Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand WIP

[nick daring]

I bought an evike "matrix" pulse rifle a couple months back during that excellent sale but sadly it has spent most of its existence stuck in its box.

Time to fix that!

A few sketches and I think I've got a rough plan for my pulse rifles new home.

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I want a stand that evokes the design elements of the films atmosphere processor. The plants design consists of a giant cone structure with a few big towers surrounding it. The struts holding the gun are going roughly mimic the design of these towers.

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My build photos are spotty so I apologize in advance. I went really fast on this thing and forgot to document all the stages.

 

[Prefect42]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Brilliant idea. Looking forward to your progress, Nick.

Ted.

 

[gyoung2993]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Definitely would like to see this design to come to life.....excellent work Nick with the sketches....love it bro...

 

[nick daring]

Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

I drew up the plans in Adobe Illustrator and started cutting out the wood.

The main box is made of 1/4" mdf cut on a table saw. I even cut the edges at the correct angles so every thing fit together perfectly. My table saw skill are getting much better on my last couple projects.

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The vertical struts are 2 1/4" mdf parts sandwiched onto a 1/2" mdf piece. These were cut out on a scroll saw. I still suck at scroll sawing accurately so a lot of sanding was needed to get these parts presentable.

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Designing the tall and short strut to embody the same design without just stretching the file was tricky.

I taped all the parts together to make sure everything fit together as planned.

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Next I started gluing the box pieces together.

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I decided to make the front face of the box have a glowing Aliens logo. I cut a piece of plexiglass to the correct size, and sanded both sides to except the paint better and produce a better diffusion for the LEDs to glow evenly.

I traced the Aliens logo in illustrator and The front of the plexiglass was covered in blue painters tape. The logo was transferred onto the tape covered placing and then carefully cut with an exacto. The excess tape was peeled leaving a blue tape Aliens logo on the plexiglass.

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Lots of sanding and primer.

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I ended up using a dark grey primer as the base color and then weathered the whole thing with black and burnt umber acrylics watered down. A bit of light silver along the edges as well for that classic Aliens look as well.

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I never figured how to attach the struts to thd box until the very end. I wanted easy access to the inside of the box to install and alter the lights if needed so I used two 3" long screws from Home Depot.

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I used a type of nut that would've worked perfect if I had installed it before assembling the box. Instead of hammering into the wood, which was no longer an easy option, I flipped over and epoxied it the the inside of the box.

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Works perfectly!

Here's where I'm currently at-

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I still need to install lights, clear coat the final paint job, and add bumpers or felt to where the gun sits in its cradle.

 

[gyoung2993]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Nick, bravo....you have really done , a fantastic job, congrats on your design....now how much for shipping ???.......lol.....Wow that is the most awesome MDF stand for a PR , I have ever seen.....makes me want one, for my 2nd PR....I am not too proud to beg....lol...that is breathtaking ....

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

That looks excellent. Great job in all phases!

 

[Robiwon]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Wow, that is fantastic looking. I may have to steel your design for mine.:cool

 

[nick daring]

Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Feel free!

I'm sure the design can be improved upon. I really just made it up as I went at times.

I love it relatively small footprint and the sturdiness of the mdf construction.

It fits on top of a standard bookcase perfectly.

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

As if I don't have enough projects going already... :lol

I do need something to display my PR though

 

[gyoung2993]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

I know ...right....makes you want to use Nicks idea....what a wonderful Alien stand....but cant do that ...he has to make them since he has copyrights on it...lol...Outstanding job...makes me feel like doing something, definitely inspiring.....

 

[howlingwind13]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Yeah much better than keeping it in the box. Really nice job on that display.
mike

 

[nick daring]

Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

I'm working on the lights right now but I realized I didn't show the cardboard mockup created to make sure it looked cool and worked properly before putting in the time to develop the final version.

Maybe about 10-20 minutes worth of work at this stage saves you from missing unforeseen design and aesthetic problems down the road.

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[Fly4v]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Clearly see the atmosphere processor influence.
Could swap out the lighted Aliens sign and replace it with a parts bin have have a really cool looking maintenance stand.

 

[nick daring]

Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand

Totally!

 

[gyoung2993]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand WIP Build

I thought it was an awesome concept , brought to life....executed beautifully

 

[ecl]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand WIP Build

That stand complements the prop perfectly. Amazing!

 

[nick daring]

Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand WIP Build

Another nice thing about this design is that the two struts are reversible so you can display the gun facing left or right.

Although I can't imagine a reason you wouldn't want to show off the side with the ammo counter.

 

[nick daring]

Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand WIP Build

Glow time.

Led push light I had laying around.
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Hidden switch. Sorta.
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First time soldering! After watching a few simple Youtube videos it worked like a charm. Woo hoo!
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A few pieces of scotch tape to diffuse the glow a bit. Some foil to bounce the light forward.
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And little foam pads where the gun contacts the stand.

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[gyoung2993]

Re: Custom ALIENS Pulse Rifle Stand WIP Build

Awesome work , Nick....that red button switch , is the same one , I put on my base 2 weeks ago, had that thing for along time and it works great....love the base lit up....

 

[nick daring]

Thanks! The button was just a quickly sourcd radio shack part. Im sure theres a cooler looking button that would fit the style better. Gets the job done though and that's half the battle.