Protowilson's Bits
ask-tentapyro Asks:
protowilson Said:
I use a neoprene diver’s hood to cover my neck while wearing the gas mask. The downside is that it’s yet another layer to wear so things get pretty sweaty!
With regards to the materials, this is going to depend on your prop making skill level and the range of tools you have, how much time and money you have or are willing to spend on the construction, as well as factoring how much potential crush-and-knock the props’ll get. We don’t travel anywhere interstate so our props aren’t deconstructable but they are pretty sturdy. And with sturdiness does come weight!
Looking at the Backscratcher and the Detonator, these are my prop-making partner’s thoughts:
In-progress comparison. Some minor inconsistencies, even between the in-game model and the exported wire-frame version, which consort is puzzling over.
Sanding the fireaxe handle.
3d printed bullet tips in progress.
Consort wants a working bolt assembly. I don’t clearly understand this bit personally so won’t attempt to explain it cos I’ll get it wrong!
And that’s all the photos for now. Work continues.
Two angles of the shaped main section. A lot of work with dremel and a bastard file.
1. This is the block that will form the cradle on which the barrel will rest.
2. The shaped cradle.
3. The bolt will help with stability and will thread through the barrel and into the scope.
4 and 5. Time to glue these pieces together so they can be shaped more finely. They’re clamped while they’re drying.
1. The two outer layers are pinned on.
2 3 and 4 show various angles of this assembly. Gaps and segments are where the trigger assembly and the rifle barrel will go.
4 and 5. Consort felt that the weight could be reduced by cutting out a chunk of the interior part of the assembly. The hole won’t be seen once the outer layers go back on.
So pinning has been useful to allow this alteration/improvement to the plan.
One of the crucial things when making a prop from several pieces of wood is consistent alignment of all those pieces whilst still retaining the ability to separate them. This is where pinning comes in as it helps hold everything together firmly, but not permanently.
1. Here’s a piece clamped. You can see the circles with crosses on them which is where the pins will need to go. The hair-dryer blows the sawdust away whilst the coping saw is being used.
2. Dremmelling the pin holes.
3. The pins. I posted some photos a day or so ago of consort cutting these.
4. Some pinned pieces. The two sections you see here will actually be sandwich between two more pieces - you’ll see in the next photoset.
5. Close up.
A couple of photos of consort working on the Sniper rifle. He’s dremelling some wire to use for holding pins to keep the various parts of wood together while they’re being worked on. The sparks made a cool photo op.