Limited Run THE BOYS Compound V Vials - with custom painted lid

[Astyanax]

Hi all!

I am offering a few highly authentic looking replicas of the Compound V vial from The Boys as a pre-painted kit with GLASS vial:



RUN #1 RESERVATIONS

1. Astyanax
2. CaptainEpic77 (shipped)
3. Tuckanator (shipped)
4. Tuckanator (shipped)
5. ZombieBait (shipped)
6. DarthPlatypus (shipped)

RUN #2 RESERVATIONS

1. Starganderfish (shipped)
2. Starganderfish (shipped)
3. 1ShareBeingLove (shipped)
4. Skyfall1701 (shipped)
5. PccChocolate (shipped)
6. slimgiggity (shipped)

RUN #3 RESERVATIONS

1. SoggySandwich (reserved)
2. Fuzethehostage (reserved)
3. prateekm9x (reserved)
4. 
   
5. 
   

HISTORY:

I have been re-watching The Boys and Gen V, and I thought it might be nice to have a vial or two of Compound V in my collection.

Imagine my surprise when I went online and discovered that glass vials with the conical internal bottom are not only insanely expensive, but also only sold in cases of 6. It appears that Wheaton has a patent/trademark on the "V-Vial®", which means they can set the price, as is quite common in the medical and scientific industries. No wonder they waved those vials around in the show so much; they're elite!

I was wondering if there might be interest in a mini-run of these, where I could do a group buy from Fisher Scientific Zoro (best price I could find) and offer them individually. I'm not looking to make a profit; I just wanted to get one for myself. I checked eBay, Amazon, Etsy, all the usual suspects, and there doesn't seem to be anything better out there. And these are shiny and new!

SPECS:

After much searching and research, I have concluded that the Boys V-Vials are 10 mL in size, which is the largest available. Specs from Wheaton are as follows:

• Outer Diameter: 24 mm (~15/16")
• Inner Diameter: 24 mm (~15/16")
• Height: 72mm (~2-13/16")
• Capacity: 10 mL
• Material: Borosilicate Glass, Type 1

They come with a 24-400 screw-top rubber-lined black phenolic screw cap faced with PTFE. The lids are partially ridged:

Additional tech specs can be found here.

(As you can see, I am being transparent about my supplier. I am getting no special deal. This is a group buy.)

PRICE:

Price is $30 USD for each vial kit, free shipping in the US, $10 FLAT to ship rest-of world. Shipping is combined for multiple vials.

WHAT YOU GET:

I am also providing a painted, resin 3D printed lid that more closely matches the TV show (at no extra cost). It will be finished as follows:

• Airbrush in high-gloss black, then
• airbrush Alclad II Polished Aluminum, then
• airbrush Alclad Aqua-Gloss clearcoat.

Therefore, you will receive:

• 1 x 10 mL glass V-Vial with closure
• 2 x resin 3d-printed custom lids (1 finished, 1 unfinished)
• 1 x o-ring (R-12, AS568 #115, 11/16" ID, 7/8" OD)
• 8 x pre-cut self-adhesive vinyl dots

HOW TO ASSEMBLE:

Simply insert the provided o-ring into the painted lid, add your liquid, and screw on tightly to ensure an airtight seal.

You'll have to provide the blue or green Compound V fluid yourself, but this is my recommended recipe:

• 50% distilled or RO water
• 50% ISO alcohol (to prevent fungus)
• 1-2 drops glycerin (to prevent settling)
• Food coloring to preference (1 drop is too much for 10mL...make a large batch)

REFERENCES:

HOW TO ORDER:

If you're interested, please DM me or post a reply to this thread; I will add your name to the Reservations list above.

I will not take any payment until the supply is in-hand, and I will provide photos (with painted caps) in this thread as proof that I have them ready to go. I will ask for payment at that time. Once I have done so, you will have ONE WEEK to provide payment or your reservation may go to someone else!

TURNAROUND TIME:

It takes as much as a month for Zoro to ship me the vials, so I will keep you posted in the thread. Once I have the vials, I will be taking payments and shipping daily!

WHAT'S NEXT:

If there are more requests after the current run is completed, I may consider another run.

The vials of green "Temp" V are much smaller and offered in another Run thread. Only the larger vials for blue V are being offered in this thread.

Thanks for your consideration!
Bill

 

[Astyanax]

No takers? Fair enough, I'll try again in April when Season 4 comes out...

 

[Starganderfish]

Woah. I had the same interest in creating a Compund V vial and went through the same search you did. I had no better luck finding affordable vials.
I even dabbled with the idea of 3D printing something in clear resin, but the clarity of the print simply wasn't good enough.

If you end up doing a run, put me down for two.

 

[Astyanax]

Thanks! I dabbled in the resin printing of these as well, coming to the same conclusion. In this case, there's just no substitute for the real thing.

I'll add you to the list and we'll see if more interest crops up!

 

[Astyanax]

Bump...the next season approaches...anyone interested in getting in on a group buy? \

I can drop the price down to $30 per vial & lid shipped in the CONUS.

 

[Astyanax]

UPDATE:

I now have a line on 10mL vials, which I believe are the actual size to the show. Dimensions are 25.4mm wide x 72mm high.

No price change, still $30 shipped CONUS for vial and lid. $10 flat shipping for international.

 

[Astyanax]

UPDATE: I took the plunge!



I'm going to try to source a better lid (smooth surface) that fits...stay tuned for a VERY small run coming soon. Express your interest below!

Bill

 

[Starganderfish]

Sweet. I’m still in for two. Fingers crossed theres a few more interested folks!

 

[Astyanax]

Sweet. I’m still in for two. Fingers crossed theres a few more interested folks!

Oh, the run is happening, my friend. I have six vials in my possession, so this is going to happen. Just trying to source a more accurate lid first!

(Pics above are mine! )

 

[Astyanax]

These are the lids that came with the vials:



They are 24-400 in measurement, and come with a rubber disk to help preserve the seal.

The vertical ridges on the outside are not accurate to the show's lids, which seem to be all smooth:



So I have a couple options:

1. Find a more authentic looking lid that fits, and paint it if necessary. In fact, the lids remind me of Absolut Vodka lids, but even if they fit, that's a lot of vodka to buy for 6 lids! Clearly those lids are really machined metal.
   
   
2. Fill and repaint the existing lid. Looks like I could fill the spaces between those ridges with some Bondo or spot putty, and then sand them smooth and paint them. More work, but a decent fallback plan!
   
   
3. Design new lids. I have a good resin 3D printer, but sadly, 3D modeling is not my strong suit.

Will update as soon as I have something to report!

Bill

 

[Astyanax]

Further scrutiny shows that the lids should have holes in them as well:



So these will have to be designed. I have spent the evening learning, and am having some success!



The super-fine concentric circular "trenches" on the top of the lid are 0.1mm in width, 0.1mm apart, and 0.2mm deep. I have a theory that these will give me the proper type of reflective surface that looks like machined metal when painted properly. We'll see.

The hole in the top is 8mm in diameter, and I happen to have a hole punch that matches that, so I can mask off the hole and paint it off-white. That would match the color of the rubber disks that came with the original lids. I opted NOT to punch the hole all the way through, because I am trying for something that will be airtight.

Printing tonight!

 

[Astyanax]

First print went pretty well:



The lid fits the vial nicely, but I need to smooth out the geometry, and allow a little more room inside for a sealing o-ring so that it will be airtight.

Next version printing now. More updates in 7 hours!

 

[Astyanax]

Okay, updated cap is looking much better!



The geometry is much more smooth, and the trenches in the top are now much more subtle. Hope they're still enough to give me that reflective effect I'm after...

There is also a horizontal line, a ring, around the lid near the top, caused by the 3D printing process having difficulty with the sudden change of geometry when it gets to the inner "ceiling" of the cap. This is a necessary side effect, because I don't want to print this cap at an angle for fear of losing trench definition at the top. I will sand and fill it.

The R-12 o-ring fits inside quite nicely now, and I'm testing it for airtight-ness overnight. Will any of the 91% isopropyl alcohol in the vial evaporate?

Time to paint one and see what we get!

 

[Astyanax]

Two days later, no evaporation!



Alcohol level right at the black line still!

I will get started on finishing a prototype ASAP.

 

[Astyanax]

The "trenches" of concentric rings did not work out...even though they're too hard to see individually unpainted, once given a shiny finsh they really stand out too much. So I will keep it simple.

Experimenting with finishes right now. The Alclad II Polished Aluminum will be great, but my black gloss undercoat is too thick at the moment. I'll have to airbrush that on too.

Getting closer!

 

[Astyanax]

Prototype lid is done and looking good!



The hole in the top of the lid is covered in a punched piece of cream-colored vinyl. This seemed to be the prevailing color for that feature.

I will make up several more, and then this run should be good for sales by early- to mid-next week.

Thanks for your patience!
Bill

 

[Starganderfish]

Nice!! I hadn't even noticed the hole in the top of the lid (apparently called a Septum lid) to allow a needle to be inserted but looking at blurry screen-cap's it's definitely there in the show!!
I really wish the damn vials weren't so expensive so we could get the smaller Temp-V green vials as well - I'm guessing they're the 2 or 3ml vials. Given the slow interest so far, I'm guessing a run of the Temp-V vials is unlikely. Do keep me posted if you decide to do some though!
As it is, I'm looking forward to a couple of doses of Blue V.

Is the faint line on the cap where the two pieces are joined still visible on the final version or is that just an artefact of the photo?

 

[Astyanax]

I really wish the damn vials weren't so expensive so we could get the smaller Temp-V green vials as well - I'm guessing they're the 2 or 3ml vials. Given the slow interest so far, I'm guessing a run of the Temp-V vials is unlikely. Do keep me posted if you decide to do some though!

I know, right?! Yeah, if there are no more takers here on the RPF, I expect to be able to unload them on Etsy and/or eBay. If they go quickly there, I'll think about the Temp V-sized vials!

Is the faint line on the cap where the two pieces are joined still visible on the final version or is that just an artefact of the photo?

That line is actually an artifact of the prototype. It won't be in the final versions. Additionally, I will be providing an extra unfinished lid for folks who want to finish their own.

 

[Astyanax]

I guess I should be more clear. The line is an artifact of the model, which is printed in one piece only. It will not be present in the finished lids, because I am filling and sanding it out. However, it will be present in the unfinished ones. This is due to the fact that I chose NOT to print the lids at an angle, so that I don't have to deal with any supports in the lower beveled area.

The tradeoff is that the line appears, because when the printer gets to the interior ceiling, a "suction cup effect" happens, causing the model to pull the FEP base material a little and for the material to pull on the model.

I have added a small hole on the inside in order to help mitigate this effect, and to give us a way to stick it on bamboo skewers for painting!

 

[Starganderfish]

I guess I should be more clear. The line is an artifact of the model, which is printed in one piece only. It will not be present in the finished lids, because I am filling and sanding it out. However, it will be present in the unfinished ones. This is due to the fact that I chose NOT to print the lids at an angle, so that I don't have to deal with any supports in the lower beveled area.

The tradeoff is that the line appears, because when the printer gets to the interior ceiling, a "suction cup effect" happens, causing the model to pull the FEP base material a little and for the material to pull on the model.

View attachment 1832420

I have added a small hole on the inside in order to help mitigate this effect, and to give us a way to stick it on bamboo skewers for painting!

View attachment 1832424

Sweet.
Yep, dealing with the suction cup is a nightmare with resin printing. I might have tried printing these open side down, raised on supports and kept the supports to the interior of the lid where they would be less visible, but there'd still be cleanup on the bottom of the lid and a reasonable chance the print would tear off the supports when it reached that large flat top surface. Angling would mitigate that a bit but result in even more supports on the lower rim of the lid and a high chance of the bottom rim losing its perfectly clean circular profile.
Only other work-around I can thnk of would be to print top/flat side down on the plate as you have and punch a small hole through the side to vent the interior cavity, but you're still filling in a hole instead of the stress line, so it's not really any better.
Not really any easy fix for this and I think you've chosen the best option.