Chicagovader
Sr Member
Looks great so far! Pics not showing up in your latest post.
Star Wars Full-Size Scout Trooper Speeder Bike Build
- Thread starter FrightMaker
- Start date
jimsprenkle
New Member
Pics are not showing up
FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Step 22:
Taking the original foam seat I carved, I fiberglassed the seat to give it some rigidity and did something I'd not yet ever done with fiberglass. I refrained from filling the weave with filler and let the original fabric weave show through. I think it looks fantastic! I started by priming the seat for better paint adherence and then traced a line where the recessed panels will go:
Trim out the center panel. Incidentally, when cutting foamed fiberglass, I use a heavy-utility knife to cut through the fiberglass shell, and then follow the same cut with a rectractable hobby knife for the depth of the foam. Makes for easy work!
Using heavy craft foam, I measured the width of the panels and cut out rough shapes to check my positioning.
The panels are then glued with 5-minute epoxy - still rough cut at this point.
The craft foam is then trimmed on the edges equidistant to the gaps between the cushions.Then I re-epoxy the entire insert inside the seat. The insert was slightly lowered to the craft foam is flush with the top of the seat. The bottom of the insert is then sanded flush with the bottom of the seat.
To clean up the spaces between the craft foam cushions, a little paintable caulking is applied and smoothed out.
Here it is spray painted Dark Walnut (not black) as I'll be weathering the seat at a later point
Taking the original foam seat I carved, I fiberglassed the seat to give it some rigidity and did something I'd not yet ever done with fiberglass. I refrained from filling the weave with filler and let the original fabric weave show through. I think it looks fantastic! I started by priming the seat for better paint adherence and then traced a line where the recessed panels will go:
Trim out the center panel. Incidentally, when cutting foamed fiberglass, I use a heavy-utility knife to cut through the fiberglass shell, and then follow the same cut with a rectractable hobby knife for the depth of the foam. Makes for easy work!
Using heavy craft foam, I measured the width of the panels and cut out rough shapes to check my positioning.
The panels are then glued with 5-minute epoxy - still rough cut at this point.
The craft foam is then trimmed on the edges equidistant to the gaps between the cushions.Then I re-epoxy the entire insert inside the seat. The insert was slightly lowered to the craft foam is flush with the top of the seat. The bottom of the insert is then sanded flush with the bottom of the seat.
To clean up the spaces between the craft foam cushions, a little paintable caulking is applied and smoothed out.
Here it is spray painted Dark Walnut (not black) as I'll be weathering the seat at a later point
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FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the heads-up guys - it seems like I have to upload each pic 2x to get it to "stick" on the page. weird...
jimsprenkle
New Member
Looks great
FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Excellent! Thanks!
towelkeeper
Well-Known Member
Progress looks very good so far! 
That's interesting, didn't know that. Kit-bashing must be fun.
That's interesting, didn't know that. Kit-bashing must be fun.
metaform3d
Jr Member
SUBSCRIBE! I'm loving this thread. It's great to see details of techniques that I've never used before.
FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Progress looks very good so far!
That's interesting, didn't know that. Kit-bashing must be fun.
Completely! The guys at ILM are absolutely genius'! They not only used the space shuttle kit parts, but the body of the speeder bike was taken from a Formula One Race Car Kit. They really made one of the sexiest vehicles in the SW universe. What's interesting is that if you compare the various toys, models, movie stills, etc. as reference, they each have a slightly different take on the overall design, form, and fit of the parts. I'm improvising where there's discrepancy or missing details. Overall, it's starting to take shape.
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Hey metaform3d - Glad your finding it useful! My goals are to keep the costs within a reasonable constraint and have the project finished as swiftly as possible (a few weeks). I've been building props like crazy since January for a Dark Side of the Force - Star Wars Halloween theme and still have a few more on the list and October is right around the corner.
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FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Excellent! Thanks for the support Chris - much appreciated!
FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
I love the weathering on the underside! Very well done.
Edit: Do you have a Scout to go with this lovely Bike?
Hey T K - Thanks for the note on the weathering - that's always the best part and something I do a lot of (and enjoy the most). There will be much more in the weathering department as things develop!
Regarding the Scout Trooper - I actually DON'T have one just yet!
I have a Scout Trooper Helmet, but don't have the rest of the build for the uniform. We have a huge Halloween effort every year (was in the Wall Street Journal last year) and we're hosting a food drive in October. I'd love to get some 501st - Carolina Garrison support for all my props this year.
FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Step 23:
I don't have all of my greeblies completed just yet, but with a break in the afternoon thunderstorms, this is a good time to begin the transformation from a bondo-infested formula one body - to a Star Wars Aratech 74-Z Military Speeder Bike.
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I don't have all of my greeblies completed just yet, but with a break in the afternoon thunderstorms, this is a good time to begin the transformation from a bondo-infested formula one body - to a Star Wars Aratech 74-Z Military Speeder Bike.
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FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
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FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Okay - the transformation in these photos doesn't do the paint justice - given the Masonite was already brown to begin with. Let's try this again
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FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
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That is a piece of artwork! Bravo!
FrightMaker
Well-Known Member
Thanks Sofa! I knew it wouldn't take long for you to check it out - thanks! I've had the 3D printer running 24-hours for the last few days printing more greeblies. Much more to come!
You're very welcome! You have been busy, my friend!
