RamSkirata
Active Hunter
I second that.
Ord Mantell's PP2 Build
- Thread starter Ord Mantell
- Start date
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
It's time to paint the sling gun.
This is mine shortly after I first put it all together.
The Kaiser grip above is so pristine, especially the leather shoulder strap -- it looks mint, like its never been used. I decide it was better for a PP1 or ST build, so I put that back in the box and replaced with one that had some slight wear and tear.
And it's hard to admit, but I had long labored under the false belief that there was a version of the Kaiser out there with a red trigger button. It took me a long time to realize that was not true. They only came in yellow or black. The trigger buttons were painted red only for the props.
Here is one with the yellow button. Or we can call it a yellow-orange, or orange-yellow, or orange. But lets go with yellow for now, because - random.
Both of my Kaisers are the black version.
We know the sling gun(s) sent to Daydream had a red button because of the at least these two pics:
I'm almost 100% certain it was painted red because in pictures of the prop after it was painted at Daydream show the original yellow button underneath all the paint where the paint got scraped off.
How do I know for sure that is a paint scrape? Because my Kaisers do the same thing to the button. The plastic scrapes the side of the button on mine, too. Plastic-on-plastic scrape happening on the side of the button in nearly the same spot:
Additionally, here is the trigger on the PP1, and you can see how the red paint has been scraped off the side the same way...
This means just painting the button yellow first would not be the best way to replicate the look, because the yellow might eventually scrape down to the base black plastic at some point. So why not just get the yellow button? I'd love to buy another one with the correct color button but those are pretty scarce (if anyone has one for sale or trade, let me know). The next best option is to copy the button and cast it in yellow plastic. So that's what I did. I used Smooth-on Rebound 25 to make a simple mold and Smooth-cast 300 white plastic to cast. I used a very, very old tube of 'Tints-all' yellow paint pigment I had on hand to color it. It took a couple of tries to get the color right. The tints-all probably wasn't the best option for tinting. It didn't want to completely dissolve and caused darker specs at the bottom of the cast. But for this purpose, the results are fine.
Now it's ready for a PP2 paint job....
This is mine shortly after I first put it all together.
The Kaiser grip above is so pristine, especially the leather shoulder strap -- it looks mint, like its never been used. I decide it was better for a PP1 or ST build, so I put that back in the box and replaced with one that had some slight wear and tear.
And it's hard to admit, but I had long labored under the false belief that there was a version of the Kaiser out there with a red trigger button. It took me a long time to realize that was not true. They only came in yellow or black. The trigger buttons were painted red only for the props.
Here is one with the yellow button. Or we can call it a yellow-orange, or orange-yellow, or orange. But lets go with yellow for now, because - random.
Both of my Kaisers are the black version.
We know the sling gun(s) sent to Daydream had a red button because of the at least these two pics:
I'm almost 100% certain it was painted red because in pictures of the prop after it was painted at Daydream show the original yellow button underneath all the paint where the paint got scraped off.
How do I know for sure that is a paint scrape? Because my Kaisers do the same thing to the button. The plastic scrapes the side of the button on mine, too. Plastic-on-plastic scrape happening on the side of the button in nearly the same spot:
Additionally, here is the trigger on the PP1, and you can see how the red paint has been scraped off the side the same way...
This means just painting the button yellow first would not be the best way to replicate the look, because the yellow might eventually scrape down to the base black plastic at some point. So why not just get the yellow button? I'd love to buy another one with the correct color button but those are pretty scarce (if anyone has one for sale or trade, let me know). The next best option is to copy the button and cast it in yellow plastic. So that's what I did. I used Smooth-on Rebound 25 to make a simple mold and Smooth-cast 300 white plastic to cast. I used a very, very old tube of 'Tints-all' yellow paint pigment I had on hand to color it. It took a couple of tries to get the color right. The tints-all probably wasn't the best option for tinting. It didn't want to completely dissolve and caused darker specs at the bottom of the cast. But for this purpose, the results are fine.
Now it's ready for a PP2 paint job....
Last edited:
DrToothache
New Hunter
This is looking amazing. Nice work.
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
I only have the one, and it's too yellow. I can probably make more, but I found some plastic material that is already the correct color and I'm going to experiment with melting it down and putting it in the trigger mold. See what happens. May be a better looking button.You got any extra yellow triggers?
I wouldn't expect anything less!
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
One more update on this sling blaster before I paint it. Something I had forgotten about was the length of my hand telescope barrel had initially been arbitrary, cutting off the front lens hood and giving it the maximum length I could. Turns out I didn't need so much length. Looking at the original, it seems the barrel length (from where it exits the body or 'receiver' to where the black area begins at the tip) is shorter than what I thought I might need. The original is sticking out about 3 1/3" while mine was out to around 4".
The hand telescope I used is a little longer than on the original. I have a shorter one as well and it will fit in the receiver at the correct length once the lens hood is removed. I'm saving that for the PP1 version later.
The other thing is right after my last update a version with the correct trigger button came up for sale, so I grabbed it.
Looks like I was close on the trigger color, but not quite enough. It really is orange (or if you grew up prior to the 16th century like me before the color got it's own name, we can still call it yellow-red).
So the barrel length was corrected, the Kaiser was updated to the correct version, and I finally polished the hand telescope tube. It's really ready for paint now. (I'm skipping the metal rods that come out from under the barrel for the time being until I can get a better idea of what they are or how to replicate them).
The hand telescope I used is a little longer than on the original. I have a shorter one as well and it will fit in the receiver at the correct length once the lens hood is removed. I'm saving that for the PP1 version later.
The other thing is right after my last update a version with the correct trigger button came up for sale, so I grabbed it.
Looks like I was close on the trigger color, but not quite enough. It really is orange (or if you grew up prior to the 16th century like me before the color got it's own name, we can still call it yellow-red).
So the barrel length was corrected, the Kaiser was updated to the correct version, and I finally polished the hand telescope tube. It's really ready for paint now. (I'm skipping the metal rods that come out from under the barrel for the time being until I can get a better idea of what they are or how to replicate them).
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
I've been trying to figure out the weirdness of the PP2 jetpack beacon. It has some unusual features. Namely it appears to only be three slots high at top for the light instead of 4 like all the others. And it has an asymetrical black stripe on the top segment below the slotted top.
I've been asking folks what they think and I agree it appears to be a combination of masking tapes that didn't get pulled off all the way.
I feel like it's two layers, one that got hit with silver and another that got hit with black. Those are both colors that are on the jetpack in that area, the silver being the base layer. The weird shape in the back is probably just a tape-end coming up. The anomalies also seem to be present during the shoot at Kenner for the toy marketing shots:
So I'm gonna try to just make that work with masking tape, but if anyone has other ideas, please feel free to discuss here.
I've been asking folks what they think and I agree it appears to be a combination of masking tapes that didn't get pulled off all the way.
I feel like it's two layers, one that got hit with silver and another that got hit with black. Those are both colors that are on the jetpack in that area, the silver being the base layer. The weird shape in the back is probably just a tape-end coming up. The anomalies also seem to be present during the shoot at Kenner for the toy marketing shots:
So I'm gonna try to just make that work with masking tape, but if anyone has other ideas, please feel free to discuss here.
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
It's been on my mind! I've collected some PP1-specific parts, but I'm doubtful I'll ever actually start it since its taken so long to finish the PP2 and the ESB. If I ever do it will be years from now.
Rue1977
Hunter
That makes sense, and I kinda figured. I cannot fault you for your attention to detail and drive for accuracy though.
I did a PP1 helmet and now I'm preparing to repaint my old jetpack like the PP1, so I'm really hungry for more PP1 info, history, etc. And it's such a pain since there is such limited documentation, but I have a feeling there's a treasure trove somewhere on TDH I've yet to come across.
I did a PP1 helmet and now I'm preparing to repaint my old jetpack like the PP1, so I'm really hungry for more PP1 info, history, etc. And it's such a pain since there is such limited documentation, but I have a feeling there's a treasure trove somewhere on TDH I've yet to come across.
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
We do have pretty good documentation on that costume with all the early black and white photos. And some of that armor survived being repainted, so it still exists although scratched up pretty bad. Also Mario found some old polaroids from the Daydream days and several of the pictures are of the PP1 which ILM had sent them as a model to copy. They are not new pictures, they've been seen before, but they have always been pictures of pictures. We are getting them scanned and they should be publicly available soon.
Rue1977
Hunter
Ooooooh, awesome! Thank you so much for letting me know. I had assumed they were given the PP1, or pictures of, as a guide for the Daydream helmets and suits. Maybe I'd read that and forgotten I knew it and my mind thought I'd deduced it heh.
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
After discussing it with a number of bright people in various other places I decided to go with duct tape over electrical tape to replicate the funkiness of the PP2 jetpack beacon.
Of course, I'd prefer a more accurate beacon than this 15 year old one, but I don't know anyone making this style with the press-fit top and without the dome on top.
Of course, I'd prefer a more accurate beacon than this 15 year old one, but I don't know anyone making this style with the press-fit top and without the dome on top.
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
Hyper accuracy in this hobby based on our poor resources is still very much just a game of getting 'close enough.'
DennisFett1142
Hunter
I think the duct tape makes sense considering it's use on the back end of the tubes on the left gauntlet... Looks good to me.
