My Zam blaster is 100% done!!

[Dustin Crops Boy]

i got ANOTHER project in the works.... not much to show yet... except the early renders:

yeah!

stay tuned

 

[Mr Fett]

Kimmy's dad is lathing her that section out of metal at work, based on the measurements provided by kimncris!

 

[Zam I Am]

how long do you think the handle is?

 

[Cutest Sandgirl]

Nice renders DCB!

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

zam i am wrote:
how long do you think the handle is?

 

[Zam I Am]

My bad, i thought there wasn't a tip on the nozzle, but there is. Oh, and the bullet chamber isn't empty, it looks more like
_______________________
(_____________) )
(_____________) l
(_____________)/________/

If ya know what I mean.

Really sucks I cant dl stuff onto the company's computer.

 

[kimncris]

sweetness!!

How are you going to do the front of the barrel? I could never get a really clear picture of what was going on at the business end.

Zam I Am is Right about the bolt detail. This is the best pic I have of how I did mine. The visual dictionary has a decent pic of the real one though I think.

-cris

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

kimncris wrote:
sweetness!!

How are you going to do the front of the barrel? I could never get a really clear picture of what was going on at the business end.

I've got some really good pix showing several angles - enough to get very close measurements. I also printed pix of the gun to actual size - based on pix I have of her holding the gun perpendicular to her gauntlets. I know some for-sure sizes (i.e. Leeanna is 5'6", her gauntlets are approx. 5" long and I know the size of the black hose connectors and hose itself ) and based my measurements on that. From this - i determined that the gun barrel is about 10.5" long.

The cardboard cutout (as well as the Zam cover on the SW insider) gives a good indication of what's going on in the business end. There are 6 large holes and 3 small ones going around the inside. I think the center piece may be an air nozzle -(from a bike tire¿) - but i have not confirmed this yet. There is also a small gear in the center (behind the 'air nozzle')

 

[Zam I Am]

So where do we get copies of zam cardboard cut outs?

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

zam i am wrote:
So where do we get copies of zam cardboard cut outs?

they're on eBay all the time - and at paper supply places or where ever cardboard cut outs are sold (comic shops, spencers, etc...)

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

i think it's ready to be machined....

i'm having someone do that part (since i don't have access to a machinist... even though my step-father is one - but getting anything from him is like pullin teeth)... it will be machined in high grade aluminum...

i'm working on the handle myself... i'm almost done.. posting pix later... yeah!!!

 

[MaulMaus]

All I can say is - WOW!!!!

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

I finished (most of the) handle this weekend...

Ugh - what a pain.. it's all made from hand cut styrene. All i have to work with is an exacto knife, a small worktable, lots of sheets of styrene, putty & sandpaper. It's a pain - but that's how I made all the pieces so far (gauntlets, broach, etc.)

I placed Kimncris' blaster handle next to mine for a size comparison. From my measurements - i get a much bigger gun than they did. That's OK though. I think i remember Cris saying that they scaled down their gun for some reason.

I also made the disk that goes in the "eye" looking detail on the side - but it's not pictured.

The trigger (sitting next to the handle) will be spring loaded - so it will actually work (well, it will move, at least)

I just need to make the long flat piece that the barrel rest on - but i may wait until i get the barrels back from the machinist. And find (or make) the greeblies that go on the front and back of the box that's right above the handle.

more soon....

 

[kimncris]

wow that looks really good, Dallas!

Is the "disk" part of the eyeball looking detail metal? I could never decide just what "exactly" that thing was supposed to be...

we never had any idea how big to make it either. We didn't scale it down (or up for that matter ) intentionally. We just scaled it to fit kim's hands based on how it looked in Zam's hand on the cover of the insider. From there I scaled the large front view outer diameter of the barrel and used that to scale the side profile since the front and side dimensions of would be the same for that particular one. I also used the front shot to get a thickness on the handle, but only very roughly.

It looks liek you are going to make the trigger move too! That would be really cool! I was not able to spend enough time on Kim's for that. It litterally had to be painted and boxed for shipping to Indiana the very next day!

I predict you are going to be very popular soon

-cris

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

from my scaling - the round disk that goes under the arch is about the diameter of a standard Dritz™ metal snap. But a bit taller. I just made one from a snap - and bulked up the height of it. It's about 1/4" tall. It will be cast in black resin - like the rest of the handle

Good plan to just scale it to Kim... since there was not a lot of reference points or pix to go off of - especially back when you made yours.

Yup - my trigger will work. I think the screw on the side of the real one was there for that purpose... at least it will be for mine (as you can see by the elongated hole in my trigger). i will put a spring on the back of the trigger too...

how did you create the larger base - that the barrel rests on¿

 

[Megalomaniac Mando]

Looks fabulous, DCB. I too, make "working" triggers on my pieces. I would only counsel that you either incorporate a slide stop that could be concealed within the receiver, or at least utilize the trigger guard to keep from having the trigger wobble or pop out. The screw that guides through the slot and grip will only provide one point of contact out of two necessary at the length that the hole appears to be. If the slot and corresponding slot in the grip were two or three times longer/deeper then there would be no problem. I hate not being able to whip out an old envelope or bar-napkin and sketch this stuff out. Sorry if I'm not too clear.

 

[Dustin Crops Boy]

it's not going to be a terrible complicated process to get the trigger to move. I already made a little box inside the handle that it'll slide on.

The screw through the handle will prevent it from sliding all teh way out.

here's a crappy illustration showing how i'm doing it:

 

[Megalomaniac Mando]

By golly, the illustration is perfect.

 

[kimncris]

that seems like a very good solution!

To make the U shaped thing, I sketched it out on a piece of renshape (but you could use MDF or Delrin probably) and then Paul very kindly dremel'ed out the channel for the barrel with a sanding drum. After that, I sanded the rest of the edges to the final rounded shape with a drum sander and alot of elbow grease.

-cirs

 

[Zam I Am]

Actually, dallas, you're pic is making my eyeballs go haywire--it's an optical illusion! By jove! He blinded me with science! Just gotta say, working triggers are AWESOME! That's just way too cool.