mcshinigami
New Member
Hey there, I'm not sure if this is an over zealous project to take on as a first timer (sorta), but my buddy has gotten into robotics lately, and I thought... "We should make a Portal Turret Gun!"
I've been looking around on the internet for awhile about this stuff (mold making, casting, prop building) and stumbled on a Flickr account (via RPF) that had a lotta good pictures of making one. I saw he first used foam and then tried out making a wood frame and so forth. The end result was really awesome.
I decided to try foam first, and see if I could get a mostly acceptable shape out of it. After 4 days of work (hand sanding) I'm feeling comfortable with the outcome. I will say it's not perfect, but I don't think I can really nail it without building a frame. Here's a pic.
I need to make templates for the pieces I need to cut out. After that I plan to use body filler and sand it all down nice and smooth. Once that's done I was thinking of making a 2 part mold of some sort. That's where I come posting here for help.
From what I've seen, this is going to be the most expensive part (at least on my side) of this process. I've been looking up a lot of different ways to do it, but being inexperienced, I am unsure of what method and material I should use.
Am I better off using silicone or urethane and making a block 2 part mold? Or can I use latex and a mother mold with it? Or is there another method that would yield better results? I'm not really trying to make a "budget build" here, so cost isn't that big of a deal, I just don't like to spend more than I have to (hence use of foam).
Also suggestions for the material of the final product would be nice to hear. I was maybe thinking colored fiber glass? It would be shiny, and not have to be painted.
When this is done it should be sorta neat though. My buddy is working on stuff to allow for moving "wings", he's got a working audio shield, and he's doing an eye with motion sensing capabilities and a laser pointer.
Sorry this post was so long. I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
I've been looking around on the internet for awhile about this stuff (mold making, casting, prop building) and stumbled on a Flickr account (via RPF) that had a lotta good pictures of making one. I saw he first used foam and then tried out making a wood frame and so forth. The end result was really awesome.
I decided to try foam first, and see if I could get a mostly acceptable shape out of it. After 4 days of work (hand sanding) I'm feeling comfortable with the outcome. I will say it's not perfect, but I don't think I can really nail it without building a frame. Here's a pic.
I need to make templates for the pieces I need to cut out. After that I plan to use body filler and sand it all down nice and smooth. Once that's done I was thinking of making a 2 part mold of some sort. That's where I come posting here for help.
From what I've seen, this is going to be the most expensive part (at least on my side) of this process. I've been looking up a lot of different ways to do it, but being inexperienced, I am unsure of what method and material I should use.
Am I better off using silicone or urethane and making a block 2 part mold? Or can I use latex and a mother mold with it? Or is there another method that would yield better results? I'm not really trying to make a "budget build" here, so cost isn't that big of a deal, I just don't like to spend more than I have to (hence use of foam).
Also suggestions for the material of the final product would be nice to hear. I was maybe thinking colored fiber glass? It would be shiny, and not have to be painted.
When this is done it should be sorta neat though. My buddy is working on stuff to allow for moving "wings", he's got a working audio shield, and he's doing an eye with motion sensing capabilities and a laser pointer.
Sorry this post was so long. I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
