Space Wolf: a New Twist on my Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Costumes

A few years back, I made a bit of a splash in certain corners of the internet when I made a handful of Space Marine costumes based on the Dark Angels Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes.  I've always been a big fan of the Warhammer 40K universe and the Dark Angels have a very striking, gloomy, look and feel that offered up a lot of interesting opportunities for custom details.

They were pretty cool, but there's also 999 other chapters of Space Marines to choose from.  So the next challenge was to make another set of armor from my molds and dress it up in the iconography of a completely different chapter.

The result: a Space Wolf!

While the Dark Angels tend to look like they're covered in relics handed down from the Catholic church, Space Wolves are the aesthetic descendants of Vikings.  Their Codex offers up a rich tapestry of bits and pieces to add to the standard armor and I'm really happy with the finished project:


For more details on this build, read more...

This Year's Reading List

2016 has been a big year.  While I've been all over the place, doing all of the things, I've still managed to carve out a few minutes there and here to do a tiny bit of reading.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a few titles, but here's a big chunk of the books I've managed to consume in the past year.

Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard I picked this one up because I had vague memories of the Steven Spielberg film (and Batman's screen debut) when I was a kid.  The movie, sadly, was much better.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert This was a fascinating read.  If you've ever wanted more details about the profound impact humanity is currently having on our own ecosystem and the other creatures we share it with, give this one a read.

The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Phil Szostak, Lucas Film Ltd. a neat look into the creative evolution that developed into the characters and creatures that were finally brought to life on screen.  The biggest challenge for me was looking through all of these great concepts and resisting the urge to add even more to my ever-growing list of projects to build.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie “KonMari” Kondo A fascinating book that has reminded me that I really need to sort my junk and get rid of much of it.

Thor Vol. 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman Someone told me that Thor turned into a woman, so I had to check it out.  Turns out they didn't have the story quite right, but it still makes for a good read nonetheless. 

Thor Vol. 2: Who Holds the Hammer? The sequel to Goddes of Thunder.  Because I got hooked on a graphic novel for the first time in a decade and had to find out what happens next.  Soon I'll get a chance to check out the next one.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Awesome.  Typical of Heinlein's work, this tome goes into great detail about the intrigues and intricacies involved in a political revolution and insurrection in a post-digital age.

Aftermath: Star Wars by Chuck Wendig I picked this one up after reading about all of the controversy it caused in the Star Wars fan community.  I'd made it a point to wait on reading it until after I'd seen Episode VII.  It was entertaining, but not exactly profound.

The Art of Fallout 4 Hardcover by Bethesda Softworks  I've always liked the aesthetic of the Fallout game universe.  Paging through this massive collection of concept art did me no end of bad.  Now I have a huge project wishlist.  Stay tuned for more details on that front.

Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville I'm lying about this one.  I bought it.  I set it on my "to-read" stack, and I haven't opened it yet.

Make: Fire: The Art and Science of Working with Propane by Tim Deagan This is relevant to my interestes.  I read it.  It now sits in a safe corner of my workshop.  2017 will see me making fire.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi Follows a handful of fascinating characters in a future world where genetically modified crops, animals, and laborers are the norm and famine is an ever-present concern.

How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction by Beth Shapiro A look into the scientific, moral, and legal ramifications of bringing extinct animals back to life.  Worth reading, but sadly there will be no dinosaurs anytime soon.

Kama Pootra: 52 Mind-Blowing Ways to Poop by Daniel Cole Young This was a Christmas present from my niece.  I wouldn't exactly call it a practical guide, but it's chuckleworthy.

I'm sure there's more reading I actually managed to squeeze in, but these are the titles that stood out in my mind here, now, at the end of the year.

Flametrooper Project: Prototyping and Molding the Armor

A little over a year ago, I got really excited about the flamethower trooper from Star Wars Episode VII. 

So I made me some helmets:


You can read about that build here: LINK.

The only problem at this stage is that I'm an overgrown child who has no impulse control. 

But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career.  Skills that a wiser man would put to use turning a profit and that'd be the end of it.

But not me.  Because I started on this silly project, I will continue.  I will finish it or it will haunt me for all of my days.

To see what happened next, read on...

NOW SHIPPING...

There's probably a handful of you out in the world thinking to yourself, "Self, remember back when Shawn Thorsson used to blog all the time.  That was neat.  I wonder what happened to that guy."

Well, I'll tell you.

I wrote a book, gaddamnit!!

It looks like this:


So if you've been missing my postings, you can get all caught up on snark and how-to's when you order yourself a copy here: LINK

Supplies are running out, so don't delay!

Now I can bet back to catching up on bloggage.  So if you've been wanting to see me finish writing about the Death Watch, Captain Phasma, and even the Ironman costume project that I never finished writing about, stay tuned...

August 2016 UFO Sightings in the Workshop

I've just finished wrapping up a couple or three major projects and I've been cleaning up and reorganizing the workshop bit by bit.  As usual, along the way I find all manner of works-in-progress that have been getting me excited about making even more stuff.  So here's just a few of the UnFinished Objects floating around lately...

The next big thing I'll be working on is the T-60 Power Armor from Fallout 4.  I've mostly been tinkering with the digital side of the build, but here's a really rough start on the helmet prototype:


I've also decided to make some much-needed improvements to the workshop itself.  This includes putting in a proper stud wall with insulation and everything along one side:

Once I get the siding on, it'll be like a whole new building.

On the subject of smaller projects, I've got a good start on this little leg:


That's the beginning of a mouser bot from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Because I need one.

In other news, progress continues on the Star Wars Episode VII Flametrooper:


I'll have parts that are wearable soon, but for now the prototoypes still look cool:


I've also pulled a set of white parts out of my Episode VII stormtrooper molds:

I still need to mold the ankles, then I'll have that full set of armor.

Finally, just to make sure I don't just burn out on Star Wars costumes, I've picked up one of these:


And I'm expecting it'll start to make sense shortly...

Shopping is a Problem for Me

Monday morning I needed a stapler.  So on my way in to the workshop, I stopped at a local office supply store to grab one.  The place was called "Staples," so I figure there's a good chance they'll carry staplers.  Easy, right?

The problem is, on the rare occasion when I decide I need a stapler, for some reason I tell myself I'm going to get myself a red Swingline stapler.*  I'm not sure why, but that's exactly what I want.

Not a Bostich stapler, a Swingline stapler because it doesn't bind up as much, and I have the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's...

So I walk into the store and, despite finding dozens of viable stapling options, none of them are red Swingline staplers.  Desperate to bind some pages together, I had to settle for a plain, black stapler like some kind of peasant.  Clearly the world is not on my side.

Fortunately, I live in the 21st century.  In my world, everything that can be had can be delivered with free two-day shipping.

So I go to Amazon and wouldn't you know it, there's actually multiple options when it comes to red Swingline staplers.  I picked this one: LINK.  That's the classic Swingline model 747.  Sadly, it doesn't also happen to be an airplane, but its all-metal construction means I can use it bludgeon things when I'm not stapling things.  Awesome.

Of course, since I was already shopping online, I also had to pick up some ABS filament for the 3D printers and an anatomically correct replica of a human skull because I'm an adult and you can't tell me what to do.  Then I found a 10-pound box of hot glue sticks which I need for reasons.  I decided not to buy the 17-pound box, because that would just be silly.

I managed to push myself away from the internet before I ordered myself a really weird-looking set of new coveralls.  But sooner or later...

*Little-known fact: The folks at Swingline had discontinued their red stapler a few years before the movie Office Space came out.  Milton's iconic red Swingline was actually a regular stapler that had been repainted by the film's prop department.  After the movie came out, Swingline was inundated with folks asking for red staplers, so they decided to start offering the color again.  It's been their best seller ever since.

Hood Ornament for the New Ghostbusters Ecto-1

This little project started with an early morning phone call.  I was looking forward to a rare morning of sleeping in and my phone rang at about 6:15 in the morning.  I didn't recognize the number, but answered it anyway to find out what godless heathen was inconsiderate enough to call me at this horrible early hour.

It was my good friend Peter Rubin.

"Shawn!" says he, "are you busy lately?"

"I'm always busy," says I, "but you don't often call, so what can I do for you?"

"I'm in Boston right now," he replied.  "I'm working on a movie."

"That's kinda what you do."

"This one's called 'Ghostbusters.'"

"I've heard about that one."

"I thought you might have."

Cut to the night before.  It turns out that Peter was working as a concept artist for the film and happened to be talking with the director, the art director, and the picture car coordinator (the guy who was responsible for building the Ecto-1 for the movie) the night before.  They were discussing various elements of the completed cars when someone mentioned that it'd be a lot cooler if it had a hood ornament.

That got everybody excited.  A few minutes with a sketchbook and Peter had roughed out a design.  They loved it, but since they needed the cars to be complete in time for promotional photography and initial filming within a week, getting it done in time was a tall order.  That's when Peter mentioned that he knew a guy who tends to do really well with insane deadlines.

That's where I came in.

The film industry moves fast. Within 24 hours of the first call, the project was greenlit and Peter sent me his completed 3D model of the hood ornament:


Once the final scale was determined, I had it printed out on two different 3D printers.  I didn't want to run the risk that the print would fail and have to start over.  As it turns out, both prints came out great.  Here's one of them after an initial sanding:


Then it got a quick pass with some spot putty to fill in the build lines:


And more sanding:


A quick coat of primer made it clear that everything was smooth and ready to go:


To give it a tiny bit more shine, I gave it my standard coat of glossy light red paint:


I actually went through the entire process on both copies:


Then I mounted them for molding:


And built up a mold box:


Still paranoid about anything that could set the build timeline back, I dumped a ton of hot glue onto all of the seams in order to ensure that they were watertight:


Then I mixed up a batch of silicone and poured the mold:





Since my friend Rio was in the shop that night, I asked him to to ahead and pour the rubber for the other mold:


I had him use a completely new bucket of rubber so there'd be a better chance of one of the molds working if it turned out that I had some silicone that had gone bad.

Once they were poured, both molds were covered and left overnight to cure:


The next day, I used a basic jeweler's cut to remove the prototypes from the molds:


I cast the first copy in Smooth-Cast Onyx:


Using both molds, I cast more copies in Smooth-Cast 300:


By the time I was done, I ended up making an even dozen castings, then filling in a few minor surface flaws with spot putty:


Then I sanded them smooth:


Here they are with a fresh coat of primer:


Then they got a coat of gloss black:


The first coat of chrome was less than awesome:


After a bit of buffing, it looked a bit better:


Since I didn't have time to send them out for proper chrome plating, I had to settle for my old standby, Spaz Stix Mirror Chrome:


Once they'd dried, the next step was to ship them overnight to the production offices on the East Coast.  Then it was only a matter of time before someone walking past one of the filming locations posted this picture on Instatwit or something:


Then there was more:


Before too long, there were all sorts of sightings in and around New York:


Since you don't want to hold up production on account of a car breaking down, it turns out they made two of them:


While I've made a few props for movies in the past, it was nice to think that this one might get some prominent screen time:


I wasn't 100% certain it would be noticeable in the film though, until this trailer came out:


There it is, plain as day about 31 seconds in:


Shiny!

It also ended up being pretty visible in an episode of Jay Leno's Garage.  You can see a preview HERE.

EDIT:  Before anyone else asks, no I do not have the molds or the 3D files for this piece anymore.  Sooner or later the good people at SONY Pictures may release a licensed replica.  In the meantime, you absolutely can not get one of these from me.  Please don't ask.