Hello - I'm Reed, located in the SF Bay Area, and haven't done a lot of propmaking and the like, but have loved model making and figure painting all my life, and am interested in getting back into it now I have access to 3D printing, laser cutting, and a microlathe. I have also always loved the possibilities of building things with vintage look from vintage parts, and am looking at all the great builds on here with awe, especially kitbash sorts of things, whether recreations of the original kitbashed screen ships and props or the glorious new spaceships being invented from found parts here. I have a few inchoate plans of my own along those lines.
My first prop replica and cosplay, with a lot of help from my parents and a friend who was an electronic engineer, were a jawa outfit and ion blaster (the latter two heavy dowel pieces and a tin can, painted black), and glowing old-school LED eyes for Halloween 1977, when I was very much jawa sized, and EVERYONE was dressed as something from Star Wars.
Nowadays I work in metal creating jewelry and home accessories and artwork in patinaed brass and copper. My patinas are not the weathering/faux aging type, but rather the sculptural type, but I might be able to help people interested in that kind of thing on real brass, copper, and bronze.