AndyJ
Active Member
Hey all! Been a while since I've posted here, but I just finished up my Combine Battery from HL:A and had to share.
It took about a week, I made masters from resin 3D prints and cast them in the correct color. I ripped the model from the game, which of course has no detail (all the detail is normal mapped on) so I had to use it as a size reference for my own model, that incorporated that detail back in.
I wound up with about 27 separate pieces that were all glued together. The "spikes" on top are small dowel pins, and I had the pins in when I molded the masters. That leaves perfectly sized holes in the mold, so all I have to do is pop the pins in those holes before pouring resin, and they get aligned and bonded automatically.
The core is translucent, and I plan on adding lights one day, but today is not that day I cast the parts in the correct color so I didn't have to paint besides a quick drybrush. The in-game model has Combine text all over it, but it's far too small IRL for either my vinyl cutter or laser engraver--so I just turned it into squiggles. I'm not sold on it tbh, but it reads fine at a glance.
Let me know if you guys have any questions!
It took about a week, I made masters from resin 3D prints and cast them in the correct color. I ripped the model from the game, which of course has no detail (all the detail is normal mapped on) so I had to use it as a size reference for my own model, that incorporated that detail back in.
I wound up with about 27 separate pieces that were all glued together. The "spikes" on top are small dowel pins, and I had the pins in when I molded the masters. That leaves perfectly sized holes in the mold, so all I have to do is pop the pins in those holes before pouring resin, and they get aligned and bonded automatically.
The core is translucent, and I plan on adding lights one day, but today is not that day I cast the parts in the correct color so I didn't have to paint besides a quick drybrush. The in-game model has Combine text all over it, but it's far too small IRL for either my vinyl cutter or laser engraver--so I just turned it into squiggles. I'm not sold on it tbh, but it reads fine at a glance.
Let me know if you guys have any questions!