J-Rock's Han in Carbonite build...what's one more...

There seem to be a few of these going on......here is my HIC build.

This is where I am right now:
Panels pretty much done
Box built from plywood, pretty much done for now (Needs top and bottom pockets, which I am leaving open for now. Sanding for the panel cut outs, bondo on the rounded corners...)

I am pouring the glue right now and here are the challenges I am having....any help would be appreciated.

1. The glue shrinks down to nothing...I have about 1/4" to fill with Carbonite to bring it up to flush with the frame piece.....

2. It's taking days to dry, I keep trying to swirl the glue to look like carbonite but it takes so long to dry, it totally levels itself out by the time it dries. I need to definitely wait for the base layer to dry before trying to get texture and will have to go the multi-layer way others have done. (Thanks for all the other WIP threads like this, they are very helpful).

3. I put some bondo on the fingers, primer grey paint, then some glue over it to blend it in.....
I had the HIC in the garage over night waiting for the glue to dry and it got quite cold which prevented the glue from drying out except for some of these thin spots of glue. I brought it inside after 2 days in the garage and noticed in some spots, the glue dried and pulled the paint off the bondo. Is other spots, it pulled away from the paint and it kinda flaked off...I hope this was only caused by the cold weather and humidity as it was rainy for the days it was in the garage....any ideas on what caused this? Should the glue stick to either (bondo or Primer) or does it pull away like that when it dries all the time????

4. I need to make some sort of base for it so I can set it up and not worry that it could fall forward and smash....I have a few design ideas that I will try to work out in the next few weeks.

Pics here:
http://photobucket.com/j-rocks_HIC

 

Instead of glue you might consider Smooth Cast 300.

It is a 2 part pourable plastic that cures hard...is sandable...paintable....and when first mixed is the consistency of water.

After mixing, it sets up in approx. 3 min. so you won't have to wait the way you are with the glue.

The only concern with this product and what you are doing is getting the "swirl" the way you want it before it sets up. It does thicken over the 3 min...but only relatively close to when it is ready to kick vs. when you first mix it.

You could mix a small amount of cabosil in to the mix to thicken it up right at the beginning...but you might want to experiment a bit if you go that route as too much will prevent it from setting properly if at all.

Good luck.

 

I used a 2 part clear resin mix from Micheal's but found it flattened too much. Inthe end 2 part epoxy worked perfect...but pricey for about 5 sets of it.

 

Quick update to close out this thread......

I'm pretty much done, completed just in time for the local convention we had last weekend.
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g422/j-rock1905/My%20Han%20In%20Carbonite/7188688788_cfd93543ea_o.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g422/j-rock1905/My%20Han%20In%20Carbonite/7188687106_5835fbe617_o.jpg

Thanks all.
J-Rock