I Need A New Project, Help Me Decide.
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smick6
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SPARTAN II said:Well, I guess great minds think alike, huh?lol
I definately agree doing a comparison between the two styles would be a good idea, so you can see which one better suits your fancy. Might even be a good idea to bring that discussion to the members here, find out which one they think would be best.
Although I said the tinted resin approach would probably be more cost effective, personally I think the polished acrylic approach would give a nicer, cleaner look to the piece overall. A friend of mine from a Star Trek-based prop forum did a run of Superman kryptonite shards out of polished green acrylic, and they were quite eye-catching.
As for size, off the top of my head (just going off of what pics I've seen of both fan-made and in-game models) I'd gauge the length of the Needler rounds somewhere between five and six inches. If five inches, then you'd probably have one inch of that sunk into the body of the Needler. If six inches, then about two inches would be sunk in.
An inch or two of depth into the body of the Needler should be sufficient to ensure they're secured, and won't easily fall out. Of course, you could always drill a small hole in the bottom of the Needler rounds to insert the tip of the LEDs (I assume you'd be wiring it *wink*) to further secure them in place. Just an idea, anyway.
To get the correct angle on the ends, I think you'd want to cut the ends at about a forty-five degree angle. And for inserting them into the body itself, I believe the forty-five-degree rule also works.
That's just my take on it, though I have been told I have a really good eye for guess-timating that sort of thing (for example, I once made a replica of the TNG Medkit, and based on a reliable source was told mine was within 5% of the dimensions of the screen-used ones, and all I did was eye-ball it). So, take from it what you will.
Of course, I haven't been giving any thought to this at all
If you didnt live so far away I would have you come over to help me out. I have seen some of the kryptonite shards done that way and they do look awesome. Do you remember how much they cost and or where he had them made? I need to find a place to get some prices on that. I actually sculpted some kryptonite shards and molded / cast them to surround a superman model I was commisioned to make years ago. They were not clear, I painted them to match as good as possible. I did them for the guy for free (friend) so I didnt want to spend a fortune. I wish I had pics of that one.
I think the acrylic ones would be great but we will see, maybe it can have both options.
It does look like a 45 degree angle. I will be doing the build with lighting incorporated into it for sure. I have some ideas floating around for that.
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SPARTAN II
Sr Member
Buddy, if I didn't live so far away I would consider it an honour to work with you on this. That'd be way kewl, seriously
I can't say how much it cost him to get them fabricated, all I know is what he sold them for. Not at all expensive pricing either, but that may have been partly due to the fact he had a lot of orders for it, so got some pretty good bulk pricing.
Maybe it would be good to have both options for the Needler rounds/shards. Choice is good
And, yeah... I had a funny feeling you'd be incorporating lighting into this thing, lol. Just what sort of "ideas" did you have in mind for that? Perhaps we could brainstorm those a bit, see what we can come up with
I can't say how much it cost him to get them fabricated, all I know is what he sold them for. Not at all expensive pricing either, but that may have been partly due to the fact he had a lot of orders for it, so got some pretty good bulk pricing.
Maybe it would be good to have both options for the Needler rounds/shards. Choice is good
And, yeah... I had a funny feeling you'd be incorporating lighting into this thing, lol. Just what sort of "ideas" did you have in mind for that? Perhaps we could brainstorm those a bit, see what we can come up with
SPARTAN II
Sr Member
Don't you just love it when a community comes together on something like this?
This is one of the reasons why I've loved being part of the online prop community for the last eight years. The sort of creativity and collaborations that can take place are simply astounding, and awe-inspiring.
It brings me a great sense of pride to know you want to commence your next project using my schematics as a guide. I'm honoured, Lee. Though they may only be drafted by hand, I'm going to do my best to make them as accurate to the in-game H3 model as possible.
Understandably your studies will be preoccupying most of your time, but so long as we can get you started on it, that'll be a step in the right direction
P.S.: Man, it's been a while since I've been able to collaborate on a prop project with others, lol.
This is one of the reasons why I've loved being part of the online prop community for the last eight years. The sort of creativity and collaborations that can take place are simply astounding, and awe-inspiring.
It brings me a great sense of pride to know you want to commence your next project using my schematics as a guide. I'm honoured, Lee. Though they may only be drafted by hand, I'm going to do my best to make them as accurate to the in-game H3 model as possible.
Understandably your studies will be preoccupying most of your time, but so long as we can get you started on it, that'll be a step in the right direction
P.S.: Man, it's been a while since I've been able to collaborate on a prop project with others, lol.
smick6
Active Member
Well one of the ideas for lighting involves the front beam. What do you think about a strip of el lighting? I would have to buy some to see the actual color but it looks like they have some options in that color range. I brought that up on someone elses project recently. I really need to get off of here and study some screen caps, to come up with a plan. Any ideas you have feel free to share, less thinking for me.
SPARTAN II
Sr Member
Hmm... EL lighting. For the front beam on the emitter itself, you mean? Yeah, that could definately work, and probably would be your best option for that detail.
You could even try that with the shards, as running strips of EL lighting underneath thier base would probably be a little more practical and easier to install rather than trying to insert LEDs under each individual shard. Less wiring, less complicated, less mess.
You wouldn't necessarily need to go with the same colour for that though, as the shards (either resin-cast or polished acrylic) could be treated in that colour, since as you know you can always tint the resin a pink colour, and the acrylic can come pre-fabbed in that colour.
Unless, of course, you're going for the aesthetic value of that aspect of the Needler, and want to the colour to really stand out. Having both the shards and EL lighting in the same colour would certainly achieve that.
Something else I was contemplating would be to use clear, super-bright LEDs in the sunken base of the shards. If using the acrylic ones, that would be more than bright enough to bring out the colouring of them, and would also greatly stand out. Then again, you might not want to overdo it with the lighting effect as that could make the shards the focal point of the Needler and take attention away from the rest of the piece.
Given the fine examples of your craftsmanship we've already seen here, we wouldn't want that
Not trying to get too confusing in what I'm saying here (I hope what I wrote above doesn't seem to be all over the place, lol), it's just once I get to thinking about something like this I tend to look at more than just one area or aspect of it. Sometimes my ideas get a little too big. It's a curse
EDIT: Okay, maybe not super-bright LEDs. Just regular-strength ones should suffice. Don't want to blind yourself holding it, lol.
You could even try that with the shards, as running strips of EL lighting underneath thier base would probably be a little more practical and easier to install rather than trying to insert LEDs under each individual shard. Less wiring, less complicated, less mess.
You wouldn't necessarily need to go with the same colour for that though, as the shards (either resin-cast or polished acrylic) could be treated in that colour, since as you know you can always tint the resin a pink colour, and the acrylic can come pre-fabbed in that colour.
Unless, of course, you're going for the aesthetic value of that aspect of the Needler, and want to the colour to really stand out. Having both the shards and EL lighting in the same colour would certainly achieve that.
Something else I was contemplating would be to use clear, super-bright LEDs in the sunken base of the shards. If using the acrylic ones, that would be more than bright enough to bring out the colouring of them, and would also greatly stand out. Then again, you might not want to overdo it with the lighting effect as that could make the shards the focal point of the Needler and take attention away from the rest of the piece.
Given the fine examples of your craftsmanship we've already seen here, we wouldn't want that
Not trying to get too confusing in what I'm saying here (I hope what I wrote above doesn't seem to be all over the place, lol), it's just once I get to thinking about something like this I tend to look at more than just one area or aspect of it. Sometimes my ideas get a little too big. It's a curse
EDIT: Okay, maybe not super-bright LEDs. Just regular-strength ones should suffice. Don't want to blind yourself holding it, lol.
smick6
Active Member
I followed what you were saying all the way through. We must think alike. I will probably buy the el lighting and do some testing. All the lighting needs to be figured out before the build really kicks in. I like to have a plan. I might be able to buy a long enough el light to run to all lighting locations on the gun. I dont know if the el would be strong enough to light up the crystals though. I have never seen it up close so I will have to test that out to. Let the science experiment begin.
smick6 said:I followed what you were saying all the way through. We must think alike. I will probably buy the el lighting and do some testing. All the lighting needs to be figured out before the build really kicks in. I like to have a plan. I might be able to buy a long enough el light to run to all lighting locations on the gun. I dont know if the el would be strong enough to light up the crystals though. I have never seen it up close so I will have to test that out to. Let the science experiment begin.
Is that the lighting they use under cars for show? Isn't the light that comes out the front of the needler a crystal getting ready to be shot out? Need to see screen shots.
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SPARTAN II
Sr Member
smick6 said:I followed what you were saying all the way through. We must think alike. I will probably buy the el lighting and do some testing. All the lighting needs to be figured out before the build really kicks in. I like to have a plan. I might be able to buy a long enough el light to run to all lighting locations on the gun. I dont know if the el would be strong enough to light up the crystals though. I have never seen it up close so I will have to test that out to. Let the science experiment begin.
Okay, good... so I wasn't just idly rambling on like I thought I was, lol.
Though I've never been one to add any lighting or any electronics to any of my previous scratch-builds, I too would plan out all the wiring first before actually starting on the build. Just because I haven't done so, doesn't mean I haven't given it any thought, heh.
Gawd only knows how difficult it would be to work in the electronics after the build was mostly done, so I agree it's better to figure out that part of it in advance.
I don't know if you'd be able to run a single strip of EL lighting through all the lighting locations of the Needler, as although both the front beam and shards would be pink, there's also the top side of the lower rear "prong" to consider. If I'm not too mistaken, the colouring for that lighted area is purple.
So, you'd be able to do that for most of it, but not all.
As for the illumination strength of EL lighting, I honestly couldn't tell you, buddy. Some testing prior to putting into practice is definately in order. Let us know what your results are, and if need be we'll can brainstorm something else.
P.S.: It's a good thing the voting's working in favour of the Needler being your next project. It would be a shame for all this brainstorming to go to waste, lol.
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smick6
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LeeKegan said:
Here is a screen cap courtesy of Loess.
It looks like some sort of light beam that goes between the two pieces. I dont know if it is really needed to duplicate that. I will also be trying the el's for the light strips on that center piece. If that makes sense. I will have to watch a vid of whan it shoots. It almost looks like the needle is made by that beam of light maybe? I dont know but that hole in the front dont look big enough for one of the needles to come out of it. What do you think? Time for some research. I will get alot more screencaps.
People have used them on cars, bikes and just about anything else.
I must go sleep now, early morning start for work.
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SPARTAN II
Sr Member
That's an interesting idea there, Lee! Now see, as much as I've been mulling over the design aspects for this, that one hadn't occured to me, lol.
You'd have to be awfully careful to set the mirror at just the right angle, otherwise you'd run the risk of the laser beam reflecting off into open air and possibly hit someone in the eye. Don't want to blind anyone, after all. So you'd have to be extremely careful with the placement of that.
I tend to agree that it isn't absolutely necessary to duplicate that effect for the beam emitter. It would be kewl, of course, but it wouldn't really detract from the piece overall if you didn't do that. At the very least, what you could do is place some of that EL lighting underneath the other clearly illuminated areas at the front (btw, I understood what you meant about "the light strips on that center piece").
Having the rest of those details lit up as they are on the in-game model, no one would even notice anything was missing.
As for the real-world functionality of the weapon, I think Lee's on the right track with the physical form of the crystal shards/rounds disintegrating as the energy is broken down and released through the beam emitter. That would make the most sense to me, anyway.
You'd have to be awfully careful to set the mirror at just the right angle, otherwise you'd run the risk of the laser beam reflecting off into open air and possibly hit someone in the eye. Don't want to blind anyone, after all. So you'd have to be extremely careful with the placement of that.
I tend to agree that it isn't absolutely necessary to duplicate that effect for the beam emitter. It would be kewl, of course, but it wouldn't really detract from the piece overall if you didn't do that. At the very least, what you could do is place some of that EL lighting underneath the other clearly illuminated areas at the front (btw, I understood what you meant about "the light strips on that center piece").
Having the rest of those details lit up as they are on the in-game model, no one would even notice anything was missing.
As for the real-world functionality of the weapon, I think Lee's on the right track with the physical form of the crystal shards/rounds disintegrating as the energy is broken down and released through the beam emitter. That would make the most sense to me, anyway.
Regarding that beam in front of the muzzle, I'd thought that it looked like some sort of "activator" for the needles as they left the weapon. Maybe the thing that would dump the explosive energy or a catalyst or something into the projectile when it was fired, so you weren't walking around with a magazine of armed explosive devices in your rifle.
And getting back to the "how to make the thing light up" discussion, I'm thinking that LED's inset into acrylic would be the way to go. I might have to get a bit to play with to figure out internal refraction patterns and surface prep.
And getting back to the "how to make the thing light up" discussion, I'm thinking that LED's inset into acrylic would be the way to go. I might have to get a bit to play with to figure out internal refraction patterns and surface prep.
smick6
Active Member
Loess said:
I am going to test out the various ways I am thinking about lights. I am not opposed to using different lighting methods for different part of the gun. There should be plenty of room for electronic in it. Whatever looks the best will get my vote. I really need to order some acrylic needles. Did you get a quote on them from the plastic place you mentioned to me? If so send me a pm with details if you dont mind. I am going to order a sample of el light to mess with what color do you guys think is better the pink or purple?
[attachment=7702:el_lights.bmp]
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SPARTAN II
Sr Member
Personally, I'd say go with the pink. From what I've seen of the Needler in various reference pics, the majority of the lit areas on it do appear to be that colour, with the obvious exception of the top side of the lower rear "prong", which is purple (if you're not sure what I'm referring to, let me know).
Since you're not opposed to using different lighting methods for different parts of it, perhaps you should use EL lighting for the beam emitter and the lower rear "prong", and standard LEDs for underneath the shards/rounds. Just an idea for you to toss around, anyway
EDIT: After taking a look at that pic you linked to, I just realized we've been talking about two different things. Silly me, lol. When you mentioned "EL lighting" I was thinking about lighting sheet for some reason. Duh. That could completely alter my concept of how you should wire it, as we've been discussing.
Since you're not opposed to using different lighting methods for different parts of it, perhaps you should use EL lighting for the beam emitter and the lower rear "prong", and standard LEDs for underneath the shards/rounds. Just an idea for you to toss around, anyway
EDIT: After taking a look at that pic you linked to, I just realized we've been talking about two different things. Silly me, lol. When you mentioned "EL lighting" I was thinking about lighting sheet for some reason. Duh. That could completely alter my concept of how you should wire it, as we've been discussing.
SPARTAN II
Sr Member
This is EL sheet: EL Backlight Sheet
It's the same idea as EL strips, but allows you to cover a far larger area with a more even illumination/light distribution. When I was speaking of using the EL lighting for the lit area on the top side of the lower rear "prong", that's actually what I had in mind.
See, you could drill those little holes in the body as they appear on the in-game model (and as shown on Frank's Needler), then apply a small sheet of that stuff to the inside of the body. It would result in less materials needed, plus less wiring, both of which would likely result in it being less costly for you.
I don't know how much of a cost difference there is between the EL lighting strips and sheets, but it's another optionfor you can consider, buddy
EDIT: Just did a quick Google search for both EL lights and EL sheets, and damn... there's quite a noticeable difference in pricing. So... maybe not such a viable option, lol.
It's the same idea as EL strips, but allows you to cover a far larger area with a more even illumination/light distribution. When I was speaking of using the EL lighting for the lit area on the top side of the lower rear "prong", that's actually what I had in mind.
See, you could drill those little holes in the body as they appear on the in-game model (and as shown on Frank's Needler), then apply a small sheet of that stuff to the inside of the body. It would result in less materials needed, plus less wiring, both of which would likely result in it being less costly for you.
I don't know how much of a cost difference there is between the EL lighting strips and sheets, but it's another optionfor you can consider, buddy
EDIT: Just did a quick Google search for both EL lights and EL sheets, and damn... there's quite a noticeable difference in pricing. So... maybe not such a viable option, lol.
smick6
Active Member
SPARTAN II said:This is EL sheet: EL Backlight Sheet
It's the same idea as EL strips, but allows you to cover a far larger area with a more even illumination/light distribution. When I was speaking of using the EL lighting for the lit area on the top side of the lower rear "prong", that's actually what I had in mind.
See, you could drill those little holes in the body as they appear on the in-game model (and as shown on Frank's Needler), then apply a small sheet of that stuff to the inside of the body. It would result in less materials needed, plus less wiring, both of which would likely result in it being less costly for you.
I don't know how much of a cost difference there is between the EL lighting strips and sheets, but it's another optionfor you can consider, buddy
EDIT: Just did a quick Google search for both EL lights and EL sheets, and damn... there's quite a noticeable difference in pricing. So... maybe not such a viable option, lol.
I never saw that stuff. Pretty interesting. I can see possibly using it on sme projects. It is fairly expensive though. I think I will order some of the pink el wire, leds and try to get some crystals and just mess around with all of it. I figured if I got a long section of the wire I might be able to string it through out the needler to all the locations that need the lights. It will really need a mock up before I decide.
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