Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

I've been using fast onyx and it kicks super fast. 2.5 minutes is being very generous.

It's great for hand rotocasting though. Great way to get clean looking castings. Pour in a little, rotate and you get a perfectly clean skin with no bubbles. Then fill the rest up at your leisure without having to worry too much about bubbles.

Interesting. Did you use this technique on your (amazing) Cthulhu idols?

I'm going to try pressure casting the onyx fast tonight, but I don't expect it'll go well. :S Figured it was worth a try. And if it doesn't work out, I'll try the rotocasting technique you mentioned so at least my little starter kit from Smooth-On won't have been a waste.

Thanks, Nick!
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

A very successful night. Firstly: nozzles! There are a couple of mishaps in there but generally I'm pleased with all of them. A bit of sanding and polishing on the lathe tomorrow and they should be looking as good as my prototype nozzle. Part of my learning process on this project has been letting go of precision machining in favor of just making it look vaguely right. It makes things go so much faster. And when the end product is being sanded and polished anyway to smooth of all the edges and surface finish (as the original was), doing everything technically correct form a machining standpoint is just an inefficient waste of time. Ones that look a little off here or there after polishing I'll just go back and touch up by eye.

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Secondly, the fast cure onyx worked out! I made four bubble-free bodies tonight in the time it used to take me to cast one. In the 2m30s pot life I was able to mix the resin and get the chamber up to pressure with only about 1-5 seconds to spare each time. :)
 
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Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Just learned that Capt. Styles's riding crop thing from ST3 is called a "swagger stick." I've updated my someday/maybe list accordingly!
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Glad the onyx worked out! Fast stuff!
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Glad the onyx worked out! Fast stuff!

Seriously. I've never worked with anything like it before. It's kind of cool actually, technical annoyance notwithstanding. I'm glad I started experimenting with the slow and worked my way up to a fast resin, however. One little snag and you've basically lost the batch. That happened to me during one attempt last night when there was a problem with the gasket on my pressure chamber.
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

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Spent all night polishing nozzles (as it were).
 
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Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

So shiny! Beautiful work :D

Thanks, Ethan! This was actually the most tedious part of the project so far. Each one took about 20 minutes sand and polishing on the lathe, starting sanding at 120 grit and working my way up to 2000, and then to Simichrome polish and a soft cloth. Phew. My fingers are sore. ;)
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

FWIW, re the nozzles: The original has these same softened edges, which is why I used the low-grit sandpaper first.

I know I'm not super consistent in my machining from one nozzle to another (the band nearest the tip varies in width visibly), but it's close enough and each alone looks entirely correct when fit on a body. I think there were multiples of the original prop also, with similar variation between them, if auction photos from the web and screenshots are any indication. So it's tough to say even which is the most accurate.
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Painted my Stone of Gol today. Very pleased with the result. My philosophy on finish work is to try to make it look like how it seems on screen, not necessarily how the original prop looks/looked in real life. I used a somewhat more muted color scheme to lend more of the feel of natural stone and in particular I tried not to overdo the copper paint.

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Finished casting all the TMP scanner bodies today. That fast onyx stuff is quite a productivity boon.

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I wet sanded a couple (the left two in the photo), and while the result looks and feels amazing, I found the work so laborious and time-consuming I realized I'm going to need some kind of power tool to help. I've been investigating random orbit mini 2" sanders like the kind used in auto body shops for touch-up work, but I don't really have a powerful enough air compressor to drive one, so I may have to do with an electric 3" RO sander. It's a bit big for model/prop work, but I'm not sure what else to do. I don't really want to buy an air compressor the size of a motorcycle.
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Beautiful paint job on the stone of Gol! I like the subtle highlighting you did to bring out the detail.

Agreed, in some cases you really do have to go with how things appeared on on screen, rather than the actual models -- otherwise you'd have things like a grey Romulan Warbird model (though on the other hand, I do kind of like the purple/green TOS D7 cruisers :)).

I have a Dremel multimax oscillating tool that I use for bulk sanding when the belt/disc sander is not appropriate, though it's not high precision (it's also very useful for cutting parts). I'm also curious what other people use for that job since it's definitely not a perfect solution. Then sanding sponges and blocks are the next step (they can be used wet too). It looks like maybe you used just sandpaper in sheets by itself? A sanding block to help maintain the flatness of the sides along with a few grits of a sanding sponge would make quick work of those seam lines :)
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Beautiful paint job on the stone of Gol! I like the subtle highlighting you did to bring out the detail.

Agreed, in some cases you really do have to go with how things appeared on on screen, rather than the actual models -- otherwise you'd have things like a grey Romulan Warbird model (though on the other hand, I do kind of like the purple/green TOS D7 cruisers :)).

I have a Dremel multimax oscillating tool that I use for bulk sanding when the belt/disc sander is not appropriate, though it's not high precision (it's also very useful for cutting parts). I'm also curious what other people use for that job since it's definitely not a perfect solution. Then sanding sponges and blocks are the next step (they can be used wet too). It looks like maybe you used just sandpaper in sheets by itself? A sanding block to help maintain the flatness of the sides along with a few grits of a sanding sponge would make quick work of those seam lines :)

Thanks! This is the first paint job that didn't make me want to murder myself. I used gray Plastikote primer and then custom mixed a dark gray in Golden High Flow acrylics, which I sprayed on lightly with the Iwata HP-G3. I then used shop rags to rub off most of it, letting the lighter gray primer show through from below. Then for a final pass I cranked the pressure way down on my compressor (an Iwata Power Jet), which causes a kind of spattering effect. I used this to spray from even darker gray flecks on the finish to lend a slightly more stony finish. Airbrush artists call this the "stipple effect" (here is a tutorial). I then dry brush and rubbed the copper paint (a Tamiya copper I mixed with some transparent shading gray from Golden).

You're quite correct to infer that I was just using wet-sand paper by hand. A sanding sponge would have helped a bit probably, but I'm lazy and impatient (see prior posts re my ill-suitedness to painting work) so I wanted to try some kind of power assist. If I were just making one, I'd be fine doing it by hand, of course.

I have a multi-tool from Bosch that is similar to your Dremel. I have used it for tons of home repair stuff (I even used it to cut the trunk of my Christmas tree this year,) but it is a bit heavy-duty for prop work and I feared that it would leave sanding marks. I'm also not sure if the delta sanding pads come in super high grits above 1000 for example, which I want to give the scanners a really smooth-to-the-touch finish.

I ordered a 3" random orbit sander from Metabo with discs going all the way up to 3000 grit (will come in handy for refinishing my Portal gun). I'm hoping 3" will be small enough. If not, it's from Amazon, so I'll return it easily enough. I got a soft interfacing pad that is supposed to help it bend around curves (again, for the Portal gun). I'll post here when I find out how it works. I'm a little reticent about using an electric device for wet sanding, but very little water is usually actually required. This is why (along with the smaller disc sizes available) I would have preferred a pneumatic tool. But I don't see myself getting an 80 gallon compressor anytime soon. The 1.6 gallon one I use to drive my clear coat gun and pressure pot is millstone enough.

Another cool thing I've considered in the past is the Proxxon disc sander. I believe it can be used with 3M Stikit discs, which also go way up high in grit. I also like that I could use it at angles to make bevels for two parts to fit together, which might be helpful in assembling acrylic and styrene parts on future scratch builds I have planned. A disc sander is also better for planar surfaces, of course, but can't really be used on curved surfaces like the Portal gun.


All of the sanding tools at the Artisan's Asylum where I'm working are for much larger work, mostly wood/furniture and large metal projects. So I've needed a better tool for sanding lately anyway. This is just an excuse for me to try to find it. :)
 
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Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

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Keeeeel zem. Keel zem all.

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Here are the plans for anyone who wants to make his or her own. :)


Phantasms Brace Coil CNC Milling Plans Thumbnail.png
CNC Milling Plans for Phantasm Brace Coil (PDF)

I now just have have to figure out how to make the handle.
 
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Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Super cool.

Super nerdy.

Well done.
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Super cool.

Super nerdy.

Well done.

High praise. Thanks! :)

I'm actually super excited about this one, perhaps precisely because of its obscurity—and/or because it's from that an episode of that era of my childhood where I was at the height of my TNG obsession.
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

I've spent most of the past couple of days catching up on email and other non-prop things, so I haven't made a great deal of progress.

However, I did manage to get my new abrasion toys today and give them a try.

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Thanks to an Amazon gift card courtesy of my ridiculously indulgent husband the other day, I picked up the Proxxon disc sander. I used it to put the proper 45 degree bevels on my the tips of my brace coils.

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And it made quick work of what was previously the onerous task of roughing down the seam lines on my TMP scanner bodies.

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The Metabo random orbit sander has been doing a further excellent job in helping me process through my TMP scanner bodies my quickly. Moving up in successive grits from 400 to 3000, I've been able to get the awesome Onyx resin up to a really spiffy luster.

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It takes a lot of work (wet sanding, drying with a paper towel to reveal flaws, and sanding again, over and over again), but it feels really nice. I definitely prefer it to paint, though I'm not sure in the end it will end up having been less work (as I had originally hoped it would be).

I also sanded the "Made in China" words off some snap razors and primed them, working on the cool "almond stylus" project that Nick recently inspired. I tried mixing some custom paint for it today, with iffy results. I'm going to try again tomorrow.

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Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Not familiar with the "brace coils," but the rest of the work looks wonderful! (So do the brace coils, I'm just clueless as to what they are. :) ) Great of you to post the plans!

I'm really champing at the bit to get back to my own work, but I'm home sick from my job, my wife's having surgery today, and we just had a death in the family this morning, so for the time being I just get to watch everyone else have fun.

So please do have fun, post lots more pictures, and remind me how awesome it is to make props. You'd be doing me a very big favor. :)

- - - Updated - - -

CRAP. And now it's snowing. :(
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Ok, now I see why you wanted to do so much wet sanding with a power tool- didn't realize the goal on the scanner bodies was a no-paint finish. It looks great!
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Not familiar with the "brace coils," but the rest of the work looks wonderful! (So do the brace coils, I'm just clueless as to what they are. :) ) Great of you to post the plans!

I'm really champing at the bit to get back to my own work, but I'm home sick from my job, my wife's having surgery today, and we just had a death in the family this morning, so for the time being I just get to watch everyone else have fun.

So please do have fun, post lots more pictures, and remind me how awesome it is to make props. You'd be doing me a very big favor. :)

- - - Updated - - -

CRAP. And now it's snowing. :(

The brace coil is from the TNG episode Phantasms." It was one of the few TNG episodes I had on VHS as a kid, so it's especially dear to my heart (and also means I've seen the episode a lifetime total of about six billion times, give or take.) And I'm always happy to post plans for anything and everything. The internet is for sharing, after all, and these are after all Star Trek props, right? ("We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity," et al.)

I'm so sorry to hear about the things keeping you away from prop fun lately. For me, I find that I turn to the Star Trek universe most keenly when I want solace from the cold realities of our own, which is part of why making physical props appeals to me. It gives me the fleeting illusion of dragging that better universe a little bit into our own physical reality. :) I'd be immensely gratified if my flounderings and experiments can give you any small measure of that distraction.

Lovecraft put it well: "All life is hollow and futile—it means nothing, and I want nothing of it but passive dream and simple childhood memory till the greater boon of oblivion comes. My [artistic] taste? Simply a wistful longing for the perpetuation of those early fancies and tribal memories which moulded my imagination when I was very young."

Yup, that's why I'm here doing this stuff.

I look forward to hearing updates on your own work as soon as you're able to take it up again!
 
Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat

Thanks for reminding me... Techshop is where I go to get happy, but there's plenty of work I can do here at the homestead while the wife is in surgery and it's white-crapping from the sky outside. I think I'll dive into Blender. I have all kinds of things that'll need to be printed, and they're not going to model themselves... :)
 
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