Now that I have a new toy to play with (read: new band saw), I was able to make a much cleaner version of the pistol I made for the release. This one was a commission, and turned out really awesome! Made me kinda jealous.... Here's the progress pics. Steps taken were the same as the last one, just much cleaner and more even layers. I had to do things a tiny bid different on this one, but with the band saw not only did the three layers come out very evenly, all the cut lines were flush. On the first one, you can see a slope at the top when you look down the sight, but this one was nice and square. Go figure... lol As you can see, I then had to split it up into sections to cut out the opening in the middle. This also gave me access to thin the sides. I cut the top bit off first though since it still goes out pretty far. Once I had everything looking clean (despite a few small spots that were thankfully covered well by the final outside pieces), I cut the final pieces and assembled everything. I really need to start taking pictures with something other than my phone.... Here's a comparison shot before painting it, to show how much cleaner it looks than the previous one. Just so much smoother. The next ones I make I will probably invest in a thicker foam from Lowes or something so that the lines are non-existent, but we shall see! Now it's on to the details. I used the dremel before adding the lines this time, so that I had a better sense of where I wanted to etch everything in. Getting better with it, too, as all the areas I did were much smoother and cleaner this time. Just like before, though, I etched everything in with a wood burning tool to give it nice, crisp lines. At this point I was beside myself, because it was looking absolutely awesome. I couldn't wait to send it out. Still had some detailing to do, and paint, but man was it looking great! And here it is with all the final details added. Once again, I had learned from the last time I did it, so not only was it faster, but it looked cleaner and more even. A couple of spots were iffy, but they were in places that would be covered by the paint. Speaking of which, I tried something new this time for the paint process: Plasti Dip! They have a spray on and a paint on, and it is normally used to coat the ends of your tools and give it a better grip. In this case, I used it to see how the foam held up under it. Here's after the first coat: Really easy to work with, and dries fairly quickly. I ended up putting two coats on, then a bit of area touch up here and there. Here's the shot of it all dry: Very crisp, very clear edges. I officially give my stamp of approval for this stuff. I will admit, though, it was weird painting the acrylics onto it. With the first one, as it sinks into the foam a little, it was really easy to get the gunmetal effect. With this one, though, I will have to perfect my drybrushing technique. As you can see, the silver coat ended up being very clean, since about halfway through trying to do what I did with the other I just decided to paint it all regularly to get it done and dry in time to ship it. I also painted the tips orange, since it would be going to a convention. Then came the final decals, and it was complete! Here's a shot with the first one again: I still prefer the look of the silver on the first one, but overall I love how the second one turned out a lot better. Much more crisp, much cleaner, and overall a whole lot better. After that it was just box it and ship it! Got a response from Sarah, who commissioned it (via my Etsy store), which really made my day. Rough week with the move, was in a grumpy mood, but her email really cheered me up. She gave me permission to post it, so here it is so you can smile along with me: My name is Commander Shepard, and you are my favorite Weapons Fabricator on the Citadel. Thank you so much for making such a wonderful prop for me. I will be taking it to Comic Con this summer. I will leave you some feedback on Etsy as well. You did a great job! Sarah Thanks again, Sarah! You've made this up and coming prop maker very happy, and I can't wait to see your Comic Con pics. Now it's time for me to get moving on my Fallout armor again!
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So I haven't been able to get anything done the past week. No, it's not Mass Effect's fault - I've barely had a few hours to play it since I got it. I was even able to pop out and get ore glue and foam, and more sanding tubes for my dremel. Honestly, it's because things are no longer safe where I live and I have been doing everything I can to get myself and my wife out of here into another place.
I won't go into the details here, but things are downright insane for me at the moment. Luckily I have some *awesome* friends who are always there to help us, and it's no exception now, so we should be getting to a fairly stable position in the near future - as near as within the week if things go well. In other news, the release party for Mass Effect was awesome! Got praised up and down by an old friend of mine who I worked with at Game Crazy before it went belly up. I was the only one in costume, and it was totally epic. I did get pretty warm pretty fast, though, so I will have to see what I can adjust when I upgrade the suit to a proper one. If anyone reading this was at the Jordan Landing Gamestop and took a picture of me, please feel free to send me a copy and I will post it. In the heat of the awesome moment I forgot to tell my wife to take some of me there.... Oh well. It was a great experience none the less. There was also a local gaming blog editor there, who asked if he could feature me! I will post a link when I hear back from him (emailed my info over, just waiting now) so that you all can bask in the coolness! Anyway, enough of my chatter. I need to get back to figuring out our next move and, hopefully, playing more Mass Effect and getting the Fallout stuff done. |
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