Illusionist Locket
- Thread starter madmanmoe64
- Start date
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
The metal printing doesn't have enough detail to print this accurately. I could get it printed in silver from shapeways, but that would cost $150 :cry if anyone wants to order one and save the hassle I'll gladly give them the model.
Re-watching the scene from the film mine does seem a bit thick, but this is as thin as I can possibly make it, and tbh screen accuracy was never an option because the film used two props, one for each axis of rotation, so I've been going with what I felt looked good.
I could easily get some clear acrylic templates laser cut, that way you can place it over a picture, draw round it and cut?
Re-watching the scene from the film mine does seem a bit thick, but this is as thin as I can possibly make it, and tbh screen accuracy was never an option because the film used two props, one for each axis of rotation, so I've been going with what I felt looked good.
I could easily get some clear acrylic templates laser cut, that way you can place it over a picture, draw round it and cut?
have you seen the ones on EBAY?
Can you cast it in colored resin? I wouldn't mind having at least one in a black resin as long as it functioned properly.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
I have considered it, and I'm pretty sure that's how shapeways do their silver printing. But it's trickier to do at home, and essentially I end up with the same thing.
There's a couple floating around, there's a guy in the U.S who makes amazing replicas, that actually display a different picture depending on how you open it. I looked up his patent and still had a hard time figuring it out, he uses a CNC mill for his, I would definitely buy one if i had the money.
Then there's a far cheaper one, it's made of metal, seems to work similarly to mine but it looks poorly made, boxy and is really thick (0.5") twice as thick as mine. I'm sure it works great, just not very aesthetically pleasing, imo.
Casting in resin would be easy, it flows better and gives much more time to agitate and eliminate bubbles. I can cast these in anything as long as it isn't too thick or above 300˚C. The mechanism will work fine with resin. Would you paint it or just leave it as is?
If it was nice black resin I would leave it as is, maybe paint the butterfly.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
Here's the first piece that came out of my new two part mould, back in December.
As you can see there is a definite improvement in the overall surface quality.
I think this is because a two part mould stops the air getting to and oxidising the metal.
The edge details are nice and sharp, but the tiny holes still haven't formed properly.
The idea was to make this easier by adding big lumps over the holes which could be filed off later.
You can also see that one of the small holes on the back side isn't properly formed either.
Improvements needed,
1. I think gravity helps push the metal down into the details, so a bigger fill reservoir will mean more metal pushing down.
2. Re-plan my mould, more vents, bigger 'overflow areas' I need the metal to flow into those small areas.
As you can see there is a definite improvement in the overall surface quality.
I think this is because a two part mould stops the air getting to and oxidising the metal.
The edge details are nice and sharp, but the tiny holes still haven't formed properly.
The idea was to make this easier by adding big lumps over the holes which could be filed off later.
You can also see that one of the small holes on the back side isn't properly formed either.
Improvements needed,
1. I think gravity helps push the metal down into the details, so a bigger fill reservoir will mean more metal pushing down.
2. Re-plan my mould, more vents, bigger 'overflow areas' I need the metal to flow into those small areas.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
On my next mould I was a lot more careful with vents and where I added material, here's my first cast.
Nice crisp edges, and the metal has definitely flowed into all those lumps I added.
Now for some very careful grinding and a quick polish.
Okay those pictures suck. I'll try some more in daylight.
But the point is I have a complete casting with all the holes in the right place.
I only sanded this to 1200, so with a little more work I can get a much better finish on it.
Only things left to do now are cast up the other parts (2nd half of moulds curing now),
clean up holes with a drill, and decide on how to finish the butterfly.
Nice crisp edges, and the metal has definitely flowed into all those lumps I added.
Now for some very careful grinding and a quick polish.
Okay those pictures suck. I'll try some more in daylight.
But the point is I have a complete casting with all the holes in the right place.
I only sanded this to 1200, so with a little more work I can get a much better finish on it.
Only things left to do now are cast up the other parts (2nd half of moulds curing now),
clean up holes with a drill, and decide on how to finish the butterfly.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
Daylight Shots:
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
Gonna leave it bare metal, but will probably fill the butterfly with black resin, I was considering graphite filled resin, need to test that out.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
For those who can afford it, modern fully working versions [ patented !!! ] are here
The Illusionist Locket designs by Illusion lockets LLC - acrylic and wooden pendants
Unlike the film's props these keep the photo intact !
Brilliant ingenuity and skill.
The Illusionist Locket designs by Illusion lockets LLC - acrylic and wooden pendants
Unlike the film's props these keep the photo intact !
Brilliant ingenuity and skill.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
Yeah I mentioned those earlier in the thread, like I said even after looking at the patent I couldn't figure out exactly how they worked.
I think he mentioned that he uses a CNC mill to make those. That's what I'd like to do really but I'm not going to get a chance to finish my mill until summer.
A really nice bit of engineering and I'd definitely buy one if I had the money, although this has probably cost me £100 ($160) so far.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
Still haven't gotten round to pouring the third part of my final moulds.
Quick question about using resin for infills, What resin is best to use?
How would I go about pouring?
My main concern is that the metal will act as a heat sink and stop the resin curing properly.
Also the amount of resin in each wing is so small I don't know if it will have enough heat to cure properly.
Any help / experience appreciated.
Quick question about using resin for infills, What resin is best to use?
How would I go about pouring?
My main concern is that the metal will act as a heat sink and stop the resin curing properly.
Also the amount of resin in each wing is so small I don't know if it will have enough heat to cure properly.
Any help / experience appreciated.
madmanmoe64
Well-Known Member
I tried sending an e-mail, but it bounced back undelivered for some reason.
I might try again tomorrow.
Shylaah
Sr Member
The little bugger is endlessly fascinating.....
Have you seen this video, someone takes that "popular" version apart and shows how it works if you can understand what she is doing......?? But it doesn't pivot on the point of the heart like the SU one and doesn't look like it on the inside either like yours does...........How the Illusionist locket works
From looking at stills on eBay and looking frame by frame of the online vid, there's definitely a lot of little mechanics in that particular version.... Designs by Illusion lockets LLC. But, again, not an SA version, and not being sold as a replica.......
Shylaah
Similar threads
