maquette for the harness

I had michaela round so i could get started on making the harness, made this paper maquette first using an image from google

image 169

http://www.softcom.net/users/unicorn/cont.htm

 to sketch out the basic shape of the parts

this was the first stp to getting the right size and making adjustments, it was quite fiddely and time consuming, but as soon as i got this made i was able to make another maquette from fabric, i just used an old pillowcase,

The paper templates on the fabric ready to draw round and cut out, these shapes are the size of the final shape, im going to add about a centimeter onto all the edges to allow for sewing pieces together and to hem the edges,

after the shapes have been drawn out with the extra material on the edges, I cut them out and made adjustments to the corners so they could be folded and sewn neatly,

the boarders on these are about 1cm all the way round, I cut the corners off because they're not needed and would just get in the way and make the sewing messy.

to make sure that the sewing machine stayed on corse and that the curve was sewn as designed I used pins to keep the material in place

this is all the parts sewn together, when I made this one, I sewed two peices together at a time, I will sew all the pieces together at once on the leather one so that the stitching will flow smoother.

harness joints

image 168

http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/showthread.php?192093-More-Duke-Nukem-Forever-Content-Released

this harness is pretty simple but it gives me a rough idea of the shape of the harness im making.

jetpack control

thinking about which side to have the control, i would instinctively put it on the left as that is the most common and logical,

image 167

http://gta.wikia.com/Jetpack
this jetpack is from GTA san andreas and as you can see the control is on the left,

small detail

since some of the items im making the jetpack with are 'found items' im going to make small details for them to make them look more original, like screw covers or decorative jewelery etc
an idea for he pressure gauge on the jetpack would be to make something to cover the elbow joint pipe tat connects it to he jetpack, something like this would look great,

hand control design

to make the fire extinguisher fire on demand im going to make a control that the wearer can opporate and activate with out setting timers or having any remote control electronic server stuff, im going to use a break sytem from a bike to pull the trigger on the fire extinguisher, so im going to design and make a control which the user either holds or has on the wrist etc...
few images that inspire me,

image 166

http://en.akihabaranews.com/13585/misc/steampunk-watches-will-you-dare this watch is amazing, i love how it has a really comlex wrist support strap and the vintage clock on the front is sprung in place, the leather is also a really nice touch,
the following watches are from the same site,

image 165

this one has less machanism and more leather, this one would probably be more comfortable and wouldn't catch on things unlike the one above,

image 164

i like the smaller clock on this one, it has that rugid look again, and the simple clock face also lends to the solid look, almost looks like its just a circular block of brass with a clock face on it,

image 163

this is another one with lots of mechanisms going on, the aged finish of these watches make them look much better than if they were polished till they were spotless, i like the aged look, and think it would make it more beliveable as a prop.

image 162

http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-incredible-steampunk-watches/

these are homemade watches made in a steampunk manor, they all have alternate straps so they fit differently to normal ones.

image 161

http://cncntrc.tumblr.com/page/2

this watch is much like something i want for the hand control, something thats designed to be worn as a wrist/hand combo, i like the clock face being on the thumb holster part of this watch too, and also the cannister thing on the wrist strap.

image 160

image 159

http://macabre151.deviantart.com/art/Functional-Steampunk-Wrist-Gun-156871608
this wrist device looks pretty cool, and the cable running up the arm is similar to whatim going to make, im going to make mine more descreet though

here are some sketches i've put together regarding the bike break lever and a gauge or dial of some kind, i would like to make or buy a speed gauge for this control as it would be more practical to have the speed gauge in an easiely viewed place.

i thouht of this design when i saw 'Ray Steam' from the film 'Steamboy' and just alteredit to what i need,

this deisgn is similar to the above but has slightly more ergonomic shape to it, i also added a whistle, im not keen on this design so ill say clear of shapes like these.

this design is somethin that would work really well, practically, the glove allows the user to hold other things aswell as the contol to the jetpack, the speed gauge is on the inside of the wrist because when in flight the inside of thewrist wold be more comfortable facing inwards towards the persons body, therefore making it easier and more comfortable to look at the speed etc.

these drawings basically show a number of different lever/trigger design, some with finger holes, some shortened so that only two or one finger is need to pull the lever back.

 the first of these designs were inspired by an object in the film 'Steamboy'

(a screen shot taken from the film 'Steamboy')
and the other designs were adaptations of that.

image 159

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=45560&start=75
this is the 'big sister' from 'bioshock 2' i like the double gauge glove on the left hand, and the style of this costume is similar to what I'm making,

pressure gauges

I have already bought one pressure gauge for the jetpack, i want some more though, for the hand control and for the harness, i want authentic looking ones but theyre really expensive for what im going to use them for, so im considering making some on th lathe, from something like alooy and then spraying them and aging them to match the colours and style of the one i already have, plus thi way i will be able to make them exactly as i want them, the size and shape of them would be a much better fit to the design i have already mad for the harness and hand control.
a few reference images to inspire a design,

image 158

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/10186667/MERCEDES_BENZ_VINTAGE_TYRE_PRESSURE_GAUGE.html
this oe is really nice, not like most of the pressure gauges ive seen, i love the half screen style and sompany logo, the colours are also excellent.

image 157

http://www.fast-autos.net/ this one is a really strong shape and size, the thickness of it makes it look really robust and sturdy, this would be a great aspect to add to the design of the ones i make, the finish on this one looks aged and like the top layer of the metal has worn off, i could achieve this loo by wiping engine oil on it or just dark paint.

image 156

http://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org/what_to_see/notes_from_the_orlop.php?page_function=detail&orlop_note_id=36 this one is a nice big one, the fae on it looks great, i like the hand aswell, due to the time i have left, or the
 lack of it should i say, il probably just print the hand onto the face of the gauge.

a design for a small gauge, im going to lathe alloy and spray it to make it look like a pressure gauge, i dont havthe time or money to keep looking and buying them on 'ebay', plus it would be nice if i made some of them, after all thats what im here to do.

this is the design for the medium sixed pressure gauge on the harness, next to the small gauge it will be like a control panel on the harness, this would be better on the harness rather than the jetpack as the wearer wouldnt be able to see what was happeneing if it was on their back,

an idea that popped into my head whilst thinking about the speed gauge for the hand control,

this idea was much better than the one above, and ive incorperated a pressure timer, to let the user know how much flying time they have left.

the nose cone

making a nose cone for the rocket from chemiwood on the lathe, using a really dense block becuse i want a
really smooth finish on it and i want it to blend in to the pipe that its going to sit on top of.

started with a cuboid block of chemiwood and drew a circle with a radius of 60mm so that i would have 5mm of room between the actual shape needed and the outside of the working block.

i cut the corners off so that it would be easier on the tool on the lathe.

made a block of wood and screwed and glued it to the base of the block for the chuck to hold on to.

the block in the chuck ready to go, need to round it off untill fully circular first, then il zero it off and take layers of 0.5mm at a time unitll i get to the required size.

the block after about half an our to 45 minutes of lathing, its at the same diameter as the pipe now, ready for tomorrow, when i'll make the steps and round off the cone shape.

started to step out the curve.

finished making the curve with the facing off tool, time to smooth the curve with sand paper, then glass paper

much smoother than before, looks great and i can imagine it on the top of the tube now, still needs more sanding yet though,

almost done sanding now, have gone through the grades of glass paper to 1200 grain, using water too, when it was spinning on the lathe i could almost see my reflection in the cone.

after cutting the block off the bottom the nose cone was complete, still need to paint it obviously but have finished making it now, placed it ontop of the tube to see how it fit, there is a small difference in size but the tube is bigger than the cone so when i glue it on i'll just sand the tube untill they're both flush against each other. quite happy with the nose cone, has only taken me a day really do design and make it, one of the major things ticked off the list.

hmm...bit of a problem

came into uni and found that the clay joints i made to the tube had cracked and fallen off the surface of the birds because the clay doesnt stick to plaster filler,

so im going to have to find another way to sculpt onto the birds and to join the tube to the birds. i could use the filler to sculpt with, if i mix it as a thick consistancy then it will be thick enought to hold a shape and i will be able to sculpt with it, the only problem then being its still not going to have a surface that can be adhered to.

more work to the birds

since the basic shape of the birds are complete, im covering them with a filler coating to give them a sturdy base to sculpt onto.

went to B&Q to get some pipe fittings, and have arranged them to look like a jetpack rocket, this wont be the final layout but it gives me inspiration for more layouts.

Also polished up the pressure gauge but not completely as i like the aged look. im going to try and match the colours and look in some of the paint work of the jetpack.