Comic Style Daredevil Transforming Cane

IAmTheClayman

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So I recently started reading the Waid/Samnee run on Daredevil and I've fallen in love with it. In particular the design of the cane really stood out to me - something about how Samnee makes the transition between cane, billy clubs and grappling hook (and the squared-off design of the hook especially) seem believable despite the fact that's it's very much a goofy silver age idea really struck a chord. I decided that this is a prop I'd really like to tackle, but I've set three rules for myself:


  1. It must function like a standard white cane. That means it has to be lightweight, able to separate into 4 sections connected by elastic cord, and appear more or less unremarkable to the average person. It also needs to be significantly longer than it appears in the comics. I'm 6 ft tall, so I need my cane to be 52" long (I realize that different people use different length canes, but I followed the "the top should come up to the center of your chest" rule)
  2. It must be able to break into two unconnected clubs. That means no long rope in between - in the comics the cane can separate into halves, so mine has to be able to as well. Since the cane is 52" long each half will be 26". It's a bit long for a billy club, but about in the right range for eskrima sticks so I'm not complaining.
  3. The toughest requirement of all. The head of the cane must be able to transform into a square grappling hook that can disconnect from the rest of the club, yet remain attached by some sort of cable or string. I realize that I'm not going to be swinging from flagpoles anytime soon, but I want it to at least have about a 2 foot line just for the effect

So with those rules in place, this is where I am so far:
Daredevil_Cane2.pngDaredevil_Cane1.png
I'm designing the cane to be made out of aluminum, painted white with a few spaces left unpainted for accents. I haven't done the elastic or wrist strap yet (because things like that are hard in Maya), but the basic shape of the sections has been established and I've begun work on some of the mechanical bits (like how to get all 4 sections to stay together, yet break into 2 halves via a twist locking mechanism.) I'll post some more images once I've worked out a few of the kinks, but I'm really looking forward to this one. If nothing else it's an interesting engineering exercise
 
Alright, lots of progress the past few days, everything from minor changes like adjust the cane's diameter from 1" to a more accurate 7/8" to finishing up designing the locking mechanism that allows the cane to break apart into 2 clubs. Pic heavy post ahead

DardevilCaneCompressedRing.jpg
So this is what the middle section of the cane looks like with the 2 halves together. The dark ring is going to be made of low density foam, something that compresses easily.

DaredevilCaneThreading.jpg
In "cane mode" this is how the sections stay together. The sections of the cane will thread together, but they are also attached by a short piece of elastic cord. While folding canes aren't normally threaded (basically just a giant pin - tube connection) in order for the sections to stay together in "grappling hook mode" I need a connection a little stronger than a bit of stretchy rope

DaredevilCaneFemaleLink.jpgDaredevilCaneMaleLink.jpg
And finally, the female (left) and male (right) connectors that allow the cane to separate. The female section is made up of the slotted shell, a washer and a compression spring. So when the two billy clubs are joined, the foam ring is compressed, the pieces of tubing and the pin-slot connection slot together, twist and then the spring locks them into place

Now I'm moving onto the mechanism that will allow the bottom section of the cane to transform into the grappling hook head, which shouldn't be too much of a challenge except for the part where I try to figure out how to fit a self-locking pulley system into a very small space
 
Took a little more time to work on this tonight. Added the wrist strap and, based on some more review of the panels from the comics, changed the way the grappling hook works. Turns out that the line connects the billy clubs as opposed to being contained entirely within one of the clubs, so that's reflected in these latest renders

DaredevilCane3.jpgDaredevilCaneGrapplingHook.jpg
 
Looks awesome! Looking forward to seeing more!
My only question is, if it unfolds and snaps into place like the walking canes for the blind and is held together by the internal elastic cord, how can it be separated easily without the cord interfering? Or is that something you're still tackling?
 
Looks awesome! Looking forward to seeing more!
My only question is, if it unfolds and snaps into place like the walking canes for the blind and is held together by the internal elastic cord, how can it be separated easily without the cord interfering? Or is that something you're still tackling?

Because I'll be using 3 smaller cords as opposed to a single cord which runs the length of the cane. They'll provide less tension force, but since the sections need to screw together for stability anyway it's not too big of a deal
 
Test render for the mechanism that allows the grappling hook sections to twist into place. I've gotta thank the guys who replied to my thread on the general modeling forums, particularly Aku as he came up with this solution, which takes inspiration from those old twisting Magic Snake toys. Basically a pivot bolts runs between the faces of each section, with a spring and nut to put pressure on the faces and hold them together. Still need to model the holes the pivot passes through and the pins/slot construction that will restrict rotation to 180 degrees, but I'm happy with how it's looking so far

DaredevilMagicSnake.jpg

And twisted 180:

DaredevilMagicSnakeTwisted.jpg
 
Haven't had much time to work on this since I'm getting ready to head back to school, but I did finish up the grappling hook's rotation mechanism. No I just need to figure out how to fit 3-5 feet of retractable rope/wire into a .75x10" space

Anyway, here's some pretty renders. Gotta love Mental Ray Sun & Sky:

DaredevilMagicSnakeExploded.jpgDaredevilMagicSnakeExploded2.jpg
 
Have you seen mine ? The same basic design, but with gadgets/weapons inside (all metal, steel, copper and aluminium) :










A part of my "blueprint" :




 
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Been away for a while, so I totally wish I'd seen this sooner. Awesome design work, I absolutely love how it looks.

I'm curious though if you figured out a way to make your grappling hook's rope retractable, or if it's closed by hand

Partialy automatized to oppen and closed by hand . It's possible in this configuration to automatize the oppening but very difficult to use same way to close the system.

But i think it's possible, my problem is just i don't have tools to make this kind of job.
 
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Too tired to get into the nitty gritty of this right now, but version 2 of the design after a lot of time tinkering and dealing with other stuff going on in my life. Have to give major props to user gemurrayx and this thread for the block and tackle design used to make the grappling hook/nunchaku setup retractable.

The progress is slow, but a step forward is a step forward

Daredevil Comic Style Cane v2.png
 
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A little more refinement. I definitely need to do a write up on this if only to keep my own thoughts straight, but suffice it to say I'm very happy with the design. Had to get creative in a few places but I definitely think I can make this work

Daredevil Comic Style Cane v2.png
 
I'm a huge fan of the comic look, which I've always seen in my mind as chrome/silver instead of white.
Can't wait to see yours completed.


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Are you still working on it?

To be honest, between college and being broke (see: college) I haven't really had an opportunity to pursue this further. Perhaps with the summer coming up I can find time, but if anyone is interested in taking this design and running with it feel free. All I ask for is a tiny bit of credit and some awesome pics of it in action


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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