Reach Turret Build! —HEAVY DUTY

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FlyinPhil

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Hey all!

I apologize for my limited forum presence recently, as life has gotten in the way of my cosplaying. That being said, I will be making a solid effort to be more vocal on the forums, and I have a build to share as well!

We have had a good selection of props at the 405th booth at the Edmonton Comic expo over the last couple years, but they are all member’s props (my own included) which we don’t always want people touching and potentially damaging. Queue this build. I wanted something heavy duty that people can play with, trip over, lean on, take pictures with, and just generally abuse for their own amusement.

My previous builds on the forum have all consisted of foam and pep work, but I was wood and metal working far before I joined the costuming community! So, this build will be made up of mostly wood, steel/aluminum, pvc, abs, and any other materials that won’t be damaged with regular handling from con goers.

On to the build! It made sense to me to start from the bottom and work my way up. After a few nights in the shop, I banged out the bulk of the tripod legs. The legs’ cores are made up of a planed down 2x8 that was also ripped lengthwise. The bulk of the feet was made with 1/2” mdf, and there is a 3/4” dowel drilled in there as well. Next up, I have to add a few more details, which will be made of 1/8” Masonite/hardboard.

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I will be very sad if you can't rip it off the tripod!!
This is doing to be a really cool project!

And yeah, I'll agree. Being about to hand wield it should be a top priority. Pretty please? :)

Don’t worry, it will still be removable! That being said, it will be a heavy pig when it is done ( I’d guesstimate 30-40 lbs?). I hope to integrate some electronics to simulate recoil, which will add some weight. I also intend to make the blast shield (or whatever you want to call the big guard) out of steel, and put a few rounds downrange at it with a real firearm for authentic bullet scarring.
 
Don’t worry, it will still be removable! That being said, it will be a heavy pig when it is done ( I’d guesstimate 30-40 lbs?). I hope to integrate some electronics to simulate recoil, which will add some weight. I also intend to make the blast shield (or whatever you want to call the big guard) out of steel, and put a few rounds downrange at it with a real firearm for authentic bullet scarring.
You mean bullet scarring to the turret? Just watch those ricochet angles. My buddy learned that the hard way but got lucky and is fine. Of course that was with a pistol at a steel plate 15ft away (idiot)lol!
 
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You mean bullet scarring to the turret? Just watch those ricochet angles. My buddy learned that the hard way but got lucky and is fine. Of course that was with a pistol at a steal plate 15ft away (idiot)lol!
Yeah. I've been there. It hurts.
Y'all's lives have a bit more excitement than mine, that's for sure.
 
Lol not really.

Was doing armed guard training some years ago and me and another guy were teamed up on a hostage situation drill. We both hit the targets, but on my last shot the bullet fragmented and ricocheted back into my chest from about 15 yards. It hurt pretty good, actually. Had a mark there for a long time.
 
Lol not really.

Was doing armed guard training some years ago and me and another guy were teamed up on a hostage situation drill. We both hit the targets, but on my last shot the bullet fragmented and ricocheted back into my chest from about 15 yards. It hurt pretty good, actually. Had a mark there for a long time.
The heck are the chances of that. Then again there is the 1 mile long Barrett ricochet on YouTube.
 
Lol not really.

Was doing armed guard training some years ago and me and another guy were teamed up on a hostage situation drill. We both hit the targets, but on my last shot the bullet fragmented and ricocheted back into my chest from about 15 yards. It hurt pretty good, actually. Had a mark there for a long time.
Oh my gosh that sounds terrible! Did you die!?!?!
 
You mean bullet scarring to the turret? Just watch those ricochet angles. My buddy learned that the hard way but got lucky and is fine. Of course that was with a pistol at a steel plate 15ft away (idiot)lol!

No worries there, but thanks for the heads up! I shoot competitively (albeit not very well haha), and I’ve been shooting regularly since my early teens. My plan is to make that blast guard out of some 1/8” plate I have lying around, and backing it with some 1/2” (or around there) mdf to give it the proper thickness. I’ll paint up the whole prop, then unbolt the guard to shoot on its own. Probably just throw some .22lr at it from 50+ yards. Enough to take off some paint and maybe leave some slight dents.

Lol not really.

Was doing armed guard training some years ago and me and another guy were teamed up on a hostage situation drill. We both hit the targets, but on my last shot the bullet fragmented and ricocheted back into my chest from about 15 yards. It hurt pretty good, actually. Had a mark there for a long time.

That’s nuts! Straight-back ricochets are pretty uncommon, but scary when they do happen. I shoot three gun, so ocassio alt we are pretty close to the steel with shotgun and pistol. Haven’t ever felt any ricochets from pistol, but the spalding from birdshot bounces off you pretty regularly.
 
Spent some time over the last couple nights cutting out some more details for the tripod legs from 1/8” hardboard. The circles are 1/2” mdf cut with a hole saw, and I beveled the edges by attaching them to my drill and spinning them on my belt sander lol....2” diameter if I recall correctly.

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Put in some more work in the shop tonight! I was able to glue on most of my 1/8” hardboard panels, and just have a couple small pieces for the back of the legs left to glue on. I also started working on a portion I’ve been dreading, which are some of the details on those round bits of mdf. I’ve artached a shot of the in game model, as well as where I’m at. I ended up finding a simple and quick solution (hopefully I find lots of those through this build, as time is short!). I just used a smaller hole saw size to make a new round cut 1/8” deep, then a sharp chisel to remove the remaining material in the middle. It gives a nice, even recess, and I just have to cut a few thin strips of hardboard to go across the middle to finish the detail.
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The legs are getting there! All of the feet parts are glued into place, and I’ve got most of the parts for the upper joint cut as well. Just a few more bits to glue together, and then I’ll be onto building the central point of the tripod that all of the legs connect to. I’ll likely just use a few bolts to secure the legs in place, but I haven’t fully designed all of that yet!
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