Interest 'The Fifth Element' ZORG Industries ZF1 - Kit interest (Metal frame, metal & printed components, electronic movements and lighting effects)

Just wanted to give a bit of feedback as well on that amazing piece of movie history :)
I finally managed to get one of Jake's assembled ZF-1, it was my dream prop for so long and I'm so glad that Jake offered that and made it possible for collectors with less money to afford something this cool. It is such a perfect base to customize, all the really hard work is done and I know this is something I would never have had the time or skills to do myself, now I just need to upgrade as many parts with metal parts everytime I have some free time :)

I started very carefully disasembling the shell today to access the parts under it. since the instructions are not yet finished, I went very slowly, not really knowing what I was doing. And I have to say, it went very smoothly and Jake has thought this prop so well! it's pretty amazing to discover the way he managed to make all of this work!

here it is naked, quite a crazy piece of engineering!:
DSC03746.JPG


I'll probably start a WIP thread for my upgrades :)

thanks again Jake!
 
10/10 of the initial batch of aluminium frames/kits sold. I'll be producing another batch after this one so please give me your details via DM and I will happily reserve you a spot.
 
Looks like a great recreation,,however is it just me or does some of the parts at the front look a bit toy like (plastic like)

No offence intended to the builder as it is obvious a lot of work went into this build.
 
if I may, this is the whole point, this is a 3D printed recreation with all the electronics and movements already made. all that for a great price. people can start from there and improve upon the base. As I said, I would never had the time or skills to do everything that Jake already did. now I can just focus on the details and improving the kit when I have time. but of course, for now, the 3D printed parts look toy like unfinished or un-replaced :)
 
Yeah, these parts, I believe, are raw, straight from the printer, and I think Jake mentioned that on the Standard Kit he printed parts the approximate color of the "real" parts. Hence the toy-looking appearance, because they ARE plastic.
So you gotta paint some, if not all, of it. Most of the parts on the "real" ZF1 are metal. So if you want the parts to look like metal (be it aluminum or blue anodized aluminum, etc.), you're gonna either have to paint those parts or go find the real ones/have them machined. Then there's the whole debate on whether to make things look "new" or to age things (I find it odd that the one Zorg uses is straight from a crate and presumably new, yet there is some definite aging on it: perhaps he's pawning off some "Factory Refurbished" ZF1s to the Mangalores?) ;)
I also believe the Deluxe Kit is all printed in gray resin, so those parts would definitely have to be painted or replaced. Unless you want a gray ZF1, I guess.
Jake, feel free to correct my understanding on an of this.
 
Hi,

The printed parts will be cleaned up and mould and cast in either black pigmented resin (for hand grips, screen surround, any aluminium parts as they usually require a black base colour) and the basic natural tan resin colour. That's the current plan.

I am also messaging to say I am making a further 5 frames available for pre-order, so if you missed the first ten, there's another five free.

10/15 frames bought.
 
All kits done. Thank you everyone!

I will be producing another batch of these early next year so anyone who missed out this time round will get another oppurtunity.

Small update on the progress of kits.

I have been hard at work creating all the stock for everyone's separate ZF1 kits. This includes hundreds(!) of individually turned darts for 30 dart launchers, all the various steel pivot rods, £1000's worth of servos and lots of money spent on steel conduit and nuts and bolts.

IMG_6196.JPEG


The DX parts are coming together well, with the majority now being printed, waiting for clean up, primer, moulding and casting.

IMG_6203.JPEG


Finally, and this is the most important part to get right as the whole endeavour hinges on it, is the assembly guide I have been producing for the last week.

I'd like anyone who has bought a kit or who is interested to take a look at the below video and let me know on here or privately if it's any good. I will be producing a series documenting the entire build process using this technique (3D model animation) and I will produce other videos using 'live action' for things such as showing off the servo trimming process, wiring up the electronics and painting the main shell.


Next year I will also do a step-by-step, complete walk through of the entire build process, but I am hoping these videos will get the ball rolling for the initial purchasers.

I will not be producing an IKEA/Lego/comic book style document right now as I think personally this is a better way of doing it. If however a printable, paper version is really important, then I will consider it. A temporary solution for anyone wanting a hard copy will be to screen shot each relevant frame and create a .pdf document or something similar.

The standard kit has 197 individual printed components, with a further 30+ other components! Even after making ten or so of these, the build process is really satisfying and the product so cool to hold, so I cannot wait to see how everyone gets on building their own!

Thanks for looking!

Jake
 
Part 2 and part 3 are now up.

I think there'll be about 13-14 parts(!)


Part 2


Part 3



They have broken down into parts as I think the final super edit will come in at well over an hour so I thought breaking it up would be better for the builder.

I am back to my day job for 3 days this week then off for Christmas so the rest will be completed by the weekend. First standard kits should start going out week starting 20th December.

Jake
 
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Those videos are awesome! And how you engineered, designed, and figured all this out is just incredible. Like I said before, you are clearly INSANE! ;)

Question... are these videos finished? Like on the Lift Mechanism vid, what holds all those "stainless rods" in place, so they don't just slide out once they're inserted? Maybe it's stuff that comes later? It just seemed weird that nothing was securing them. Same with the trigger assembly going into the grip: it doesn't look like there's anything to hold it in place. So I didn't know if the vids were "complete" or what. I'm sure, with your mental condition, you've figured this all out for assembly, I just didn't see it in the vids. And maybe it will all be clear once the parts are in our hands. But just thought I'd bring it up.

You could also save time/rendering for when multiples of the same type screws are going into a part, you don't need to show each screw going in (i.e., "lower cover front" getting screwed in on the first vid at~ 3:10) : even dummies like me will get it. ;)

One other thing... you might want to talk about tightening all these screws. I'm ASSuming they should have some Loctite and then just be tightened "snuggly" since most of this kit is plastic? We don't want anything to crack. Whatever the case, that might be a good thing to add somewhere in the instructions, especially if tightening varies for different parts/areas of the kit.

Again, stellar work. YOU, sir, are a Master Mind!

Regards,
Chris
 

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