Gravity Hammer - Pepakura WIP

[Shadow Of Intent]

Getting a flat blade and pointy edge is easier said than done!

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

The whole thing is now completely foam filled. Another thing to watch out for when making foam filled props is air moisture: The main shaft has gone slightly wrinkley, probably from drawing moisture out of the air, so strore it somewhere relatively dry once the foam is no longer wet. Reinforcing and size comparison shots (All hail to my immaculate workspace!):

 

[Psquiddy]

Very impressed with the Hammer so far! The only bit of helpful advice I could give would be to go to Joann's or some similar fabric store for swatches of Leather, which can be speed tanned to make it look used and sun-dried
http://www.studiocreations.com/howto/distressing/leather_looking_vinyl.html

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

I've sliced the final foam piece in half and carved out the inside to allow it fit around the blade and shaft, then secured it with screws and glue, as I've also done with the bracing pieces at the bottom of the blade (More aesthetic than strengthening). These were easier to just cut from a strip of plastic and use a solderring iron to melt the corners into shape (Hey... it got the job done!).

I've just realised the pep file was missing a lot of details (On the head in particular), so I've added a lot of foam camping mat sections (Looks so suspiciously Forerunner in design that I forgot it was a Brute weapon!). Other details I just cut from card, and they'll hopefully stand out with a good dry brushing.

The final picture is a size comparison between my 80cm full size MA37, which is exactly half the height of the hammer!

 

[merilae]

I wanted to know if it was possible for anyone to send me the pepakura file for the gravity hammer? Ive looked all over for that file and its broken.

 

[Darthoblivious]

that looks so kool!!!!! seriously great pep work, cant wait for the finished product!!!!!!!!

 

[Tenebrus]

I know it's a little late but did you consider rondoing the inside before the foam to add strength? I have done that with some of the weapons im working on and it works pretty good, just cut a small square out of the model, pour the rondo in then cover the hole with tape and be sure to roll over it.

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Hammer is looking very spiffy so far

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

I wanted to know if it was possible for anyone to send me the pepakura file for the gravity hammer? Ive looked all over for that file and its broken.

I posted a link on the previous page, if the link's down I can try emailing it to you (4shared is blocked on my Uni's network, so I won't be able to fix it just yet)

I know it's a little late but did you consider rondoing the inside before the foam to add strength? I have done that with some of the weapons im working on and it works pretty good, just cut a small square out of the model, pour the rondo in then cover the hole with tape and be sure to roll over it.

I hadn't thought of that at the time, mainly because I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. If I make a weapon from Halo 4 next, I'll probably give rondo a go, or at the very least resining the outside before filling with foam. It could really do with both the strength and the prevention of moisture transmission.

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

Update: First attempt with Bondo (A >Decade old tube of Isopon P38) was met with mixed results. With newer filler I'm sure I could have achieved smoother joins (It's easier than I expected!), but I was happy with just hetting the major shape correct.

2nd Photo: Glassed the hand guard join for smoothness, filled the worst section of warping and damage from inserting the hand guard. Coated with resin again for a smoother join
3rd Photo: Fixed crumpling caused by joining "split" blade sections
5th Photo: Me feeling like a boss
6th Photo: "How do I turn this thing on?!"

 

[onmi shift]

looking good man. thats one of my top 2 weapons i want to have by november for the convention. the top being the turret. but it all depends on how much time i have left i get the suit done. lets see how much i can get done in 6 months

 

[Pixie blue]

Thanks for posting that link a few pages back! I've been scouring the net for a working link, and only stumbled upon this by chance. Not sure if you've heard of Red vs Blue, but one of the characters (whom I've already made the armour of) has a gravity hammer and I want to make one. Thanks again!
-pixie.

 

[Tenebrus]

Whoa you sure upped the detail on this with the bondo and foam. Final result looks really game accurate. One question? are you gunna light it up?

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

Thanks for posting that link a few pages back! I've been scouring the net for a working link, and only stumbled upon this by chance. Not sure if you've heard of Red vs Blue, but one of the characters (whom I've already made the armour of) has a gravity hammer and I want to make one. Thanks again!
-pixie.

Glad it's been of use! The 160cm length is a pretty good comprimise for weight and portability, but if you wanted a more accurate model, I'd upscale it to about 200cm. I have heard of RvB, although I've only watched from season 7 onwards (Since they started using lots of CGI). One of the most recent episodes had Carolina fighting with a gravity hammer in an epic zero G skirmish... it definitely reaffirmed my decision to make the hammer =D

Whoa you sure upped the detail on this with the bondo and foam. Final result looks really game accurate. One question? are you gunna light it up?

Not for this model, unfortunately. It was already complicated enough with all the intersecting card and metal framework, so I opted for simplicity. Coincidentally, I have found in my collection of acrylic paints a bottle of glow in the dark paint with the consistency of pva glue, so Once I've painted on the strips of blue lights, I'll give them a few coatings of that, so in the dark it will at least have some redeeming quality.

I've made a start on painting it, but I'm limited to grey primer, and 2 shades of silver in terms of spray paint, and I don't feel like buying colours specifically. What I don't have colours for, I'll mix my own from acrylic paints, and dry brush to simulate wear afterwards. Hopefully I can get this thing finished in the next few days!

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

A couple of update photos from this morning...



The silver on the blade looks about the right colour in that photo, and the details on the head will be dulled down so that they're darker and less shiny. Having to resort to acrylic paints has ruined the nicely primed surface, and it now looks horribly tacky, but I was expecting that from hand painting it. Never again will I use anything other than spray paints for armour/weapons!

I should be able to remedy the poor colouring after adding wear to the whole thing. I need to look up some painting tutorials, but the current plan is to lighten the near black areas by dabbing a dry sponge with tiny amounts of lighter grey/beige, and doing the same for the blade, but with a silvery grey mix (I'm going for a corroded aluminium look), and finally dry brushing the prominent edges with silver.

If anyone has any good painting tips I'd love to hear them, because at the moment I feel like Marcus Fenix with a gold plated toy lancer!

 

[drack]

Looking nice so far man. Makes me wish mine was near to completion but I am still waiting on more LEDs cause 50 just ain't gunna cut it I also need to work out how to make the sticky out thing at the bottom of the handle and not really sure how yet. Will be making it out of metal wrapped with foam but not much of a metal worker, yet.

Looking forward to seeing this finished and maybe next year we might be able to have a game of Grifball at a con
Tom.

 

[Valcara]

looks beautiful. just out of curiosity, about how much does it weigh right about now? it looks pretty hefty, but seeing as you seem to be able to prop it around with one arm...anyways, love the paintjob on it!

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

Looking forward to seeing this finished and maybe next year we might be able to have a game of Grifball at a con
Tom.

That'd be awesome! I originally started my armour and hammer with the hope of going to Gamefest at the NEC, but I'd totally forgotten about the comic cons they hold too. It's a shame there aren't many places in the UK for this kind of thing.
Your hammer looks awesome... so much more detail than mine! Judging by the identical folds and all the pieces being seperate, we've probably used the same file. Do you know what scale yours will be in the end? From your comparison with the A2 cutting mat it looks like it should be about 145cm, although the head looks bigger than when I made mine. For the handle I'd recommend either a pre-bent bar, or an actual pipe bender. I've looked at it more closely, and it should actually be a square cross section, which would have been easier to bend.

looks beautiful. just out of curiosity, about how much does it weigh right about now? it looks pretty hefty, but seeing as you seem to be able to prop it around with one arm...anyways, love the paintjob on it!

My kitchen scales tell me it weighs just 1.96kg (4.32lbs if you prefer imperial!) thanks to the mostly aluminium framework. That may become a problem carrying it around all day at a comic con, but not as much as the size or shape! I reckon at least 80% of the mass is concentrated above the upper hand grip, so it's a real strain on the wrist if you want to point it menacingly at someone while holding it one-handed from the lower grip!

 

[Shadow Of Intent]

Very near completion now, I just need to decide on whether to clear coat it or not (Only have gloss clear coat, so I'd have to sand it or get the right type), and still need to find a grip to wrap around both handles. Here are some updates... I'll save the removed-masking-tape-pics until I have it totally finished =D

 

[ODST TJ92]

Cool Gravity Hammer! Brutes will be proud.