Aztlan's Halo 4 Rogue + Binary Rifle + M6H + Exo-suit WIP, PIC HEAVY!

[Redshirt]

Oh yeah! Those needles are amazing! You set a goal of matching Volpin's build quality. He's also the gold standard I hope to shoot for with my builds. I think these are at that level!

You were spot-on with your earlier comments about thread status and all the pros and cons of the elite section. It seemed to stagnate as a victim of the debate about widespread 3D printing, CNC, and laser cutting.

Keep turning out the outstanding builds!

Redshirt

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Wow EVA, just wow. Keep up the great work, i look forward to seeing updates and posts from you.
you inspire so many of us.

 

[CasualCosplayer]

No words can describe this awesomeness! This needs...no...this MUST be in the ELITE section! x3

Pat-

 

[Darthdrow]

As always, your work is amazing. I wait with baited breath to see the finished product of everything you do. I know the frustration of uncooperative weather and I'm in the Florida panhandle. We just had a cold front sweep through, and with outside work my only current option, I have been unable to resin my pieces

 

[EVAkura]

Thanks so much everyone!

I continue to work on the last few needles for the Needle Rifle (the last one is curing right now), and have been working on the electronics for the Pulse grenade. I finished up all the spikes last night, and soldered all the bread boards with their resistors, leads, and orange LEDs today. Now all I have left to do is pick up some Quick Steel two part epoxy for where the spikes join the body of the grenade, install the power source and switch, and assemble!

In this picture, I have filed, wet sanded, and drilled the spikes, as well as finished the electronics for them. The electronics for the side lights are started also.



And this one shows the cube of LEDs (two per side X six sides... 12 LEDs) which will light up the sides, and the previous spikes with their individual LED boards.



Barring any major hurdles, I should start assembling tomorrow... hopefully!

 

[Mstruvmgc]

What are those made out of?? I might have missed where you stated the material sorry. and what are you using to sand them??

 

[EVAkura]

What are those made out of?? I might have missed where you stated the material sorry. and what are you using to sand them??

These too are made of epoxy that I made a mold for. I first use a file to clean up the shape and sharpen the edges some, then use 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper and wet sand them until all the file markings are gone and the surfaces are very smooth. I also used my Dremel with its barrel sander to clean up the bottom parts.

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Cool, thanks very much for the info. I have another question or two as well. How does one go about wet sanding, and what are its benifits compared to normal sanding?

Thanks very much, keep up the great work by the way

 

[EVAkura]

... How does one go about wet sanding, and what are its benifits compared to normal sanding?

Wet/dry sandpaper is usually found in the same place as regular sandpaper, but generally a bit more expensive. To wet sand an item, it is just as simple as dry sanding. The only thing different is that you keep your project and sandpaper wet with water. Also, it is imperative to sand in a circular motion rather than back and forth whenever possible.

The benefits are:

Eliminates dust.

It also gives a much smoother surface. By keeping the surface wet, you will be able to see imperfections MUCH easier. It will also show transitions really well, allowing you to remove them much more effectively (this is traditionally done with primer, which costs more, and takes longer). A transition is where you go from one medium to another, like bondo to epoxy coating over cardstock.

When done right (really simple to do), your surface will be glass-like. Also, when you get to your final stages of sanding, primer is used in conjunction with wet-sanding (be sure you use sand-able primer) to get rid of the most minor of imperfections, like sanding swirls. The primer acts as a filler.

Since I am also using the wet sanding method on epoxy with my needles and spikes, I am getting the benefit of not only a very smooth surface, but a really uniform frosted and translucent appearance.

 

[HALOSPRTAN]

Wet/dry sandpaper is usually found in the same place as regular sandpaper, but generally a bit more expensive. To wet sand an item, it is just as simple as dry sanding. The only thing different is that you keep your project and sandpaper wet with water. Also, it is imperative to sand in a circular motion rather than back and forth whenever possible.

The benefits are:

Eliminates dust.

It also gives a much smoother surface. By keeping the surface wet, you will be able to see imperfections MUCH easier. It will also show transitions really well, allowing you to remove them much more effectively (this is traditionally done with primer, which costs more, and takes longer). A transition is where you go from one medium to another, like bondo to epoxy coating over cardstock.

When done right (really simple to do), your surface will be glass-like. Also, when you get to your final stages of sanding, primer is used in conjunction with wet-sanding (be sure you use sand-able primer) to get rid of the most minor of imperfections, like sanding swirls. The primer acts as a filler.

Since I am also using the wet sanding method on epoxy with my needles and spikes, I am getting the benefit of not only a very smooth surface, but a really uniform frosted and translucent appearance.

Will this work with a helmet, because if you have exposed cardstock, wont the paper swell and ruin your work?

 

[EVAkura]

Will this work with a helmet, because if you have exposed cardstock, wont the paper swell and ruin your work?

Yes and no. It would ruin it if you did not Rondo the inside and epoxy the outside before starting the exterior bondo work. If you did do those things, then your cardstock has been saturated with the epoxy and Rondo, and will therefore be unaffected by water.

 

[HALOSPRTAN]

I actually use aqua resin, which is water based, and my have issues with wet sanding. I'm thinking of locally wet sanding the bondo by just wetting the sandpaper

 

[EVAkura]

Okay, I am making this really difficult on myself, but my quest has brought me down a road I knew I would eventually have to travel down.

First, I tried balsa... epic fail. Too flimsy and warped beyond belief.

Then I tried foam. It looked great, but the texture was off and still too flimsy. Not a total loss though, since I used one of the sides for making my mold

Now, on attempt #3, I think I have a winner. After making the mold, I cast a side of the grenade to see how it would come out. I used a 50/50 Rondo mix and came up with a very solid piece to work with on the first try. The second one is looking the same, so I will continue until I am completed or have some unforeseen failure

Here are the four stages that I am working with... Foam to a silicone caulking/glycerin mold to a rough cast to a semi finished piece



And here is a close-up of the semi finished piece. I still need to fine tune a few of the lines as well as fill in the pin holes with spot putty... then wet sand again.



Basically, one down, five to go... good news is they go pretty fast

 

[HALOSPRTAN]

Okay, I am making this really difficult on myself, but my quest has brought me down a road I knew I would eventually have to travel down.

First, I tried balsa... epic fail. Too flimsy and warped beyond belief.

Then I tried foam. It looked great, but the texture was off and still too flimsy. Not a total loss though, since I used one of the sides for making my mold

Now, on attempt #3, I think I have a winner. After making the mold, I cast a side of the grenade to see how it would come out. I used a 50/50 Rondo mix and came up with a very solid piece to work with on the first try. The second one is looking the same, so I will continue until I am completed or have some unforeseen failure

Here are the four stages that I am working with... Foam to a silicone caulking/glycerin mold to a rough cast to a semi finished piece



And here is a close-up of the semi finished piece. I still need to fine tune a few of the lines as well as fill in the pin holes with spot putty... then wet sand again.



Basically, one down, five to go... good news is they go pretty fast

Those look dead on accurate, hope they go fast, i know how it is when you take so much time on a single piece trying to get it perfect, then you have 6 more to go! :rolleyes

 

[RYNO 666]

Eva looking good. I have been using Monster Clay lately and I think it would have been perfect for this.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

[EVAkura]

Eva looking good. I have been using Monster Clay lately and I think it would have been perfect for this.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

Are you referring to the mold, or the buck to make the mold? If it were for the buck, then I currently have a lower grade but similar type of clay on hand and would have used that if I didn't already have the foam piece created. I used that same modeling clay to make the buck for the pieces that go in between the sides and the spikes... but more on that later (after I get a decent pull!)

If it were for the mold, I think it would have melted due to its wax base and curing temperature of the Rondo.

Thanks for the input and compliment!

 

[EVAkura]

Thanks HALOSPRTN (somehow I missed your comment yesterday)

All six sides have been cast. I managed to file and refine two last night, then cast the remaining four today. Needless to say, I have a bunch of filing and sanding to do this evening! Can you tell which ones I did?



I also managed to cast four of the eight required corners. These were made by first making the bucks out of craft clay (non-hardening), then creating the mold out of silicone caulking and glycerin, then pouring Rondo into the mold. They look REALLY rough (and they are), but they shape fairly quickly.



Here is an example of the one I had on-hand last night that I managed to file and sand



And here is one of the spikes mounted in it



After finishing up all of these pieces, I get the joyous task of finding out exactly how I want to put all this together :eek

 

[RYNO 666]

Yes I was speaking of the buck. Would be cool if you could make a mold of the final positive and cast it in clear resin. You could tint it Orange as well as add paint to inside of mold on the square pieces.

BTW are you going to add a pulse blinking effect?

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

[HALOSPRTAN]

Thanks HALOSPRTN (somehow I missed your comment yesterday)

All six sides have been cast. I managed to file and refine two last night, then cast the remaining four today. Needless to say, I have a bunch of filing and sanding to do this evening! Can you tell which ones I did?



I also managed to cast four of the eight required corners. These were made by first making the bucks out of craft clay (non-hardening), then creating the mold out of silicone caulking and glycerin, then pouring Rondo into the mold. They look REALLY rough (and they are), but they shape fairly quickly.



Here is an example of the one I had on-hand last night that I managed to file and sand



And here is one of the spikes mounted in it



After finishing up all of these pieces, I get the joyous task of finding out exactly how I want to put all this together :eek

no, i really cant tell which have been refined:rolleyes . It looks great, i hope it goes quickly, assembling seems very tricky... i dont really have any ideas for that one...

 

[Rosh]

Those look fantastic! Would you mind going into detail a little more about your glycerin and caulking technique? Forgive me if you already have, I readily admit to not having read most of your thread and just enjoying the pictures.