CARBONITE: The Sequel

QCWolf · Oct 30, 2018

I struck a deal with my tattoo artist friend that if I would build a Han Solo in Carbonite for him, he would provide me with some amazing tattoo work. He would buy all the requisite parts and I would build the prop. At this point, I'm nearly finished and thought I'd share the progress. I've already built one of these in the past and found that this previous experience has made things MUCH easier this time around.

If anyone is interested, you can find my other thread here:

https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=235971

I've done a few things differently but I started with the same basic materials.

Box kit - Zenix
Han cast - King Jawa
Side panels - Bigturc
End pockets - Blue Realm
Hero panel light kit - Fettronics
Panel greeblies - Bigturc
Metal clips - Zenix

I started with the well made and trusted Zenix box kit. It's made of MDF so it's lightweight and easy to work with. It's well worth the money. Bigturc's panels and Blue Realm's end pockets fit perfectly in all the right places. However, I did do a little router work to the end holes to countersink the end pockets. I covered all the seams with Bondo and it all worked out well.

I'll post more progress pics soon.

mugatu · Oct 30, 2018

Wraptly following this.

QCWolf · Oct 30, 2018

Apply Bondo, sand, prime, sand, more Bondo, sand again then sand some more.

This time around, I used a thicker piece of wood for the main panel. Last time I used a 1/4 inch thick piece and this time I used a 1/2 inch. It's not quite a half inch so the gap between the panel and lip of the frame is only about 1/8 of an inch. Way less space to fill when it comes to filling in the texture of the carbonite.

I shaved off the excess foam backing from the resin cast from King Jawa and placed the pieces according to these schematics. I wish the quality was better on these images, but it's all I've got.

I told myself last time I wasn't going to do the wood glue thing again, but since I had such a shallow gap to fill, I figured it was worth a shot. The weather was warmer and so the glue dried completely in just a few days. Once it was dry, I applied a layer of Bondo for added texture.

mugatu · Oct 30, 2018

So, on this one, you have been working on it for how long up to the point in the last post?

SidGi3 · Oct 30, 2018

Looks great! Can't wait to see the rest.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

BudaFett · Oct 30, 2018

Nice trade! Love watching these builds!

QCWolf · Oct 31, 2018

mugatu said:
So, on this one, you have been working on it for how long up to the point in the last post?

The timeline on this build is very different from the last one. On my first HIC, I did the whole thing from soup to nuts in about 2 months. For this one, I started in January and now it will be complete in November. I took the entire summer off from this project because I live in Chandler (a Phoenix suburb) and it is 110 degrees in my garage/ shop pretty much all the time from June through the beginning of October. In the latest post, I'd wager that there's about 30 or 40 hours of work (I move kinda slow) to get to that point. That's not including the glue drying phase. Once the weather cooled off, I was able to ramp up production and I've done more work in the last two weeks than the previous seven months.

QCWolf · Oct 31, 2018

For paint color, I used Rustoleum "Dark Steel" for the box and "Satin Nickel" for the carbonite and Han. I also added a liberal dose of black acrylic wash to give it some depth.

QCWolf · Oct 31, 2018

I flipped him over an started working on the wall mount and support. I painted the inside flat black and cut a few holes for electronic cabling.

SofaKing01 · Nov 1, 2018

QCWolf said:
Apply Bondo, sand, prime, sand, more Bondo, sand again then sand some more.

You forgot about 18-25 steps!

Looks amazing so far! Keep those images coming

QCWolf · Nov 1, 2018

SofaKing01 said:
You forgot about 18-25 steps!

Looks amazing so far! Keep those images coming

You are correct. I didn't type out all the steps because my hands were so cramped from all the sanding!

QCWolf · Nov 1, 2018

Side panel duty is always fun. The castings I got from Bigturc are great and required minimal cleanup. The side panels were much more difficult the last time I did this but armed with the knowledge I gained from that experience, these were a breeze. I got a roll or inexpensive aluminum flashing from Home Depot and cut it to size using my trusty tin snips. Once again, I used Loctite super glue to hold it in place and it works like a charm. The metal clips from zenix were easy to install and came with all the proper hardware to finish the job and the set of greeblies from Bigturc are super clean. Last time I used a set of 3-D printed greeblies and they were good but hard to sand an finish. This time, I'm using molded resin parts as well as Bigturc's machined metal parts.

Bigturc · Nov 1, 2018

It's good to see my greeblies in action!! Question is .. are you gonna keep this HIC and give your artist the first one?

... I would!

QCWolf · Nov 1, 2018

Bigturc said:
It's good to see my greeblies in action!! Question is .. are you gonna keep this HIC and give your artist the first one?

... I would!

I thought about it! LOL! The truth is that since this will be on public display in a very popular tattoo shop in downtown Phoenix, I want to put my best foot forward and give the upgraded version to my friend. There will be lots of eyes on this piece and I want it to look its very best.

Bigturc · Nov 1, 2018

Don't make it TOO nice .. you'll end up with 3 more orders within the next year!

QCWolf · Nov 1, 2018

Bigturc said:
Don't make it TOO nice .. you'll end up with 3 more orders within the next year!

Yeah... about that...

I may be starting a "Maker Club" at my kids' school and the proposed first project is Han Solo in Carbonite with the finished product (built by kids) to be auctioned off to the community. Should be interesting. I might be contacting you for more parts sooner than later.

QCWolf · Nov 1, 2018

In case anyone is interested, we have already done the services exchange. Over the past year, my friend has been applying tattoos to my right arm. He has completed his obligation and I now have a half-sleeve. The Blade Runner blaster represents the first prop I ever made. (The top is actually straight, just my arm is curved.)

Here are a few shots of his outstanding work: