Reach Turret Build! —HEAVY DUTY

[KellyKell]

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 can't wait to see more!! Super excited to see the finished product! Good luck with the rest of your build.

 

[FlyinPhil]

Aaaand I’m back at it! With the Calgary Expo just a couple months out, I’m once again on a tight schedule to get things done! I mocked up a cardboard silhouette of the mg at 1:1 scale of 64” in length, and I am quite pleased with it. This thing is BIG.

 

[zigzwag]

Definitely going to be following this build! Looking great so far!

 

[RUST]

It’s looking great man! So excited that you’re making it detachable so Spartans can “rip it off” and run around Rambo style through Cons lmao

 

[MrJamin]

I can't wait to see the final product of this. Looking really good so far.

 

[FlyinPhil]

Progress! So last weekend, Viper 466 gave me a wicked template and kicked me into gear, and I started the construction of the actual machine gun.
I am working from the center outwards, so my base worked out to be a cut down 2x4 and some 4” abs tubing. After a few cuts and bevels, it started to come together! Tonight I picked up some 4” pvc tube, and with a little heat, was able to flatten cut out sections of it into flat pieces. This is essentially sintra, at a fraction of the cost. Now with a little practice, I was able to form it around a cardboard tube and some Masonite/hard board for a complex shape that I was struggling to find a construction method for. It worked extremely well, and I will likely be using a good amount of pvc in this build, providing I can find an adequate adhesive for it.

Alright, pics!

 

[Sean Anwalt]

Yay!

 

[Dirtdives2424]

PVC as the poor mans Sinatra..........Interesting......I know its durable but PVC is also much thicker than sintra right? Standard sintra is 1-3 mm.....PVC is at least 6 mm (1/4 inch to us Americans), Does makes it very difficult to manipulate and get detailed shapes out of it? Hell if it works, its a great alternative. sintra is damn expensive. One thing I do know is that sintra is a bit more pliable and has a bit of flex to it. PVC does not. My son had his arm in a soft cast twice so far (they use sintra to form soft casts on the spot) and I work w/ PVC piping so I'm familiar w/ both materials. PVC at sintra's thickness would crack and break very easily. Also, for PVC, you need to sand down that outer layer. It's an added protective coating that you can't paint on. It will flake right off. Nothing a bit of elbow grease, or headlight fluid, couldn't solve.

 

[FlyinPhil]

PVC as the poor mans Sinatra..........Interesting......I know its durable but PVC is also much thicker than sintra right? Standard sintra is 1-3 mm.....PVC is at least 6 mm (1/4 inch to us Americans), Does makes it very difficult to manipulate and get detailed shapes out of it? Hell if it works, its a great alternative. sintra is damn expensive. One thing I do know is that sintra is a bit more pliable and has a bit of flex to it. PVC does not. My son had his arm in a soft cast twice so far (they use sintra to form soft casts on the spot) and I work w/ PVC piping so I'm familiar w/ both materials. PVC at sintra's thickness would crack and break very easily. Also, for PVC, you need to sand down that outer layer. It's an added protective coating that you can't paint on. It will flake right off. Nothing a bit of elbow grease, or headlight fluid, couldn't solve.

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pvc comes in different wall thicknesses as well. (You can get sched 40, sched 80, etc). I don’t know what grade this stuff is, but the wall thickness is only about 3mm thick (about 1/8” in freedom units). Has a decent bit of flex to it, but still maintains its shape. From the brief bit of reading I did, sintra is quite literally the same (both are polyvinyl chloride), just in flat sheet form. I paid $15 beaver shekels for a 10 foot length of 4” pipe, which comes out at just over 10 square feet when flattened.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

I've never had to cut PVC length-wise......how, and can it be done to get a straight edge? Or does that have to come after? This is something I have to try. I could try on a table saw but will it keep the cut straight?.....Need a jig of some sort to keep from rolling.

 

[FatherDamien]

Looks like class 200 sewer pipe.

PVC 2729 Sewer Pipe is for sewer and storm drainage applications only. It is used in gravity fed waste elimination systems.

• 
  

  Conforms to Standards: ASTM D 1784 and ASTM D 2729

  White pipe used in gravity sewer and storm drainage applications

  For use where systems will not exceed 140° F

  Highly resistant to chemicals commonly found in sewage and industrial waste

  Require no special tools for cutting and to be installed with solvent cement

 

[Sharpworks]

This looks so awesome! I love seeing people make these large scale props, and it's always fun seeing people make things from wood since I have no idea how to do that

 

[FlyinPhil]

I've never had to cut PVC length-wise......how, and can it be done to get a straight edge? Or does that have to come after? This is something I have to try. I could try on a table saw but will it keep the cut straight?.....Need a jig of some sort to keep from rolling.

Angle grinder and a zip disc! I just mark my perpendicular cuts in 4-5 places around the pipe, then wrap a piece of masking tape around it to follow as a guide. For the long cuts, I just mark it with astraight edge and cut freehand. Comes out perfectly straight, but after flattening the pieces with heat, the deform slightly and get a bit wavy. A quick rip down the belt sander straightens them out again!

edit: I would shy away from cutting it on the table saw. When you cut it length wise, it wants to curl in on itself, and I was running into it binding on my grinder blade as well. Unless you had something jammed into either end to keep it spread as you cut, you would just be asking for a 4” round bruise in your groin area

 

[Dirtdives2424]

I'm gonna try my table saw.........I don't have an angle grinder............I never needed one.........one of the few tools I don't have. I was thinking of using a 1/4" or 1/2" concave base molding attached to a 2x4 on either side of the table saw blade to act as a track to get my straight cut.

 

[FlyinPhil]

It’s been a hot minute since I posted here guys! Not a huge update, but I threw together a full video of the tripod construction, and I’ll be posting somewhat regular video updates in the future as well!

 

[Harri51]

He lives!!! He lives!! Happy to see you back and sharing this amazing build so far man. Can’t wait to see more.

 

[KGSupreme]

Just watched your vid, cutting a round shape with a skilsaw? YOU MADMAN

I'm sure it has been said before, but this is a great freaking idea. Really looking forward to the progress you continue to make on this.

 

[FlyinPhil]

Just watched your vid, cutting a round shape with a skilsaw? YOU MADMAN

I'm sure it has been said before, but this is a great freaking idea. Really looking forward to the progress you continue to make on this.

Thank you very much!
There was a LOT of head scratching after trying both the jig saw and mini band saw with less than stellar results. I think I also considered using my angle grinder with a flap wheel hahaha. Then the idea to just draw a boatload of tangent lines and cut them with the skil saw came to mind, which surprisingly worked quite well!

 

[KGSupreme]

I hear yah, made this Iron Lord axe a while back out of plywood, it was a pain in the butt trying to get all the angles right. Had to do incremental level cuts with a radial arm saw then chisel away the excess. Sometimes you just gotta do the best you can with what you have.

 

[FlyinPhil]

I hear yah, made this Iron Lord axe a while back out of plywood, it was a pain in the butt trying to get all the angles right. Had to do incremental level cuts with a radial arm saw then chisel away the excess. Sometimes you just gotta do the best you can with what you have.
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That’s intense haha, nice work!