Wedding Dessert Stand

 

Quick announcement – I am no longer going to be doing monthly updates to this blog.  I’m tired of doing WIP posts and then having all my builds spread over numerous entries.  I will simply be doing project completion posts from now on.  This means that when I finish, say the ASHPDs, I will make one post detailing the complete build process.  I may even go back and consolidate several posts into one, especially the Destro build.  So, no more monthly updates; simply project completion posts from now on.

 

The Wedding Dessert Stand

Two of my very best friends recently got married and they asked me to build them a cake/cookie/tart/dessert stand thing.  They aren’t real big fans of cake, so a traditional wedding cake was right out, but they still needed something cake-ish looking that meshed with their overall vision of the wedding, to hold the actual wedding desserts on.  I was incredibly honored that they would ask me to build something this important.  I had plenty of time to build it, but due to my complete lack of focus and poor time management abilities, I actually got caught up in other projects, and ended up working on this one until midnight the day of the wedding.  I was still able to get it done and ready for use though, but just barely.  Lesson learned: When someone asks you to build something very important and you have a clear deadline, put other projects on hold and focus on this one.

After an afternoon of talking about what they wanted and a few quick sketches, I came up with this design.

The wedding was going to take place in the Bijou Theatre, here in Knoxville.  It is a beautiful and old theatre, so their entire wedding look was what some might call Steam Punk, but I thought it was just more vintage (not enough copper tubing and gears for true Steam Punk).  The over all design, as you can see was for three main tiers and a few floating tiers.  The very top was reserved for their “cake topping monsters”.  Now with a design, off to the hardware store.

 

A few sheets of 2’x4’ MDF, some dowel rods, and a case of liquid nail.  I had originally intended for the whole structure to be modular for quick break down and reassembly.  Intentions often change.

One half of the base with dowel rod pieces to join to the other half.

Umm…they didn’t line up exactly as I had planned, so a bigger hammer was needed, and the modular base flew out the window.

Both halves glued together and the support pieces glued in place.  The center bit is a section of PVC piping.  The central dowel rod fits in it perfectly and allowed me to secure it in place with screws.

If you’ve been viewing my blog for any time, you may notice the lack of kitties in the background of my workshop.  That is because they are all upstairs with us now.  We’ve still got Leo and Remus available for adoption is anyone is looking for a kitty.

This was the first rough assembly.  Nothing was leveled or balanced.  I just wanted to see if it would even work.  I got the clear acrylic rods from TAP Plastics online.  Great company with a good selection, reasonable prices and fast shipping.  I ordered a lot of material from them for other projects coming up.

Next came sanding, bondo, sanding, sanding and eventually painting.

Still some fine tuning to go, too, but we’re getting close.

I also wanted to add some filigree style details to the piece, but when I tried, I failed miserably.  The paint just didn’t work and ended up bleeding into the base coat.  This happened on Saturday.  The wedding was Sunday, as in the next day.  We had the reception dinner that Saturday night, too.  So, no time to fix that big of a screw up if I didn’t get on it and stop moaning about it.

Fast trip to the hardware store again for spray paint (thank god it was sunny, warm and dry that day), hopefully some stencils, and better paint for the details.

More sanding to remove my screw up and no, I don’t have pictures of what the screw up looked like.  Just trust me, it was bad.

Finally around midnight everything was done, and I was actually pleased with it.  Last thing was to move it to the Bijou Sunday morning.  Naturally two things happened Sunday morning.  It was raining and I made the whole structure one half inch too tall to fit in the back of my Santa Fe. 

Fortunately, I could take out the central column by unscrewing it from the PVC collar.  Throw the drill, extra screws, brushes, paint, and glue into what I dubbed the “OHSHIT” bag, and off we went.

All in all, I think it turned out great.  I was a nervous wreck until I heard my friends say they loved it.  That was all the approval that it really needed.  I am my own worst critic, after all.  The monster cake topper was made by another of their friends and fit in perfectly.

February Catch Up

 

So, I completely blew my once a month update schedule last month.  My bad.  I just don’t know what happened.

Actually I do know what happened.  There just wasn’t much to write about.  Sometimes that happens.  Weather and real life events kept me away from doing a lot of work.

However, between January and February I have managed to get a lot of work done.  Some equal parts planning and design and actual building.

Costume Updates!

For 2012, I am sorry to announce that Bioshock will not be making a return.  I have managed to do something to my right arm, I have no idea what, but it causes me a lot of pain and muscle fatigue.  I cannot see any way for me to be able to carry another Subject Delta drill around for hours.  Even typing after a while becomes painful at the elbow and shoulder, so lugging around over five pounds of drill is right out.
Along with that, Eleanor is also out.  Melinda just doesn’t want to do the Eleanor costume if I’m not doing the Delta costume. So no Bioshock this year, but with Bioshock Infinite coming out, maybe we’ll get a revisit next year.  I keep hearing a song bird in my future.

Portal is still on track, if I can ever get the boots I ordered for Chell’s long fall boots.  Shop.Cosplay.com worked really well and quickly for wig orders, but the footwear is taking forever.  Over 25 days and no updates or replies to emails.
We did get the jumpsuit and my lab coat from Amazon, Chell’s tank top, Aperture Science labels, and PotatOS from Thinkgeek, and some acrylic rods for the core from TAP Plastics.
The ASHPDs did get some more sculpting and a nice coat of primer too.

The acrylic rods from TAP Plastics.

So now that Bioshock is out, does that mean we’re only doing one costume at Dragon*Con this year?  You should know better than that.

If you haven’t figured it out from earlier posts, Melinda and I are big fans of the cartoon My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic.  We thought it would be fun to do a costume from the show.  Now, when I say costume from the show, I do not mean full on fur suit character recreations.  While I admire the sewing skills of the people that create these, honestly, they just creep me out. A lot like clowns.  Just creepy.

No, what we will be going for is along the lines of a more humanized pony form like this.

This is one of the best MLP cosplays I’ve come across and it is the main reference for what will be Melinda’s Twilight Sparkle costume.
I have all the pieces for the wig now.  A main “base” wig with several hair extension wefts that I will be weaving into the wig to created the tri-colored effect.
I haven’t decided how to create the ears just yet, but the horn is going to be special.  In the show, whenever Twilight uses her magic, her horn will glow.  Naturally, I wanted to create this effect.  Why?  Why not? 
The order of acrylic rods from TAP Plastics did not just have the ASHPD cores, but it also contained what would become a Unicorn horn.

Original 2 inch x 12 inch rod
            
Shaped to a very dangerous missile shape
 

Grooved

All lit up

Post flame polishing

All lit up after flame polishing

The entire horn will next be dyed to the correct shade of purple, cut to length, and wired with a simple LED and switch that Melinda can activate whenever she wants to do magic.

Admittedly, the show does not have a lot of male characters for me to choose from.  I could have gone the route others have taken and just made a male version of a female character, but again, the creepy scale started to tip on that idea.  So I decided to take on creating one of the Royal Guards’ costumes.  Not just any mind you, but one of the Royal Guards assigned to Princess Luna.

Why?  Look at him.  He is totally awesome, that’s why.  Based off the reference image above, I have made this drawing of the design I am going to build.

Yup, wings, tail and all.

We are also planning on using the Twilight Sparkle costume with the Chell costume to make a crossover costume one night just for kicks and giggles.  There may even be a “ponified” version of Doug Rattmann wandering around.  Why?  Because it is freaking fun to do. 

Speaking of ponies

What in the world was I thinking?  No, really, I think I totally lost my mind there for a while.  Deciding to build seven additional pony launchers like the Pinkie Pie Launcher and Tank Launcher from November, I must have been nuts.

Still, I’m pushing through my insanity, and completing the job.  What will I do with all these?  Well, a few will make it down to Dragon*Con, others will be kept, some may end up as gifts to friends, and some may turn up on eBay.

December Year End Update

Well, it’s the end of another year.  2011 has been a good one, but a pretty rough one too.  I’m glad to put it in the rearview mirror.
Once again, I was able to take an extended vacation during the holidays and I’ve been able to get a lot of projects in progress, but nothing really completed. 
So here is your December 31st, 2011 Works in Progress Post.

Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device

Melinda will be rocking a Chell costume from Portal 2 at Dragon*Con and she has to have a ASHPD for the costume.  Really, this thing is just a bunch of PVC pipes glued together.

A couple of 4” PVC couplers, a 4” piece cut to shape and a 3” piece nested inside the 4”.  The rings on the end are just 3” couplings cut and sanded.  I’m getting really close to needed the lights.

I got a new table top sander for Christmas, so I was able to get the angle sanded onto the nose piece a lot easier.

I made this detail using my favorite new material, epoxy sculpt.  The B is because this is the B model.

Here is the A model with a different technique for the same detailing.  Yes, I am building two at the same time.  Why?  Why not?

Better view of the angle on the nose.

Belle Approves.
I nearly paid $300 for a ready to assemble kit, and now I’m glad I didn’t.  It isn’t that hard of a build, yet, as long as I take my time and follow the blueprints.  Oh, did I forget to mention I have scale accurate blueprints? 

Special Thank You Surprise Build

Wait, I’m building a special surprise project and I’m writing about it?  Eeeyup.  It’s OK.  I don’t thing Flamingo1986 reads my blog, but Flamingo1986, if you are reading, stop now.
Flamingo1986 is the gentleman that designed the original Pinkie Pie Launcher that I built and posted last month.  Well, after picking up the pieces of my blog after it exploded from the traffic, I felt I owed Flamingo1986 a bit of thanks.  He recently released another set of weapon designs, so I am building one to send to him.
                                  

I’ll throw in more details later.
Speaking of the Pinkie Pie Launcher from last month…

PONIES PONIES PONIES OMG THE PONIES

Last month my blog got more hits from that one post than anything else.  In one week, I got nearly double an average month’s traffic.  Now, I’m not the brightest bulb out there, but I can recognize when something works.  Apparently pony launchers work really well.  In fact, I now have seven more that I am building.  Yes, I said seven.  Three are based off designs from MaximillianVeers and his variations on the original, the other four are custom design ideas/requests from other fans and Melinda.

Originally, I was only going to do four, but then some other friends just gave me too many good ideas not to build them.        

One with all three sections assembled.
 
Five with the first two sections assembled.

The remaining six back sections.
After this, I think I’ll be done with pony launchers for a while.
What am I going to do with nine complete pony launchers?  Well, some are going to make it to Dragon*Con in September, some will be kept just because they are my favorites, and the rest will be put up on eBay for someone else to enjoy.

OK.  That’s it.  Everything is very much in progress.  Hopefully, next month I’ll have some completed pieces to show.

I Have A Pinkie Pie Launcher - IN REAL LIFE!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or haven’t been on the Internet in a long time, there is a TV show that airs on Hasbro’s TV network, The Hub, called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP:FIM).  This show was created by Lauren Faust, who also worked on the Power Puff Girls and Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends.
The show has a target audience of girls aged 6 – 11.  However, something about the show has caused the fan base to grow beyond the target demographic.  Well beyond the target.  Something about the show appeals to people of a much broader age group and has jumped even the gender barrier.  These adult fans of the show are known as Bronies (Bro + Pony = Brony) for males and Pegasisters (Pegasus + Sister = Pegasister) for females (this is a new term and not well known yet).  The brony phenomenon has been getting a lot of attention lately.  Even making the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

There was even a rather large study done to try and determine what makes up a brony.  The research project got over 1300 responses in just 72 hours.  The results can be found here and are quite interesting in busting many of the myths about bronies.
Now, I told you all that to tell you this. 
I am a brony.  I love to watch a TV show with candy colored ponies intended toward 6 – 11 year old girls.

Those of you who really know me should not be surprised.
Now what does that have to do with prop building?  This:

When I first saw this image, I laughed myself to death.  Something about it just makes me smile.
I was fortunate enough to be able to find the original artist of the Pinkie Pie Launcher (PPL) on deviantArt.com, Flamingo1986 (Zachary Rich).  I approached Zach about building a real life Pinkie Pie Launcher shortly after Dragon*Con this year.  He provided a more detailed drawing for me to work from.

Armed with this, I began getting materials for the PPL build.
The main body would be an 8” concrete tube and I would glue wooden slats to the outside to get the effect I wanted.
The concrete tube only come in 4’ lengths, so I ended up with enough to make two.

To create the section in the middle where the launcher narrows, I made MDF inserts, cut the remaining tube pieces and forced them into the inserts.

      
Yes, the first insert I made was very much too small in diameter, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed.
Next came the wooden slats.  I used a 1/8” project board.  Same stuff as peg board, but without the holes.  I regretted this from the first cut and will never use this material again.  Live and learn.


When it came time to glue the slats in place, I used Liquid Nail and straps to hold them in place while the glue dried.
                                 
Much trimming was required after the glue set up.

Next came the handles.  I cut these from 3/4” MDF and glued them into place along with dowel rods to help support.

                                   
More sanding (the sanding never ended), more priming, and adding a scope.  The scope actually has optics in it.  My foster kittens somehow found a door peep hole optic in my basement, and it works perfectly.

Subject Delta approves.

Now it would normally be time to paint. 

Problem is it is now November.  Warm days for painting are few and far between.  There was some rushing to get just the PPL painted, yet alone figure out how to paint a second one.
Much masking tape was used in this process.
                                        

Still the final results were pleasing.  At least they make me and Zach both smile.


I used a paint that I had never used before for the gold detail work.  Another point in hind site that I would not repeat.

Really though, it’s not much good without ammo.

Of course it doesn’t just use Pinkie Pies.

Kittens are super effecting too.
But what to do with the second one.  Well there is another character on the show named Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash can create what is known as the Sonic Rainboom.  Thus the Shoulder Mounted Rainboom Cannon (SMRC) was created.
                                                                                        
The two together.

There has been some touch up done to the PPL in the above pictures and there is more detail I want to add to the SMRC, but the weather will not allow it at this time.  So I’ll just have to revisit these in the summer and get them ready for conventions.

I have a Pinkie Pie Launcher and a Shoulder Mounted Rainboom Cannon in real life.  Your argument and all hate are toast.

UPDATE

I've gotten several asks and even a comment below if the cannons actually launch or if I thought about making them actually launch.  First, nope, they don't actually launch anything.  Second, yes, I did think about making one actually fire, but I wanted to keep these convention friendly, and conventions don't really like shooting weapons of any kind.  I may revisit this later and make a working model, but that will come later.

UPDATE 2
This is entirely my wife’s idea.  I can take no credit.  She thought the Rainboom Cannon was just missing something, and then she figure out what it was.  The Rainboom Cannon has now been renamed The Rainbow Dash Tank Launcher.

How else is Tank going to keep up with Rainbow Dash?