Arkham Asylum/City Grapple Gun VIDEO Build - Progress pic added
- Thread starter MattMunson
- Start date
First test cuts with the new jig.
32 - Batman Arkham City / Arkham Asylum Grapple Gun Prop Build - YouTube
32 - Batman Arkham City / Arkham Asylum Grapple Gun Prop Build - YouTube
I finished the cuts on the remaining bodies just now. Mixed results. The depth is perfect every step of the way, and I've gotten my technique down for getting a clean pass through the plastic with the router bit.
BUT, for some reason, my shim device isn't working quite as expected. The cuts are a bit unevenly spaced, and there is always ONE that is too far apart. I'll have to check to make sure my shims are all the same thickness. That's the only thing I can think of.
Still, the results are quite passable, and I'm ok with it. Not PERFECT, but pretty nice. I'm going to pour up a few more bodies and see if I can get one out of it that's perfect, but I'm not going to dwell on it much longer.
This has also completely convinced me that I need to ratchet up my plans to get a mill and lathe.
BUT, for some reason, my shim device isn't working quite as expected. The cuts are a bit unevenly spaced, and there is always ONE that is too far apart. I'll have to check to make sure my shims are all the same thickness. That's the only thing I can think of.
Still, the results are quite passable, and I'm ok with it. Not PERFECT, but pretty nice. I'm going to pour up a few more bodies and see if I can get one out of it that's perfect, but I'm not going to dwell on it much longer.
This has also completely convinced me that I need to ratchet up my plans to get a mill and lathe.
SonOfPumpkinhead
Sr Member
Matt, not to criticize at all but curious, why where these cuts not made in the master before molding?
A lot of good questions here that deserve individual responses :lol
In one of the comments sections of the videos, I did indeed deploy the old favorite "The Jig is up!" though I probably should have included it in a video. You're right
Haircut is indeed on the docket. Tomorrow, actually. Or maybe the day after. But soon! lol. I think I'm back to a point where my hair is about the same length it was when I did my first mattmobile video.
No worries, and definitely a fair question. Though it's already been discussed in the thread, I'll give my two cents again.
There are really two reasons. The first is a practical one. the main body is made out of MDF. If I tried to mill MDF like I'm doing with the resin, it would have turned it into a big mess. I didn't want to do that. As a few have suggested, I could have perhaps built the slotted piece separately, out of a different material, then grafted it into the main body. While true, my ultimate plan was to mill the grooves out of the resin pieces.
HOWEVER, the wrinkle is that I expected to have an actual mill on hand to do these grooves. I have a local friend that owns one, if my plan to acquire one fell through, but our schedules never lined up.
So my option was to wait for my friend to become available (and no insult intended to him. Either he is really busy, or I'm really busy. Our schedules do not align at all), acquire my own mill, or build one.
When it came right down to it, I thought it would be a fun and interesting challenge to build my own "machine" to cut those slots.
I guess the punchline is that for me, a big reason for doing it the way I'm doing it is because I wanted the learning experience.
ALSO, had I put the slots into the master, the seam line would have run right down the middle of them, and they would have been impossible to get as clean as the cuts are now. Since I'm only building a few of these, and will not be offering kits, I think it was the right decision considering the requirements and constraints.
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Speaking of which, check this out!!!!!!!
My fourth attempt, and I nailed it. It's not as perfect as I could have gotten on a mill, but considering the I built this by hand, using plans that came out of my head, I'm pretty happy with the results
My fourth attempt, and I nailed it. It's not as perfect as I could have gotten on a mill, but considering the I built this by hand, using plans that came out of my head, I'm pretty happy with the results
epilepticsquirl
Sr Member
woah, that looks almost spot on! Never a better feeling than an accomplishment such as that!
I also think I cracked why your videos are so great. Yea they're informative, but you have a natural way of connecting with your audience. The way you sit down and draw out everything quite literally by hand and including the audience in your troubleshooting. I think that's what makes em so fun to watch. It's sad that the end is near, but maybe you'll have another project to journey with us; as much as a pain the editing can be at times.
In any case, looking forward to the next one!
I also think I cracked why your videos are so great. Yea they're informative, but you have a natural way of connecting with your audience. The way you sit down and draw out everything quite literally by hand and including the audience in your troubleshooting. I think that's what makes em so fun to watch. It's sad that the end is near, but maybe you'll have another project to journey with us; as much as a pain the editing can be at times.
In any case, looking forward to the next one!
eSquirl, thanks so much for saying that! Very kind of you, and I'm glad I'm hitting the mark with at least one audience member
The videos are actually really fun to make. I think the ONLY frustration I have is when my computer locks up in the middle of an edit and I lose a bunch of work. Other than that, the process is pretty streamlined and I can crank out an episode in under one hour.
Speaking of what's next ,I have every intention of continuing this series on my next project. I don't even know what that will be yet, but yes, there will be more vidz!
The videos are actually really fun to make. I think the ONLY frustration I have is when my computer locks up in the middle of an edit and I lose a bunch of work. Other than that, the process is pretty streamlined and I can crank out an episode in under one hour.
Speaking of what's next ,I have every intention of continuing this series on my next project. I don't even know what that will be yet, but yes, there will be more vidz!
I'm actually working on a trade with a fellow board member. As with other things, it's largely a scheduling issue. I think it's one from MicroMark. He has a mill and a lathe that I'm hoping to snag. If I get them, I will include details in a future video.
One of my favorite websites that I've read in its entirety many times over the years is this one:
mini-mill.com home page
The layout is kind of a cluster-F, but it's EXTREMELY informative.
Here's a pic of the final beast:
And all three completed bodies:
And all three completed bodies:
For reference, I've updated the youtube play list that contains all of the videos so far from the build.
Matt Munson's Prop Micro Builds - YouTube
Grand total of an hour and forty seven minutes of video! wow!
Matt Munson's Prop Micro Builds - YouTube
Grand total of an hour and forty seven minutes of video! wow!
Latest video. Just a little show and tell.
33 - Batman Arkham City / Arkham Asylum Grapple Gun Prop Build - YouTube
33 - Batman Arkham City / Arkham Asylum Grapple Gun Prop Build - YouTube
Love the shameless plug at the end :thumbsup :lol
I expect sales to skyrocket because of it!!! :lol
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