A few more pics of the dead space model – I’ve been working on the background.  The goo is made form polyurethane foam and hot glue and will be a necromorph infestation once it’s finished.

Here’s an update on the Dead Space model.

First off I’ve started constructing a background. The idea is that he’s standing on a ruined piece of corridor floating in space. There’ll be some necromorph infestation on the wall too.

This is made out of 2mm mdf some old packaging pieces and plastic tubing.

I’ve also been working on the back so the health and stasis display are taking shape.

And the plasma cutter is more or less finished too.

Some painted pics of the Dead Space model.  I’ve now assembled most of the pieces although there’s still plenty of work to do on the arms and back.

I’ve also started piecing together a background out of MDF.  This will comprise a corridor with pipes and associated scifi paraphernalia and also some necromorph infestations which will mostly be made out of polyurethane foam.

I’ve been expanding the Martian pepper-pot robot.  He’s now got a set of arms and a kind of boiler type arrangement on his back.

It’s all made out of brass tubing, bolts and some portholes intended for scale model ships.  And a pepper pot of course.

One of the main challenges with this has been making sure I don’t melt any solders I’ve already made that are nearby.

This is exacerbated by the small scale of the model but I’ve found that attaching a few crocodile clips to the existing joints is enough to conduct the heat away and prevent them falling apart.

Work continues on the Dead Space model.  As you can see I’ve been installing LEDs.

The health bar on the back is a piece of ‘side emitting’ fibre optic cable.  There’s an LED at either end to ensure an even spread of light.

I’ve started painting the model now too.

Here’ re some pics of the plasma cutter too.

Here’s the final album artwork that I created for my brothers new album Three Rows of Teeth.  You can hear it here.

So work continues on the Dead Space model.  I’m getting close to finishing although I’m concentrating on detailing the model at the moment.  I found a fantastic website ( http://www.prime-miniatures.co.uk/home ) that sells small scale bolts and conduit, piping that sort of thing, so I’ve been taking full advantage of that.

Here’s some of the detail around the neck.  This comprises some 2mm braided cable, brass tubing, part of a mechanism from an old VHS player and a piece of a 1/6th scale machine gun.

The chest display unit (whatever it’s called – they never really refer to it in the game) is hinged and can move up and down.  The wires that will eventually light some LEDs in the unit are covered in braided cable to hide them.

The black cable extending over the shoulder is a quick release from a 1/6th scale parachute (from the same one that I took the harness that he’s wearing).  I figured the RIG might have a quick release mechanism in case you need to get out of it quickly ;0)

I’ve also built some thrusters which sit in the back of the leg guards.  These were made from aluminium, brass and plastic tube, black milliput and the valves are plastic press stud fasteners from Hobbycraft.

And finally I’ve made a start on the most iconic bit, the plasma cutter.  Early days at the mo.  It’s built over a soldered brass framework.  The handle is plastic and milliput which I’ve filed down to the correct shape.  The front will be able to rotate.  Threading the wires through the square tubing was a little fiddly but got it in the end!

So take a regular brass pepper pot.

Add some port holes and it turns into a martian robot!  I’ll be adding some spindly arms and legs in due course ;0)

An update on the Dead Space model.  I’ve now finished the sculpting on the main body.  This has included several small detail pieces that, along with the knee and elbow pads, I’ve cast in Jesmonite resin.  This is basically like plaster but slightly strong and without the strong chemical smell of polyester resin which makes it perfect for home use.  I simply embedded these pieces into the sculpey.

I’ve also created some brass arm pieces and have started detailing the chest panel too.

Text

So the Dead Space model is coming along.

I’ve found myself using many more techniques on this one than I’d planned.  First off the knee pad is going to be moulded in silicon and cast in resin.  I spent quite a while trying to find the correct shape.  In the end I incorporated a minstrel into the sculpture ;0)

The knee/shin pads were originally going to cardboard that I intended to cover in sculpey or miliput.  In the end I used shaped and soldered brass.  This is useful as first it’ll stand the temperature when I eventually come to cook the sculpey (you have to heat it to make it set so I’ll be doing that with a heat gun).  Secondly it’s made it easy to add in some small piston detail on the sides and thirdly the colour is really nice so I think I might even leave these as is when I come to paint them, or at least remove some of the paint so the brass shows through.

Soldering brass at a small scale presents a few problems.  As it’s so small the whole piece will heat up so it can cause any joints you’ve already done to fall apart.  I’ve found that holding the existing joints with pliers and crocodile clips is enough to conduct the heat away and stop everything collapsing.

I’m also using brass for the neck and chest pieces.  It’s proved a useful method of creating the basic shapes which can then be used to add detail to.

Back

I tried coming up with some basic ideas for the helmet with cardboard initially.  There’re a few different designs from the games I like so I wanted to try and incorporate elements from several different versions.

The basic shape was built over the cap from a deodorant bottle.  I’ve created detailing by building basic shapes out of plastic and foam board.  I’ve then filled in gaps with millput and sanded it down to a smooth finish.

The final version also incorporates various found items and pieces shaped in brass.