Terminator 2 T-800 Endo Skull Build - WIP - Pic heavy

[cavx]

I have wanted one of these probably as long as I have the wanted the NIKE MAG shoes from BTTF2. Search hard enough on-line, and you sometimes amaze your self with things that you find. Whilst a bust would be cool, I really don't the space in my cinema for something that big. And I am into 1:1 props, so 1/2 scale or similar was not going to cut it for me. So I now have an endo skull and I guess I will make a small Cyberdyne themed display for this.

I started work on this yesterday getting the fitted and sat it on a surround speaker where it will reside when finished.

The KIT came with all the parts I need except jaw pistons. I am sure I can make them, but what I want to do is keep the jaw movable, as it is now.

A close up of the ear greebs. There is some good details here.

I was taken aback when I found the kit had real dentures. They look white here, but are very ivory and realistic looking, false teeth.

The Brain Chip. This is di-cast metal key-ring that cost me a whopping $8 delivered. I've removed the chain and will bog the hole.

Skull close up. Ideally (given I made jaw work), I'd like to use some silicone to take an impression of the CPU port cover and cast a new one, then cut out the one in this head so I can make a place for the brain chip.

So yesterday was about the jaw aligned and fitting the ears.

I think I got the jaw on nice and straight. It was three attempts to do this so will have fill in the other 4 unwanted holes. I am also going to see if I can track down the proper dome head bolts used. If not, then stainless steel dome socket heads will have to do.

So today will require a heap more cutting as I need to recess the ear parts well into the head. By the look images including @Adam Savages video, the flat bed (the fill in on the skull kit) is about where the details need to sit.

You might notice a small chip near the eye. That happened yesterday. Because this is a slush cast, there was a bubble trapped just below the surface and just the pressure of my hand moving the skull around cracked the outer skin. I have contacted the seller to find out what resin it is made from and it seems to be D65, so I should be able to patch this with little issue.

Over all, I am very happy with this and look forward to having my own T2 Endo Skull.

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

Where did you pick this up from? I've been wanting to paint up and endoskull for a while and not been able to find any sellers at all!

 

[gizmo]

Very cool.


Ben

 

[dontfeedmyego]

Very awesome man

 

[cavx]

Where did you pick this up from? I've been wanting to paint up and endoskull for a while and not been able to find any sellers at all!

I've been searching for ages too and all the others I found were way outside of what I was prepared to spend. Some were over a grand just for a skull. Crazy.

Very cool.


Ben

Thank you. I finally got one! :thumbsup

Very awesome man

Thanks man. Needed a break from the MAGs

So end of day 2 and the ears are recessed, the eye socket is repaired along a few other little hollow I found as the skin gave way under hand. I ended just using good old Zappa Gap (the medium CA ) with the kicker, then sanded it back. Apart from a colour difference, it looks pretty good.

See the small crack above my repair? Well that was all hollow too and has all been fixed. The only issue was of course that the super glue spreads and fills in those groves, which I then had scribe back out.

I also drilled the neck and inserted a section of PVC pipe to support the back of the skull. I think for the stand, I am just going a use a disc cut from some plastic and I'll set it so the jaw is about 1/4" up off the deck. Should look good.

Didn't get the bolts today, maybe tomorrow. I want to get some LEDs for the eyes too.

 

[The Terminator]

Where in the hell did you get ahold of that? :lol
I spy details that are not present on any commercially available or ebay recast endoskull. Very nice find indeed

In case you are not already aware of it Chronicle Collectibles' cpu keyring is a bit oversized. I bought one myself
That is the same type of teeth I bought for my endoskull build. They are great.

Have you decided what kind of finish you want?
It looks like you are off to a great start. Best of luck with the build!

 

[cavx]

Where in the hell did you get ahold of that? :lol
I spy details that are not present on any commercially available or ebay recast endoskull. Very nice find indeed

In case you are not already aware of it Chronicle Collectibles' cpu keyring is a bit oversized. I bought one myself
That is the same type of teeth I bought for my endoskull build. They are great.

Have you decided what kind of finish you want?
It looks like you are off to a great start. Best of luck with the build!

LOL. Thanks. Those teeth are still worrying me when I get to them. To square the jaw, I had to shave a bit off and I think I might have taken a bit too much off which will need to be rebuilt up.

Whilst I would love a shiny chrome skull, I don't think I have the skills (certainly don't have the tools) to get much above a satin finish.

I could not build the brain chip for $8 (and that is $8AUD, not USD), so this will be fine for what I am doing. As I said, I would like to include a functioning port with shock damping assembly, but that may not happen yet and the chip might just end up in a clear tube.

 

[The Terminator]

LOL. Thanks. Those teeth are still worrying me when I get to them. To square the jaw, I had to shave a bit off and I think I might have taken a bit too much off which will need to be rebuilt up.

Whilst I would love a shiny chrome skull, I don't think I have the skills (certainly don't have the tools) to get much above a satin finish.

I could not build the brain chip for $8 (and that is $8AUD, not USD), so this will be fine for what I am doing. As I said, I would like to include a functioning port with shock damping assembly, but that may not happen yet and the chip might just end up in a clear tube.

You're very welcome. If you want/need any reference photos/measurements of the jaw, just let me know and I'll be happy to help you out any way I can

I have just ordered some epoxy putty for my dentures.

A functioning port with shock damping assembly is something I would love to do with mine as well

 

[cavx]

You're very welcome. If you want/need any reference photos/measurements of the jaw, just let me know and I'll be happy to help you out any way I can

I have just ordered some epoxy putty for my dentures.

A functioning port with shock damping assembly is something I would love to do with mine as well

Thank you.

It looks like I have a hole saw of the correct size

 

[cavx]

Yeah, definitely needs a stand, I just can't do the whole bust shoulders thing. The display area is 330mm x 210mm.

This is NOT the stand (stand is my PVC smart phone stand) it is going to get. I am just testing the idea of elevating the head to get the jaw up and it looks much better.

 

[casperdj777]

how much did this project cost you ? I want one too now. looks like a fun & amazing project.

 

[cavx]

how much did this project cost you ? I want one too now. looks like a fun & amazing project.

No where near as much as those $900+ skulls on eBay

 

[casperdj777]

No where near as much as those $900+ skulls on eBay

wow looks cool though

 

[cavx]

Why is it, that soon as you want to paint something, it starts to rain?

So I made a start on my new stand today. I just wanted something simple that would raise the head enough to keep the jaw clear of the display area.

First version of pole was the skull rest I made yesterday and was not tall enough at about 150mm or about 6". So I made a 200mm (about 8") version. The stand itself is a bit rough, but that is OK. I wanted thick plastic base, so I used 4 layers of 4.5mm clear Perspex that I fused together using #3 Weldon, then sanded the edges.

The 4 discs were cut out using this massive hole saw which is 146mm (OD). I bought this years ago when was making my own loud speakers. The size was perfect for a VIFA P17 woofer including using a 1/2 rebate bit to countersink the driver into the baffle. It cost a lot at the time, but has cut so many holes, it more than paid for itself. Now I am lazy for those projects and get everything laser cut.

wow looks cool though

Looks much better now

Yes I know I am supposed to take the jaw off to paint this, but I just needed a visualisation of it all one colour as the light grey jaw was bugging me. When it is ready for a 2nd coat (hopefully the rain will go away) I'll take the jaw off and paint them separately. I will give the inside a quick go over to make sure I got everything.

 

[cavx]

He is touch dry now, so back in the cinema until tomorrow.

If after the 2nd coat of black and the silver goes on, if he is this shiny, I'll be pretty happy given all I have to work with is rattlers.

Crappy weather, so just gave the eyes a quick trim and coat of black.

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Already looking great!

 

[cavx]

Yeah, it is coming along nicely.

 

[DragonGalvy]

Whilst I would love a shiny chrome skull, I don't think I have the skills (certainly don't have the tools) to get much above a satin finish.
I could not build the brain chip for $8 (and that is $8AUD, not USD), so this will be fine for what I am doing. As I said, I would like to include a functioning port with shock damping assembly, but that may not happen yet and the chip might just end up in a clear tube.

For chrome - see how good a finish you can get on a random piece of the same material by trying the chrome spray paint you can get at Super Cheap Auto or AutoBarn. I haven't used it for a long time but it came out reasonably good when I tried it on something. Not QUITE chrome looking, but better than any other spraypaint I'd tried.
I seem to recall it produced a better finish if the material was completely non-porus (and of course very smooth)

 

[cavx]

For chrome - see how good a finish you can get on a random piece of the same material by trying the chrome spray paint you can get at Super Cheap Auto or AutoBarn. I haven't used it for a long time but it came out reasonably good when I tried it on something. Not QUITE chrome looking, but better than any other spraypaint I'd tried.
I seem to recall it produced a better finish if the material was completely non-porus (and of course very smooth)

I'm sure that is where I got my silver paint from. Though I might have to buy "chrome" paint for this guy. Right now, it is drizzly and wants to rain, so I can't do anything more today on this. I might be able to mock up the teeth and get them ready.

 

[Studio Stasis]

For the Chrome finish, I highly recommend an airbrush and Alclad II Chrome. It's cheap and cant be beat. They do sell it in a spray can as well, but be sure to get the gloss black base, spray and polish it to a mirror shine before you add the chrome. It will look identical to the film skull, (of which I have held a screen used T2 skull in 1994)