Hello, I am a maker of a wide variety of genres. I have worked as a Architectural model maker, designer, tool maker and graphic designer.

To view my online Photo Portfolio of my Architectural model making please go here.

This blog is where I document my personal and commission projects with photos and write ups.

Please read my about me page for contact info and how to enquire about commissions or plan purchases.

Plans for sale : here

12 March 2013

Iron Man 3 Arc Reactor.


With the new trailer for iron man 3 coming out i thought i would do a little pre film model of the arc reactor shown at the end of the trailer. 

So as always lets get started!















As i always do when making a prop i started with a little research on the old google. 

all i could come up with are the screen grabs from the trailers end plates and some shots from the facebook page.

These two images are from the facebook page before the most recent trailer was released.

This is the end screen of all the trailers and this is what made me want to give it a go at making it.

Im sure once the film comes out and there are more prop photos and detailed making of books and extras i will work out that i've made some mistakes about the arc but going from the front on shot i have this is the best I could do.







So after i had found the images i started on the plans.
i started with a few sketches on how the layers of the arc will fit together. 
then i drew up some plans in illustrator so get the files for the laser cutter.




I cut all the parts out on a laser cutter in a variety or materials,1mm plastic,  2mm plastic , 3mm plastic and some very thin card.



I grouped the parts together and glued then together.

The rear ring assembly. 1mm plastic.


The main ring magnets. 1mm and 3mm plastic.

The oval ring. 2mm plastic. 

Also not picture is the rear body of the Arc made from 3mm and 2mm plastic. 





Painting!
I gave all the parts that were to be painted a coat of plastic primer and then each set a different colour to match the source photos.

  
The oval ring and hex mesh are painted a dark gun metal and the rear casing and ring magnets are painted silver. 

 
the front bezel and parts that sit on top of the oval ring are painted black and the rear ring assembly are painted gold.



Let the metallic paints dry as they are very slow drying.




I glued the fronts of the ring magnets to the clear ring.
when the glue had set i turned it over and glued the backs on and then i had the main Arc ring.



I glued the hex mesh (which is made from 0.7mm card) on to the rear of the oval rings.
I kept the offcuts from the ring parts to assist in the placement of the parts on top of the oval rings.

I placed the offcuts and the ring parts on top of the oval ring and waited for the glue to dry and then i removed the offcuts and the ring parts are in the correct place.



I then glues the gold rear ring assembly on to the rear of the oval rings.





The front bezel glass was etched with one design on the front and then it was taken out of the machine and then turned over and the second part of the design was etched onto the back. 

This was to give the design a more 3D feel as it looks like in the source images i have. 





I put all the parts together to see what it will look like.




I then cut a disk of EL panel inside the rear case of the Arc and glued it all together.



The finished Arc.

















Thank you for looking and i hope you enjoyed the write up. 

If you have any questions or comments please leave them below or email me. 


4 March 2013

Tony starks Iron man Arc reactor VI


As you may have seen from other prop posts on here, i like making Arc reactors from the Iron man Films.

I have Previously made the first Arc here and I've also made whiplashes second Arc here


So this time I thought i would try and make the Iron man Arc reactor mk VI






So as always i started with a little google and found this rather nice screen grab of the arc.








Once I had an idea of what i wanted to make i did a little sketch of how I thought the layers would be best tackled and what thickness plastic i would be using.


once I had worked out the layering i drew up some plans in Illustrator.




Then when i had the plans finalised i cut them all out in 2mm plastic on a laser cutter.






I designed the arc to be made from 3 layers of 2 x 2mm plastic. each group would fit together and make the complete arc. 

So i glued the layers together into their groups.




I then put all the groups together to make sure that the design would work out right.








When i knew i had the design correct i gave all parts (except the clear sections) a coat of plastic primer paint.




Then just for fun i assembled them together again. i also cut a circle of translucent blue to try and give the arc the blue glow later on.








The Base and stand. 

I drew up some plans for the base that matched the film as close as i could garner. 

i cut the parts out and part assembled it and then painted them with a coat of plastic primer.

The parts that needed to be black i painted black.





I cut a disc of EL panel and placed it in the rear of the casing of the Arc. 

The image on the left is with the full blue disc in the Arc.  The image on the left is with the blue cut into a triangle (with a triangle in the centre cut out) to match the pattern of the arc.  










I gave all the parts a coat of metallic silver paint. Then I out it all together. 


i painted the base silver and glued it together.















The when it was all together and finished i placed the whole thing on a base that holds the batteries and driver for the EL panel. 





I designed the arc to be able to be removed from the base. as if it were going to be put on Iron mans chest.





Thank you for reading my blog, if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the space below.