Moisture Vaporator Build

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I’m doing a Star Wars theme for Halloween this year so decided I needed a big prop for the yard so decided on a moisture vaporator. I will be taking some liberties with this and upcycling as much as possible.

The main tubes I received from a buddy and the biggest tube determined the scale which I estimate around 55%.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

The main box is plywood that I smoothed out with some body filler to get rid of the wood grain.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I needed a couple of rings that were a little larger than what I had. I had some 2” foam laying around so cut the rings from that, sealed with a couple coats of white glue and wrapped with card stock that I had. I wanted something that would take a hard knock so once the glue had dried I coated the entire thing with polyester resin that soaked into the paper and produced a hard shell.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I have made this so it can break down easily so there are 4 sections that interlock together. I made a quick template and cut out my keys with a router. There is a bit of a bevel on the back side so these twist into place easily.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I also cut the corresponding hole for the key after making another template.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I used a flower pot to top it off and this is where I am at today. There are 4 main sections that unlock with a 1/4 turn.

 

[13doctorwho]

It's looking really good so far!!!

 

[harrisonp]

Love it

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I stole a couple of hours from work today to start on the chiller bars. I had to purchase the pvc for this and so far it has been the only cash outlay besides some adhesive. I cut up some pipe and screwed together with some fittings.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I used some hardwood from a pallet I ripped apart for the chiller bar supports. I have an idea for a quick connect system but need to get some hardware for it. I just mocked up one bar to get an idea of how it is going to look.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I am using these hidden connectors for the chiller bars. Since this connection won’t be seen I didn’t worry too much about making it pretty as I needed to make it quick. Everything is glued and screwed together and the chiller bar just slips down into place and locks in like a French cleat.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

This is where I be am at today.

I’ll have to leave it until the weekend now as I have some real work to do. My next step is to do a bit of clean up work and patch some holes and start adding greeblies. I’m hoping to have it ready for paint after the weekend.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I winged it with the antenna scale and just went with what I felt looked good. Overall this stands over 11 feet right now

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

Greeblie day today! I just collected odds and ends of whatever junk I could find and tried to cobble together something that made sense to me. I’ll try to describe the parts as I go along.

This is one of the few pieces I paid money for, 1/4” vinyl tubing and some right angle barbed connectors for landscaping drip line. Turns out I had a roll of the black landscaping tubing that I found after I had purchased and opened the other one. This is glued in place with hot melt.


These blocks are leftover from the chiller bar supports. I just cut a couple of grooves in the back and used an old electrical cord from the trash pile hotmelt glued in.



I made the vent box with scrap sintra I had and the keen eye will see that the vents are part of R2’s octagonal ports. I used a failed 3d print on the one side and an old cabinet door pull with some copper tubing on the other. I screwed a scrap of wood to the side box and this was glued to that for a better bond.



I used another junk 3d print and a pvc fitting for more detail. I sanded the curvature on the back of the pvc so it sits flush. The other part I glued around with hotmelt to simulate a rough welding job.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I cannibalised a broken coffee grinder and added some bits from a broken air nailer and a piece of aluminum that was a cutoff when I resized my mom’s cane.


I added a locking post from some knock down furniture and added it the side of one piece to add more interest.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

On the back side I added a derby cover that I got from my buddy’s scrap bin, inverted it and set it into the box.


On another panel I added another scrap cover, the top of the air nailer and another miscellaneous nailer piece. I found a meat thermometer and added it as pressure or heat gauge.


On the bottom I just added some pvc pipe for interest and topped it with a lid from laundry detergent.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

This is where I am at today. I have a couple more small things to add and then this will be ready for paint.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I started the paint process today. I thought I would be able to do it with a couple of cans but it looks like it will be 4 or 5 for complete coverage. In hi sigh tv I should have just bought a can of paint and used a detail gun.

 

[TerranCmdr]

This is looking so good! Can't wait to see the finished product but the build journey is very enjoyable.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

More paint today and onto the weathering. It took almost 5 cans of spray paint for complete coverage.