Astyanax's Makes, Builds and Acquisitions: 2024

[greenmachines]

I am impressed with the very wide range of replica weathering, aging and customizing techniques that you have used in the thread so far. I bet you could make a decent wage producing museum knockoffs. Not kidding, you really run the full rainbow of finishing skills. I could see you working in the gift shop in the museum making all the bright white resin castings look just like the ancient relics they copied. You would also then get fired when people began to question the original.

 

[Astyanax]

LOL thanks for the kind words!...I think.

Definitely not doing this in any kind of professional capacity, because I don't want to ruin my enjoyment of the hobby. But I have been fortunate enough to get a small handful of commissions to pay for just the hobby. Can't knock that!

 

[greenmachines]

I think this is the part that brings me to each thread, seeing these make it work, one off techniques that I can use on my stuff. I saw ssdesigner respond to that post above and can tell you, there is a discerning eye, finished a prop from "Tales from the loop" recently and I would swear it was the original. But, it is probably too big to go in the display, ha!

 

[Astyanax]

September 19, 2024

After about ten days' work, I finished this Training Remote from Star Wars (1977) and The Mandalorian (TV), built from a magnificent kit from Trooper_trent.



The kit comes with around 150 resin 3D printed parts, vinyl stickers, styrene panels, and two important alignment jigs. I built these onto a levitating Earth globe kit (which I needed to buy myself). Trent provides no less than 24 step-by-step videos that took me from start to finish and taught me a few new techniques as well!

Trent's Project Run thread can be found here.



(I chose not to use the lights and magnetic hovering capability, because I'm planning for things to be able to get a bit more crowded in my Star Wars shelf. So I drilled out the very tiny four tiny holes in the top piece, ran a bit of extra thin fishing line through, and now I'm suspending it from the shelf's ceiling.)

 

[Astyanax]

September 24, 2024

I finished this Copper Bones Key from The Goonies (1985), purchased from an eBay seller and then repainted.



It appears to be resin cast, and came painted somewhat coppery with various weathering colors. Those colors were okay, but I wanted to take things a bit farther. So I randomly blotted some real copper paint in various areas, and sprayed it heavily with patina activator to give it the green patina. Then I applied a dark acrylic 50-50 wash over about 75% of it, and finally drybrushed the high points with copper paint to give it back some shine.

 

[Astyanax]

September 25, 2024

REAL PROP ALERT!!!

I received this Protomolecule Sample from The Expanse (TV), purchased at auction from Propabilia on eBay with COA.



The 8" x 6" mat appears to be made of a soft, translucent rubber, like silicone.



I made a mat of blue fairy lights of my own to go under it, illuminating the protomolecule mat to display a little more like it looks on the show.

 

[Astyanax]

September 28, 2024

I picked up this Dancing Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), from a props booth at my local geek swap meet this weekend!



The seller has nicely painted and weathered this 11" tall Hasbro toy, really elevating it from what was an awful color, so it looks much improved from its toy state. It's somewhat poseable, and kind of wiggles to some recorded music.



(Yes, I know this is a character, not a prop, but 1:1 size characters not only count in my collection (no scaled action figures), but they add a bit of "organic" feel and "life" to the display as well!)

 

[Astyanax]

September 28, 2024

I also picked up this Freddy Krueger's Glove from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, purchased from the same props booth at my local geek swap meet this weekend!



This glove is a repaint (or re-weathering), but I don't know who produced it or where it's originally from; I haven't been able to match it to any known replicas out there that I've seen. There's not a bit of plastic on it; the "metal" parts are all really metal, and the glove is leather (and heavy)! And all weathered quite nicely. The blades are not sharp. I'm debating whether I want to add welding trails with hot glue...I kind of like it the way it is.

Looks to be styled from the second and third movies. This is truly a beautiful prop replica, and such a low cost!



(If you look closely, you might notice this is a left-handed glove, which pretty much kills accuracy, but no one will notice in the display. That's probably why it was more affordable!)

 

[Astyanax]

October 7, 2024

In dubious honor of Factory Entertainment's FIVE-HUNDRED DOLLAR Geordi VISOR, hope you enjoy my $30 version...

I finished this Geordi's VISOR from Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV), 3D printed in resin from a file downloaded for free from Mad Goblin on YouTube.



Although the original model was four parts, I merged them all together into one piece before printing. Once printed, I finished the silver parts in Tamiya TS-14 Black Gloss, followed by Alclad II Polished Aluminum. I did not use a clearcoat, so it is very susceptible to fingerprints.

The vertical rods are cut from 1/8" brass rod and then glued in. The red dots on the sides are printed separately from a scaled-down fresnel lens pattern downloaded from Thingiverse. Once printed, I gave them a red satin coat with a Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X rattle can. (I'm not a fan of the holographic tape that was used in the original , which was more for distance shots.)

It's not perfect, but it's also not $500!



(Geordi had several different VISOR models throughout the show. Mine is a replica of the Season 2-7 version.)

 

[Astyanax]

October 7, 2024

I finished this small collection of prop replicas from The Ring (U.S.-2002), all designed and sourced by myself!

1. Distorted Cabin Photo:
   I composited this in Photoshop from four different scenes in the movie, and then sent out for photo prints so that it would be printed on real photo paper. I'm sharing my art in the Free Paper Props forum.
   
   
   
2. Printed Screenshots:
   These were also captured from the film and composited. I printed them on 30 lb. one-sided satin finish paper. This gave me the effect of that "thermal transfer" printing, like with fax machines and store receipts. I'm sharing my art in the Free Paper Props forum.
   
   
   
3. Original Videocassette:
   We never get a good look at it in the film, except to see that it has no labels, no visibly printed markings, no hologram stickers or gold logos. A Memorex RV TS-120 fit the bill just fine.
   
   
   
   
4. Blank Copied Videocassette:
   We actually get quite a bit better look at this tape. It is a TDK AQ T-160, which are easy to find online. I made the "COPY" label myself (also shared on the Free Paper Props forum).
   

Creeped out yet? Hold on, my telephone is ringing...

(No idea yet how I'm gonna squeeze these into my display!)

 

[Astyanax]

October 8, 2024

I received this Sword of General Maximus from Gladiator (2000), purchased from a seller here on the RPF. The sword is officially licensed to DreamWorks/Universal and made by Windlass Steelcrafts.



What a beautiful replica! The sword is metal, heavy plastic, and wood, and the scabbard is the same, with leather straps. It's heavy!

 

[Astyanax]

October 8, 2024

REAL PROP ALERT!

I received these Roman Battlefield Arrows from Gladiator (2000), purchased from a seller here on the RPF. These are production used stunt arrows that would only have been seen at a distance.



The arrows are simply long dowels with plastic fletching and some white tape.

 

[greenmachines]

October 8, 2024

REAL PROP ALERT!

I received these Roman Battlefield Arrows from Gladiator (2000), purchased from a seller here on the RPF. These are production used stunt arrows that would only have been seen at a distance.

View attachment 1867869 View attachment 1867870

The arrows are simply long dowels with plastic fletching and some white tape.

View attachment 1867867 View attachment 1867868

The famous, "good at ten yards viewing". It is one of my favorite hobbies now that 4k and higher are normal. Checking the background for second and third row quality props.

 

[greenmachines]

The famous, "good at ten yards viewing". It is one of my favorite hobbies now that 4k and higher are normal. Checking the background for second and third row quality props.

I only found out about "hero" props, actually just meaning first row viewing, last year. I saw stuff on auction for movies and thought how they were not really from the movie but was told they were but were not the "hero" props..... errrrr huh? So, I have been taking nightclasses to get my cert as "Fanboy" so I can talk the lingo when the chicks are around.

 

[Astyanax]

October 17, 2024

After procrastinating for over a year, I finally finished this Chachapoyan Idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). It was resin 3D-printed from a free file downloaded on Thingiverse.



After printing, sanding, filling and priming to the best of my ability, I sprayed the idol with a heavy coat of Rustoleum Metallic Gold, and got a surprisingly encouraging shine! I then clear-coated it with SprayMax 2K, but that kicked back the shine quite a bit. Once cured, I weathered it with a black & brown wash, and finally gave it a fine dusting of the Rustoleum one more time. It's not perfect, but it feels real enough to me!



(Yes, I know it should either have pinpoint dots on the eyes or fully realized glass eyes. But this is how I remember it from my childhood, watching an old VHS recording from TV on a 17 inch TV!)

(Yes, I know this is the more "frowning" or "grimacing" version of the idol, which is also less accurate to the film. It just felt more right for my childhood memories!)

 

[Astyanax]

October 18, 2024:

I finished the design of this Video Cassette Cover from Spaceballs (1987), designed from various resources in Photoshop.



This was printed on photo paper, and then carefully cut, scored, and secured with double-sided tape.

My original art is available to download in the RPF's Free Paper Props Forum.

In the film, we only see the front and spine of the tape, so I took some liberties with the other sides, emulating what you will find on the first edition video release of the film. I then slapped a first edition tape in there (they're cheap on eBay) and called it good!

 

[greenmachines]

October 18, 2024:

I finished the design of this Video Cassette Cover from Spaceballs (1987), designed from various resources in Photoshop.

View attachment 1872987 View attachment 1872986 View attachment 1872984 View attachment 1872985

This was printed on photo paper, and then carefully cut, scored, and secured with double-sided tape.

My original art is available to download in the RPF's Free Paper Props Forum.

In the film, we only see the front and spine of the tape, so I took some liberties with the other sides, emulating what you will find on the first edition video release of the film. I then slapped a first edition tape in there (they're cheap on eBay) and called it good!

View attachment 1872988 View attachment 1872989 View attachment 1872990 View attachment 1872991

Thank you for the paper props upload.

 

[Astyanax]

October 19, 2024

Received this Head of C-3PO from the Star Wars franchise, purchased from the Disney store online! This is part of Disney's "Galactic Archive Series."



The shine is phenomenal, he recites quotes when you touch him, and the eyes stay on as long as it's switched on!

 

[Astyanax]

October 22, 2024

REAL PROP ALERT!

I received this 2nd Infantry Division Patch from Arrival (2016), won at auction from Propabilia on eBay.



The patch is quite large, of excellent quality, and has Velcro on the back. It came with a COA that assures the patch was used in the production of the film.

 

[Astyanax]

October 22, 2024

I received this Bat Phone from Batman (1966 TV), purchased from a vintage phone technician and dealer.



This is a genuine vintage phone that has been painted and modified to only receive calls (which it does). The center light blinks and it beeps loudly when it receives a call.

As for accuracy to the 1966 TV, it's not very accurate. I'm aware of the licensed replica that's available online, but I wanted something a little more accurate to the period. As such, the red is a little darker than it would otherwise be, the red light is a conventional light from the period, and the whole phone does not glow or light up like in the show.

But it's real, and using a Bluetooth adapter, I am able to connect it to my cell phone so that it can send and receive calls through the cellular network!



(Think of it as an idealized Bat Phone as it would be if Pattinson's The Batman (2022) took place in 1966. )