When life throws you lemons. ....

BUILD A FLASH GORDON/DAN DARE ROCKET BOBSLEIGH THINGY!
I have been building some airfix kits of late and it is amazing how many parts I seem to have left over at the end.
After some momentary consideration they flew together into a possible maquette for later development.
I give you the retro futuristic jet sled. .?

MLC-3's big brother

Nearly there with the toy conversion, I have been itching to unveil her. ..name not quite solidly chosen. ..a rebel refuelling and maintenance tug for towing and topping up the fleet's x-wings and the like.

Cheap thrills

I have wanted one of these for an age, mostly for fun but also to teach simple programming to my children. Found it in a local charity shop complete and unmade. ..no instructions.  £2 you say?  SOLD!
Always up for a challenge, but equally happy to throw the whole lot in my greeblies box if it didn't work, you tube helped me out with the instructions and my archaic computer is the only thing that is still compatible with the software! Score one fully functional robot arm! !

Hybrid project

A recent couple of visits to my local charity shops have come up trumps with a couple of broken toys.

My plan is to hybridise these with a few other greeblies and parts to create a star wars toy aircraft tug as a re-imagined version of the only vehicle I owned from the original range. ..the good old mobile laser cannon ...MLC-3

Some progress shots to follow soon. ...

Last one before Christmas

This was a tricky one, not only having one unwilling participant - which did create one of the more interesting hand casts I've done, although a lot of work - this project involved a lot of misinformation and secrecy and smokescreening after one of the children let the cat out of the bag! All part of the job!!!
Collected on Christmas Eve, this beautiful piece was mounted on a gorgeous piece of yew (which I didn't want to part with) and the casts were fixed with polished lengths of rebar - from a family member, just to add that small personal touch.
Rebar - great for concrete reinforcement, not great as an artistic medium - it is very tough!!!
Thankfully, the recipient of this surprise loved every detail about it, job well done.

Full circle

I keep seeing those posts of "what my parents think I do", "what I really do" etc. Turns out I had a real life instance of "what my neighbour thinks I do".

Can you do this Red Arrow model for me? I need it as a cake decoration.

Erm not really what I do....ok.... When for?

Lunchtime tomorrow.

Urgh

It is still the same kit that I made (badly) as a child.... and ironically the first model I made with my son.. But I do feel somewhat vindicated as it is a truly terrible kit and would not fit together anyway!

Late night. .. built in the semi darkness of the kitchen after the children had gone to bed. ...meh!

Life casting in volume

Since taking some casts of my newborn's hands and feet, I seem to have generated a casting frenzy. Including my daughter demanding it as an activity for her birthday party. ...6 year olds hyped up on party food? Let's just say it was educational. It has however led to some other, more practical projects. The first of which went out today.

Table envy

I the continuation of unusual projects, I was recently asked to restore a table that had languished outdoors and fallen to the elements into new glory as a dining table.
Under the thick oppressive lacquer was a rare beauty of wood that would never have made a commercial showroom in its natural state. Cleaned up, sanded,  with a light oil and wax, it had such character that it was hard to part with... Everyone who saw it fell in love with it.
My work area looks naked without it now and I despise my own kitchen table for its simple and functional blandness. ..

Christmas is here!

A very special delivery arrived today. .. My first 3d printer! Now to figure out how it works. ..

In the pursuit of randomness

Recently there have been some interesting and somewhat bizarre projects coming my way.  From a birthday party game in the form of a minion with removable mouth (modeled by my beautiful assistants), as a beanbag toss for a 40th birthday. .. to a pub sign for a biker's man cave, oh and logo design and letterhead for a construction company. Not my usual diet but it has been fun!

Where have I been?

I know there haven't been many posts recently. A lousy start to the year has left me with a spinal injury and unable to work. ..6 months of tests and waiting for tests and I still don't know what is going on. Trapped at home I have managed to do little bits between bouts of agony mostly incredibly random. ..an emergency 20 minute ice hockey puck for a photo shoot, repainting a walking stick repair to blend the wood grain, some graphic design work (somewhat out of my skill set and comfort zone) and an epic 1/6 th scale barrel from the movie Jaws. And then there is the handful of random projects that have been gathering dust for a few years and now can see the light of day once more. .. Anything to keep from climbing the walls and travelling that short road to total inanity!

Break in the weather

Working in the garden has its draw backs,  especially with the recent weather.  But I have managed to get out and finish off the basic poly carved shape so I can make a bit of progress with this prop. Loads of other projects on the go at the moment including 2 small films. Loving it.

The Reveal

Finally, my recent secret project has arrived at its new home in Canada.  The client is over the moon and now I can show you it in its full glory. I made a 3d desk mascot from the client's logo and made some presentation packaging for it.  Enough waffle! Look at the pictures.

Out of season

And so the catching is well under way.  Any ideas what it is yet?

Let it snow

And now for some poly carving. .. I have a few of these projects in the wings so the future holds much mess!

FDM project analysis

Ok the print had been cleaned up and finished.  No pictures yet I'm afraid, still the presentation box to finish before the client sees it first! But I have to say that finishing work is a modelmaker's lot and cleaning up an ABS print is somewhat less hassle than SLA just because of the forgiving material, but the detail isn't there. For this project it was the clear choice and proceed ideal, the finishing work was about the same as you would expect.  So in answer to the question. .. There is no answer! Sometimes it is yes, others it is no. Sorted.

To FDM or not to FDM

I have been facing a dilemma over recent projects, mainly with the costs of outsourcing.  So I am experimenting with a project at the moment and using FDM printing rather than the usual SLA. Obviously it is cheaper but does the increased finishing work still make it cheaper in the long run? An important question to answer when considering buying a 3d printer. ....

Soda Prop

See what I did there?  ... Nevermind, do excuse the pun, but I have been quite excited to see my recent creations being used to great effect as a photography prop. I love creating stuff, it is my main driving force, but when comparing the satisfaction of completing a project and loving the results, to the satisfaction of them being used in another context.... well, it's a bit like the children moving out once they have all grown up.
Without further nonsense, here is an image (used with permission) from Sleepy Willow Photography of my lovely props... decorated with a baby (obviously the props are the focal point of the image, no?).

Soda'd out

Ok that is a quick foray into retro soda creates.  Massive fun and really enjoyable for my children who had to join in with sanding painting and of course ...health and safety! 
So, that's paint effects played with, I think the next stop is to fiddle around with some wood staining. ...

Rapid aging

Well that's about 40 years in 10 minutes. ... Now I'm thinking of turning it into a child's toy wagon. .. Some wheels will be the next acquisition I think.