Warrior Hawkgirl - Articulating Wings + Armor

[Captain Rogers]

Hey springsteel on the same site there are some LED tea light candles that are blue and flicker that might work better. Here's the link http://coolglow.com/LED-Tea-Light-Candles-Blue~5525/c2201/#

 

[springsteel]

Hey, that would be an idea, And they're cheap, too! May even be possible to wire them together. Because, as it turns out, that hamster ball is incredibly difficult to unscrew, I'd like to open it as little as possible - making one external switch ideal. The flickering effect would be very awesome. Thanks!

And a bit more progress for the evening. Just a few more pieces (belt, pauldron, foot armor) and I'll be ready for details!

 

[Captain Rogers]

Happy to help. Everything is looking amazing.

 

[acesh007]

Thanks! It's coming along slowly, but surely. A little progress with the breastplate, part of the pauldron, and the bracer:

View attachment 414745

Also, I've been brainstorming on how to light up that mace. The easy route: throw a battery-operated set of LED string lights inside and call it good. But what I would *really, really* like to have is a pulse/glow/fade circuit so the light slowly fades in and out. Unfortunately, I also *really* don't want to program or code or work with an Arduino board or 555 timer (call me cheap/lazy/whatever), so anybody know of other options? From what I've seen on the RPF and the rest of the internet, ready-to-go fade light kits simply don't exist. My first thought was to rip the guts out of a couple of these toys and settle on the colors.

But then I found this Fading Eyes LED kit. Only two little LEDs, so not very bright... BUT, is it possible to snip off those LEDs and solder on a foot or so of LED light strip?

As always, thanks to everyone for the feedback!

I wouldn't wire a string of LEDs. You can solder in higher powered LEDs but then you will need to double check your voltage and resistors.

 

[springsteel]

I wouldn't wire a string of LEDs. You can solder in higher powered LEDs but then you will need to double check your voltage and resistors.

So no strip? Dang. I think I should probably stay away from wiring electronics anyhow. I payed too little attention in physics to bother with that I think I'll look into those candles.

This looks cool. I'm eager to see how you come up with the wings. Oh, there is a template of the hawk girl helmet in a thread Jr customs that might help you with the rest of the helmet.

Thank you so much for the JFcustom suggestion! The pattern helped tremendously.



Unfortunately, I originally built the helmet to not have a mask, so it comes so low on the back of my head that I damn near scrape my face off in the process of getting it on.

Also some progress on the breastplate. Going for a scale armor look down the front that I wanted to carry up to the throat. I would have rather built the scales straight up my neck, but thought that they might be too stiff and limit my movement. So instead I built halfway up the chest, then continued on to a piece of fabric that I attached with hot glue (which sticks quite nicely to the Worbla). From there I continued stacking the scales by attaching them only at their tops with hot glue, so they would be malleable and flexible.

The scales are just a double layer of Worbla, cut into diamonds and lightly rounded. That scale in the very middle didn't get enough overlap, and now that's ALL I CAN SEE.



After finishing the scales, I probably could have built them straight up the neck, attaching them to one another, and had no problem with movement; they didn't flex all that much in the end.



The helmet looks a little dopey around the nose, but maybe I'll come around to it...

 

[stigmorgan]

Amazing work, cant wait to see this finished.

 

[Hazmat]

Looks fantastic. Those scales turned out great. When I saw the sketch i assumed the scales were actually something like quilted armour. Correct me if I'm wrong but won't worbla scales around the top of your legs cause a problem?

 

[springsteel]

Ooh, leg scales would be awful, haha! The legs will be fabric, like you assumed. I've made a pair of dark green tights that I intend to paint the scale pattern on in a lighter green.

 

[George]

Love the scale mails! You're making good progress keep it up

 

[Vox]

If you are concerned about the nose, you could make two shallow sloping cuts from the nose tip (one on each side), starting pointed up toward your eyes but then almost immediately curving out and blending back in the with the bottom line of the cheek bone part. It would probably yield you a nose that looked more like a slender hooked beak similar to that of a predator bird, rather than a rounder beak.

 

[springsteel]

If you are concerned about the nose, you could make two shallow sloping cuts from the nose tip (one on each side), starting pointed up toward your eyes but then almost immediately curving out and blending back in the with the bottom line of the cheek bone part. It would probably yield you a nose that looked more like a slender hooked beak similar to that of a predator bird, rather than a rounder beak.

You know, I think it is the roundness that has me bothered. I thought that it was just the general beaky-ness that I didn't care for, but you're exactly right. Thank you!

Love the scale mails! You're making good progress keep it up

Thanks! I've got company coming into town from Chicago this week, so unfortunately, no keeping it up. All the fun stuff goes into the closet

 

[George]

No effort is lost,since you already have what you have enjoy your company and then back to work
Meanwhile I have almost completed my paper harness for Classic Iron Man build.So cool to see it getting shape! I came close to shredding it a couple of times,so I hope foam builds will be more enjoyable :lol

 

[springsteel]

Good luck on the Iron Man! I've come close smashing projects dozens of times, but never want to waste the materials...

 

[George]

The Classic Iron Man suit will be the foundation for the suit in my avatar: The Beetle (Mark II) flightsuit,preferably with opening carapace and 4 unfolding dragonfly wings.
For the eyes I bought a 60mm plastic display egg consisting of two separate halves; I will paint them with yellow glasspaint.
As I mentioned earlier,the mechanism for the carapace and the wings will be the biggest challenge.Eventhough they will be made out of foam with a layer of plastic painted on them,they will probably still be too heavy for a servo to rotate them,so I might be relying on spring hinges,and then rotate them back by hand in starting position.
In due time,I will start a separate WIP thread with photos,but no sooner than when I have something to show you all.Right now,with exception of the paper builds,everything is still conceptual.

 

[LOGANCLAW22]

This is SWEET!!

 

[springsteel]

Eventhough they will be made out of foam with a layer of plastic painted on them,they will probably still be too heavy for a servo to rotate them,so I might be relying on spring hinges,and then rotate them back by hand in starting position.

Spring hinges as in these? I was planning on using those in my set of wings too, as a way of holding them open when opened by hand. Should be cool! I look forward to your thread!

This is SWEET!!

Thanks!

 

[George]

@springsteel: no,in your example,the hinges seem to work with air movement/pneumatic.I was thinking about this type:
View attachment 416848View attachment 416849
The only problem with these is that they work one way,which means you will have to manually bring them back in starting position that is,IF I cannot find a suitable servo.

Paper building is progressing slowly but surely:
View attachment 416850View attachment 416851View attachment 416852

 

[springsteel]

Ooh, those are interesting hinges! I don't think I've seen those before. And my wings will have the same problem, except manual open AND manual close. Unfortunately I don't have the time, skills, or money to invest on R&D for motorized/automatic wings. I'm hoping the pneumatic closers will act to hold them open. I think that's all I can feasible do

And the paper build's looking good! I look forward to the foam.

 

[George]

The spring in the hinge will force it to open,so when you build something of a obstruction that can be released/pulled back by the push of a button,the wings unfold.
Think of the mechanism in the lid of a water heater,a self-closing door or a switchblade.

 

[WingHead88]

Slow down, Spring, You're making the rest of us look bad.