Arkham Asylum/City Grapple Gun VIDEO Build - Progress pic added

[MattMunson]

21 - Batman Arkham City / Arkham Asylum Grapple Gun Prop Build - YouTube

This video shows some scratch building I did on the front end, using some parts I picked up at home depot.

 

[MattMunson]

The next episode, which I just finished editing, should turn out to be pretty popular. It's all about resin casting. I walk you through each step of the process, from prepping the mold to pulling out the finished part. I should have it uploaded within a couple of hours

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Excellent! Looking forward to it :thumbsup

 

[Bootlegger137]

Part 22 was the funniest one yet. I :lol several times. Nice work, Matt!

 

[MattMunson]

Huh.that is cool. I didn't even think I was being that amusing in 22, but hey man, I'm happy you liked it

Here's a link for those that don't have it handy:

22 - YouTube

 

[Luuke]

Your answer to what a "cranny" is...
http://www.word-detective.com/080401.html

To say that we have looked in "every nook and cranny" is to say that our search has been painstaking, overlooking no place, however small or obscure. "Nook and cranny" as an idiom dates back to about 1836, but the constituent words "nook" and "cranny" are both much older than the phrase.

A "cranny" is a crack, small hole or narrow fissure in something. "Cranny" has a convoluted history, but it is probably rooted in the Latin "crena," or "notch," and first appeared In English around 1440. A "nook" is a little out-of-the-way corner of a house or any sort of secluded, sheltered spot. "Nook" also has a somewhat obscure history, but dates back to about 1300 and is thought to have been borrowed from a Scandinavian source.

Put together, "nook and cranny" is thus equivalent to saying "remote corner and small crack," places that only a very thorough search would reach. And as for your search, don't give up now. I'm sure whatever you're looking for will turn up in the last place you look, especially if you plan to stop looking once you've found it.

 

[Bootlegger137]

Huh.that is cool. I didn't even think I was being that amusing in 22, but hey man, I'm happy you liked it

Well...the bits about Laam made me laugh, as well as one or 2 other comments.

 

[Nexus6]

+1 vote for digging these videos, especially the ones you're into now with the molding/casting stuff.

Does the cast you made have many air bubbles in it, & if not, how did you avoid that w/o degassing the resin? I would've thought after the shaking of each component, that there would've been a lot of them.

 

[Judge Spartan]

Loved video #22, very informative and entertaining.

 

[Jedifyfe]

Great vids Matt. I'll give YOU a cranny!

 

[epilepticsquirl]

I just want to say that I absolutely love these videos. I can't tell you how much inspiration you've given me on a future gun project I want to tackle. Thanks so much for these Mr. Munson!

 

[MattMunson]

Does the cast you made have many air bubbles in it, & if not, how did you avoid that w/o degassing the resin? I would've thought after the shaking of each component, that there would've been a lot of them.

The casting I made came out really clean, though there were some bubbles below the surface. The answer to how it's done is pretty much what the whole video was about. I powder my molds, mix the resin well, then move the mold around before the resin cures.

Also, to clear something up, one does not degass resin. You degass rubber. Resin can be put in a pressure pot in order to compress air bubbles that may be inside it as it cures, but trying to extract gas using a vacuum doesn't really work with resin.

As for the "sub cutaneous" air bubbles in my pour, those can easily be eliminated, and were on my next pour. If you set your mold at an angle so that the resin doesn't splash when it hits the bottom of the mold, you can minimize that.

hope that helps!

 

[masterjedi322]

As someone who's always been interested in learning how to mold, the last few videos have been great. Thanks for the taking the time to do these, Matt!

Sean

 

[MattMunson]

Sure thing dude! Hopefully some of the next few will be useful also.

Tonight I poured rubber on the last of the parts for the gun. I still need to make a thumb trigger, but everything else has been mastered and molded. Before the weekend is out, I will pour up a set of resin parts. From then on out, it's really just a matter of building a resin kit, which I will of course walk through in the vidz.

 

[Nexus6]

Also, to clear something up, one does not degass resin. You degass rubber. Resin can be put in a pressure pot in order to compress air bubbles that may be inside it as it cures, but trying to extract gas using a vacuum doesn't really work with resin.

D'oh! I actually knew the difference, but I was really sleepy when I posted that. "My face is red, I stand corrected..." :$

But I was under the impression, from almost every explanation I've ever seen on the RPF (as well as videos/articles on other sites), that one almost NEEDED a pressure pot to get resin casts nearly free of bubbles.

Following what you said, then is the likely reason for all the casts one finds that are completely fraught with bubbles all over them, that they didn't "powder [the] molds, mix the resin well, then move the mold around before the resin cures" type stuff?

 

[Contec]

I asked it on youtube but i will ask again here.
What do you do if you wanna use metal-powder in the mold.. Do you use baby powder first and then metal powder? or only metal powder.

 

[MattMunson]

But I was under the impression, from almost every explanation I've ever seen on the RPF (as well as videos/articles on other sites), that one almost NEEDED a pressure pot to get resin casts nearly free of bubbles.

Since you're asking me, I'll give you my opinion. I've never had a pressure pot, and I"ve been pouring bubble free parts for years and years. In my opinion, it's all about being careful, taking your time, and having some patience.

Sadly, these are things that many kit makers lack :lol

Using low quality/cost resins can also effect things, as can temperature and humidity.

But in my mind, one does not require a pressure pot to get bubble free castings. It can help, especially if you have a very complex mold and little patience for bubble hunting, or throwing out bad castings. You just have to know what you're doing. Consider the fact that I'm a complete amature hack, it doesn't really take much to get to that point. I really think it's mostly patience and technique.

 

[Jannix Quinn]

Ok, here's probably a stupid question;

You're not going to sell them because of recasters, etc, which is fair enough. In that case, if you only want one, why cast it in resin at all?

You've got the pieces made from mdf and the other parts, why not make that the actual gun? Is it the weight? The way it takes paint?

 

[pandamajik]

Ok, here's probably a stupid question;

You're not going to sell them because of recasters, etc, which is fair enough. In that case, if you only want one, why cast it in resin at all?

You've got the pieces made from mdf and the other parts, why not make that the actual gun? Is it the weight? The way it takes paint?

Yeah I hope it's not just for the sake of making these instructional videos. I've been wondering the same thing and thought maybe you just planned on making more than one for yourself? Smooth-on products are not cheap at all...

 

[MattMunson]

Ok, here's probably a stupid question;

You're not going to sell them because of recasters, etc, which is fair enough. In that case, if you only want one, why cast it in resin at all?

You've got the pieces made from mdf and the other parts, why not make that the actual gun? Is it the weight? The way it takes paint?

There's a couple of reasons for that. First, MDF in my opinion is great for mastering a pattern, but not good for creating a final product. If I dropped it, it could get ding'd pretty badly. Second, there are some details that I could not include in the master BECAUSE it's MDF. There are some scoring marks, some vents, drilling, and other stuff that if I tried to cut those into the MDF, it would not be clean. I can get much better scribe lines and such out of resin.

Third, who is to say I don't want more than one for myself? I was thinking I might do a semi-rigid foam casting for custuming, maybe keep one in the batmobile, etc. I may also do a couple build ups as gifts, to trusted friends and costumers.

Fourth, in general, I find resin much easier to work with than MDF. It's more forgiving, etc.

Speaking of the batmobile, the entire cost of this project is barely a blip on the radar when considered within the context of my other "on the bench" projects. Spending 50 bucks on rubber and resin is a rounding error in the overall project :lol

All really great questions, and I appreciate the dialog! Keep em comin'!