Astyanax's Makes, Builds and Acquisitions: 2024

[Astyanax]

July 24, 2024

I finished this LCARS Wall Display from the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard universe. It's nothing more than a spare tablet playing a YouTube video!



I had an old Lenovo TB-8504F 8" tablet lying around. I simply mounted it on the back wall of my shelf of Star Trek items, and hid the USB plug behind more prop replicas. The video comes from the "MeWho System 47" channel on YouTube, and it plays a lovely hour-long presentation of all kinds of Trek-style displays on a repeating loop. It even goes to red alert and shows navigation and ship schematics!

Open the cabinet and you can just barely hear all the ship beeps and computer sounds.

Sure, I could build a PADD or other interface around it, but I really like the thinness in the way that it's mounted, and how it calls to mind all the wall displays from the shows.



(So it's not technically a specific prop as seen on screen. But how do we know that every fleet cadet doesn't have one of these 8" jobbers on the wall next to every bunk in the shared crew quarters? In a lot of ways it's no prop and it's many! And it adds some much-needed ambience to the Star Trek shelf.)

 

[Astyanax]

July 24, 2024

Finally finished this "Temp V" Vial from The Boys (TV). This is a scratch build.



The 1mL glass vial was sourced from a medical supply company. The cap is resin 3D printed from my own design. Inside, an o-ring helps keep things airtight, and the liquid is a 50-50 blend of isopropyl alcohol and water, with neon green food coloring and a couple drops of glycerin to prevent settling. The white dot on the top is self-adhesive vinyl cut by my Cricut.



(There is currently a prop run available for this in the Classifieds.)

 

[Win7ermute]

Damn bro, you have seriously diverse taste in props. Nice!

 

[greenmachines]

Damn bro, you have seriously diverse taste in props. Nice!

This all started as a cabinet build but has now become "The Cabinet of Wonders".

 

[Astyanax]

Damn bro, you have seriously diverse taste in props. Nice!

Heh, my taste in props follows my taste in movies. And I love LOTS of movies. So many influenced me growing up, that I'm wanting to memorialize them all!

This all started as a cabinet build but has now become "The Cabinet of Wonders".

I blame asavage. I wanted a mini version of what he's got!

 

[Astyanax]

July 25, 2024

I finished this Duck Pez Dispenser and Note from Silo (TV), partly purchased from eBay and partly made myself.



The Pez dispenser was weathered with a brown and black acrylic wash, and then fishing line was used to tie the nut to it. The note was captured directly from the show and cleaned up as much as I could in Photoshop.

 

[cjunco1937]

Ha! Love that show. Neat prop to replicate!

 

[Astyanax]

July 25, 2024:

Threw together this quick Wile E. Coyote Business Card from Looney Tunes: "To Hare is Human" (1956), captured directly from the screen and cleaned up a little.



The screenshot was AI-enlarged for sharpness, then the fingers were painted out and the card was resized to business card dimensions. I then printed it in cream color on cardstock. I traced the border in black, and then ran a black Sharpie over the bleed-edges. The claw scratches were done with a simple awl.

Quick and easy paper-prop for the back wall!



(The first appearance of Wile E.'s card is part of a better short "Operation: Rabbit (1952)", but this is a better version of the card.)

 

[Astyanax]

Ha! Love that show. Neat prop to replicate!

Thanks! But I can't take credit for the idea. ssdesigner blazed the trail:

Apple TV: Silo

Trailer looks good and the show has a great cast. I have made these models and finished props available here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ssdesignerprops I modelled the bullet from the trailer: Still looking for this illuminated keychain:

www.therpf.com

And yes, great show!

 

[Astyanax]

July 25, 2024:

I assembled and displayed this Yoda's Lightsaber from Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett (TV), purchased from a seller here on the RPF.



The maker is Korbanth, and it is an empty hilt with no chassis. The lights, switch and blade plug needed to be installed, so into research mode I went. And answers I found, yes.



(It's a little scratched up...but it really should be, as many times as Yoda dropped it!)

 

[Astyanax]

July 30, 2024

I received this Brain Slug from Futurama (TV), purchased from a seller on Etsy.



The slug is 3D-printed in transparent green resin, hand-painted and then clear-coated.



(Nothing too special, but as nice life-size "character" to add to the animation shelf.)

 

[Astyanax]

July 31, 2024

I finished this Ash's S-Mart Badge from Army of Darkness (1992), made by me from scratch!



The badge is printed on resin-coated satin finish paper, then mounted to black Bristol board. The labeling was done with a vintage Dymo labelmaker, and a badge pin was hot-glued to the back.

I worked to get it as accurate is it can realistically get!



(I've started a run for these badges if anyone wants one. Check the Project Runs forum!)

 

[greenmachines]

July 31, 2024

I finished this Ash's S-Mart Badge from Army of Darkness (1992), made by me from scratch!

View attachment 1845801 View attachment 1845802

The badge is printed on resin-coated satin finish paper, then mounted to black Bristol board. The labeling was done with a vintage Dymo labelmaker, and a badge pin was hot-glued to the back.

I worked to get it as accurate is it can realistically get!

View attachment 1845796 View attachment 1845797 View attachment 1845798 View attachment 1845799 View attachment 1845800

(I've started a run for these badges if anyone wants one. Check the Project Runs forum!)

Only Ash can get the girl, fail to save the girl, kill the zombified remains of the girl and still be the coolest guy in your moped biker gang.

 

[Astyanax]

August 1, 2024

I received this Sankara Stone from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), purchased from Landron Artifacts on Etsy.



I believe it is cast in resin, and then painted and weathered beautifully. Really incredible quality!

 

[Astyanax]

August 5, 2024:

I finished weathering this Sheriff Becker's Badge from Silo (TV), which I had purchased from RPF user ssdesigner. Check out his profile to see this and other cool Silo props!



The badge was 3D-printed in resin, and then beautifully finished by ssdesigner. I followed up with a heavy gray-black wash. Quality is excellent, and very accurate to the show!

 

[Astyanax]

August 6, 2024

I finished modding these Minion Goggles from the Despicable Me franchise, purchased from my local Spirit Halloween store (I can't believe they're open already!).



The goggles are cheap plastic, and were available in two finishes; I opted for the more shiny finish. Then I cut off the sunglasses handles and glued a cheap leather purse strap that I found on Amazon.

I weathered around the screws VERY lightly with a black wash, and then gave the screws the lightest touch of a shiny chrome marker on the high edges. I think this makes it all look less cheap.

 

[Astyanax]

August 7, 2024

I finished modding this Hard Hat from Monsters Inc. (2001), having first purchased it from my local Spirit Halloween store.



The hat came in shiny blue with a misshapen sticker that didn't want to come off. I sanded it off, from 220-grit all the way up to 3000-grit. Then I gave the whole thing a matte clearcoat, which evened things out and made it look a little less toy-like. No paint was used at all!

With a cloth, I buffed some of the high points to try to bring some of the shine back in some areas, with mixed results.

I printed and cut a new logo in the proper shape with my Cricut. Then the whole thing was weathered fairly heavily with a dark gray wash, and then more finely with a much darker gray wash in the deeper crevices. The wrinkles on the sticker are intentional.



(If you look closely at the weathering pattern in the film, you might notice that it is the exact same helmet being used for all characters. It's also widened some for big heads, which is why the logo looks elliptical for some characters! The proper shape is a circle.)

 

[greenmachines]

August 7, 2024

I finished modding this Hard Hat from Monsters Inc. (2001), having first purchased it from my local Spirit Halloween store.

View attachment 1848427 View attachment 1848428

The hat came in shiny blue with a misshapen sticker that didn't want to come off. I sanded it off, from 220-grit all the way up to 3000-grit. Then I gave the whole thing a matte clearcoat, which evened things out and made it look a little less toy-like. No paint was used at all!

With a cloth, I buffed some of the high points to try to bring some of the shine back in some areas, with mixed results.

I printed and cut a new logo in the proper shape with my Cricut. Then the whole thing was weathered fairly heavily with a dark gray, and then more finely with a much darker gray wash in the deeper crevices. The wrinkles on the sticker are intentional.

View attachment 1848422 View attachment 1848423 View attachment 1848421 View attachment 1848419 View attachment 1848420

(If you look closely at the weathering pattern in the film, you might notice that it is the exact same helmet being used for all characters. It's also widened some for big heads, which is why the logo looks elliptical for some characters! The proper shape is a circle.)

That was the steepest deep dive I think I have ever read. How did you find out or notice this was a single catalog 3d item just re-used? That is pretty straight up meta data on the digital team's processes for this film. Nice catch.

 

[Astyanax]

That was the steepest deep dive I think I have ever read. How did you find out or notice this was a single catalog 3d item just re-used? That is pretty straight up meta data on the digital team's processes for this film. Nice catch.

LOL Thanks! I gotta share credit with my son. I noticed the repeated weathering as I was trying to decide on weathering myself. But when I couldn't figure out which angle was showing a true circle logo, my 15-year-old (who also digs props) noticed they were stretched at different widths for different monsters!

Guess I'm raising 'em right, eh?

 

[greenmachines]

LOL Thanks! I gotta share credit with my son. I noticed the repeated weathering as I was trying to decide on weathering myself. But when I couldn't figure out which angle was showing a true circle logo, my 15-year-old (who also digs props) noticed they were stretched at different widths for different monsters!

Guess I'm raising 'em right, eh?

That is a gift right there. A family member that shares the interest. That kid gets a hug from the rpf even if he is at the age where hugs are no longer cool.