Astyanax's Makes, Builds and Acquisitions: 2024

[Astyanax]

March 19, 2024

I finished this Game Cartridge from Cloak & Dagger (1984), stickers made by EmmaInCandyland on the RPF!



I purchased a cheap Atari 5200 cartridge of "Pole Position" on eBay, and removed the label and cleaned it up. Then I applied Emma's FLAWLESS silver and gold stickers, and in minutes had a prop ready to go!



(This was a big one from my childhood, and very satisfying to have something so accurate so easily!)

 

[Astyanax]

March 23, 2024

I purchased this Face Hugger from Alien (1979), from a local collectibles swap meet. The brand is NECA.



It is made of latex and foam, and is fully 1:1 size, with about a 4-foot tail, which is somewhat poseable. The legs are not poseable.



(This fits the brief of trying to have more things that are "organic" in the collection!)

 

[Astyanax]

March 23, 2024

I purchased this Bilbo's "Sting" Sword from The Hobbit franchise (2012), from a local collectibles swap meet. The brand is NECA.



The blade is plastic, the hilt is solid metal (handle wrapped in plastic), and it lights up and makes weapon-ish noises when you swing it or stab it. One of the nicer affordable replicas out there!



(Lower quality photo, because I didn't want to upend my shelf just to shoot it!)

 

[Astyanax]

March 26, 2024

Your eyes aren't deceiving you. This is nothing more than a pile of Reese's Pieces, a genuine prop replica from E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial!



Not only does this little pile count as a real prop (it's there to merely accentuate my Speak & Spell and help guests recognize the movie), but it was even sourced from the same manufacturer as Production! How often does that happen?



(Wonder how often I'll have to replace them...should I clear-coat? The hard candy shells will keep away ants, right? Right?)

 

[EmmaInCandyland]

March 19, 2024

I finished this Game Cartridge from Cloak & Dagger (1984), stickers provided by EmmaInCandyland on the RPF!

View attachment 1812968 View attachment 1812969

I purchased a cheap Atari 5200 cartridge of "Pole Position" on eBay, and removed the label and cleaned it up. Then I applied Emma's FLAWLESS silver and gold stickers, and in minutes had a prop ready to go!

View attachment 1812966 View attachment 1812967

(This was a big one from my childhood, and very satisfying to have something so accurate so easily!)

Looks incredible! Thanks for buying

 

[Astyanax]

March 24, 2024

I finished this Ricken's "The You You Are" Book from Severance (TV). I made the art, assembled from various sources online.



Not only did I make a new cover for the book, but I also painted the pages and added custom endpapers and a first page. Full Build Log and Art are available here at the RPF!



(The cover was designed around Scott Lang's "Look Out for the Little Guy", a movie prop in its own right!)

 

[Astyanax]

March 25, 2024

I received this Away Jacket PVC Patch from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV), from RPF user bobatrek.



The quality is excellent, and looks fantastic. I made one modification: I carefully trimmed the patch's white border, and darkened the trimmed rim with a Sharpie. Now it's a near-perfect match!

 

[Astyanax]

March 25, 2024

I received these White Lumon Erasers from Severance (TV), from an Etsy shop.



These are clearly real erasers, not some 3D printed item that looks like them.



(We never see the erasers up close, so this is as accurate as it can get. Judging from the Lumon logo on everything and the fact that Dylan idolizes this perk, the logo is highly likely to be there.)

 

[Astyanax]

March 25, 2024

I received these Lumon Vending Machine Tokens from Severance (TV), from an Etsy shop.



Nice heavy metal quality, looks like a near-perfect match to me!

 

[Astyanax]

March 25, 2024

I received this "Pip's Bar and Grille" VIP Card from Severance (TV), from an Etsy shop.



This excellent double-sided card adds some nice flavor to my Severance display.

 

[Astyanax]

March 25, 2024

I received this Blue Access Card and Lanyard from Severance (TV), from an Etsy shop.



This card and lanyard look like perfect matches to me. I wouldn't change a thing!

 

[Astyanax]

March 26, 2024

I finished this "Music Dance Experience" Card from Severance (TV).



The art is my own design, with careful font matching and some slight modifications for accuracy. The lamination is self-adhesive sheets. Art and details provided here at the RPF!



(The texturing of the card in the show suggests that a real laminator machine was not used, but individual adhesive laminating sheets.)

 

[Astyanax]

March 26, 2024

I finished this "Eagan Bingo" Paper from Severance (TV).



I made the art by literally tracing over a screenshot from the show, followed by a careful lifting (and improvising) of the copier smears from the screenshot. I finished by lightly smearing some paint on the edges with a sponge. Art and details provided here at the RPF!



(Severance uses some very strange paper sizes for some of its props!)

 

[Astyanax]

March 28, 2024

I received this Mark's Wristwatch from Severance (TV), from manufacturer BijouOne, the same source as supplied these watches to the show's production. They can sometimes be found on Amazon for lower cost.



The watch face has no letters or numbers on it, so as not to trigger Lumon's Code Detectors. They come in several color combinations, which are different for each major character. Details can be found here on the RPF! Thanks to ssdesigner for helping ID the strap color!



(Although in some scenes Mark's watch looks a little darker, this is due to color and brightness filters on the show. At the time Severance was produced, there was only a single brown strap color available from BijouOne.)

 

[Astyanax]

March 28, 2024

I finished this Droid Restraining Bolt from Star Wars (1977). This was 3D printed in resin from a file downloaded from Thingiverse.



This was more a paint job than anything. I painted the whole bolt in black gloss, then chromed it all with AlClad II Polished Aluminum. Then I masked off the parts I wanted to stay chrome and retouched with black satin and black flat where it needed it. Then I weathered it as dirty as I could, using a black acrylic wash, silver drybrush, and spot painting with brown to create oil drip effects.

 

[Astyanax]

March 31, 2024

I finished these Strip and Slips of Ferengi Gold Pressed Latinum from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This was 3D printed in resin from files downloaded from Thingiverse.



I struggled with the gold color quite a bit, finally trying an Alclad II Candy Red and Candy Yellow mix (5:1), over Alclad II Polished Aluminum, over White Gloss. I lightly weathered with a brown acrylic wash.



(This was my first time trying chrome over white gloss instead of black gloss. It served the gold better, although I may revisit soon. I'm still not 100% happy with it.)

 

[Astyanax]

April 4, 2024

I received this Lightning Symbol from The Flash (TV), from an Etsy shop.



This is actual size, resin cast and hand painted. The white disc is covered in a thin layer of white pleather. Very nice quality overall!

 

[Astyanax]

April 5, 2024

I finished this Robot Bolt (or screw) from The Iron Giant (1999), 3D printed in resin from a file downloaded from Thingiverse.



I found this version to be the most accurate of those available online, as each part could be painted separately. Each piece was chrome-painted in Alclad II Polished Aluminum over lack gloss, and then all but the "hex star" on top were further darkened with a little Alclad II Black Chrome, plus some hand-painting for details. The blue lights do not light up, but are transparent blue resin-printed parts, with fluorescent blue painted on their undersides for brightness. Then it was all lightly weathered with a black wash.



(This project took almost a year off-and-on to finally get to and work through...needed time to build some painting skills!)

 

[Astyanax]

April 6, 2024

I received this Communicator Badge from Star Trek: Picard Season Three (TV), from an Etsy shop.



It's made out of molded plastic but finished quite nicely. Three strong magnets on the back help attach it to a uniform.

 

[Astyanax]

April 8, 2024

I finished this Key to Oz from Return to Oz (1985), 3D printed in resin from a file downloaded from Printables.



I found this version to be the most accurate of those available online, the "OZ" symbol on the key is somewhat unique in its shape. After spraying it in Rustoleum gold (over black gloss), I weathered it heavily with acrylic burnt umber, letting it dry "dirty" in spots. Very happy with how it turned out!



(I like to intersperse my difficult projects with quick-and-easy ones...the occasional "win" helps keep me going. The worst thing for me in this hobby is to get bogged down in a large project for a long period of time without a release valve of something small to break it up!)