Warrior Hawkgirl - Articulating Wings + Armor
- Thread starter springsteel
- Start date
springsteel
Well-Known Member
"What news from Riddermark?"opcorn
It's swarming with orcs! Though my life is nearly back in order, I do have an exam to take tomorrow, so it will be another day before updates. I managed so good progress over the weekend, so I hope to post tomorrow night or the next. Thanks for checking in!
springsteel
Well-Known Member
Alright. Interview done. Midterms done. KC Planet Comicon done. Life back in order! So, where did I leave off ages ago?
Wings.
So the concept behind these is that the wings will remain folded for mobility and to keep them safe, but when I manually lift them, the gas struts will hold them up hands-free. This is made possible through the action of two little levers; when the wings move through the motion to open or close, the strut compresses, the lever switches over, and and the strut re-expands, holding the wings in shape.
They're a little noisy, but I'm surprised that they finally work, so no complaints here. I wish I could have something more automatic and hands-free (w/o cables), but this will work for now.
For the feathers, I decided on a white bedsheet (free) with a long drinking-straw quill. I didn't know how I was attaching these to the frame, so using the straws keeps my options open and allows me to adjust lengths while figuring out placement.
To to build the feathers, I tapered the ends of the straw quills and sandwiched them between two fabric strips. I painted the inside surface of each strip with wallpaper glue (cheap, clear, water-soluble) and sealed it around the straw, squeezing out any bubbles as I went. I started painting the outside of the feather to really saturate it, but this ended up being entirely unnecessary - just the inside is fine. Latex wall paint has also worked for me.
For the frame attachment, I thought I had something cool going with IV tubing I had laying around. The feathers attach to a dowel, then the dowel fits into a small length if tubing. This tubing is zip-tied and taped to the frame. So when the wings open or close, the feathers can swing open or lay flat against the wing frame. All of the feathers would then be attached together by a string so they fold and unfold like a fan. However, the frame was shaped all wrong and took some rearranging. Once that was done, the feathers are too big! All in all, it's mostly a mess and won't collapse down, despite my last-ditch efforts before Planet Comicon - so I was wingless Hawkgirl. But it's the Nth metal that lets her fly anyway, so screw the wings.
Here are a few shots from the convention:
Always changing in a parking lot ____ Emperor Hawk ____________ Mace glow ____________________ Injustice Flash
I also met RPFer @Gojira, in is awesome Batman Beyond armor!! He has more photos to check out on his build thread.
So, wings will hopefully work themselves out in the coming months! Thanks to everyone who's been following along!
Wings.
So the concept behind these is that the wings will remain folded for mobility and to keep them safe, but when I manually lift them, the gas struts will hold them up hands-free. This is made possible through the action of two little levers; when the wings move through the motion to open or close, the strut compresses, the lever switches over, and and the strut re-expands, holding the wings in shape.
They're a little noisy, but I'm surprised that they finally work, so no complaints here. I wish I could have something more automatic and hands-free (w/o cables), but this will work for now.
For the feathers, I decided on a white bedsheet (free) with a long drinking-straw quill. I didn't know how I was attaching these to the frame, so using the straws keeps my options open and allows me to adjust lengths while figuring out placement.
To to build the feathers, I tapered the ends of the straw quills and sandwiched them between two fabric strips. I painted the inside surface of each strip with wallpaper glue (cheap, clear, water-soluble) and sealed it around the straw, squeezing out any bubbles as I went. I started painting the outside of the feather to really saturate it, but this ended up being entirely unnecessary - just the inside is fine. Latex wall paint has also worked for me.
For the frame attachment, I thought I had something cool going with IV tubing I had laying around. The feathers attach to a dowel, then the dowel fits into a small length if tubing. This tubing is zip-tied and taped to the frame. So when the wings open or close, the feathers can swing open or lay flat against the wing frame. All of the feathers would then be attached together by a string so they fold and unfold like a fan. However, the frame was shaped all wrong and took some rearranging. Once that was done, the feathers are too big! All in all, it's mostly a mess and won't collapse down, despite my last-ditch efforts before Planet Comicon - so I was wingless Hawkgirl. But it's the Nth metal that lets her fly anyway, so screw the wings.
Here are a few shots from the convention:
Always changing in a parking lot ____ Emperor Hawk ____________ Mace glow ____________________ Injustice Flash
I also met RPFer @Gojira, in is awesome Batman Beyond armor!! He has more photos to check out on his build thread.
So, wings will hopefully work themselves out in the coming months! Thanks to everyone who's been following along!
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Captain Rogers
Well-Known Member
It looks like you had a lot of fun. The outfit looked great! I can't wait to see more with the wings.
Vox
Sr Member
That implies there are words for such wonder.
Great job, springsteel! I hope you can figure out the wings in due time!
springsteel
Well-Known Member
! I'm gonna stick around and see the wings being made
Thank you both! Hopefully I can get the wings worked out before St. Louis' comic con! I've got a few ideas about feather placement, plus cutting the feathers down in size, that will hopefully resolve the folding issue. Then to deal with the coverts and other small feathers... bring it on, wings!
+ :$Ahahahaha, it wasn't that creepy. I'm typically pretty secretive, so when someone knows me I get all "who are you, sir, and why do you call me my horse's name???" But it's so neat to actually meet RPF members in person! One awesome community!
Flying colors, which has made me extra lazy about studying. More time for wings, eh?
dog of ulthar
Member
I love everything about this build, except that it's making me think Worbla might actually be worth the price, which is dangerous....
But seriously, the amount of detail you've put into this is inspiring.
But seriously, the amount of detail you've put into this is inspiring.
jemminator
New Member
Love it!!!
BoosterGoldstar
Active Member
phenomenal!
springsteel
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for following along! I've been a little slow as of late, so I apologize for that. The wings have been giving me some trouble, so there's been a ton of slow, trial and error - take it apart, switch it around, put it back together. Repeat. Hopefully I have a breakthrough soon!
And thanks, Canobi! It was very fun. Everyone loved the light, by the way. Definitely set the costume off!
I found a few more pictures floating around the Internet from various sources:
And thanks, Canobi! It was very fun. Everyone loved the light, by the way. Definitely set the costume off!
I found a few more pictures floating around the Internet from various sources:
