Smokerster2193
New Member
Very nice man!!!!! U got talent!!!
Props ventrue's MA37 Assault Rifle (WIP)
- Thread starter ventrue
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Progress: None. Skipping right ahead to reply time!
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I'm afraid I have no idea what a Spartan Laser is... never played any Halo part that contains it
Thanks! Let's hope that the result looks good, too ;-)
Well, the smart thing to do is use long maccaroni and pull some glue-dipped wire through the middle. That's going to win the stability contest for sure
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I'm afraid I have no idea what a Spartan Laser is... never played any Halo part that contains it
Thanks! Let's hope that the result looks good, too ;-)
Well, the smart thing to do is use long maccaroni and pull some glue-dipped wire through the middle. That's going to win the stability contest for sure
wiyumishere
Member
That is amazing! I never even thought of using balsa wood as the frame of a weapon! Amazing work so far, I will definitely have to try making a small gun like the one you're making out of balsa and then glassing it! sweet build so far.
I have been working on a different (and secret) project, that's why I haven't posted anything here. The definitive deadline for it is next week, and after that I hope I'll have a bit more time for the rifle again. But...
Progress: ...I did get something done. Namely, I decided to go with an Arduino instead of a PIC, because my PC doesn't have the serial port neccesary to program the latter.
Using the Arduino, I've put together part the rifle's electronics and it's actually working, which is definitely a first. So far, the thing can read inputs from three buttons (for trigger, bolt and magazine) and keep track of the rounds that are currently in the weapon. It differentiates between rounds in the magazine and the chamber, so firing with an empty chamber is impossible and the user has to manually operate the bolt whenever it would be neccessary on a real rifle as well. As far as I know, they didn't implement it like this in the game, but I'm willing to deviate from the reference here, because I think that makes it a more realistic and thus better prop.
Picture: Breadboard and Arduino with a lot of crazy wiring. I'd love to do a video of this in action, but the video quality of my phone camera is too bad, I'm afraid.
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It's not Balsa, it's Lime and Pine. Lime by choice, and Pine because the shop didn't have enough of it...
Balsa is the third type of wood they carry for making models, but it's really flimsy. You'd probably need a lot of braces to prevent a large model like this from deforming (with these 3 mm square slats, anyways). Since I don't need the model to be light (on the contrary), which is where Balsa would excel, Lime seems to be the best compromise here.
Progress: ...I did get something done. Namely, I decided to go with an Arduino instead of a PIC, because my PC doesn't have the serial port neccesary to program the latter.
Using the Arduino, I've put together part the rifle's electronics and it's actually working, which is definitely a first. So far, the thing can read inputs from three buttons (for trigger, bolt and magazine) and keep track of the rounds that are currently in the weapon. It differentiates between rounds in the magazine and the chamber, so firing with an empty chamber is impossible and the user has to manually operate the bolt whenever it would be neccessary on a real rifle as well. As far as I know, they didn't implement it like this in the game, but I'm willing to deviate from the reference here, because I think that makes it a more realistic and thus better prop.
Picture: Breadboard and Arduino with a lot of crazy wiring. I'd love to do a video of this in action, but the video quality of my phone camera is too bad, I'm afraid.
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It's not Balsa, it's Lime and Pine. Lime by choice, and Pine because the shop didn't have enough of it...
Balsa is the third type of wood they carry for making models, but it's really flimsy. You'd probably need a lot of braces to prevent a large model like this from deforming (with these 3 mm square slats, anyways). Since I don't need the model to be light (on the contrary), which is where Balsa would excel, Lime seems to be the best compromise here.
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thatdecade
Well-Known Member
Arduino build looks good. May I suggest using a magnetic reed switch for the magazine input? It is what I use on my MA5C and it never fails.
You won't find a NC reed switch, but you can find SPDT that has both NO and NC outputs. Combine that with a neo magnet glued to the clip. voilà... a reliable input switch that closes when the clip is removed.
You won't find a NC reed switch, but you can find SPDT that has both NO and NC outputs. Combine that with a neo magnet glued to the clip. voilà... a reliable input switch that closes when the clip is removed.
Thanks
A reed switch is exactly what I had in mind for the magazine. I don't need a NC one though, because I wired that third button up the other way around. The mag pin is high by default and pressing the button takes it low, so you actually remove the magazine by pressing it. Makes no sense on the breadboard, of course - I just didn't have any other switches that would fit on the board.
Although.. maybe I'll put a little Arduino into each mag as well. To keep track of which ones are empty. I'll have to think about that.
But please feel free to suggest anything else that comes to your mind, suggestions are always welcome
Progress: About halfway done with the grip.
Other news: I've spent some time thinking about how to throw out an empty shell after each shot for some added realism, but after an hour or two of brainstorming and looking at modelmaking catalogues I've had to trash that whole concept for the most trivial of reasons: To throw out a round, you have to get it in there first - and apparently the specialists at Bungie didn't realise that the cartridge is a lot larger than just the bullet. That means, you may be able to squeeze 31 bullets into the magazine, but definitely not 31 cartridges.
Pictures: The usual. I also GIMPed together a reference shot and one of the progress pics at the end, just for fun. Looks pretty cool, right?
Other news: I've spent some time thinking about how to throw out an empty shell after each shot for some added realism, but after an hour or two of brainstorming and looking at modelmaking catalogues I've had to trash that whole concept for the most trivial of reasons: To throw out a round, you have to get it in there first - and apparently the specialists at Bungie didn't realise that the cartridge is a lot larger than just the bullet. That means, you may be able to squeeze 31 bullets into the magazine, but definitely not 31 cartridges.
Pictures: The usual. I also GIMPed together a reference shot and one of the progress pics at the end, just for fun. Looks pretty cool, right?
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Spartan 279
Jr Member
Hot Damn!!!! What did you use for the ammo counter and where are you going to fit it. ANd whats its power source
DUDE!!!! that is pretty sweet man! amazing skill to do that! great job and can't wait to see more!
Thanks. But it isn't that difficult actually ;-)
Not sure what you mean exactly by "what I used". The short answer is: I made it myself, so it's not a kit you can buy somewhere. The longer version is:
The blue thingy on the right is an Arduino Uno, which is basically an Atmel ATmega328 microcontroller on a development board that some people were nice enough to make noob-friendly for the general public, so that even creative types can use it to build blinking dresses and stuff like that.
The thing on the left is a test circuit on a breadboard to make sure my program works. I'll make some changes before soldering it together and putting it into the model. Most notably I want to replace the display with edge-lit plastic sheets, if I can make that work.
The power source right now is my USB port, and the rifle will have batteries.
The main circuit will probably go into the grip and everything related to the display into the display assembly on top. Placement of the recoil thingy and the batteries depends a bit on the size and weight of these parts an on a few other thoughts I have. The batteries also need to be replaceable on the way, but I can't put them into the hand guard, because I have other plans for that. All the other parts (LEDs, flashlight, sensors, etc.) are relatively small and will surely find a place somewhere.
runcornstuntman
Member
there are a couple of weapon builds with balsa wood used, infact a dmr was done just recently. just thought id mention it
Do you have a link to that project? I'd be interested to see it, because I'm not aware of anybody else using this skeletal technique. All the wooden rifles I know of are made from solid wood.
Progress: My electromagnets have arrived before Christmas, so I took some time to just hook them up and see what they can do - and I have to say, I had expected a lot more. They are great at holding onto metal or each other, but for some mysterious reason, repulsion between them is practically nonexistent. They also get pretty hot (too hot to touch, in fact) and that alone would disqualify them as well. So, long story short: I can't use them.
The best alternatives I see are either a "real" solenoid with a movable metal core or a servo (or real motor). Since I'd have to build the solenoid myself, I am leaning towards the servo, because that would require only off-the-shelf parts. The downside of using a servo is the myriad of problems that come with it: Sound, speed, power output, mechanics, price. Especially the noise is bugging me, does anybody know a line of servos that is silent?
Other news: I had already used some reference shots from Juliet76, and just in time for Christmas, he was kind enough to provide me with blueprints in a 1:2.5 scale as well, which is totally awesome. Thank you very much
Pictures: I didn't bother to take shots of the magnets, but here's a pic of Juliet76's blueprints hanging on my wall. Enjoy!
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Thanks
Going with the Arduino was definitely one of the smartest decisions for this project so far. I cannot stress enough how easy it is to get this thing to do what you want!
The best alternatives I see are either a "real" solenoid with a movable metal core or a servo (or real motor). Since I'd have to build the solenoid myself, I am leaning towards the servo, because that would require only off-the-shelf parts. The downside of using a servo is the myriad of problems that come with it: Sound, speed, power output, mechanics, price. Especially the noise is bugging me, does anybody know a line of servos that is silent?
Other news: I had already used some reference shots from Juliet76, and just in time for Christmas, he was kind enough to provide me with blueprints in a 1:2.5 scale as well, which is totally awesome. Thank you very much
Pictures: I didn't bother to take shots of the magnets, but here's a pic of Juliet76's blueprints hanging on my wall. Enjoy!
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Thanks
Going with the Arduino was definitely one of the smartest decisions for this project so far. I cannot stress enough how easy it is to get this thing to do what you want!
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Thanks alot Ventrue,
Came over looking at your stuff (love it!) and saw this ARDUINO chatter.... and I thought to myself... what the heck is that? Spent 2 hours on youtube looking at all the ARDUINO projects and found myself on Maker Shed. I ordered two fun projects to get me started (cause I am not a electronics guy)... but this stuff looks really interesting!
So thanks man!
Cujo3131
Came over looking at your stuff (love it!) and saw this ARDUINO chatter.... and I thought to myself... what the heck is that? Spent 2 hours on youtube looking at all the ARDUINO projects and found myself on Maker Shed. I ordered two fun projects to get me started (cause I am not a electronics guy)... but this stuff looks really interesting!
So thanks man!
Cujo3131
Progress: Got myself a servo for testing. It's small, cheap but one of the faster models. It's still a little slow for this purpose, but it might actually suffice with some fine tuning. We'll see. Once I have the recoil simulation done, I can finally build the back of the gun in a way that fits around it.
Pictures: Breadboard and servo.
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You're welcome
No, it really isn't. Just try it
Pictures: Breadboard and servo.
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You're welcome
No, it really isn't. Just try it
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hellphoenix36
Member
that looks amazingly awesome. Can't wait to see how this turns out
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