some more research images

image 155

http://www.popgive.com/search?q=steampunk
this steampunkpendrive like the other one i uploaded is awesome for a rocket design as its cylendrical and has little valve looking details and pipes on it, i've found an artist called Will rockwell who makes things just like the one above, infact that is one of his and its for sale for $3,000.

image 154

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this one is also a memory drive believe it or not, i love the style and functionality of the design too. im sure this will inspire me for my jetpack.

image 150

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image 148

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66148780/copper-steampunk-8gb-usb-flash-drive
this one isnt as impressive as some of the preivious ones i found but still very nice.

image 147

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image 145

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63732109/the-sojourner-an-8gb-usb-drive 

absolutely love this one, it looks like a jetpack already, the two exhaust pipes ate the sides and the manifold looking plate held on with rivets looks awesome.

image 144

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/08/
this memory stick is amazing, probably not something i would desgn my jetpack similar to but definately cool.

image 143

http://www.ubergizmo.com/topic/computers/usb/page/19/ i saw his one and yelled out 'WOW' this one doesnt really have any features that i would put on my jetpack but is so cool.

continuing with foam model

since im now using the foam birds for the final model, im going to use a surform to round of and finish shaping the birds, then use filler to smooth it all over,

finshed surforming the birds, going to buy some filler and smooth them over tonight, might give them a base coat tonight aswell if i have time.

Talk with Will

Just been talkin to Will about the project, so... im not going to mould and cast the jetpack now, im going to make it from the foam sketch model, scultping in foam and filling and sanding. Also, i was thinking of going to visit 'Articole studios' in hertfordshire as i was going to make the jetpack from fiberglass and thats what they do, but since now im making it in a different way its a bit far to go just to visit a company, so Will told me about 'Scary Cat studios' in bristol and they do alot of interestingstuff aswell, and theyre really close so i wouldnt be wasting time traveling instead of being with Scary Cat.
I showed Will what i currently have with the model and costume, he said that the foam model would be good enough to model from for the finished thing, and to get lots of 'found items' and customise them to make them look like they've been made, eg covering up screws and making decorative covers for switches etc. today im going to start sanding and smoothing off the birds from the setch model and later on tonight im going to pinch a piece of pipe from the construction site outside modelmaking to use for the rocket housing, im going to go back to B&Q and get some more fixtures for the rocket and something like a drain cover for the bottom end cap of the rocket. ill also make some milliput detailing for the pressure gauge ive got. basicall im going to be very busy over the next few days building up the jetpack shape, im going to get as much done as i can so that when i visit a company i can take it with me and show them what im doing, and ask them what they would do and what they think of my model.

collecting materials

started buying materials and pieces fo the model, so far ive got a vintage pressure gauge for the jetpack, i might try and get some other dials for the harness and hand control. i also recieved the first fire extinguisher in the mail today, whilst studying it i found that the trigger is perfect for whati need, i didnt want a button release as it would have been hard to attach a break cable to it, it has a trigger which is easy to attach one to. I am also pleased about the dimensions of the extinguisher as the jetpack is meant to be petite and slim, i went to B&Q this morning to see if i could get a piece of pvc piping for moulding the rocket but the plumbing pipe they had was much too slim and the guttering was too wide, so im still on the hunt for a nice piece of pipe, il go to wickes and local diy shops tomorrow, and if i cant find any then , il have to make a tube myself from styrene and expanding foam or something.

this pressure gauge is fantastic for this jetpack, i bought one that is used because i want it to fit right in with the rest of the model, im not going to have and brand ew looking copper piping or anything on it either, if i buy a fixture or item to detail it ill weather and age it to match the rest of the jetpack.

this is the extinguisher i bought, its probaly one of the smallest ones availible, used for motorbikes, boats and cars etc. its around 28cm tall and 6cm in diameter.

this is the trigger system, its perfect as its small and simple. im going to cut part of the handle off as its not need and will only take up space.

this photo shows how im going to make it remote triggered and make the jet come out of the top of the extinguisher as apose to the side. The pink line indicates a break cable, the yellow blocks show a locking nut or some form of locking material, the green arrow indicate which direction the cable will go when the break lever is pulled, and the blue lines show the tube that im going to fabricate to the present nozzle to divert the spray to the top of the extinguisher and out of the bottom of the jetpack.

view of the nozzle, il buy soe thin rubber tubing and insert it into the hole and apply milliput around the gap to seal it off. the smaller tubing should make the pressure rise and make for a better spray.

this is the spray from the fire extinguisher, its pretty good considering how small the extinguisher is.

just to get some sort of idea what i'l look like.







first set of measurments

I've asked my girlfriend Michaela to model the jetpack for my portfolio.Since this prop is meant to fit snuggly, ive measured her so i can make the harness to fit properly.

these are the measurements I need, im only making the jetpack and the harness, the rest of the costume i will buy and alter.

this is what the net of the harness will look like, im going to make a maquette harness fit to see if it fit and to see if i can improve the shape or style of it any. as soon as i have this finished i will go out and buy some leather or faux leather to make the real one. im going to do this at home as i have sewing machine there.





starting to make/ foam model

so ive designed the jetpack, and the costume, now to start making them and seeing if i can make them better. blue foam models are easy and quick to make, and can often allow corrections and mistakes to be made before the final model is started. heres what ive done so far...

these were just cut on the band saw, then i'l use the hot wre to smooth off the corners and get some more detail. im going to use some scrap denim strips from the workshop for the harness straps and il measure my model tonight so i can begin to draw out the final design. the way im thinking of making it is to sculpt the whole thing from clay, then to vaccum form it and make a fibreglass cast from the vac form mould. so the final thing will be a fibreglass shell thats screwed to a fireglass back plate then attached to the harness.
i hould be able to start sculpting it this week and start fibre glassing next week. (hopefully)

using the hot wire loop tool i carved out shapes in the birds, the round hole in the middle is for the pressure gauge i bought, im going to extend the tails of the birds by attaching longer tails onto the bit ive carved off the tails. then the rest is just smoothing off corners and making the head round



continued with the foam model, whilst using the hot wire to round off corners and create the birds profile shape, i realised the ack of the bird looked much better than the front, so i flipped them both over and switched sides.

glued the pieces together and added the tail feathers and the wing extensions. i like the look of it, but im still unsure as to how im going to detail the birds, i dont want too much detail and simple birds would just look rubbish, i think feahter detail, eyes and the beak would be fine.

im going to neaten this model up by filling the gaps with either clay or car body filler, then maybe applying some colour to it with paint probably. il use emulsion or acrylic as its cheap and wont affect the foam. 

some sketches

this is a sketch of the proposed idea for the jetpack, coloured to the style of costume one. red leather harness, vintage white shirt and dark brown trousers, the jetpack will have combinations of gold, brass, copper and may

be white aswell.

Im going to use a fire extinguisher to create an exhaust blast for the photo's. And whilst talking to Ed Mitton about how to trigger the extinguisher, Ed said to use a bike break lever as the trigger, thus coming across the idea of the hand control above. using one break lever, break cable and a couple of bike cable clamps it will be perfect (thearetically) for triggering the extinguisher on que. 

a daigram to show the triggers workings. seems pretty simple, im going to buy two extinguishers, one to test before attaching it to the jetpack and one for the photos.

whilstthinking about making the mechanism I realised that the jet would come out the wrong way, so to make it come out of the top of the extinguisher and the bottom of the jetpack, i will buy a nozzle converter ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CD-395-OMP-FIRE-EXTINGUISHER-CONNECTION-STRAIGHT-1-8-/350414467018?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5196546fca ) , then plug the original hole with milliput and make an airway to the new nozzle. i could come across problems here as i could miss little gaps and this would make the jet les powerful and might allow leakage.

thrusters

aIm looking for something that looks awesome as a jetpack thruster. looking for shapes and items that would make a great feature on it.

image 142

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/retro-flavored-8-gb-steampunk-flash-drive-is-uber-cool/
found this usb stick on google, but when i saw it i saw a jectpack thruster, the little circular window would be a pressure gauge and the opening for the micro sd card would be the jet exhaust, the little wires would be pipelines for steam or water, and the shape is exactly what im looking for.

image 141

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1128889

saw these car C02 spray things on google and thought that they would make great exhaust caps, because im going to have a fire extinguisher as the propellant.this would be quite easy to make and it would make for a wider exhaust gas look.

I was just thinking of how to activate or release the gas from the canister from the users hand, and Ed Mitton came up with the idea for a hand control using a bike style brake lever, this is a great idea, if you sqeeze the lever the cable tightens and closes a break arm, tis arm would be able to close the handle on the extinguisher therefore opening the valve and letting out the gas, i thought that this owul be excellent as a speed controller, i could attach a speed gauge too.

I have lote of spare bike parts so I would be able to make a maquette version quite quickly, im going to buy the fire exstinguisher now and when it arrive I will be able to test it out, I might even buy two so that i can use one for testing and one for the shoot.

bird jet pack

ive done a few sketches and am now going to make some sketch models to see how they look in 3d. i bought a mini wooden man and made some jetpacks with miliput and card,

just made a simple cardboard harness to attach the model to.

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 the first jetpack done, a simple shape with a pressure gauge at the top, then wing detailing added over the top , sprayed gold just to give it a steampunk feel, i like it but i know i can improve it some what.

thought of a jetpack with wings, then i thought about a jetpack with birds on it, did this sketch to see what looks best, wings open or wings pointing down. i much prefer the one with the wings pointing down, its much more streamline and attractive.

so i made this sketch model,

a single cylender shaped rocket in the center, with a bird either side of it, the bird would be a decorative container for the fuel or some mechanism.

Im going to design a jet pack with two birds either side of the rocket, with the wings being the most dominant feature of the jetpack. im going to source out pictures of birds to se which seems the best style and shape fr the jetpack.

image 140

http://www.worstedwitch.com/2006/08/16/bulbs-for-birds/

I like this as it has simple outlines of birds so its esy to see what would look good.

these are the birds that i like from the above.

Just quickly put them into position asif they were either side of a rocket.i dont want one tyhat has the wings out horizontally, I'd like the wings to be pointing as down as possible if that makes sense. so I think the green bird is the one I will choose. i could goout and search for more and more birds but I spent too much time designing the costume rather than the jetpack so I need to get a move on.