After a hiatus from Project: Space Ponies, we are back!  This week this are finally coming together and actually looking like something.

Above is the motor housing for what was a kid sized leaf blower.  The last time I talked about it back in Part 5, it was nowhere near ready.  Once the handle was removed, I had to lengthen the wires to have better access.  I then filled in the gap with a bit of perforated aluminum and then added blocks of plastic for filler.  Once the glue was set, I used the Dremel to file down the surface.  I added a second coat of glue to fill in all of the low points and sanded again.  It should be smooth enough that no no will be able to tell that there was a handle in that area.

For the other end of the leaf blower that will be visible on the exterior, I filled in holes where a second handle was, that would be the gray areas in the picture.  That was done with some more perorated material, Devcon, and JB Weld.  It was all sanded down and is ready to become a starship drive system!

After 3 months of holding off, I have attached the wings to the hull!  The wings were first mentioned in post #3 of the series, and this was a long time coming.  After sanding down all of the exterior and interior surfaces and preparing the tower section for the drive setup, I drilled some holes in the hull and attached the wings.  During the painting process the will be coming off so I can get behind them and make it easier to get the layers right.  But having them on at this stage it great.  You can almost see what the final design is going to look like.

There is still a ways to go before it is complete.  But I think I am definitely over half way there.  And with CONvergence 2012 less than two months away, I will have my work cut out for me to get it done before then.

Well, I guess it is back to the old grindstone….  Laters.

spock-variety-hour:

ussawesome:

BREAKING

new set photos LEAKED from the Star Trek set!!!!!!!!

i Knew it!

This week I am going to do something a little different, presenting the Osses Claw!

The Osses Claw lightsaber has been on display at the Jedi Archives for years after it was donated by an anonymous Jedi during the height of the Old Republic.  Legends surround the hilt, describing nearly impossible abilities it gives the user of the hilt, including heightened eyesight, smell and reflexes.  We at the archives do not fully believe in these tales, but perhaps there is something to these old stories.

Here is what we know.

Many years ago, a Jedi Knight was on a en-route to a planet where there were rumors of Sith activity when his ship malfunctioned and it crashed in the middle of a dense jungle on a world in the Outer Rim Territories.  He survived the crash, but the ship was severely damaged and the comm system was inoperable.  He survived in the jungle for weeks before he ran into some of the native sentient inhabitants who were defending their village from a large predator called the Osses.  The Jedi jumped into the fight and slew the beast saving the villagers.  During the battle his lightsaber was damaged, bitten in half in the monster’s ugly mouth.

As a way of thanks and a mark of bravery, the villagers gave the Knight one of the claws of the Osses beast.  The Knight took the claw back to his crashed ship along with the remains of his original hilt.  Using parts of the ship, he built a new hilt using the Osses claw as a shell.

The knight lived for many, many years on the jungle planet with the villagers he saved.  He died a very old man, happy and surrounded by friends.  When he died the hilt was put in a place of honor in the village and the Knight was buried next to a great tree.

Many years later, another Knight happened to be traveling through the same star system and felt a small disturbance in the Force.  He landed and walked up to the great tree.  He could feel the presence of the Knight within the tree, calling out.  The villagers appeared and took the newcomer back to the village when they saw the lightsaber at his hip.  They treated him like an honored guest with a huge feast that lasted for days.  They told tales, sang songs, and put on little plays detailing the key events of the Knight, especially the time he saved them from the Osses beast.  At the end of the feast, they presented the newcomer with their most sacred item, the Osses Claw.  They told the newcomer that before the Knight died, he told them to give the hilt to the next Jedi that came to the planet and to tell them everything that happened.

The newcomer took the hilt graciously and in return gave them his.  They were overjoyed at the generosity and placed the new one back in the special place.  When he left, he thought he heard a voice whisper, “Thank you”, right before he jumped into hyperspace.

The second Knight used the Osses Claw as his personal hilt for a number of years until he  handed it over to the Archives to insure it was properly preserved and the stories recorded for future generations.

The power cell and the power convertors are stored inside the bone sections while copper brackets are used to hold the segments together.  Native leather strips are used as a grip and to tie down some of the exterior components.  The focusing array at the end farthest from the claw is the emitter from the Jedi’s old saber.  The activator switch is the small pearl tucked away in the joint behind the emitter.  Covering the tassels are small beads popular with the natives, as we understand.  On the end of one is a very detailed carving of a head of an unknown creature, presumably from the planet.  On the other tassel is the tooth from another creature, possibly gathered after a battle.

It should be noted that there is some evidence that this hilt has undergone multiple changes over the years.  It appears there was an emitter guard and the leather was rewrapped many times.

[I built the Osses Claw a few years ago out of a fossil replica of a Utharaptor claw and bits of stuff I had lying around.  The copper was patinaed by placing the pieces in the same large box as our cat’s litter box for 2 months, the ammonia really did a great job aging it.  The copper pieces were cleaned and then screwed into place and painted over with clear paint to seal it.  The emitter was built from spindle piece of a VCR and the electric motor core from an old disk drive.  On the top is a large fuse I found and on the bottom area are some capacitors I found.

Everything is wrapped with wax coated leather strip pulled tight.  The beads and the shark tooth are standard beads found at most bead stores.  The black velociraptor head is actually a sample piece made on a 3D printer I was given by a coworkers a year before the project was started.

Overall it is a very lightweight hilt that wears nicely off of a belt.  I have worn it to many science fiction conventions over the years with many more on the horizon.]

Still not enough progress on Project: Space Ponies, so more customs!

This week, astromech droids.

R5-K38, left, is a special type of R5 unit.  On the outside he is a standard astromech, but he is set up for more for the type of people who like to tinker.  His systems are have been heavily upgraded over the years and he has multiple opening panels for easy access.  Even his head can be opened up to reveal his upgraded memory systems.  [R5-K38 was created using mainly POTF2 R5-D4, the one with the extra guns and the missile launcher.  After seeing a custom of this same model type online with a non-roating head, I thought I could do better.  So the head can now turn 360 degrees, the central leg is removable, and two panels (one front and one back) can open to reveal access ports.  The head can pop open to showoff bits of droid parts cobbled together from models I have for parts.  For a brain section I used a brake disc from a Lamborghini car model.  He was then given a nice coat of purple and yellow paint.]

The center droid is R5-G8.  He is a standard R5 unit and has a working datalink port who is used by the Rebel Alliance for code cracking.  [R5-G8 has the body of a POTF2 Datalink R2-D2 and the head from a  POTF2 R5-D4.  My original intent was to make “Gate” from the X-Wing Rouge Squad books, but I got the color all wrong.  So now he looks like a pumpkin!]

And then there is X2-D1030.  X2 was built by Jawas from a discarded astromech torso with a drink dispenser system for a head.  On the front is mounted a tray to carry drinks.  The idea was to sell X2 to a local rich person needing a serving droid.  But the unfortunate brown color and a tendency for the droid to mix up drinks meant it was eventually sold to a seedy bar near Mos Espa.  The current owner has upgraded it to have a mortar launcher and a set of blasters to protect the bar from Tuskan Raiders. [X2-D1030 was built out of the body of a POTF2 R5-D4 body with the head being a section of the Space Station Mir.  The serving tray is from a A-10 Warthog model kit with landing gear parts forming the braces.]

fuckyeahstartrektos:

This needs to be real.

(via spock-variety-hour)

This week I am going to spotlight more custom Star Wars action figures in place of Project: Space Ponies.

In the past week I was able to make a major step in Project: Space Ponies.  On the bow section I added bubble windows so the ponies can see where they are going.

The windows are made out of a Christmas plastic ornament shell used to make custom filled ornaments.  The size of the shell is big enough to work with the new deck section discussed in previous posts.  The bubbles are big enough that a pony can poke its nose in to look around.  It also let’s lots of light into the interior, brightening it up a lot. 

At the lower section of the hull there was some raised ocean detail with pink waves splashing around the hull and two dolphins on each side jumping into the air.  Well, I don’t know how many space dolphins there are, but they had to go.  Not shown here, but I sanded down all of the raised detail.  When the time comes, I will be adding some detailing of my own and did not want to be bound by the detail that was there.  It will need to be sanded down with a finer grit sandpaper to get all of the scratches smoothed down.

I hope by the next post I will have added another set of bubble windows towards the aft section.

Until next time!

edwardspoonhands:

tastefullyoffensive:

[via]

Well, Axe Body Spray was invented by the same company as Dove, which is all about the power of women’s self-image and health….sooooo….

Project: Space Ponies

This week will be a short one for Project: Space Ponies as not much has occurred, but important progress has happened.

I am working on getting the engine (built from the leaf blower discussed in part 6) wired up into the tower of the ship.  The plan is to have one of the buttons on the tower activate the engine sound effects and lights.  So, I had to first rip off the tower to figure out all of the electronic bits inside.

Above shows the hull with the tower removed and the hole in the back where the engine will reside eventually.

The wiring of the boat electronic are all contained within the tower section as is the batteries.  Once the tower was removed, I began experimenting with bending the circuit of the boat and the leaf blower.  The button I took over for the engine had an obnoxious beach sounds with dolphins and people laughing.  By disconnecting the wires, that sound will not play anymore.

In the above picture, the tower section is the big white thing on the left side.  The buttons are located on the far side and the circuit board and batteries are at the top.  The light blue piece is the disco ball assembly, which will be going back in when the time comes.  In front of the disco ball is the circuit board for the leaf blower and next to that is the motor for the leaf blower.

The circuit for the leaf blower took a little longer to bend than the ship’s board.  Normally, a small button has to be pressed before pressing a second button for the full sounds and light effects operate.  After about an hour working with the various connections, I figured out a way to make the sounds and lights work continuously, as long as the button on top is pushed.  Now that I know it works,  will have to find some way to hide the wires running from the tower to the aft section where the engine/ leaf blower will reside.  That will be another topic for another day.

TIE Excellion

Last fall before I got onto Tumblr I started working on another original custom starship design, the TIE Excellion.  

The idea behind the design is a luxury-style aircraft/ star fighter using the existing TIE fighter cockpit design.  As with the pony ship and the Krek, this will be a item I will but up for sale at CONvergence 2012.

The hull is mainly a Tron Three Man Light Jet from Tron: Legacy with a vintage Vader’s TIE Fighter cockpit.  I made sure during the construction that the Light Jet’s light up feature in the wings and the TIE fighter light and sound effects still operate.  The wing lights turn on when the button to fire the missile is pressed.  The TIE fighter light/ sound operates when the orange button is pressed.

Shown above is the Excellion all prepped for painting.  Shortly after taking this, I took it all out to the garage and gave it it’s first coat of primer on the top side of everything.

The big schtick with this ship is going to be the rear section.  In the Light Jet toy, there is a gunner turret in the aft section hidden by doors.  For my design I stripped out the guns (saving them for a future project) and instead I have built a hyperdrive unit.  For the time being the parts are stored in a drawer until the painting is complete.

Once fully installed, the doors can be closed to keep the smooth surfaces of the hull.  When landed, the doors can be opened to reveal the shiny metal structures.

The plan is to paint the hull a dark-ish gray and have red stripes on the wings.  With that color scheme, the copper and brass of the engine will really standout.

That is all for now.  I will be updating on both the Pony Ship and the Excellion as progress is made.  Thanks for reading.

This week in our series Project: Space Ponies, I am going to discuss the main drive system adaptations.  During the gathering parts phase, I came across a play leaf blower at a thrift shop.

It has everything I was looking for; lights, sounds and moving parts.  In the see-through dark gray section between the handles there is a spinning lightup thing when the trigger is pressed.  At the other end, behind the nozzle, is a chamber filled with little neon green styrofoam balls and a propellor.  When the trigger is pressed, the lightup spinner also spins the propellor, sending the little foam balls flying around and a great sound effect of a leaf blower is heard.

The one thing I had to do was take the Dremel to the handles, they were getting in the way and did not work with the aesthetic I was going for.  Sorry, I do not have pictures of the stuff, it happened before I had Tumblr.

With the handles removed, I fit up the parts with the hull portion and the wings to see how the entire lot looked together.  It might not look like much now, but I think once the drive is firmly attached and the paint goes on, it will work out.

To give some scale on this, the overall length is around 29” from bow to the end of the drive.  This will be the largest custom project I have ever worked on.

Here is a shot of the drive section and how it fits inside of the ship.  The electronic portion of the leaf blower will sit a little below the deck piece and behind the stairs.  I will probably put some control panel-type stuff in the hole where the back handle was.

Here is a better view of the interior.  The new deck section will be secured in place at some point and be supported by the stairs.  A part of the deck, about where the pony’s tail is, will be removed to allow access.  A hole will be cut into the back portion and the drive/ leaf blower will reassembled, making a secure connection.  I also have to rewire the drive to have it activate when a button on the outside stack is pressed.  The stack has a dolphin/ beach fun sound, a fog horn, and dance music.  The dolphin/ beach fun sound will be replaced with the drive sounds and lights.

More updates coming soon!

Next week is MarsCon 2012, http://marscon.org/, and in preparation of this I am going to post a custom vehicle I am going be placing in the Art Show.  MarsCon is held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN.  It is a small (~400 people) general sci-fi convention with a big focus on music.  Check out the website for more details.

And here it is, the Krek Heavy Speeder.

The Krek Heavy Speeder comes to you from Ubrikkian Industries.  The speeder holds two crew in a heavily armored cabin space, protected from harsh environments.  The Krek comes with two forward blaster cannons capable of rotating upwards 135 degrees.  The speeder is equipped with a standard repulsor system and three large drives to propel it 40 km/hr across the ground.  The speeder is robust enough to hold up to all environments, from arctic to desert conditions.  The one pictured was owned by a little, old gangster who used it to shake down small time criminals on Tatooine.  Think of the dirt and blaster scars as marks of history.

Below is the cabin area with plenty of room for two henchmen and their weapons.  The center console includes a holographic generator for patrol missions and communicating with the main base.  

A special feature of the Krek-series speeders is the hidden weapon pods on the port and starboard sides.  On this particular model, the port side has a pair of heavy blasters and on the starboard side is a dual grenade launcher.  It will surprise your enemies when they see the pods open and six barrels of flaming death are pointed right at them!

Act now!  Come to MarsCon 2012 on March 9th to the 11th for a chance to bid on the Krek Heavy Speeder.  Supplies are limited to one.  Buy it before someone else does!

Above is a picture that will be with the vehicle detailing some of the features, a la G.I. Joe vehicles from the ‘80’s.

The Krek shown in this post is actually the second one I have built.  The first one resides nice and snug in my personal collection.  Except for a few minor differences, they are virtually identical.

The body is built from a Batmobile from the newer Batman movies.  I stripped off the wheels and on the front put guns from a G.I. Joe Attack Cruiser. The grenade launcher is made from a electrical connector and the port blaster is also from the Attack Cruiser.  The extra engines are made from the Star Wars Episode 1 STAP model kit with the support structure from a Transformers Armada Skywarp lower legs.

On the underside I added four metal plates to give it faux landing gear.The plates are attached to the hull using steel wires.

The interior was completely gutted to get rid of the single oversized chair, the seat portion is still in place as part of the center console.  The new seats were carved out of the Attack Cruiser (use what you got!).  The center console is built from a CD player laser with watch stems serving as levers.  All around the inside I had to add panels and shiny things to break up the smooth surfaces.  The side windows were solid plastic, but I carefully carved out the area and glued in a couple pieces of clear plastic.

The original electronics of the toy still work, engine, headlights, engine noise, and gun noises.  The button to activate the weapon pods works, as implied by the pictures.  The pop up features for the pods have been disabled.

The entire vehicle is painted with spray paint and modeling paints.  It was hand weathered using a mixture of crushed quartz and house paint to give it that really used look.

The Krek can fit most Star Wars and/ or G.I. Joe figures.  This is meant for adult collectors and is not intended for the kiddies.

As promised in part 3 of the series a week ago, I will be discussing the stairway that will be inside of the ship.  We need stairs in the ship because how else is the crew going to go from one deck to the other?  

Below is a set of stairs found in a bag of other cute-type stuff from a thrift store.

These stairs have the right size of step to be believable for a ship full of ponies.  Unfortunately the stairs are a bit too short.  When the lower, rounded section is removed, the overall height is smaller that a standard pony.  So, I figured I could fix that, I have lots of plastic!

I laid out a stair extension with cardboard to make sure it would work.

It works out for size, a bit bigger than a pony, which will allow for ponies to fit nicely on the lower deck.

I cut the side pieces out of the 3/16” ABS and worked on figuring out the runners an risers.  Unfortunately, I miscut the two pieces, causing the entire assembly to be lopsided.  In the picture abuve, I am trying to figure out where the issue is coming from and how to fix it.  I ended up trimming off the mismatched sections to even everything out.  Using a set of measurements for the riser and runners, I cut out those bits and glued the ABS sections to the existing stairs.

All was well, the glue had dried and the assembly was straight.  During the sanding process it took a turn when I realized the material of the stairs did not bond with the adhesive.  I attacked this challenge by adding a bracer plate to the new stairs section and then screwing the two pieces together.

Well, here is the final product.  It looks a little odd, I admit, but with a coat of paint and detailing I think it will work.

Oh, behind the stairs is what will be the stardrive for Project: Space Ponies.  But that will be an update for another time.