Interest DaveP's V2 and V3 run - 2024

[Halliwax]

Hello there.

Please excuse the lack of update this weekend.

I am in the process of putting one together, and there has been some significant progress since the last one!

I've just not quite had the opportunity to properly document where things are up to.

I'm also very close to one particular milestone which I wanted to include. This should be completed tomorrow.

So, I'll be posting the update a little late (mid-week) if that's ok with everyone?

I'm working to a strict set of deadlines, whilst also dealing with some personal stuff that is impacting the amount of free time I have available at the moment.

Without going in to too much detail, my mother is back in the hospital and I'm trying to get over to visit her as often as I can (which is a 3hr round trip).

Work is still very much moving forward though and an update should be landing in the next couple of days.

Please bear with me. Thank you all so much for your support and for your patience.

All the best and MTFBWY!

Dave

So sorry to hear about you mom Dave. Family is the most important, sending positive energy your way. Stay strong

 

[jorgealberni]

Hello there.

Please excuse the lack of update this weekend.

I am in the process of putting one together, and there has been some significant progress since the last one!

I've just not quite had the opportunity to properly document where things are up to.

I'm also very close to one particular milestone which I wanted to include. This should be completed tomorrow.

So, I'll be posting the update a little late (mid-week) if that's ok with everyone?

I'm working to a strict set of deadlines, whilst also dealing with some personal stuff that is impacting the amount of free time I have available at the moment.

Without going in to too much detail, my mother is back in the hospital and I'm trying to get over to visit her as often as I can (which is a 3hr round trip).

Work is still very much moving forward though and an update should be landing in the next couple of days.

Please bear with me. Thank you all so much for your support and for your patience.

All the best and MTFBWY!

Dave

Dave - Just wanted you to know that you, your Mom and your family are in my prayers. Cheers, Jorge

 

[DaveP]

So sorry to hear about you mom Dave. Family is the most important, sending positive energy your way. Stay strong

Dave - Just wanted you to know that you, your Mom and your family are in my prayers. Cheers, Jorge

Thanks so much guys! You're too kind. I really do appreciate you taking the time to send these!

.........

As promised, here is this week's update. A little later than usual. Apologies once again....

Following on from my previous update, I'm happy to report that all clamps were indeed finished and that these are now at the platers!

I've been informed that these will be completed before the end of the month as they shut up shop for two weeks from August 1st.

I'll be concentrating on getting everything else done in time for them arriving back here.

Since getting the clamps sent out I've been mainly concentrating on getting the aluminium parts detailed, ready for chemical darkening. Aside from the addition of a small "ding" to the booster, the majority of this work revolves around the pommel section.

My interpretation of the V2 Pommel damage is based on this reference:

To my eyes it is fairly heavily pitted. In order to replicate the pattern of the damage, I stretched out the oval shape in the reference photo across a circle to remove the perspective and then traced out the details. I then cut this pattern as a vinyl stencil to apply to the bottom of each pommel. This helps to keep them as consistent as possible. I use a rotary tool to engrave the details, before softening everything with emery cloth and then wire wool.

The majority of the work is now complete on these, with all engraving having been done. I am still in the process of softening the edges and adding the smaller details and scratches, including the circular milling marks. Here's a finished one (Before having been darkened):

I expect to have all of these finished tomorrow and hope to apply chemical darkening to the parts that require it on Friday.

This will mean that the following/final week will be dedicated to painting!

I have made a point of getting several smaller jobs completed this week too. D-Rings are done! Whilst these are one of the last things to be installed, I needed to get some made for the DIY kits. I figured I would just power through and get them all done to save me from having to come back to them later. So, these are all made up and ready to install.

They may be small, but they can be quite time consuming in large numbers. Each one is cut to length by hand, deburred and formed, with multiple operations for each one.

I also took the time to extract the boot studs for the "mystery chunks" too. I've tried various methods to extract these in the past. My new favourite is to drill holes around each stud, before pulling them out with a pair of snips. The soles on these are incredibly tough, so the holes make extracting them much easier!

These are now soaking in white vinegar to remove the zinc plating. Once this is stripped I'll get each one trimmed down ready to be installed.

Everything is starting to come together, and I'm looking forward to getting the parts for the "current day" commissions darkened by the end of this week!

Stencils are all cut and I have been weeding these out in between jobs too. In fact, I'll be returning to these this evening, once I have this update posted.

I am still very much aiming to have this batch finished by the end of next week! There's certainly a lot left to do, but if I can keep to the deadlines I've set for myself between now and then, I believe that it can be done!

I am still trying to visit my mum in hospital as often as I can too. It's certainly a difficult time. Please rest assured though, that I am doing everything I can to stay on target!

Thank you all so much for your concern and for your messages of support. I really do appreciate it.

I'm going to leave it at that for this update. I have the next couple of days planned out and a goal set for the end of this week, so I'll be back with another update soon.

Thank you all once again for your support and patience.

All the best and MTFBWY!

Dave

 

[PadawanLoLo]

Goes without saying, focus on your family mate. We always appreciate these updates, and fully admire your dedication as well but there are no comparisons to what moms bring to this world and the place they hold in our hearts!

Take care of you mate. We will all be here when the skies clear!

Beautiful work as always. <3

 

[Sithslayer]

PM coming Dave.

 

[DaveP]

Goes without saying, focus on your family mate. We always appreciate these updates, and fully admire your dedication as well but there are no comparisons to what moms bring to this world and the place they hold in our hearts!

Take care of you mate. We will all be here when the skies clear!

Beautiful work as always. <3

PM coming Dave.

I'd just like to say another huge thank you to everyone for the incredible show of support I've received at this difficult time. This community is unlike any other, and I truly appreciate you all so much. Thank you!

---

Just a quick update today....

I'll try to keep it brief and concise, so that everyone knows where things are up to.

With regards to the V2s, I DID manage to get Aluminium parts ready for chemical darkening on Friday. The darkening itself did not happen though unfortunately. The time that was left on Friday would not have been enough to get set up, darken everything, and then get cleared away in time.

It's important that I have a child free environment to do this particular job. This will now be going ahead on Monday. I have a full day to commandeer the bathroom, with children out of the house!

This is just a minor re-jigging of the schedule and I still plan on having painting done by the end of this coming week.

I'll be documenting the process and will drop another update towards the end of the week to demonstrate how this has gone and to share the results.

I've been receiving a LOT of questions regarding the V1 Hero, which is due to make a return to my store on August 1st (along with the Yuma and I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L).

The static versions of these are not a problem. In fact I have a small quantity of parts in stock right now for the Yuma and the I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L.

The problem, as ever, is time...

Work on the current (final) batch of V2s is certainly close to completion. It will be wrapping up within days of August 1st. Realistically it does look like it will overshoot somewhat, but not by much (days, not weeks).

The truth is though, that I have not had time to get the installable version ready for production. With everything that has been going on, and with the additional batch of V2s taking priority, my time has just been stretched to the maximum.

The actual design for the installable hilt IS complete, and I did think that my crystal chamber was too. However, when I eventually came to render everything and see how it would look, I inevitably wanted to make some changes to the design. It's VERY important that I do not rush this out until I am 100% satisfied. Hopefully you all understand.

So, I do require a little more R&D time to rebalance some of the proportions and to finalize the design of the crystal chamber.

On reflection, this is not such a terrible thing...

For this next run, I was planning on making available all three versions of this hilt with both static and installable options. Would this be wise? Or would I be overcomplicating things?

I have had plenty of interest for both, but I am now thinking that I should separate the two. For one thing, I have everything finished and ready to go for the statics, but require a little more time for the installable version.

Based on this, I have decided to go ahead as planned for the static versions only, and make these available for pre-order on August 1st (Midday UK time).

**This will be a limited number of each version for now.**

These will go in to production immediately (with some parts already being in stock).

The current batch of V2s will be completed well ahead of these parts being delivered, which means that I will be able to hit the ground running! V1 reveal boards are already in stock, so these can be started ahead of time too, along with Yuma blades.

So, what about the installable version / crystal chamber?

For the above mentioned batch of V1 Hero / Yuma / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L commissions, I am keeping the numbers very limited.

The idea is that I will then be able to release the installable version exclusively, and when the time comes, it will have my full attention.

I expect this to be around the beginning of September.

I hope this sounds ok to those who are interested in jumping on to this next run, and that you aren't too disappointed about waiting a little longer for the illusive crystal chamber reveal!

It has just been an incredibly busy and difficult time recently, and I cant help but feel that separating the static and installable versions in to two separate projects is the best course of action. It means that each version will receive the attention it deserves, but also allows for the additional development time needed to make the crystal chamber absolutely perfect prior to launch.

So, just to summarize what has ended up being a longer post than I intended:

• Work on final batch of V2s is nearing completion.
• Darkening and painting planned for this coming week.
• Limited number of Static Heroes / Yumas / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L will be made available for pre-order on August 1st at daveparkinart.com
• Work on V2s will be completed within the next couple of weeks (before the arrival of Hero / Yuma / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L parts).
• Installable Hero + CC will be revealed soon, and will be a standalone project to follow a limited run of static Hero / Yuma / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L.
• I now anticipate a September release for the installable / crystal chamber version of the Hero / Yuma / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L.

I hope this all makes sense and that the timeline is acceptable to everyone.

I will try to keep this thread focused on the V2/V3 commissions going forward... I have just received so many emails and messages lately, with August 1st fast approaching, that I wanted to get the information out to everyone.

I do plan on starting up a general "progress dairy" thread over on the main forum when I'm back working on the static Lukes.

For now, I'm going to sign off, and look forward to sharing another V2 update soon, after a week of stencilling and painting.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

All the best and M.T.F.B.W.Y-A,

Dave

 

[Wells]

Wishing you well Dave.

That installable v2 sounds MIGHTY interesting!

 

[thompenator]

That sounds sensible and reasonable.

I’m definitely interested in the installable Yuma / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L.