Handheld Portal Device - Thinking with Portals

[Fabricator Djinn]

Well, I am starting this really late.. considering how close Portal 2 release date is. I probably wont be able to finish it in time, but I want to try my hand at this gun anyways.

After a large amount of research (IE: reading volpins blog posts) I got started on the middle barrel section.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right? I more or less mimic'd what Volpin did for his v2 gun for this section of it. Seemed to turn out alright, still needs a little cleanup though.

After that part was finished, I tried my hand at some foam carving (carving is a strong word.. I pretty much sanded the shape out of a giant block of glued together foam pieces). I have never tried this before (and really have almost no spacial reasoning.. I am shocked it came out even similar to the shape I wanted)


Its not perfect, but I'll fix any problems later when I resin/bondo it.

Anyone have any tips or tricks to carving shapes like these out of foam blocks? Still have to do the back section and I am dreading it a bit.

 

[Idaho Jones]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

Hey looks like a great start. Keep sharing!

 

[Fabricator Djinn]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

Thanks!

Been working on the front part of the barrel, have it almost done!

The tip is made from pvc pipe and bondo. After finishing this and then looking at reference pics, I need to go back and sand the tip down to the end instead of the mushroom tip thing its got going on right now.. other then that I'm pretty happy with it~


Threw the tip on the middle section, and ALAS - The pvc pipe I used for the middle section is too thin! The ridge part between the front and middle is supposed to be raised a lot more then it is, not sure what I was thinking using that other kind of pipe.. looks like I'll have to remake the entire middle section :/

Oh well, lesson learned.

 

[jeremiahjw]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

Awww man, I thought I was the only one making a Portal gun for Portal 2.

Very nice work.

 

[Fluxcapacitor]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

Looking good, love scratch work.

 

[Fabricator Djinn]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

Well, I remade the middle section with 3mm ABS instead of 1mm PVC. Was a lot of work, but hopefully it will result in a better look overall.


Now to work on making the front grip..thing.. cleaner and getting it all sealed up. Not looking forward to making the back part.
Thanks for the comments~

 

[Fabricator Djinn]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

Well.. after a long lazy day, I decided to suck it up and attack a block of foam with my rotary sander.

This is the result.

Finally starting to look familiar. I have quite a large amount of work to do on the front and back bits, but atleast the shape is coming together.

 

[Hypercats]

Re: ASHPD - Thinking with Portals

There's a new video up if you need more reference material: YouTube - Aperture Investment Opportunity #4: "Boots"

Good work, boots!

 

[Fabricator Djinn]

Well, threw the first layer of bondo on the top of the two shells and sanded it down, they are pretty clean on the top, and should come out pretty good after the second round of bondo..
I am getting discouraged with the undersides of the shells though, I can't seem to get them to sand smooth, it is still lumpy and uneven after quite a bit of effort to clean it up. Anyone have any tips for smoothing out the interior of these shells? I was thinking I might have to bondo over it and sand that down by hand, but perhaps you guys have a better option?

Also damn gloss paint is annoying to work with. Curse my impatience.

 

[Volpin]

I am getting discouraged with the undersides of the shells though, I can't seem to get them to sand smooth, it is still lumpy and uneven after quite a bit of effort to clean it up. Anyone have any tips for smoothing out the interior of these shells? I was thinking I might have to bondo over it and sand that down by hand, but perhaps you guys have a better option?

How you sand them might be of particular note. I like to use an aluminum sanding block wrapped in sandpaper for making sure the facing edge I sand is flat and uniform.

Where you're at now, it looks like you'll still need to use bondo or something similar to fill the large areas. As you get to smaller divots, you can switch to something like spot putty or even filler primer to fill in low spots and scratches. It takes a lot of time to get a nice, glossy finish.

Sand, primer, sand, filler, sand, primer, filler, sand, primer, etc etc etc.

You'll get there. patience is the key!

 

[Fabricator Djinn]

God your casts are beautiful. Thank you for posting, sanding block eh.. that would make life easier wouldn't it. I'll have to go pick one up.

Well, I better get back to work.

 

[jeremiahjw]

A sanding block makes things soooo much easier. 80 grit is really good for bringing large lumps down, but it does take a lot of sanding with finder paper to get rid of the groves.

 

[jeremiahjw]

BTW, I find that the paint comes out a lot better if you stand further back and coat it in a cloudy mist.