Victory is Mine!

Last month I sat down and wrote out a tutorial article describing the construction of the Space Marine costumes on Instructables.com and entered it in their "Make it Real" challenge. 

You can read the whole tutorial HERE.

The contest guidelines: take something that started out as something on the computer (a 3D model, CAD drawing, or even a Photoshop sketch) and make it into a tangible, real-life something. I figured the Space Marine project really fit the bill. It turns out the contest judges agreed with me and I was selected to win their grand prize:  

I'll admit that I was more than a bit surprised.

The prize in question is a very impressive 3D printer.  This is a device that will take a 3D object file from the computer and actually build it out of seven different materials in real life.

So now I'm dreaming up all sorts of frivolous uses for it. First I'll be printing 3D models of my own head in various sizes to replace the heads on action figures to match costumes I've built. Then I'll need an MRI so I can get a 3D model of my own skull to print out and set on the shelf. I think my skull would make a great bookend.  I may also make a mold of it so I can cast copies in flexible foam.  Then I can throw my skull at passers-by without harming them.

Somewhere along the way I'll be doing more practical things with this new toy as well.  Any suggestions?  Feel free to leave them in the comments.

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Build Part 6: Hands

When last I posted about this project, I covered the making of the helmets.  The next vital part of the build was the hands.  Since I was turning a group of under-six-foot guys into a squad of over-seven-foot warrior demigods, I had to add a bit of length to their arms in order to avoid this look:



For full details on how I made the hands, read on...

Please Take a Moment to Vote on the Space Marine Build at Instructables.com

Dear readers,

I've entered my Space Marine build in the "Make it Real" Challenge at instructables.com and I could use your votes to help me win the contest.  Please go to my tutorial, by clicking HERE!

Once you're there, click on the "vote" button beneath the questions "is this a winner?"

  I do still intend to write the rest of the series of detailed articles here in my blog explaining many of the steps with even more pictures, so stay tuned. Eventually I'll catch up on the whole narrative.

Thanks for your support,

-Shawn

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Build Part 5: Helmets

Back in ancient history, I built some 40K helmets:

In order to have the kind of variety I wanted for my full-sized Space Marine build, I needed to make one more, the Mark VII version seen in the latest incarnation of the games.

Here's the finished product:


For details of how it was made (and more pictures) read on...

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Build Part 4: the Rubber Bits

The Devil is in the details.

Someone else building this armor costume might be satisfied to just insert some black fabric around the joints and call it good enough.  I am not someone else.  I'm someone who has to be able to say it was done and done well.

It needed the spaces between the armor parts to show an "undersuit" that looked ribbed and heavy while still being flexible and inexpensive.  This was a job for slipcast latex.

If you'd like to see pictures and an in-depth description of the latex slipcasting process, read on...

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marines Part 3: Boots

When last I wrote about this project, I had a fully-assembled backpack.  Working on the other end of things, it was time to make some boots.

Here's one of them:


For assembly details and a quick video of them in action (with my new, huge legs) read on...

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Build Part 2: the Backpack

Continuing on with the saga of the Space Marine build, one of the more distinguishing parts of the character is the giant backpack.  Per the in-game mythology, the backpack contains the suit's main power source, some life support systems, and a series of thrusters for mobility in zero-gravity environments.

Here's a crappy, grainy picture of one of the backpacks for the miniatures:

Here's the fully assembled, full-sized version:


For more pics and a detailed account of the construction, read on...

Project 7332: the 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire

The verdict is in and I will be returning to the Bay Area Maker Faire again this year. 

My display last year was well received.  I was awarded not one, but two Editor's Choice ribbons:

Since I've still got more grenades that need ribbons, this year I feel compelled to make things bigger and better.  I don't want to become known as "the Halo guy," so I'll be deploying more assorted characters than just the Halo costumes I brought last year.  Some of them will be bigger.

Much bigger.

In addition to having my costume and prop display where I'll be on hand to answer questions and describe the build processes, I'm also going to have a couple of folks at a separate booth selling some of my Combat Garden Gnomes.  Gearing up for that is becoming quite the project:

If you're looking to see an event that blends the best parts of a science fair, an art festival, and some serious show-and-tell, make sure you head out to the San Mateo Event Center on the weekend of May 19th and 20th.  You can get advance tickets here: http://makerfairebayarea.eventbrite.com/


Now I just have to dust off the display booth, make some much-needed upgrades, finish building a few more suits, paint up some more props, and figure out all the logistics involved in getting everything on station.

The countdown on the website tells me I've got only 25 more days to get ready, so expect updates to get more and more sporadic (and possibly a bit loopy) as my deadline approaches and I start running really low on sleep.

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marines: Part 1

I've been a fan of Warhammer 40K since the original Rogue Trader version came out 25 years ago.  In middle school I even got a job at a local hobby store specifically so I could afford to buy more Space Marine miniatures from the game.  Now that I've got a few skills and a respectable workshop, I've been slowly bringing parts of the game to life in between paying projects.

Years ago I sculpted out a Space Marine helmet. It was the first time I'd sculpted a helmet by hand and I made a mold so I could make more than one.  I also modded one with a skull face to look the part of the Space Marine Chaplains.  Here's a shot showing the finished ones as of sometime in May of 2011:

A while back I wrote an entry about building the bolter rifle I made to go with them:

That was years ago though.  Since then, the good people at Games Workshop have released several new video games based on the Warhammer 40k universe and each one has reminded me how much I love everything about it.  After making a handful of little parts, and some prompting from my friend Matt (a.k.a. my primary project addiction enabler), I decided to take another look at building the rest of the Space Marine armor.

Notionally, we were going to crank this out as a Halloween costume for 2011.  Sadly, this project fell victim to Squid's Law.  According to David Malki of Wondermark.com, Squid’s Law states: “Things take twice as long as you expect, three times as long as you have, and four times as long as you want.” So it didn't end up getting done in time for Halloween, but there's a Halloween every year, so we just soldiered on.

Since I'm in between major projects right now, I'm finally able to focus on this build.  The problem is, working on just this one thing means I don't have any other finished work to show off.  So I'm going to break this build down into parts to share progress as it's coming along.

Here's a photo of the costume as it looks right now:

 

If you'd like to read through the gritty details and see tons of blurry progress pictures, read on.