jfcapozella
New Member
I haven’t been able to get to a printer to print off the templates for the armor Im making, so Ive been working on other things.
One of the projects the I recently started and definitely want to finish by the end of this month is a Needler. Im going to run you through the steps Ive taken so far and ask some questions as well.
I actually “started” on the Needler probably 2 weeks ago, but in all honesty it was mainly figuring out which weapon I wanted to make, how other people have made it, and finally finding enough reference pictures to start the building process.
Volpin props made a blueprint that helped alot, but since I don’t have a computer or a printer at the moment, I had to make due using my phone and getting the shape and scale close enough. This is nowhere near a replica prop and Im not even sure if Ill want to carry it around when Im done with it.
After I got the main look and size of it drawn on drafting paper decent enough , I cut out the basic shapes and hit another speedbump. How am I going to go about making this? The only material that I really have to work with is eva foam, so I had to make a 3D pattern to go off of.
I sculpted pieces of the needler by chipping away at a block of floral foam. Once I had my pieces, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and ducktape, drew on some seams and registration marks, cut them off the foam, and cut darts where needed until the pieces lied flat. I took the ducktape patterns and transferred them to paper, refined some of the lines, cut the paper patterns out, and Im now in the process of cutting foam in the shape of those paper patterns. Alot of work has gone into this weapon, and Im not even halfway done.
So now that Im on the way to assembly, I still have issues that I want your opinions on how to fix. One of the major ones is the needles, I dont have the tools or experience to cast them out of resin, so I was planning on cutting hot gluesticks into a crystalline shape. I did a test and it looks good, but Im not sure how well they’d hold up to Florida’s heat. Is there any other material that’d work better without being too unattainable?
For the issue of coloring them, I was planning on buying some translucent pink nail polish and do a coat or two so that when I put a light in the base, whether on or off, they’ll actually have color. The thing is, Ive never actually done lighting in a prop or costume. If anyone has an idea of what I could use thats small enough to fit into the body of the weapon, that wouldn’t require any soldering and preferably has an easy access switch, that would be fantastic.
Another thing that Im somewhat worried about is the paintjob. Ive never done anything crazy with paint, so I feel like I could put all of this hard work in and botch it in the final step. I want to get better, and Ive been researching painting techniques, but if anyone had any advice for me, that would also be fantastic.
Thanks ahead of time,
Jacob
One of the projects the I recently started and definitely want to finish by the end of this month is a Needler. Im going to run you through the steps Ive taken so far and ask some questions as well.
I actually “started” on the Needler probably 2 weeks ago, but in all honesty it was mainly figuring out which weapon I wanted to make, how other people have made it, and finally finding enough reference pictures to start the building process.
Volpin props made a blueprint that helped alot, but since I don’t have a computer or a printer at the moment, I had to make due using my phone and getting the shape and scale close enough. This is nowhere near a replica prop and Im not even sure if Ill want to carry it around when Im done with it.
After I got the main look and size of it drawn on drafting paper decent enough , I cut out the basic shapes and hit another speedbump. How am I going to go about making this? The only material that I really have to work with is eva foam, so I had to make a 3D pattern to go off of.
I sculpted pieces of the needler by chipping away at a block of floral foam. Once I had my pieces, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and ducktape, drew on some seams and registration marks, cut them off the foam, and cut darts where needed until the pieces lied flat. I took the ducktape patterns and transferred them to paper, refined some of the lines, cut the paper patterns out, and Im now in the process of cutting foam in the shape of those paper patterns. Alot of work has gone into this weapon, and Im not even halfway done.
So now that Im on the way to assembly, I still have issues that I want your opinions on how to fix. One of the major ones is the needles, I dont have the tools or experience to cast them out of resin, so I was planning on cutting hot gluesticks into a crystalline shape. I did a test and it looks good, but Im not sure how well they’d hold up to Florida’s heat. Is there any other material that’d work better without being too unattainable?
For the issue of coloring them, I was planning on buying some translucent pink nail polish and do a coat or two so that when I put a light in the base, whether on or off, they’ll actually have color. The thing is, Ive never actually done lighting in a prop or costume. If anyone has an idea of what I could use thats small enough to fit into the body of the weapon, that wouldn’t require any soldering and preferably has an easy access switch, that would be fantastic.
Another thing that Im somewhat worried about is the paintjob. Ive never done anything crazy with paint, so I feel like I could put all of this hard work in and botch it in the final step. I want to get better, and Ive been researching painting techniques, but if anyone had any advice for me, that would also be fantastic.
Thanks ahead of time,
Jacob