Building The Death Star - PRE-PRODUCTION

[PHArchivist]

OK folks, I've started the ball rolling (no pun intended -seriously!)...!

Though I have not yet acquired the acrylic yet, I took the first major foray into the building process today.

Since I asked for some help with some figures over on our pseudo Death Star research thread, and none of you lame-asses came up with anything I called in the help of a true professional, friend, and fellow RPF member, QuartZ!

Actually, QuartZ and I often work together on projects , and today he was gracious enough to devote a good portion of the day to helping me "flesh out" the Death Star.

And together, we came up with what is so loved in the film industry - a foam core mock-up! In doing so (and with a LOT of mental mathematic gymnastics via photo-extrapolation and numeric conversions), we were able to hammer out all the dimensions,including the diameter of the dish, the relevant figures to make the model wider at the equator (and shorter at the poles!), and various other dimensions.

NOW I can take this data to the supplier and get them going on the order!

I'll let the pics speak for themselves, but know that this thing -- in full Studio Scale -- will be BIG!!

 

[Walter]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

God speed Rob!

I can not wait to see you take this on.

-Bryan

 

[ralphee]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Good luck to both of you, itll be a blast to see some life put into the SS section of late.
If anyone can pull it off well, itll be you guys, it is bloomin huge though Rob...wow!
This is seriously going to rock!

lee

 

[Jedi Dade]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Very cool :cool

OK since you've done all the hard work of figureing out the dimensions... Care to share? It would be useful info should anyone else want to give it a shot (or scale it to something I can fit in my home reasonalby )

Jedi Dade

 

[Eagle]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Oi, Oi! Can't wait! :thumbsup

 

[PHArchivist]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

God speed Rob!
I can not wait to see you take this on.
-Bryan

Thanks Bryan! With this one Ill take all the support I can get! Next time you cross over to CA, come by and we’ll drill some lights together!

Good luck to both of you, itll be a blast to see some life put into the SS section of late.
If anyone can pull it off well, itll be you guys, it is bloomin huge though Rob...wow!
This is seriously going to rock!
lee

Bloomin’ huge is an apt description, Lee! The dish alone is the size of a salad plate 23.5cm or 9”!

Very cool
OK since you've done all the hard work of figureing out the dimensions... Care to share? It would be useful info should anyone else want to give it a shot (or scale it to something I can fit in my home reasonalby )
Jedi Dade

I’ll get numbers out soon enough… Got to get everything in order and concrete. But rest assured - I will…

Oi, Oi! Can't wait! :thumbsup

And wait you shall! This will be a long one!


EDIT: IMPORTANT - IF ANYONE IS FOLLOWING MY GUIDELINES/SPECIFICATIONS, I WAS INCORRECT ON THE SIZE OF THE DISH. I AM CURRENTLY RECALCULATING, BUT IT APPEARS TO BE CLOSER TO 7" TO 8" IN DIAMETER.

 

[PHArchivist]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Next Steps/Outlook:

At this point I'm in a bit of a holding pattern.

On Wednesday, I intend to drive out tot he supplier (about an hour drive) to discuss the components and my needs in person.

Once the order is finalized and place, it will be 1-3 weeks to produce the order.

So it now may be 2-4 weeks until any further tangible steps.

I will also (after receiving the hemispheres) need to visit my local plastics supplier (five minutes from work) to order some clear acrylic flat stock.

 

[Chaka]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Nice sneakers, PH!

Didn't know they still made Buster Browns. :angel

Seriously, looking forward to following this thread.

Very ambitious and cool.

T.

 

[Treadwell]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

The dish alone is the size of a salad plate 23.5cm or 9”!

Isn't that considerably larger than studio scale?

 

[PHArchivist]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Isn't that considerably larger than studio scale?

Nope. Per various inputs/sources/extrapolations, the dish itself is 9" in diameter.

Take a second look at the mock up. Looks correct porportionally, right...? And it is (of course) 36" in diameter. The small Ertl model is just about 9" in diameter.

EDIT: IMPORTANT - IF ANYONE IS FOLLOWING MY GUIDELINES/SPECIFICATIONS, I WAS INCORRECT ON THE SIZE OF THE DISH. I AM CURRENTLY RECALCULATING, BUT IT APPEARS TO BE CLOSER TO 7" TO 8" IN DIAMETER.

 

[PHArchivist]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Here are some pics of the original...

 

[Hand Solo]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

^ Very nice!

Thanks for posting those. Good luck on your project. You'll be the trail-blazer...

 

[PHArchivist]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Consulted with the plastic supplier tpday, order should be placed by end of the week, and fullfilled within 2-3 weeks. The waiting is the hardest part!

 

[GKvfx]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

The waiting is the hardest part!

Remember this statement when you hand cramps up from making 50 billion little windows...............

Gene

 

[moes1]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Is that my scratch laser dish thats sitting there - cool
Thanks for the pictures

Remember this statement when you hand cramps up from making 50 billion little windows...............

Gene

 

[Prop Nut...]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Rob, is this project going to be only for yourself, or will you be offering some for sale? I have been interested in a SS DS, and you were kind enough to reply to my threads from the begining.

-Gio

 

[micdavis]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Other than out and out building one on commission I can't see how one could make a kit out of this. The whole job is in the paint. I guess you could sell paint masks.

This is a hard project.

 

[vaderdarth]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

Agreed. I do like the idea of someone offering paint masks for those of us insane enough to try it. Here's to hoping.

Dave

 

[moffeaton]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

I'd love to buy a pre-cut "kit" with the dome hole already cut. Saves me all that annoying math.

I don't mind the painting so much - it can be a nice zen exercise, completed over a year or so. But I reckon with all the laser cutters and vinyl plotters out there, someone can come up with an excellent solution. All you need are 12 to 15 patterns cut in quantity, repeated in varying locations, and then a few unique ones... cut 'em up, mix and match, and there you go.

Also, what are you thinking of doing for the light source? A "net" of leds inside? I was thinking of that, actually. Nest a smaller dome inside, perforated like a dense whiffle ball, with leds mounted in the holes. Even light, no real risk of burnouts in our remaining lifespans, and no heat!

 

[micdavis]

Re: BUILDING the Death Star!

The shape of the masks would have to be such that they lay down on the sphere. That's a tough mask to cut.

I'd love to see them too. But I only have 24" sphere, so I'm on my own I'm sure.

Fortunately I am in the same city as the original.