Post by superflytnt on Dec 11, 2007 10:32:42 GMT -5
I have my second Sentinel figure ready to go for build, and this time I felt it would be interesting (if nothing else) to show the steps that I've gone through to make this.
THIS is the original (I stole the photo from Ebay) that I am starting with.
First, I took an Omega Sentinel Mega and removed the base. This is a difficult task as the base has large (1/4") pegs and so a hacksaw is recommended. After he was off I cleaned up the area with a razor knife.
Next, I cut the revolver arm off at the joint in the shoulder leaving the grey portion of the upright for something to grab onto later for mounting.
Third, I made 2 straight cuts on the front of the "Claw" made of blue and orange soft rubberized plastic - this peels right off once a slit is made from front to back.
Next, I made a 2" long strip of Sculpey and put it where the "claw" used to be. Once it was formed I simply added a hand on top of it. When the hand was formed the way I wanted it (rough), I made 2 cuts in the wrist, all the way through, and removed the 2 seperated pieces of the hand. Then - to the bake! 275F for 25 minutes.
Fifth, I took tin foil and wrapped up the gun body on the revolver. This was done by getting a 1-1/2" long strip of foil (shiny UP) and wrapping it lengthwise across the whole gun, then pressing down hard to form it into the nooks/crannies. The reason for this is explained later.
Next, I took Sculpey and smooshed it over the foil. After a bit of shaping, I made the 'glove' shape with a relieved area for a stripe to match the other arm's look. Once the shape was good, I slit two lines from front to back through the Sculpey and the foil. Here's the SLICK part....
I knew that if I tried to get the sculpey off the arm that it would deform and get all messed up. SO.......I froze it! I put the whole assembly in the freezer for an hour and it popped off perfectly. Again, right into the oven for 30 minutes at 275F and the foil actually helped it retain the correct shape.
Now I had to do some gluing. First I glued on the hand, and filled in the gaps with the epoxy. I used 2500psi/shear 5-Min Epoxy from Devcon. This will hold it! After 20 minutes of curing, I did the same deal with the two glove sides. They fit like...well...a glove! So I wrapped the whole deal with some paper towel and cranked down on it so that it would be a tight seal. After another 20 minutes I went ahead and removed the towel - the fit was perfect.
Next, I sanded the living heck out of the whole thing. Fingers to the back of the glove, sanding. Sanding like mad! Then I noticed that there were some good-sized cracks and bits that were scraped off, so I backfilled them with some milliput Epoxy Putty (thanks again, Dvandom!) which worked like a charm (see the brown spots below in the wrist). Finally, I mixed up a batch of that 5-minute Epoxy and painted it on (stole a cheap brush from my kid) all over the assembly to give it some better strength and resilience.
Next, off comes the original glove/capture device, removed with a hacksaw. Sanded the edge for a smooth place to hang the gun from.
Now I sized the arm and carved out (with a razor) the areas to make a good tight fit. Without even glue or a pin this stays put! I will be pinning the arm in then backfilling with Milliput, and forming a pseudo-elbow joint. At this point I have no plans to actuate the elbow.
Update 12/11 5:30p
I just finished assembling the arm and pinning it in place. I also wanted to sculpt a little bit, and fill the hole that was made by cutting off the forearm from the Sentinel. Once the putty was hard, I epoxied the whole thing so I could polish it all to match the 'texture' of the Sentinel's existing parts. See how it turned out (rough):
From side:
From above fingers:
From rear - there was a gaping hole there under (above) the trigger wheel:
UPDATE 12/12 8:30p
Well, sometimes I hate Malform. He is SOOO smart that he's dangerous. As you might have read below, he gave me the idea to go ahead and extend the shooter, then make an elbow. Well, easier said than done!
So, First I hacksawed the trigger wheel in half, close to the gun itself.
I then realized that the shank is too large to fit inside of the plastic tube I had planned to use, so I dremeled it down a bit, keeping it MOSTLY circular, and shaved a little more clearance around the mech itself so I don't inadvertantly epoxy the whole thing into a anchor. I also realized that the tube is so smooth that it may break loose on firing, completely ending the reign of the Sentinel. So, I decided to pin it. The major problem with acrylic is that it is incredibly brittle. So, drilling and pinning it is out. Instead, I slotted both the trigger shank and the tube, and made a pin to fit it.
Notice the slot...?
I then mixed up a batch of epoxy, filled the screw cavity for a seat, and then placed the pin (EVER SO CAREFULLY) using the tube as a guide to make sure it would all fit afterward:
So, after that dried, I GINGERLY added the new shaft:
Note that after it had gummed up a bit and was less likely to move I put a large gob of epoxy on the end of the rod (see 4 pictures up) and slid that down the tube to make contact with the top of the pinned shank. This forms a great, tight seal and adds a little more strength.
I let that set for 20 minutes, and it is good to go. 24 hours full cure, but 5 minutes to set to a nice hard substance.
Next, I masked off the area with tinfoil.
This, again, is so the Sculpey doesn't stick to anything. ESPECIALLY the epoxy, in case there's a wet spot.
Now I rolled up some different sized sculpey-snakes by making a ball and rolling it out on the table. I cut some lengths, and formed the elbow. Smoothed it out with my finger, and voila! Here's the elbow:
and from the side to show the profile:
Finally, before I can bake out the elbow, I need to remove it. Now remember what I said before - this Sculpey is REALLY soft. So, into the freezer Mr. Sentinel goes, right next to my good old buddy, Mr. Daniels. Note that there is no finer Kentucky cuisine than Whiskey N' Waffles:
THIS is the original (I stole the photo from Ebay) that I am starting with.
First, I took an Omega Sentinel Mega and removed the base. This is a difficult task as the base has large (1/4") pegs and so a hacksaw is recommended. After he was off I cleaned up the area with a razor knife.
Next, I cut the revolver arm off at the joint in the shoulder leaving the grey portion of the upright for something to grab onto later for mounting.
Third, I made 2 straight cuts on the front of the "Claw" made of blue and orange soft rubberized plastic - this peels right off once a slit is made from front to back.
Next, I made a 2" long strip of Sculpey and put it where the "claw" used to be. Once it was formed I simply added a hand on top of it. When the hand was formed the way I wanted it (rough), I made 2 cuts in the wrist, all the way through, and removed the 2 seperated pieces of the hand. Then - to the bake! 275F for 25 minutes.
Fifth, I took tin foil and wrapped up the gun body on the revolver. This was done by getting a 1-1/2" long strip of foil (shiny UP) and wrapping it lengthwise across the whole gun, then pressing down hard to form it into the nooks/crannies. The reason for this is explained later.
Next, I took Sculpey and smooshed it over the foil. After a bit of shaping, I made the 'glove' shape with a relieved area for a stripe to match the other arm's look. Once the shape was good, I slit two lines from front to back through the Sculpey and the foil. Here's the SLICK part....
I knew that if I tried to get the sculpey off the arm that it would deform and get all messed up. SO.......I froze it! I put the whole assembly in the freezer for an hour and it popped off perfectly. Again, right into the oven for 30 minutes at 275F and the foil actually helped it retain the correct shape.
Now I had to do some gluing. First I glued on the hand, and filled in the gaps with the epoxy. I used 2500psi/shear 5-Min Epoxy from Devcon. This will hold it! After 20 minutes of curing, I did the same deal with the two glove sides. They fit like...well...a glove! So I wrapped the whole deal with some paper towel and cranked down on it so that it would be a tight seal. After another 20 minutes I went ahead and removed the towel - the fit was perfect.
Next, I sanded the living heck out of the whole thing. Fingers to the back of the glove, sanding. Sanding like mad! Then I noticed that there were some good-sized cracks and bits that were scraped off, so I backfilled them with some milliput Epoxy Putty (thanks again, Dvandom!) which worked like a charm (see the brown spots below in the wrist). Finally, I mixed up a batch of that 5-minute Epoxy and painted it on (stole a cheap brush from my kid) all over the assembly to give it some better strength and resilience.
Next, off comes the original glove/capture device, removed with a hacksaw. Sanded the edge for a smooth place to hang the gun from.
Now I sized the arm and carved out (with a razor) the areas to make a good tight fit. Without even glue or a pin this stays put! I will be pinning the arm in then backfilling with Milliput, and forming a pseudo-elbow joint. At this point I have no plans to actuate the elbow.
Update 12/11 5:30p
I just finished assembling the arm and pinning it in place. I also wanted to sculpt a little bit, and fill the hole that was made by cutting off the forearm from the Sentinel. Once the putty was hard, I epoxied the whole thing so I could polish it all to match the 'texture' of the Sentinel's existing parts. See how it turned out (rough):
From side:
From above fingers:
From rear - there was a gaping hole there under (above) the trigger wheel:
UPDATE 12/12 8:30p
Well, sometimes I hate Malform. He is SOOO smart that he's dangerous. As you might have read below, he gave me the idea to go ahead and extend the shooter, then make an elbow. Well, easier said than done!
So, First I hacksawed the trigger wheel in half, close to the gun itself.
I then realized that the shank is too large to fit inside of the plastic tube I had planned to use, so I dremeled it down a bit, keeping it MOSTLY circular, and shaved a little more clearance around the mech itself so I don't inadvertantly epoxy the whole thing into a anchor. I also realized that the tube is so smooth that it may break loose on firing, completely ending the reign of the Sentinel. So, I decided to pin it. The major problem with acrylic is that it is incredibly brittle. So, drilling and pinning it is out. Instead, I slotted both the trigger shank and the tube, and made a pin to fit it.
Notice the slot...?
I then mixed up a batch of epoxy, filled the screw cavity for a seat, and then placed the pin (EVER SO CAREFULLY) using the tube as a guide to make sure it would all fit afterward:
So, after that dried, I GINGERLY added the new shaft:
Note that after it had gummed up a bit and was less likely to move I put a large gob of epoxy on the end of the rod (see 4 pictures up) and slid that down the tube to make contact with the top of the pinned shank. This forms a great, tight seal and adds a little more strength.
I let that set for 20 minutes, and it is good to go. 24 hours full cure, but 5 minutes to set to a nice hard substance.
Next, I masked off the area with tinfoil.
This, again, is so the Sculpey doesn't stick to anything. ESPECIALLY the epoxy, in case there's a wet spot.
Now I rolled up some different sized sculpey-snakes by making a ball and rolling it out on the table. I cut some lengths, and formed the elbow. Smoothed it out with my finger, and voila! Here's the elbow:
and from the side to show the profile:
Finally, before I can bake out the elbow, I need to remove it. Now remember what I said before - this Sculpey is REALLY soft. So, into the freezer Mr. Sentinel goes, right next to my good old buddy, Mr. Daniels. Note that there is no finer Kentucky cuisine than Whiskey N' Waffles: