Acrylikhan

Your absolutely right... there is no definite one to one translation. The costumes are very caricaturized. I guess the interpretation is very much open ended. You've made a very nice assesment of the helmet's mish-mash of other clone trooper helmets. I COMPLETELY forgot about the Bee-Hive helmet! I wish I lived next door from you!

I could be wrong, but it looks like a Phase 1 helmet that has been made Aerodynamic (no rough blocky edges), and a BARC faceplate... sound about right? I wish I had time to add this to my props list,....

Be sure to post your progress.

Definitely would be a fun build!

The primary port has been cemented, and a coupling put in place. The vacuum valve. Death Star "mooing" sound not included. Assembled! The braided vinyl cable connections are all air tight! This will connected to the industrial sized vacuum pump at work along with a 75 gallon plus vacuum casting chamber. The pulls from this should be sweet! Everything looks great. I need to disassemble it, and move it to it's final destination! Once I get settled into a new home, I'll continue the work I've started on the costume. About this time last year, I had just finished the modifications on a DP/Rubies Helmet. I am in the process of completing another one by December of this year. Like last year, this year produced a lot of great things! The knee armor is complete, the holster has been started, and so much planning for the chest armor and the hump still to do... as well as more research, and getting my measurements right. Then there was the progress photos in April. Just to see how much everyone's input has helped, and how much more I still need to improve on. I gotta tell, it's a great feeling! Even though I have to see a chiropractor about my crooked spine! So much done, yet still a little further to go. I though this would be the year I would finished it all, but things got complicated this summer. That's life. Hopefully, next year... maybe before July. I can only hope! Thanks everyone!

I am getting ammo and medic pouches from my nephew who is a paratrooper. Nice thing about being a Staff Sargent is that he makes the rules for the barraks, and that all the unwanted goods are brought to his office. The ammo pouches aren't going home with mustering troopers. They just don;t want them... weird, being that some of them are nice. He's going to get a few in desert and coyote colors. The sizes are very close to the ones in the pictures.

The family emergency has indeed ended. I just wish it didn't end the way it did. That is the way of life and my wife and I are getting things in order with the estate, and the obligatory move in the weeks to come. Hopefully, to a house of our own. It is highly doubtful, seeing how the world economy is. I am trying to remain optimistic and positive. For me, that is an amazing feat to pull off! I was very much hoping to get this armor done this year. This year I made so many strides in getting pieces to completion, and starting to see my armor take shape. By mid year, things just took a very unexpected turn. My family and my job are the only things that trump the rest of my life. Time to work on the armor needed to be sacrificed. I have been doing my best to finish the forming table before I move it to my place of employment. I need to do that before I move within the next couple of weeks. I will say, it is starting to shape up nicely! It may be ugly, but its well hung. Those pictures will be forth coming.

Only half completed! I have to build the second half of the cart... but it's progressing. More pictures soon.

The Death Star Under Construction... The oven section is complete. The wiring is installed. The metal gantry for holding the plastic has been completed as well. The hinges are in place, as well as clips for securing the two halves together. The oven primary ignition testing... We have a green light on all boards. "The Death Star will be completed as planned."

Okay... almost done. A quick update. So this is what I got so far. (Sorry.. I left the folding stock at work! but it looks cool too.) Painted flat camo black, and added the greeblies around the gun grip. I have to make one for the magazine, but that's another story. Looks good. Here's a close up of the "chin" detail. It's funny... it is there in some of the screen captures, and other times its not. Since it's hidden from view by the folding gun stock, it doesn't matter. Besides, I need someplace to bolt that far end of the gun stock to to keep it in place. A couple of peopled wanted to see the "J" greeblie detail after the bondo sessions. So... here ya go! Detailing and weathering has been started. More to come!

The carbine is almost complete! The final photos are close at hand!

Thanks man! I'm hoping to have more progress pictures soon. Not only the cart, but real vacuforming buck construction pictures. I am tweaking the holster right now, but that has been on a bit of a hold since I have a very serious on going family emergency. More to come soon!

The retractable stock! Continuing off of the egg shaped hinge, I've got the majority of the piece completed. I am a bit surprised that it was a little easier than I anticipated. The forks plugged into the slots I cut with ease. Afterward, I drill a few holes to lock them in place on the hinge. I then used CA+B.S. compound to lock them in place and make a smooth transition from the hinge into the forks. Bending the aluminum forks was another matter entirely. I tried to keep it consistent. I even tried bending both bars at the same time. But alas, one has a slightly different shape. No biggie. It's not going to be functional, and it still looks spot on. The stock portion is plain ol' styrene. I ran out of ABS sheets. This will work, and will have some great gouges and scrapes once I start trooping with it. I will be switching out the smaller screws for the hex driver type bolts I'm using on the hinge. And there you have it. I still need to drill and tap a hole to bolt the hinge in front of the trigger. There is one piece left to finish. On the muzzle and part of the barrel is yet another greeblie. It's a five inch, strange shape than fits under the "chin" of the barrel. This "chin greeblie" will help secure the far end of the gun stock to the gun. I've already started working on it, I'll post pictures of it soon. The bondo's been thawed. Painting soon to follow...

I have attached the magazine to the main body and part of the barrel assembly. The plans made the magazine assembly much more difficult than it should be. It called for cutting the attaching base to the contour of the barrel's base. The easier method, and still keep the look, was to simply trim down the barrel base to fit the magazine assembly. The trough wasn't hard to cut. I used a band saw to cut the edges of the trough in, and then zipped off the rest with the dremel router. I did set up a jig with a vise so that the cut would be even. I did find I forgot a detail. The ribs on the barrel do not stretch the length of the barrel from end to end. There is a 1/16 inch sliver of the barrel that is untouched by the ribs, BUT is connected to the magazine. I had to carefully lathe off the piece of the PVC pipe and attached it to the barrel end. I made sure that this was in place before cutting the trough for the magazine. I was able to work around the long "L" shaped boxes with ease. The magazine rests on an 1/8 inch platform, which sits at the the top of the long "L" box. All I had to do was fill in the void where the platform hung over the side, and connect it to the rest of the assembly that is on the back of the barrel. Lucky for me, it was an even measurement all around! Easy cut, 1 - 2 - 3... done. I drilled, and tapped a hole that will secure this to the barrel. With this new change to the design,, I was forced to make the end of the barrel permanently attached to the main gun housing. No biggie. Sometimes, you just have to change of the fly. Here's a couple of close up shots of that 1/16 inch detail on the barrel. you can see how the magazine barrel mates with it flush. On to the shoulder stock... Being that this is a completely digital construct in the movie, you can pretty much design anything you want without much consequence for functionality. It needs to look cool. The stock was never shown in an extended position. It's debatable... but I don't think it ever was. Personally, I think LF wanted the gun to look like a precursor to the E-11. So the retractable gun stuck is probably an homage to that. I will not make the stock functional, but if I do change my mind, I have some pretty good ideas how to do it. On with the manufacturing processes... The first thing I need to build is the pivot. It is basically two cylinders that are merged together. I cut both cylinders on the lathe out of ABS, then took the smaller and essentially cut it in half. I stripped off most of it with the band saw, and then used a circular sander to flatten it out as best I could. Next, I used ABS cement to bond the two together. After it set, I packed the gaps with bondo, and then sanded it smooth. The result: I set up the drill press and centered a hole through the larger cylinder, and then tapped it so it would accept threaded bolts. After that was finished, I got some 1/8 inch flat aluminum for the shaft of the stock. I need to cut two slots for the aluminum to fit into. Back to the bandsaw for the initial cuts, and then to some heavy rasp files to smooth it out. The aluminum fits great. Next step, the aluminum must be bent into shape. Holes to accept the bolts that thread into the pivot need to be drilled, and then the butte of the stock will need to be constructed. The butte will be made out of 1/8th inch styrene. If it was going to be function, I would go all metal. Since it's nothing more than fluff, plastic will do just fine. I will probably start that this weekend without a doubt. I am coming to the end of the construction phase. Hole patching and refining has appeared on the horizon! Still more to come!

Coils are now in place.... Side walls constructed... Plastic holding frame fits beautifully on the top... And a lid, to cook the plastic really good! Platen, and oven are complete. I need to get the cart constructed now.

Thanks man! Another updater... The barrel assemble will be attached to the main gun housing with contact cement, and this 1/4" x 20 threaded rod. This secures in the muzzle, barrel, and rear barrel assemblies, to a threaded hole in the front of the main housing. To make this easier to bolt into place, I used an epoxy called JB Weld, and three nuts. I secured them all to the top of the threaded rod, and each other with the JB Weld. After it set, I used a dremel to cut a good size notch for a screwdriver. All too easy. Okay... a coat of primer.... As to be expected with a scratch build there are flaws. Some of the seam lines are showing, and there are gaps that need to be filled and then sanded flush. Bolt holes need to be filled and then sanded flush. I added another greeblie, a couple of half round styrene strips with curved ends (just below the second hole on the housing). There are some glue runs that will need some sanding down, and seam lines to be patched. The muzzle I turned has hundreds of tiny pin holes that will be patch with some acrylic putty. Other flaws like this damaged barrel rib, I will keep. It'll give a nice battle used look... even though no one will probably notice. Now for a some showing off... More to manufacture...

I am tackling the greeblies on the side of the barrel of the DC-15s. The main greeblie is a weird "j" shaped extension. I've seen main other builders just cut a thin piece of plastic and slap it on the side there. I'm hoping to go the extra mile on this one. The problem is that the "ribs" on the barrel are a hard work around. I can either cut the exact shape out on both sides, and then bond it in place, or I can alter the greeblie to fit on top of the ribs and then bondo in the gaps. I've opted the second choice, mostly because it's easier, and there's less likely a chance I will ruin this part. The greeblie I made was cut in half to make a left and a right side. I then used a sanding wheel, and a dremel, and a LOT of heavy rasp files to cut a channel down the middle of the part. The reference photos helped out a lot with this part. I ended up shaving the outer sides to fit more snuggly with the ribs on either side of the center. Any gaps will be filled with bondo, sanded smooth and primed. It will look flawlessly integrated with the barrel. Right now, it's tacked in place with superglue and contact cement. It's not going anywhere! And it's pretty well aligned on either side. Good fit! The next part was a little more tougher problem. There are also two cylinders by the greeblie. From the plans and the measurements, the smaller one is about 0.218" and the larger is just about 0.437". The smaller one I am use scrap drill rod, but for the other I managed to find an old broken X-acto blade handle that is close to the side I need. I drilled out the holes using a drill press and a vise to lock the barrel in place. This had to be done very carefully, because I was cutting out an irregular surface. It worked out very well! I chopped my cylinders down to size, and checked the fit. Good snug fit! I'll cement these in place later, after I finish the bondo work on the "j" greeblie. I would have made them both pass through the tube entirely, but I have a 1/4" x 20 threaded road that will pass through the barrel, and connect the entire barrel assemble to the main body of the gun. So, I cut them to fit. My screen photos and the plans I've been working from look somewhat like this. I'll get that glued in place just as soon as I start getting some primer on everything. And there you have it! The barrel assemble is complete with all of it's respective parts! A coat of primer is the next step. Since this for my BARC trooper, scratches and chips that are present from the building process, will give a nice look of wear in the battlefield. Any any flaws I don;t like, I'll carefully take them out. Weathering should be a lot of fun! Coming very soon... A coat of primer, and then a mock assembly!! Next parts to build will be the folding stock, and the magazine and it's holder. Much more to come!

Long time from posting... I have had family matters to attend that require my presence... The Phobos Project is moving again. I have started construction of the oven section! This is the Thurston James design on making your own vacuforming machine. Since I will need something LARGER to cook the plastic with and a LARGER plate to form on, this item was a necessary addition to my arsenal of tools. Plus, I get to learn how to trip the breakers at my house when I test this. How friggin' cool is that???? This oven is for a regular 110V-125V line. I've traced out the pattern for the path of the oven coil on some 500 Hardibacker board... and the placement of the ceramic posts that the coil will attach to. This took some heavy ciphering... and some frequent erasing. The object here is to heat the plastic as uniformly as possible. The key places are the edges and the corners. Better pulls come from evenly heated plastic: a lil' tip from your Uncle Lar! I drilled all the holes, and attached the ceramic posts. I have the side walls for the oven, I just forgot to get a picture of it... I'll get that for you guys next time. The next step is to get the oven coil, and stretch it, and then take some Ohm (resistance) readings before trying to trip the breaker in my house. And then I'll be making the cart which everything will be set upon. Should be fun! Then I can start the chest bucks.

Well... the suits are hard to tell with the flashout. I agree the humps are too small and low. They are using our BARC helmet. Yeah... but it would be best to get the weapon right. 1019: your ALIENS stuff rocks.

Looks like the article is in the members only section.

Hey Marcel!!! I got another update! I went a little too nuts with the router digging a trough for the trigger loop to fit into. I'll glue in some acrylic filler blocks to take up the negative space, and then bondo in the rest. The real headache was the detail block on the top of the carbine's body. It is made of four pieces. Cutting the angle accurately was probably the biggest challenge. I then worked some magic on the table saw, and acrylic cemented everything together. I know it's a little rough to see in this picture, being it's semi-transparent. It's really hard to make it out in this picture, but there is a detail cut on the side of the block. It's going to be almost completely covered by two detail blocks that go on either side of this center block. I used my dremel router table to cut them in. By the looks of it with the screen photos and the plans I'm working from, I have to extend it back just a little bit more. The "rail" that extends toward the back of the gun cuts into a riser on the back of the body. Dremel router to the rescue again! Test fit looks good, and lines up with the front edge. I'll have to drill some holes and tap some threads to bolt it in place. I got the texture grips cut out, and trimmed to size. I think there's supposed to be a beveled edge around the whole piece. I'll have to check that out again. The pieces also do not have a uniform thickness. Time for the old double stick tape down a piece of sanding paper and get 'r' done! Looks pretty good on the handle though! There are so many other greeblies all over this thing! It's like an infection! More planning on how to approach those, and then the mysteries of attaching the barrel to the body. More to come!

Time to get a handle on things... I cut out the grip from the patterns I have. Problem is the grip is scaled up too big. I cut it down to a more manageable size, but it will still need some modification. I just need the general shape. The details that got cut off will be added later. Right now I'm working on how to connect the grip to the gun's main body. The grip is a piece of one inch thick ABS. I measured out the location of the grip on the gun body, and scribed some lines and made center marks where I would drill out the holes. I transferred the measurements to the top of the grip and drilled holes that would allow me to add threads for a couple of bolts. I will be using 1/4"-20 socket head bolts to secure these two pieces together. I tapped accordingly.... The holes on the main body were drilled out the full 1/4 inch. I drilled a larger hole that went down around 1/2" to accommodate the socket head. The head of the bolt will be below the surface of the main body, hidden. Time for a test fit. Flawless. I made the trigger ring out of 1/2-inch acrylic. To attach this to the grip, I'll have to hollow out part of the grip. A combination of a band-saw, a dremel, and some files made quick work. Sorry... no mill today. It's logged up for a job at work. I cut the slot, bonded the ring in place, and cut out the remaining detail pieces for the lower part of the grip, and for the back side. There might be some filler work I'll need to do, but that's easy and I'll do that closer to painting time. I cut the trigger out of acrylic as well... I think it was 7/16" thick. To get a better feeling, I did some modifications to slim up the form. I based a lot of it from the grips on my casting guns at work. The only thing I can't do is make the edges on the carbine's grip rounded. It might be more comfortable, but I'm going to a little more screen accuracy. Feels really good, no sharp edges. With a glove on and the trigger in place, I think it's going to be alright! Next on the list, detailing the carbine's body, and then... ciphering attaching the barrel to the main body! More to come...!

Congrats Rudi!!!!

I'm still in the planning phase of my own (as well with the armor). I'm planning mods, too, so that takes time.