Star Wars Macrobinoculars (scratch build) - Hoth / Empire Strikes Back

zenx13

Active Member
I have always wanted to build a pair of the Hoth Macrobinoculars - I fell in love with them as a kid in 1980, watching Empire on the big screen! I have always had a connection with Hoth, maybe cause I grew up in Canada and experienced proper winters?

This build - like most of my builds will will be made predominantly from XPS Foam (pink insulation foam). I have used it for quite some time and find it is a great and quick product to work with.

I am trying for a close screen accurate replica on this build - we will see how it goes. Thanks for the support!

Cheers!
Sean
 
First: I located as many reference photos as I could and in Photoshop I scaled them and added 1" grid lines ready to start building.

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I cut and added 2 tubes for viewing through the Macrobinoculars as well as 2 more plates to add some strength and guides to the build.

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Looking forward to watching this project grow.
I love these sort of builds.
Proper 'from the ground up' stuff.
 
Looking forward to watching this project grow.
I love these sort of builds.
Proper 'from the ground up' stuff.
Thanks nailuj - I appreciate the support! I find the compressed foam a really versatile material to work with and I really enjoy trying to build all the parts for the project! More posts coming right up!
 
Spent some more time on the project today before I have to switch back to client work. I was able to wrap the outside of the main body of the Macrobinoculars - this gave it a cohesive look and really strengthened the build.

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This next piece is for the top of the build - it gives you an idea how the complex curves are created in foam.

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This is where I got to today - the handle bulges (I think that is what they are?) on the sides, took a lot of work to carve / shape but I think they came out well. I also completed some of the items on the bottom. Some filler (baking soda and wood glue) was added to some joints - more will be used later. I also rounded the corners on the front and gave it all a quick sanding. Really happy where it is at!

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This is an AMAZING build! I love your work and will follow with excitement... I mean no disrespect and it goes without saying - I want to acknowledge your fantastic work on the binocs but HOLY MOLEY WHAT IS THAT BEAUTIFUL GOLD AND SILVER IRIS IN THE BACKGROUND?!?
 
This is an AMAZING build! I love your work and will follow with excitement... I mean no disrespect and it goes without saying - I want to acknowledge your fantastic work on the binocs but HOLY MOLEY WHAT IS THAT BEAUTIFUL GOLD AND SILVER IRIS IN THE BACKGROUND?!?
Thanks for the kind comments INFLUX - really appreciated! It is a fun build.

The Iris is a new Christmas gift from my wife - it is an amazing tool for drawing circles or determining the diameter of a tube structure.

Here are some photos:

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You can find more info here.
 
Some development on the front lens:
  • Outer ring made from foam
  • The main lens was cut from an LED candle (see last photo)
  • Band of cardstock around the main lens
  • Nubs made from wooden doweling rod
  • An old watch lens for the actual lens (dark tint behind it)
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Completed the front sensors - the larger one was really complex and took about 4 hours to build. I am really pleased with it - there is such a satisfaction in creating something from nothing.

You can see all the small rings I made trying to get it right. On low heat settings you can make some amazing items with the Proxxon table!

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I love scratch building and love to see the ways others do it. Great work so far!!! Really enjoyed reading through this.
 
It‘s always great what can be done with foam. This turns out to be really cool Binoculars. Very nice build.

By the way, where did you find these cool reference pics?
 
I love scratch building and love to see the ways others do it. Great work so far!!! Really enjoyed reading through this.
Thanks for the kind words - I am sure some people scratch their heads at some of my archaic methods but I really do prefer the "hands on" approach. The project has been fun so far and I am excited to keep moving along.
 
It‘s always great what can be done with foam. This turns out to be really cool Binoculars. Very nice build.

By the way, where did you find these cool reference pics?
Thanks! Compressed foam is an amazing material to work with - it is very versatile, especially with a hot wire cutter.

Photos: I dug around on the internet to find as many photos that were as straight on as possible to the sides, top, bottom, front and back. From there I worked out the scale (as best as I could) brought them into Photoshop where I added the grid line - these help when printed for accurate sizing and measuring.
 
Snuck some time away from client projects to work on my personal Macrobinoculars prop build!

Today was the start of the grip bands - I have been excited to work on this stage as I think they really bring the piece to life!

Tip: once I did the maths for the equidistant spacing I created a “spacer” block that was used to keep them parallel and even (see photo).

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