Nice!!
Blake's 7 prop replicas?
- Thread starter Eagle
- Start date
Blakes7000
New Member
This is finally the result of an afternoon tea break.
Nothing special admittedly. Doesn't look too bad though
- - - Updated - - -
This is finally the result of an afternoon tea break.
Nothing special admittedly. Doesn't look too bad though
Nothing special admittedly. Doesn't look too bad though
- - - Updated - - -
This is finally the result of an afternoon tea break.
Nothing special admittedly. Doesn't look too bad though
I've finally finished my Federation Trooper costume. There were a number of commissions involved in getting this made. A surprisingly difficult costume to put together.
Last edited:
Metaluna mutant
Sr Member
I'd love to do an Orac. Does anyone have an accurate Orac blueprint or parts list? Or is there an official Orac blueprint? It does seem to be a pretty straightforward provided I could get the outer acrylic shell cut and made. I seem to remember the parts inside Orac changed over the years. Anyone have an info?
Oooooook...Bad thing is thread jumping here...lol
Having just read the Alien-Nerf Rifle conversion, then jumped to this thread am thinking to meself...airsoft or nerf for a 'working' federation gun.
Never liked the Scorpio handguns, not after Soolin declared ' I don't pledge my alliegance..I sell my skill!' and then came out with the slowest draw I have ever seen :lol :facepalm
Though that said the episode Stardrive came out with probably the best definition of a 'projectile weapon' I have heard too...''It goes bang..and you go splat'' has to be in the top % of tv quotes (doesn't it?).
Incidentally IIRC the Spacerats chopper from that episode was based on the craft from a series that never was - Dan Dare.
I'm rambling aren't I...
Having just read the Alien-Nerf Rifle conversion, then jumped to this thread am thinking to meself...airsoft or nerf for a 'working' federation gun.
Never liked the Scorpio handguns, not after Soolin declared ' I don't pledge my alliegance..I sell my skill!' and then came out with the slowest draw I have ever seen :lol :facepalm
Though that said the episode Stardrive came out with probably the best definition of a 'projectile weapon' I have heard too...''It goes bang..and you go splat'' has to be in the top % of tv quotes (doesn't it?).
Incidentally IIRC the Spacerats chopper from that episode was based on the craft from a series that never was - Dan Dare.
I'm rambling aren't I...
RobTFirefly
Active Member
That's a dream project of mine as well, I've always wanted to make Orac. It seems to me it'd be very easy to get acrylic cut for the purpose these days if one had the plans.
I do know off the top of my head that the round button on Orac's key was the same as the one on the Liberator teleport bracelets: "Elliptical Head 19.1mm" made by EMA, SKU# VHE-24.
Metaluna mutant
Sr Member
Yeah, I wish I knew someone that could professionally laser cut acrylic sheet. Filling it would take time but messiness would look fine - the original prop was meant to look odd and quickly tossed together.
I've seen various articles scattered in the web id'ing various parts. Somewhere they mention exactly what the "circuit board" inside was from, as well as several other misc doo-dads in the case, I'd have to dig to find the site. The "ticking" sound effect you hear on screen was actually the 1970's sequential blinking light mechanism around the center "ball". The orac "switch" actually was the switch for the prop (it simply completed the blinking light circuit) so the actors really were "activating" Orac on set by popping in the switch into the small cradle.
I know of a few sites where people have built (great looking!) Oracs, but they also just approximate what's onscreen, i.e. no schematics. They extensively used screen caps as much as possible.
However, I also know the Orac prop itself varied over time as things were added and replaced. In fact, it varied between the first and second episodes it appeared.
RobTFirefly
Active Member
What I'd really love to do is build an Orac, but instead of tracking down the original circuit boards just using modern PC parts. Even the boards out of a cannibalized old laptop or netbook would make for a great-looking and functional Orac computer. Someone must have tried this by now, surely?
neophyl
Sr Member
Just realised I hadnt posted these here yet
Not 100% accurate but these are packed full of electronics for use in laser skirmish games so have an ir led and lens system in the barrel. The magazines are removable and swopping them changes the sounds and the effect the gun has. Fun things to use
Not 100% accurate but these are packed full of electronics for use in laser skirmish games so have an ir led and lens system in the barrel. The magazines are removable and swopping them changes the sounds and the effect the gun has. Fun things to use
Hey Phil,
They look pretty sweet all finished up
Thanks to your work I hope to have a (nearly) all aluminium Clipgun soon. I bought a lathe at the end of last year, and the muzzle has proved a perfect project to cut my teeth on.
Have you got the costumes to go with the guns for your battles?
They look pretty sweet all finished up
Thanks to your work I hope to have a (nearly) all aluminium Clipgun soon. I bought a lathe at the end of last year, and the muzzle has proved a perfect project to cut my teeth on.
Have you got the costumes to go with the guns for your battles?
goldmister
New Member
Just realised I hadnt posted these here yet
View attachment 277307
Not 100% accurate but these are packed full of electronics for use in laser skirmish games so have an ir led and lens system in the barrel. The magazines are removable and swopping them changes the sounds and the effect the gun has. Fun things to use
Wow. Just wow!
How, when, why? Need to know more
Seriously theyre brilliant. Where do you even start with all that?
neophyl
Sr Member
Birdie, as its a live role play event the game itself will be set in the B7 universe, timeline wise just after the Andromedan War of season 2, we wont be playing the actual crew though. Our little band are planning on being the crew of another freighter but the costumes will be very much in the style of what was worn.
The games we play use a infrared based system to simulate combat. Gear ranges from modern all the way to futuristic and back again (I saw someone retrofit a crossbow for a mad max based game once). We do all sorts of genres from Aliens, Starship Troopers to lots of old british sci fi. The next game is one using UNIT from Dr Who as the background so the players get to be unit members and attached science team which should be fun
But back on topic of the props
Took some internal pics of one of the clip guns
It was a bit challenging fitting everything inside, I had to shrink my normal electronics boards down to fit. That meant learning to work with surface mount parts which I had never done before. The area above the clip contains the main microcontroller which is the brains of the system. The area in the grip contains a sound module and amplifier which the micro controls. All the sounds are stored on a little sd card in the module. The micro also reads from the magazine and fires the appropriate type of shot and plays the correct matching firing noise and also reduces the ammo left in the magazine by 1 every time it fires.
Its basically the result of playing and building stuff for games for 15 years Started off real basic and as I built more stuff I figured out how to simulate more and more things. Its probably why most of my props are firearm based. I like stuff you can actually 'use' and take of the display shelf now and then.
What the pictures don't show is the other side that has the speaker for the sounds. It vents through the mesh on the other side. Those mesh sections do make handy speaker ports.
Id be interested to see yours when its finished Birdie and Im glad one of the spare sets of sides found a good home.
Phil
The games we play use a infrared based system to simulate combat. Gear ranges from modern all the way to futuristic and back again (I saw someone retrofit a crossbow for a mad max based game once). We do all sorts of genres from Aliens, Starship Troopers to lots of old british sci fi. The next game is one using UNIT from Dr Who as the background so the players get to be unit members and attached science team which should be fun
But back on topic of the props
Took some internal pics of one of the clip guns
It was a bit challenging fitting everything inside, I had to shrink my normal electronics boards down to fit. That meant learning to work with surface mount parts which I had never done before. The area above the clip contains the main microcontroller which is the brains of the system. The area in the grip contains a sound module and amplifier which the micro controls. All the sounds are stored on a little sd card in the module. The micro also reads from the magazine and fires the appropriate type of shot and plays the correct matching firing noise and also reduces the ammo left in the magazine by 1 every time it fires.
Its basically the result of playing and building stuff for games for 15 years
Started off real basic and as I built more stuff I figured out how to simulate more and more things. Its probably why most of my props are firearm based. I like stuff you can actually 'use' and take of the display shelf now and then.What the pictures don't show is the other side that has the speaker for the sounds. It vents through the mesh on the other side. Those mesh sections do make handy speaker ports.
Id be interested to see yours when its finished Birdie and Im glad one of the spare sets of sides found a good home.
Phil
ArtyMarty
New Member
Wow.. That is awesome Phil. I love making stuff like that. Just about all my sculptures and art light up, make a noise or talk in some way.
Great to see someone else who is just as passionate about making "something" as they are about making that "something" actually DO SOMETHING
I wish there were groups around where I live that have events like that.
I have a UK passport, do you have spare room and can I come and move in??
Actually, I need about 4 spare rooms so I can bring my "workshop" and related bits....
haha
Great to see someone else who is just as passionate about making "something" as they are about making that "something" actually DO SOMETHING
I wish there were groups around where I live that have events like that.
I have a UK passport, do you have spare room and can I come and move in??
Actually, I need about 4 spare rooms so I can bring my "workshop" and related bits....
haha
Knightjar
Sr Member
Nice work as always, Birdie. That's a hell of an armoury.
Just realised I never posted my B7 builds to this thread:
The gun was made as far as possible using the same found parts and materials as the original props (as far as I've been able to determine) but I did need to make a few changes to keep it practical and affordable. There's a full build thread for it here:
Sculpting and model-making by Mike Strick: Replica Blake's 7 Liberator handgun
I did two versions of the bracelets - a production accurate version in the same colours as the original props and a screen accurate version made to look as they did thanks to 70's TV! To be honest, the differences are pretty subtle.
Just realised I never posted my B7 builds to this thread:
The gun was made as far as possible using the same found parts and materials as the original props (as far as I've been able to determine) but I did need to make a few changes to keep it practical and affordable. There's a full build thread for it here:
Sculpting and model-making by Mike Strick: Replica Blake's 7 Liberator handgun
I did two versions of the bracelets - a production accurate version in the same colours as the original props and a screen accurate version made to look as they did thanks to 70's TV! To be honest, the differences are pretty subtle.
ArtyMarty
New Member
Thats awesome. checked out your website too.
Can you put a rss feed option on your blog so I can be notified when there are updates?
Marty
Can you put a rss feed option on your blog so I can be notified when there are updates?
Marty
Forgot to mention, right now I'm working on this beastie: The gun that killed Blake!
The original Prop:
Progress so far
I was lucky enough to meet the legendary Bill Pearson recently, who built the original prop, hope the expression on his face is not an expression of his feelings on my work :lol
The original Prop:
Progress so far
I was lucky enough to meet the legendary Bill Pearson recently, who built the original prop, hope the expression on his face is not an expression of his feelings on my work :lol
