A behind the scenes look at film and television Prop making peppered with everything else creative we do!
When I lent my services to a collegue who was working on a film about 12 years ago, I was introduced to the world of cnc. I remember watching this huge machining centre milling out a slab of mdf and turning it into a fantastic set of gears. I knew that it would have taken me hours to achieve the same thing with traditional power tools. I decided then that I would invest in a cnc router for my own business Oxenham Design. At that time I could turn on a computer, but even to check email seemed like a crazy set of operations. I persevered and learned every piece of relevant software I could get my hands on. I am now fortunate enough to be using Vectric's ASPIREsoftware, and Techno cnc routers, which has helped us to create some amazing projects, both in part, or in full. I thought that this blog would be a great place to share "behind the scenes" adventures with the software, materials and equipment we use, as well as the projects we build.
Friday, 13 September 2013
At the Derby all last weekend!
This week has been nuts! Tons of hours, and we're ready to crash!
The weekend was spent entirely on Zerby Derby, trying to get the first delivery schedule completed on time.
I spent most of the time getting the ferry wrapped up.
I decided to go with 1/2" copper pipe for the loading ramp push rod. This was bolted to a hinge plate that will allow the ramp to drop down at varying angles, while being strong enough to still retract the ramp.
We also got the eye and head animatronics built and installed. I added a damper to the head swivel after the video to slow the head down and eliminate any torque lash if the head moves quickly.
Tired little "Bob the Boat" and his stunt double also spent the weekend getting a brand new paint job. I think John has him wrapped up at the shop, but I'll know tomorrow.
This year they want actual eyelashes on the car bodies, instead of being painted on the eyeballs themselves. The eyelashes needed to be strong, flexible in-case of a roll-over, and be black without painting. This will stop any color from scratching off. I went with a .020 poly-propylene plastic sheet.
The drawback is you can't glue it at all.
The solution was to use a soldering iron, burn a hole through the lashes and body, then quickly squeeze the 2 melted plastics together with pliers. The final piping around the eyes, held on with RTV silicone should keep these holding on for good!
The trucks came together nicely!
A couple of the characters also got color changes to better stand out on screen. They also got some accessories to help distinguish them apart more quickly.
I totally want to remake the Terminator 2 opening scene with these cars and stuff. I love the idea of children friendly looking cars being terminators. I'm like that.
I totally want to remake the Terminator 2 opening scene with these cars and stuff. I love the idea of children friendly looking cars being terminators. I'm like that.
ReplyDeleteOh....You're like that alright :)
ReplyDelete