Props Finally Started This...

[skylow]

What an amazing piece of kit. Wow oh wow would i love to have one of these.

 

[thorssoli]

Today I mailed the main body and the barrel to Matsuo for molmaking.

Stay tuned while I describe the moldmaking for the small parts.

 

[thorssoli]

For those of you following along at home, the main body and barrel have arrived with Matsuo the moldmaker. I have made the mold for the very smallerst parts (the bolt, scope mounts, scope knob, and viewfinder) all in one very simple box mold.

I'll post pictures of this mold when I peel it and make a set of castings. That should be when I'm back to work on the next batch of molds (magazine and scope body) on Monday or Tuesday.

 

[S1l3nt V1p3r]

Can't wait for the pictures!

 

[thorssoli]

Here's a shot of the mold for the scope bits (upper left) the bipod legs (lower right) and the recoil suppressor (upper right) as well as the first handful of castings:


I've also been cranking out loose rounds whenever I'm casting anything:



Now I've only got these few parts left in the box that I'll need to mold:


Stay tuned...

 

[Peagis01]

That is so cool!!! Especially the bullets! That is a really nice touch!

 

[Jedi Ranger]

Wow! Great looking project! It is turning out great! I'd say you really know how to work that carvewright machine!

 

[dericrw]

WOW! oh man do I want one of these!!

 

[thorssoli]

Today I burned through a good two gallons or so worth of silicone rubber goo:


Much of that went to the moldmaking for my new boots, but the rest went into these neat little boxes I had my friend Chris make:


At the end of the day, I'd made molds for (clockwise from top left) the scope body, lower handle and bolt, forward scope, and magazine:


Sometime tomorrow I'll be making casts of some or all of these bits.

Stay tuned...

 

[thorssoli]

Today I took this somewhat useless pic of the molds all lined up and ready to pour with the prototypes sitting in front of the finished molds:


Then I poured a set of castings and completely forgot to pull them and take pictures before it was time to knock off for the day. Count on a picture with cast copies of all of the small bits sometime in the next 24 hours.

 

[thorssoli]

Looks like all of the molds for the small parts are working out just fine:


Now I'm just waiting on the molds for the main body and the barrel. Stay tuned...

 

[S1l3nt V1p3r]

Shiny...

*drools*

 

[LeeKegan]

Great Job Thorssoli.

 

[bevbor]

* cries *

 

[thorssoli]

* cries *

Cheer up, Bevbor. It'll all work out just fine.

I'm still waiting on the molds for the barrel and the main body. Meanwhile, I've decided to start this other thing:


Here's my lovely new workshop assistant holding it for scale reference:


I messed up some of the settings when I tried to start the second half of the carving, so the left half hasn't been made yet. More on that when I've had a chance to pick up another sheet of MDF.

Stay tuned...

 

[Varsity]

u just cant be stopped *cries* what will he build next

 

[Cereal Killl3r]

The weapon looks great!
What type of finish were you planning on for the lower body of the rifle?
I would figure that you'd be going a nice textured composite look.

 

[Peagis01]

so lucky he's got the suits the weapons and now the hot assistant!

 

[Tyvern]

This is a cool way to make props man!

 

[thorssoli]

The weapon looks great!
What type of finish were you planning on for the lower body of the rifle?
I would figure that you'd be going a nice textured composite look.

I've coated the entire rifle with epoxy. When you do this, MDF ends up with just the textured look you're talking about. The next trick is to sand and file down all of the parts that need to look machined in the finished product. I'm in the early stages of that process, so right now this is what the rifle looks like when held by a crazy person:


I've also started adding a bit more girth to the foregrip, but I neglected to take any pictures.

u just cant be stopped *cries* what will he build next

Plenty. While I was tinkering with the battle rifle, I had Lopez the Robot Whittler whittle me out a trip mine:


Here's what it looked like with a bit of sanding and paint work:


Astute observers will notice that, along with all of the other projects, I've also rolled my tank back into the workshop:


I should have the Battle Rifle looking finished in no time, so stand by for more updates...