Armory crate build

[Electraknite]

So I’m building an armory crate for Calgary expo in April. It’s gotta be collapsible for transport but also be solid to handle con goobers bumping into it and stuff. This is only technically half of the crate and designed to have 2 cases sitting back to back to make the full size crate.
Also will try to make this as easy to build as I can so it can be replicated.

wooden frame size should be 72" tall, 47 1/2" wide. the bulky panels on the side will likely be made of fibreglass and bolted onto the case.

Materials:
Wooden frame:
2 sheets of 5/8" mdf (cut list in the pic)
1 sheet 1/4" mdf backing board
20 bolts and 20 threaded inserts

 

[Sylvacan]

So I’m building an armory crate for Calgary expo in April. It’s gotta be collapsible for transport but also be solid to handle con goobers bumping into it and stuff. This is only technically half of the crate and designed to have 2 cases sitting back to back to make the full size crate.
Also will try to make this as easy to build as I can so it can be replicated.

wooden frame size should be 72" tall, 47 1/2" wide. the bulky panels on the side will likely be made of fibreglass and bolted onto the case.

Materials:
Wooden frame:
2 sheets of 5/8" mdf (cut list in the pic)
1 sheet 1/4" mdf backing board
20 bolts and 20 threaded inserts


View attachment 327390

My god, what a project! How do you plan on wheeling this thing around?

 

[Asgardianhammer]

So this is gonna be WIP heavy. I built this a few years back and it was fairly modular. would redo without cardboard elements in the future but for the time it turned out pretty awesome and cheap! The basic idea is the biggest box can lay on a flat furniture dolly and all other parts fit inside so you can wheel it all into the con in one fell swoop and then set it up.

 

[Emp Frosty]

Fallen NobleofDeath16 BobRossIsMaDad
We've got some more projects to build.

 

[Fallen]

Fallen NobleofDeath16 BobRossIsMaDad
We've got some more projects to build.

Guess I better get the real shop built ASAP then. We’ve got work to do.

 

[Electraknite]

Asgardianhammer holy that must've been a production. i like the folding style.
For mine i plan to have the backboard folding but the edges will all just get slotted and bolted together. I plan to display my props in it on the off season so i want to have a sturdy piece of furniture. the bulky sides will probably be made of xps and fibreglassed. then bolted to the sides as well. im hoping i can fit it all in my car when its disassembled but we shall see.

I need to fit my sniper in the tall section so its actually as short as it can be XD

 

[Electraknite]

Sylvacan all the panels will be bolted together so it should pack flat and fit on a dolly.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

Asgardianhammer holy that must've been a production. i like the folding style.
For mine i plan to have the backboard folding but the edges will all just get slotted and bolted together. I plan to display my props in it on the off season so i want to have a sturdy piece of furniture. the bulky sides will probably be made of xps and fibreglassed. then bolted to the sides as well. im hoping i can fit it all in my car when its disassembled but we shall see.

I need to fit my sniper in the tall section so its actually as short as it can be XD

Nah. It went together in about 20 minutes. It was made as cheaply as I could and held up really well for about 3 cons. The biggest items to get a beating was the foam which I just painted and the cardboard bits to keep everything lightweight. Pacific based their design around this and updated turtle rack designs from the booth I put together for Outpost. I have a bunch of assets that need to get dropped in our Staging Area.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

Oh and in case you missed this thread:
Turtle Rack as seen at HOD

 

[CMYKey]

Hoping to make it out to Calgary Expo this year. Would love to see this in-person. Good luck!

 

[Electraknite]

Boards are cut and dados have been routed. I used threaded inserts to bolt it all together. Im not thrilled about the mdf, it likes to crack while i drill holes. So for future reference plywood is probably a better option. The threaded inserts needed to be glued in mostly because the mdf like to turn into sawdust.
The back panel has a piano hinge riveted to it so it all packs up easily.



i need a few more bolts on the back panel but itll be ready for primer real soon.

 

[Electraknite]

hey Asgardianhammer do you remember what color of green paint you used?

 

[Asgardianhammer]

hey Asgardianhammer do you remember what color of green paint you used?

No i think i chose a Behr Flat from their swatch library. I could not tell you off the top of my head what i used. I just remember getting in a flat. MDF is gonna suck up your paint like a sponge. I highly recommend hitting your parts with a good PVA primer like Gripper. Its gonna give your panels a plastic sheen til you cover it with your base coat and I would sand between your primer coat. That is about the only paint that the MDF will not absorb. Use a sponge roller cover for both. YOU DO NOT WANT A TEXTURED SURFACE! Gripper and any other PVA Primer has a high plastics base and that waterbased stuff does not rinse out so well. It sticks to PVC like a dream! You get that primer on you you will be scrubbing for a while to get it off..like days!

 

[CMYKey]

No i think i chose a Behr Flat from their swatch library. I could not tell you off the top of my head what i used. I just remember getting in a flat. MDF is gonna suck up your paint like a sponge. I highly recommend hitting your parts with a good PVA primer like Gripper. Its gonna give your panels a plastic sheen til you cover it with your base coat and I would sand between your primer coat. That is about the only paint that the MDF will not absorb. Use a sponge roller cover for both. YOU DO NOT WANT A TEXTURED SURFACE! Gripper and any other PVA Primer has a high plastics base and that waterbased stuff does not rinse out so well. It sticks to PVC like a dream! You get that primer on you you will be scrubbing for a while to get it off..like days!

To add to this, an oil-based primer like KILZ Original will work too. I used it to prime a giant MDF pegboard I made a couple years back and it worked great. I sanded between coats as well and got a great finish.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

If you use oil based primer you must use an oil base final coat. You can put oil on top of water-based but not the other way around.

 

[Electraknite]

pretty sure kilz is made to have latex paint go over it. but anyway. im using a can of behr outdoor matte paint i have already as my primer. then use the green i got over top. few coats sanding in between.

 

[Shadowpi3]

Boards are cut and dados have been routed. I used threaded inserts to bolt it all together. Im not thrilled about the mdf, it likes to crack while i drill holes. So for future reference plywood is probably a better option. The threaded inserts needed to be glued in mostly because the mdf like to turn into sawdust.
The back panel has a piano hinge riveted to it so it all packs up easily.

View attachment 327884View attachment 327886View attachment 327885

i need a few more bolts on the back panel but itll be ready for primer real soon.

I need one of these xD looking great!

 

[Invidiax4fan]

That looks great! Awesome build

 

[Electraknite]

Part 1, basic structure is done.

Paint colors are Behr
N510-7 blackout
N350-7A mountain olive


I still need to build the top and side panels either out of fibreglass or foam. Kinda curious what other would do since I havnt finalized an idea yet.
I also need to get some grid wall so we can ziptie our stuff to it.

 

[Electraknite]

Forgot to update thos thread ahaha woops.

The paneling was made of styrofoam and wraped in tin foil to protect it from the polyester resin.
Then i fibreglassed it. 2 coats was not enough but i was working on a time crunch.
Painted with matte latex paint. Still need to do some weathering and stenciling.