Re: Lifesize ED-209 Build. Check it out. You have twenty seconds to comply...
I like the styrene skin on the joints. That's a pretty neat idea
There might be a better way, but anything else I could think of just seemed like more work. Since the prototype only needs to last long enough to survive the moldmaking process, I don't see any reason to make it harder to build.
WoodChuck here. Go big or go home. I now see where that saying must have originated.
You make the process look so easy. Great job on this one.
I need to learn to work with MDF and build master molds to cast instead of rebuilding each prop over and over and over and over.
You really should. I love your work, but every time I see you building a stack of wooden blasters, I kinda cringe. I figured you must just really like excuses to do woodwork and you didn't mind making the same thing over and over. If you'd take one of them, paint it to fill in the wood grain, and make a silicone mold, you'd be able to make the second one in a matter of minutes. Depending on your moldmaking silicone, you can get dozens of copies out of the mold. I molded my Halo Magnum pistol a few years ago and sometime last year I pulled the 70th casting out of the mold.
There's countless tutorials available online, but here's one that I wrote a while back that will fit your needs pretty well:
When My Brain Leaks, the Drops Drip Here.: Prop Building 101: Making a Two-Sided Silicone Mold
And another tutorial I wrote which shows the moldmaking process for my Mass Effect pistol:
When My Brain Leaks, the Drops Drip Here.: Building the M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol from Mass Effect 2 Part Two: Moldmaking
I hope this helps. It may seem daunting at first, but once you've mastered these fairly simple concepts, it'll make for a massive reduction in labor.
UPDATE:
Lopez decided to break down yesterday (I think I need to replace a couple of bearings) but before he quit I got him to make some of the elbow parts:
I suppose I could call the elbow about 1/3 done:
The toes still need a tiny bit of sanding and filling, but I expect to have them all shiny and pink by the end of today:
This piece above the knee joint is ready for molding:
And the shoulder flap is almost ready too:
Lots of interesting stuff coming up in the next couple of days, so stay tuned...
