Saranac
Active Member
Hi everyone!
I was looking for something unique (and easy, since this was my first solo 'build') and I didn’t come across any previous threads/’builds’, so I thought I would 'give it a go' at creating Galen Erso's Water Testing Kit. I referenced the Rogue One Visual Dictionary and the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Official Collector's Edition.
First I needed to figure out the parts. The main part was pretty easy to determine, the Paterson trident viewer. It didn't take too long for a viewer to become available, and when one did, I quickly ordered it. Even if I didn’t figure out the second piece, the viewer would be put to good use.
The second piece took some time. Multiple searches with slightly different wording, and even sometimes the same search, when I thought I was close and that I might have missed a follow on lead. Then finally, there it was!
I have to say; it was super exciting to find a part that wasn’t previously identified (as far as I could tell)! The second piece is the Vorsatz Macro Bellows.
Next up, finding one for sale at a reasonable price and acquiring it. Luckily, I quickly found it on eBay and within days had it in hand. It took some time to complete the painting and weathering due to foul weather and other priorities, but eventually, I finished it. I have only painted and weathered a few items, using techniques that I read about here, so I wasn’t trying to make an exact replica, but one that worked for me. I liked the details on the black plate, so I left it as is.
For the paint, I used rattle cans of Tamiya Racing White (TS-7), Tamiya Matte Black (TS-6). To get the ‘worn’ feel of being used on Lah’mu, I crushed some compressed charcoal and smeared it over the viewer body by hand. This provided a nice layer of grime to replicate the black soil of the planet. I also used black acrylic paint, but not that well, lol. I didn’t weather the bellows, preferring to keep that clean.
For the black bar, I glued several pieces of styrene together and sanded down the edges and used masking fluid to create the streaks. I didn’t build a belt clip as this will only be on display.
Here are the pictures of the completed prop.
I was looking for something unique (and easy, since this was my first solo 'build') and I didn’t come across any previous threads/’builds’, so I thought I would 'give it a go' at creating Galen Erso's Water Testing Kit. I referenced the Rogue One Visual Dictionary and the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Official Collector's Edition.
First I needed to figure out the parts. The main part was pretty easy to determine, the Paterson trident viewer. It didn't take too long for a viewer to become available, and when one did, I quickly ordered it. Even if I didn’t figure out the second piece, the viewer would be put to good use.
The second piece took some time. Multiple searches with slightly different wording, and even sometimes the same search, when I thought I was close and that I might have missed a follow on lead. Then finally, there it was!
I have to say; it was super exciting to find a part that wasn’t previously identified (as far as I could tell)! The second piece is the Vorsatz Macro Bellows.
Next up, finding one for sale at a reasonable price and acquiring it. Luckily, I quickly found it on eBay and within days had it in hand. It took some time to complete the painting and weathering due to foul weather and other priorities, but eventually, I finished it. I have only painted and weathered a few items, using techniques that I read about here, so I wasn’t trying to make an exact replica, but one that worked for me. I liked the details on the black plate, so I left it as is.
For the paint, I used rattle cans of Tamiya Racing White (TS-7), Tamiya Matte Black (TS-6). To get the ‘worn’ feel of being used on Lah’mu, I crushed some compressed charcoal and smeared it over the viewer body by hand. This provided a nice layer of grime to replicate the black soil of the planet. I also used black acrylic paint, but not that well, lol. I didn’t weather the bellows, preferring to keep that clean.
For the black bar, I glued several pieces of styrene together and sanded down the edges and used masking fluid to create the streaks. I didn’t build a belt clip as this will only be on display.
Here are the pictures of the completed prop.
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