Dual Han In Carbonite Build

Hello good folks of The RPF!
This is my first thread here. As I registered here to research this project, I thought I might as well make a thread to share my progress, even though HIC builds seem to be a dime a dozen :lol

I came across casts of Han In Carbonite (only the Han parts, not the whole front panel) over at the 501st forums and decided to give it a go.
I told a friend of mine about it, and as he recently bought a house and is going to refurbish the basement to be a movieroom/mancave he wanted to get one as well, so I ordered two casts, and will be building two identical HICs at the same time!

That same friend let me use his basement as a workspace as I don't have the room to do this myself. He bought the house from a retired couple, so the interior looks "vintage" to say the least. Enough about that.

I started out researching how to build the box itself, and saw zenix selling CNC'd kits made out of MDF, but the cost including shipping would be too high ($550 for one).
Then I found out my cousin works at a shop with a CNC machine and Zenix urged me to use the measurements made available by cking and get it machined myself, but my cousin wasn't able to get anything done before christmas.

Then I thought: "Why not just cut the parts myself?" So I did. Or I got my landlord (who works as a carpenter) to help me buy the wood and get all the proper lengths cut, then I cut all the angles and holes for the panels myself. The best part, it ended up costing me under $100, for two boxes.

This has been a real friend:



Meanwhile, I also tried to source an original Volvo instrumentpanel, something that didn't prove to be so difficult, as the Volvo 343 was a pretty common car here back in the day, so some scrapyards have parts laying around.
After contacting 4-5 scrapyards I got a hit from two of them, and one even had several instrumentpanels.
Trouble is, they are still so expensive, that buying more than one was out of the question.

I came across Matt Munsons blog detailing how to make a mold and slushcast the instrumentpanel, so I think I will be giving that a go, as it would be both fun to try and a fairly cheap alternative (I believe). I have never tried it before, so it will be a great learning experience.

Here is how the Instrumentpanel arrived:









With instrumentcluster removed:







I am using MonCal's excellent HIC build as reference and inspiration, as well as looking at a few other builds for tips on how to solve stuff.

Measuring the placement of the side panels:



All four sides of both boxes ready:



And here is where I'm at now:





The next step will be routing all edges, mounting the backing behind the holes for the sidepanels, bondoing and sanding all screwholes and edges. Then mounting crossbraces inside the box to stiffen it off and provide a backing for the board on which Han will be mounted.

Vacuumformed boxes for the top and bottom have been ordered from MonCal, and I hope they arrive before the build is completely finished.
The casts of Han himself will probably be arriving tomorrow (I have been checking the tracking information diligently..)

I will try to be as screen accurate as I can be, within the boundaries I have. Trying not to ruin myself financially.

This is my first time building something of this size, but it's a fun build, and I'm enjoying it thus far.

Thanks for watching, and I'll keep you posted!

Awesome!

Very cool! Keep us posted.

That's awesome! I wish I had one of those in my basement!

Welcome! Always like a good HIC build.

great job!.. love that you are DIY'ing to save on cost.. but NOT skimp on quality!


looking good!

I always wanted one of those , but never could afford one...will be watching with so much interest.....awesome....cant wait to see more.....

Hey Martin,
Great build. Would you be able to PM me the cking plans?
Thx and I can't wait to see this build!

Ho, a HIC build!

I will follow this thread with great attention as well!opcorn

Awesome! Love the HIC builds. I'm really surprised nobody has done a Peter Griffin in carbonite.

Thanks for the enthusiastic replies, guys!

Thank you very much!
I didn't scratchbuild my TK, though

Had another round with the saw and got to bust out the router today.
Now both frames are at the exact same stage, and all edges are routered smooth.

Some bondoing and sanding is needed, but the boxes actually look a lot better than the impression this picture gives!



Next up is mounting the backing behind the holes for the sidepanels, and strengthening the overall integrity of the box.
Then bondoing and sanding, before making the main panel for Han and attaching that.
Small increments!

I have actually kept a tally on the time and money spent on this, will be fun to see what the total is when I'm done

Sixxgunn13 said:

Hey Martin,
Great build. Would you be able to PM me the cking plans?
Thx and I can't wait to see this build!

Click to expand...

The measurements are readily available here at The RPF, I easily found them just using google, here is a version using millimetres, but you can also find one using inches:

http://www.hooverae.com/upload/files/010209/1406929.jpeg

A LOT of slightly askew angles and routered edges, and you really have to keep your tongue straight when measuring out before cutting, so I can understand the people that have mentioned that this is a time consuming and difficult build. But if you just keep your head cool and think things through it shouldn't be a problem.

Friday, two resincasts of Han Solo in Carbonite arrived in a HUGE box.

The helmet is only there for size reference:













Seems Harrison had a crooked nose! Either that or the casting process made it that way.

Now I only have weeks and weeks of building ahead of me...

By the way: For anyone interested, I also document this build, and everything related to my trooping on this blog: A Stormtrooper In Nidaros

Martin, your E11 build over on FISD is the stuff of legend. If this is anything like that, you'll give many the confidence to follow in your footsteps - like me!

Good luck! I'll be watching this thread with great interest.

Thank you very much, ZacMuleer!

I have been tinkering with Han a little bit last week, and here are some progress photos:

Mounting the backing behind the holes for the sidepanels, I only took the cut out pieces and screwed them to a thin bar and ran a small bead of glue along the top. The panels are supposed to be at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the floor when the box is laying flat, and the sides of the box are at 85.5 degrees angle, so that's why they're at an angle. I'll fill in the gaps around it when I fill and sand the rest of the stuff on the box.









I then glued on thin shims to hold the main panel where han will be mounted:





Cut out particleboard for the main panel by hand, I chose particleboard because it's less expensive, and this particular one was a few millimetres thinner than the MDF used as a frame, so I have a few millimetres in height to fill in around the Han pieces and create the "carbonite" texture using woodglue:





Superglued together the pieces of Han and heated them a bit along the sides to make them lay more flush:





Here is where I'm at right now:







I guess I won't get anymore done before january comes along, but I'm looking forward to continuing!

Awesome! I can't wait to start my own, great progress shots! Thanks for sharing!

Really nice, !Keep up the good work

The Volvo 343 was good for something...will be a great build when all is finished

Beautiful. I wish I'd had someone else to help me with my HIC. Truth be told, that's the only thing that brings me down about this hobby - for me personally, that is. I'm pretty much in this by myself. My kids love the end result(s)...but rarely have the patience or endurance to work through to the end of the project(s) with me.

Anyway, again, beautiful. I'd love to get my hands on one of those Volvo panels someday.