Fibreglass Han Solo in Carbonite

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

I spent all of today cleaning up my test casting and getting it in primer.

I'll be casting up another tomorrow.

 

[kurtyboy]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Luuuuuuverly!

I spent all of today cleaning up my test casting and getting it in primer.

I'll be casting up another tomorrow.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

That is fan-bloody-tastic mate! thumbsup:thumbsup

Even in primer it looks amazing.... so glad I didn't spend £££'s shipping an inferior Illusive Concepts HIC over from the States the *many* times I've been tempted.

I'm so in, if and when there is a run.... and getting it from London to Northern Ireland should be comparitively easy (especially considering I'm a Logistics Supervisor :$)

Well done mate.... one of my favourite movie props finally attainable

Cheers,
John
swdvds@yahoo.com

 

[zorg]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

well done neil, better than any wonky IC ones i've seen.


-z

 

[encased]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Looks great!! Where exactly do you find a hard front casting. I have a rubber casting to work with as a test subject but I'd like to do my finished one with a resin or fiberglass front Han panel.

Anyone know where to locate one or who made this one?

Thanks.

 

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Thanks guys. It's definitely not perfect, but I'm getting there.

I cast up another one today. The underside of the upper edge of the recesses is a *****. Gravity and the weight of the wet matting means that bubbles are created between the gel and first layer of mat. This happened on my test and on the second cast. It's not a major problem...it just means that the bubbles need to be dug out and filled.

I take my hat off to anyone who does fibreglassing for a job...it is truely horrible. Each casting takes 8 hours, non-stop. My back and knees are killing me. There are 3 layers of matting with 15kg of gel/resin. The corners have 5-6 layers dues to overlapping.

I'll fit the timber frame and demould tomorrow.

Neil

 

[zorg]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

I take my hat off to anyone who does fibreglassing for a job...it is truely horrible.

Neil

agreed, i only do it when a HAVE to. when you start to work on the other side of something and the layer you just done falls away, thats not a good time for me :angry

bubbles on the egdes and corners are another pita.

-z

 

[TK7713Gra30]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Brilliant.
May need to add a box to my HIC now.
really helpful tutorial and stage by stage
regards
Gra

 

[Keith]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Fantastic work Neil.

I'm gonna have to move some predator helmets and props off my bedroom wall!

Keith.

 

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

I didn't get a chance to demould the casting, but it now has a very solid timber frame. This should remove any chance of the casting flexing and cracking and give options when it comes to wall mounting.

 

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Second one out of the mould. Much better this time. Fewer bubbles to dig out and fill on the sharp upper edges of the recesses. There is still some work to get it ready for paint. There are some little bubbles on the front panel that will need filling. You can see feint lines where the front panel was joined to the box...I guess the weight of the silicone during the moulding process pushed them apart slightly...nothing that a little filler and blocking back won't fix. Obviously the edge that sits against the wall will need to be blocked back too...this was just roughly trimmed with a Stanley once the fibreglass was green enough.

The casting weighs about 25kg with with the timber frame.

Neil

 

[Keith]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

That looks VERY nice!

Keith.

 

[Chewcy]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

great job Neil as always, cant wait to see a finished one

 

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Thanks guys. I cast up #3 today and have now run out of gelcoat, resin and timber. Gonna order some more tomorrow.

I'm going to paint up my test casting to see how it looks, before I finish my own final casting.

N



Neil

 

[thire]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Been dreaming about one of these...thanks for your great pix and guidance.

Hope to start on one of these for my office... (sigh)

 

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

 

[The_Blues]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Wonderful! Just wonderful! I would marry you to have one!

 

[Stormtrooper]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Hey Neil,

Nice work painting them up mate! Can I ask was it a rattle-can aerosol job, and if so what colour/brand did you use?

I'm useless with an airbrush, but had toyed with the idea of doing a black/dark-grey acrylic 'wash' over the Han figure to give it a bit of definition.
Then maybe using a sponge while the wash is still wet, to gently remove it from the raised folds on his trousers and shirt, maybe face... to reveal the lighter gunmetal paint underneath?

Buy shares in B&Q now - I'll be buying a lot of paint for my trial 'n' error painting techniques! :lol

Cheers,
John
john@manicminer.plus.com

 

[Keith]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Just arrived home with mine!

Good to meet you today Neil.

Keith.

 

[Laser Brain]

Re: WIP: Han Solo in Carbonite

Nice to meet you too Keith. Shame it was such a quick visit.
John, they aren't actually painted yet, they are straight out of the mould - it's just the pigment I use in the gelcoat that gives that grey colour.

After laying down a basecoat (HALFORDS Rover Storm Grey Metallic) for the block and a shade lighter for the Han Solo front. I am going to use a grate polish instead of an acrylic wash (like this one: BLACK LEAD GRATE POLISH) using white spirit or lighter fuel to thin it. Once it has dried you can lightly buff it and use white spirit to wipe it off. I'll then use a matt lacquer to seal everything.

BTW. You'll need about 4x 500ml cans of paint to cover the block.