New DE-gun prototype!
Hey everyone, happy one-year official fandom anniversary! :D Just wanted to pop in and say that I started working on a new DE-gun prototype recently (new design and all), and although didn't get too far, I wanted to share my progress anyway. Why? Because it's a special day! <3
(FYI, this is cross-posted on my Tumblr, but with less detail.)
Preview pic below~
I’m building this model out of clay so that I can make a silicone mold with it (don't want to potentially/accidentally ruin my precious DE-gun by painting rubber all over it!). After that, I can resin cast as many gun bodies as I like, meaning that I won’t have a limited number of parts with which to build DE-guns anymore. And it’ll cut down on commission costs, too, because each model will cost less to make and save me hours of work! :D *is excited*
So anyway, modeling the barrel took me two tries...because the first was a spectacular failure. XD I molded air-dry Claystone clay around the same type of coupling that I used on my DE-gun, working on it for several hours until I was quite happy with it. And then when it dried it cracked into pieces and couldn't be fixed. ;n;
Although I gotta admit, the process was pretty messy and fun despite the model's ultimate demise. Here's what the clay part looked like before it shattered itself:
And the lettering, which was done with tiny stamps (an alphabet set cost me $1 at Michael's ):
Yup, I 'bout cried when it broke. BUT LUCKILY I AM STUBBORN. XD So I tried this again with Fimo clay. It's pretty great since it doesn't shrink much (if at all) in the oven, but it's a bit harder for me to smooth properly, hence the thinness--I can shape the clay by stretching and rolling it instead of having to worry about it deforming under its own weight. Yuss. :3
Here's the Fimo clay molded around that same darn coupling:
I tucked the ends around and just trimmed them off later. This helped the clay stay where it was supposed to be, instead of slipping off the coupling (since I hadn't worked it much yet). Then I molded the edges and smoothed/trimmed everything thoroughly so that it was an even thickness throughout.
I was afraid of how well the Fimo would take to stamping, but the lettering actually turned out rather well (and quite readable):
I'll be sealing this and making the rest of the DE-gun body (i.e., not the light-up end) out of the air-dry clay, because it will be easier to wait an extra day for air-dry clay to cure than to try to bake two-inch-thick Fimo in the oven. Cheaper, too. :P
Anyway, thanks for looking, all, and for being so sweet and awesome over the whole past year! (Yes, even I was a lurker way back when, before I finally joined the comm in December. XD) You all are still the best fandom out there, and this is the best LJ community. I'm proud to call y'all my friends. :)
Here's to another great year!! <3