryM]

Hey all,
I've just started replicating props after years since I worked as a prop master. I thought this would be a great hobby for a movie-nut like me who likes to use his hands and build things. These days, for personal reasons (including but not limited to my six-week-old daughter) I have very little money to donate to hobbies at this point in my life.

So, I decided to start out on a couple of projects with the intention to make as nice and screen accurate as possible a reproduction of a few items from my favorite movies. Currently I have a wishlist of items, and I hand-selected the Mk I Arc Reactor (cave version) from the movie Iron Man simply because a million people have done it, with varying levels of success, and so there is a lot of brainstorming material out there.

To get started I have my starting list of materials:

• A spool of magnetic copper wire I ripped from the inside of a TV that I found in the dumpster of the appliance shop accross the street
• a set of three matching plastic containers, round and roughly the right size
• a dollar store apple-slicer/apple-corer
• a set of washers, two large (5/8") and ten small (7mm)
• a dollar store pepper shaker
• a dollar store set of plastic, dual-prong toothpicks

Total money spent so far: $6.56.

Any comments of ideas that have worked and look good would be awesome. Wish me luck! Pictures and updates coming again soon.

 

[CoryM]

So, after collecting some materials to get started, I did some sketching, some math, and my first bit of assembling last night. The photos are, on the whole, very unimpressive, but hopefully that will help me show the before and after.

What I've got going on here is the assmbly of the backplate, using the apple-corer, toothpicks, washers, and the pepper shaker. The pepper shaker will eventualy be cut to the right specs, but for now I am adding some of the structural elements and greebles for teh back plate that I have seen in more expensive replica's.

I know there'snot much to comment on, but if you have thoughts I'd love to hear them.

 

[Nobby]

great start.
I'll be interested to see how this budget-build turns out :thumbsup

 

[CoryM]

I was able to finish the build on the "backplate," making it out of the flat plastic toothpicks. I bought one of these and I intend to take it apart and modify the casing a little to match the movie version and allow for a pair of power cables to come out the back. I purchased some brass rings from the local hobby store for the next layer up (pictures coming soon). In the reference photos I've pulled from the special features on the DVD, I don't see any of the wire mesh that I've seen in the center of several builds. Thoughts? My next step is to break down the pepper shaker I purchased to match the movie look more closely and harvest the glass ring off of the bottom. Pictures coming soon.
Current total cost: $12.84

 

[oztheboss]

First of all, Best wishes for your baby!
Then, can't wait to see the completed reactor!

 

[buckettt]

heres an idea ---if you dont feel like wrapping copper around and around for an hour---find some old "computer ribbon" (dont know correct name) and spray paint copper/cut to size....I just started my arc reactor a few days ago heres a pic ( still building/under construction !)

 

[marksete]

heres an idea ---if you dont feel like wrapping copper around and around for an hour---find some old "computer ribbon" (dont know correct name) and spray paint copper/cut to size....I just started my arc reactor a few days ago heres a pic ( still building/under construction !)

That's awesome, what did you use among the ribbon? is an acrylic pieces?

 

[buckettt]

the clips that the copper wrap around were some kind of plastic clips I found at hardware store in the t.v /phone fitting/accessories section--10 per bag--3 bucks!!.....the ring was made from a plastic jewelery mold (4 bucks) I found at michaels/ hobby lobby (in jewelery/bead making section).... I filled mold up half way with resin and let set !!....popped right out of mold and clips fit right on ring !