torsoboy
Sr Member
Re: Baby Groot FROZEN IN CARBONITE D:
Casting progress!
The outer case is cast in polyester resin backed with some Free Form Air and a few layers of fiberglass cloth. It works well enough, but I need to rethink my materials options. The fiberglass part is fine, it's the Free Form Air that causes the snag. It takes so long to mix and apply the amount needed for the purpose it serves. I might just use some Bondo, and while I would be able to speed through a casting that way, it would add a bit of extra weight to it. I'm giving myself a few days to mull it over before either continuing to cast with Bondo as my filler, or ordering more Free Form Air. (The point of the Free Form Air is to round out the interior corners of the casting so a back plate can be screwed on at the corners, and to simplify the interior shape for a speedier FG cloth application.)
In the meantime, I've started on a pair of builds. The carbonite block itself is a super easy assembly, requiring only a small amount of sanding for a tight fit, and then filling up the seam between the Groot plate and the outer case.
The control panels will be a little more work since portions of the back need to be ground out with a dremel for the electronics to fit. I don't know if they are members here, but I'm partnering with Chuck Westfield and Randy Neubert for an electronics kit. They offered to design and supply the electronics kit as a separate purchase from my Groot kits. Their prototype is already on its way to me, and I'll get it installed in my personal kit build for display, and they'll refine the electronics kit based on my feedback. Because the control panel is really where my Groot build deviates from the Han Solo block the most, I wasn't particular on copying any specific blinking patterns. The electronics kit will basically just be 6 LEDs with a random blink pattern. More on that after it arrives!
Casting progress!
The outer case is cast in polyester resin backed with some Free Form Air and a few layers of fiberglass cloth. It works well enough, but I need to rethink my materials options. The fiberglass part is fine, it's the Free Form Air that causes the snag. It takes so long to mix and apply the amount needed for the purpose it serves. I might just use some Bondo, and while I would be able to speed through a casting that way, it would add a bit of extra weight to it. I'm giving myself a few days to mull it over before either continuing to cast with Bondo as my filler, or ordering more Free Form Air. (The point of the Free Form Air is to round out the interior corners of the casting so a back plate can be screwed on at the corners, and to simplify the interior shape for a speedier FG cloth application.)
In the meantime, I've started on a pair of builds. The carbonite block itself is a super easy assembly, requiring only a small amount of sanding for a tight fit, and then filling up the seam between the Groot plate and the outer case.
The control panels will be a little more work since portions of the back need to be ground out with a dremel for the electronics to fit. I don't know if they are members here, but I'm partnering with Chuck Westfield and Randy Neubert for an electronics kit. They offered to design and supply the electronics kit as a separate purchase from my Groot kits. Their prototype is already on its way to me, and I'll get it installed in my personal kit build for display, and they'll refine the electronics kit based on my feedback. Because the control panel is really where my Groot build deviates from the Han Solo block the most, I wasn't particular on copying any specific blinking patterns. The electronics kit will basically just be 6 LEDs with a random blink pattern. More on that after it arrives!
