Doctor Who Themed Hockey Jersey

I'm not really a hockey fan, aside from the fact that I like MacGyver, and he's a hockey fan. But I am a fan of all things Doctor Who. So when our man RebelScum offered up this custom designed jersey that obviously borrows very heavily from DW iconography, I could not resist.

They are all sold out, by the way. So if you missed out... you missed out.

More Mermaid Scale Video

I pulled out of the mold my first full sheet of mermaid scales.

Batmobile Shell Is On The Move

I just go sent this photo a few minutes ago. It looks as if my shell is all loaded onto the trailer, and is about to make its way across the country.

I expect there will be a billion or so photos of it showing up on the internet as it makes the voyage.

Frock Coat Progress

I don't have a very strong track record with sewing projects, as I usually find myself frustrated beyond repair once I hit about the half way mark. But, after a few discussions both online and off recently, I thought I would give it another shot. I've got everything I could ever need onhand, so it's not like there's a big capital outlay to be had.
The real clincher was when my pal John Palmeri posted a link to this pattern on his facebook page:
http://www.oldtimepatterns.com/LM109b.html

It's a turn of the century frock coat. It reminded me a lot of a coat that Keith Carter had with him at last years Dragon*Con that I took a liking too. I got the pattern, went through the normal process of reading the instructions, then cut out the paper pattern pieces I would need.

I'm doing one in muslin first in order to debug the experience. So far, it's proven very valuable as I did a few things wrong the first time through. Overall though, things are coming together nicely.

The first picture is of the back side of the top of the coat. Just the torso.

The second picture is a closeup of the sleeve cuff. I thought it turned out particularly nice, so I decided a closeup was in order.

I don't really plan on documenting this build very much, as there are plenty of sewing websites out there that are far better at tutorials and walkthroughs. I suppose if anything, this is just sort of a "See, I CAN do anything!!!!" blog post. :D

Arkham City Grapple Gun Build Videos

Just this evening, I created a playlist on my youtube channel that contains ALL of the videos I've made documenting the build up of my Arkham City Grapple Gun. I didn't realize that I had over two hours of content! Here's a link to the playlist:

Arkham City Grapple Gun Build Playlist

Here's the first video, if you'd prefer to jump right in.

New Grinder Acquired

Having learned my lesson with buying low priced tools a few times over on the Ryobi brand, when purchasing my newest addition, I went with something a little higher tier.

This is a DeWalt grinder, along with a selection of disks that can be used for cutting and polishing. This tool is going to come in VERY handy once I start working with metal for the MattMobile frame. I think it's also a pretty handy tool to have, as it can do a lot of stuff. I'm glad to finally have one of these in my arsenal.

Angry Birds? In Irvine, Munson Make Birds Angry!

A lot of the skills I have learned as a prop maker and hobbyist are transferrable. Today my goal was to put up a series of bird spikes on my third floor balcony, as it seems to be that time of year when birds start looking for a next. And pooh.

The original plan was to use the included adhesive to simply glue them to the top side of the window ledge, but I feared that that stucco would not allow for it.

I headed down to the garage, cut a couple narrow strips of MDF, then adhered the strips to THAT. The entire contraption was simply placed on top of the window.

This way, there is no damage to the window, and I can remove the spikes during winter if I so desire.

PAX Panel Part Five

I am happy to present the last segment to the presentation portion of the show at PAX. In this one, Harrison/Volpin talks all about weathering. This is a very insightful and informative segment, so if you haven't been paying attention up until now, this is the place to start.

Vektor CP-1 Molding Progress

I've been sitting on this piece for a long time now, and finally found some time to start the molding process. For reference, this is a Vektor CP-1. It has been used in a ton of sci-fi and genre tv shows and movies. The main ones that come to mind are the new Battlestar Galactica, and The Fifth Element. It was used as the base gun for the Korben Dallas blaster. In NuBSG, it appeared unaltered, as a standard issue side arm. I can't think of any other films off the top of my head where it has shown up, but I see it all the time whenever they need an exotic or futuristic gun.

It took about two hours of work, but I have carefully clayed up all of the cracks and openings on the gun. I also filled in the barrel, but left about an inch worth of bore so it will still look good when it's finished. Speaking of bore, what I'm doing here is pouring a tiny amount of silicone down the barrel. I plan on molding this piece in two halves, a left and a right. Pouring silicone into a gap like this when the piece is lying on its side can be problematic, and usually results in air bubbles. Like, a huge one. So I mix up a tiny bit of silicone and carefully pour it in. When I pour the first half, it will bond to this silicone and will hold it in place inside the mold.

For the record, this Vektor is deactivated and can never be made to fire.

DareDevil Replacement Belt Buckle Arrives

Here's the buckle I'm going to use to replace the one that came with the amazing UD Replicas DareDevil suit.

The metal one on top is the new one. The one attached is the resin one that came with the costume.

PAX East Panel - Part 3 Is Online

In this one, I speak about tools and describe what I believe to be a fundamental and necessary tool set for any prop builder.

First MattMobile Shell Pics

It has definitely been a long time coming (and by that I mean, since 1989, when I first decided that I would one day have a Batmobile!) but here are the first photos of MY shell and detail pieces. These are still in the hands of the maker, but should be out here in Sunny SoCal soon.

Doctor Who Challenge Coin, Anyone??

I'm doing a little experiment here. Let me know what you think.

PAX Panel on Prop Making, Part II Is Up.

Here's the latest video:

DareDevil Belt Buckle Ordered

My UD Replicas DareDevil suit showed up the other day, and I will post pics soon, I promise. In the mean time, I've decided to replace the belt buckle on it. In a totally unrelated item, Art Andrews recently set about finding the buckle to his Storm Shadow costume from the G.I. Joe movie. To his surprise, the RPF identified it in under 8 minutes. I didn't really think much of it at the time, but I read the thread ONLY because Art was raving about how impressed he was by the breadth of knowledge present on the forum.

Fair enough!

So I read the thread, and I guess mentally filed away what the buckle looked like.

A week later, my DD suit arrived and I spied on the belt what I believed was the same buckle. Sure enough, it is. The buckle on the DD suit is a repro, made of plastic. I'd rather have it in metal... and I gets what I wants!!

Here's the website selling the belt and correct buckle:

http://www.wildlandwarehouse.com/wwcatalog/Airlock_Wildland_Belt_P21989C727.cfm

Shipping was 10 bucks, which makes this a pretty expensive belt, but oh well.

PAX East Panel: From Pixels to Props

Hey gang! I just put together a video that is part one of a series showing the entire panel I participated in at PAX. Check it out and let me know what you think!

I Ordered My Rims Today

As luck would have it, the manufacturer of the rims I need is just up the freeway, literally 30 minutes away, so that will save me a couple hundred bucks on shipping. SADLY, the rims are not at all very cheap.

I ordered rims from the Auto Drag series, which apparently is screen accurate. Here's a link directly to their page:
http://centerlinewheels.com/wheels_detail.php?mw_id=34&sw_id=371

Here's the specs of the ones I needed. They are not usually stocked, so they have to build them. 2 week turn around time. Note that these rims are specific to my car, and the tires I've already purchased. If you are building on a different donor, with different tires, these rims may not fit.

Finish: Satin
Bolt Pattern: 5 on 5
Rear Rims: 15 x 14w (4" 7/8 backspacing)*
Front Rims: 15 x 10w (3" 5/16 backspacing)

These are the rims that my buddy Tim in Canada is using on his build, and he is happy with them. I believe these were based on recommendations from the dude who build the shell, who has no doubt overseen numerous successful builds.

I guess this means I'm feeling pretty confident.

*Please note that I changed my order on the rear rims. After looking at some reference photos, and comparing some contradictory intel, I decided to make the backspacing a little higher so the wheels are recessed a tiny bit. I can ALWAYS buy pieces that can undo the backspacing, but I cannot add to the backspacing. A bit of a roll of the dice here, but hopefully things will work out. Worst case, I can recover.

Tires Have Arrived.

Yesterday the FedEx man dropped off four huge Mickey Thompson tires!



I may have posted about this earlier, but I wanted to take a moment to document what all the numbers on the tire specs mean. This confused the heck out of me for a long time, and now that I've got the tires on hand, I can make some sense of it. For the record, here are the specs of the rear wheels:

31" x 16.5" - 15"LT

And below are two pictures that illustrate where these measurements apply to the tires themselves.





In my minds eye, the back tire should be a lot larger than the front, but maybe it will all play out just fine. I'll have to wait and see. And hopefully I won't be returning any tires. Worst would be returning tires AND rims, but when I think about it, the rims should be applicable should I change tire size. I'm under the assumption that tires offer different sizes based on one variable changing, so if I wanted a larger diameter, but the same width and rim size, that would work. Big assumption.

Ordered MattMobile Tires Tonight

As my last act before leaving for PAX, I ordered my Mickey Thompson tires tonight. All told, just under $1,200 with shipping. For the record, here are the tires I ordered:

front:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mickey+Thompson/672/6546/10002/-1

Rear:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mickey+Thompson/672/6560/10002/-1

As with all things related to this car, there is a lot of difference of opinion about what tires are best for the car. I decided to go with these tires as they were recommended both by the guy providing my shell, and also Tim up in Canada who is building the BatBerry. His car is built off the same donor car, using the same shell I am getting. If he says these tires work, that's good enough for me.

New Great Video of Batmobile Meet Up.

My friends Brad and Athena over at Crave Online have put together a really beautifully and well produced video that covers the Batmobile showing at Bob's last week. Please check it out, and pass it on to friends. I'm super stoked to see my FIRST ever interview that someone ELSE did! lol. Usually I do my own :D

http://www.craveonline.com/film/articles/185981-batmobiles-united

Finishing Touches on Chassis Stretch

BTW came over today to finish up some extra reinforcement on the frame today. He welded on some steel plates, one over each seam. This should add a ton of strength to the spots where the rails are welded onto the chassis. BTW says they are not necessary, but can not hurt.

Here's how the pieces look welded into place.



Here's Bo, hard at working making my dreams a reality.



Another shot of the plate.



After some discussion with Bo, I realized that I do not need the firewall from the Caprice that I've been holding onto for a while. Originally, I had hoped to salvage it, as it's all shaped perfectly for the AC unit. However, because we are making so many changes to the overall dimensions of the car and placement of engine, I am convinced that this will be more work and time than I would save. So I pulled out the sawzall and chopped it up. Now it's off to the local dumpster to get rid of it.



Really neat to see the progress continuing at a steady pace. I'm also feeling very confident that the shell is going to make its way here sometime in the month of April. I suspect I will end up getting it myself, but I still have a few options to explore.

Tyrell Building Elevator Miniature Casting

I unearthed this in the garage today while cleaning up some stuff. This is a casting of the elevator from the Tyrell Building in "Blade Runner." This is not a fan made piece, but is an actual ancestor of a screen used or made for production piece.





I swiped this pic from the RPF, where you can see the elevator in use.



If you'd like to see more pictures in glorious high resolution, visit this thread:

http://www.thereplicapropforum.com/f10/tyrell-building-original-prop-59461/

30,000 Views And Counting!

I was just checking out the stats for my blog, and it appears that I have passed the 30,000 views mark! I really have no idea how that stacks up against other (actually popular!!!!) blogs, but I'm pretty happy with that!

Please keep the views coming, and don't forget to "follow" my blog by clicking on the link in the upper left hand corner. A tiny bit of effort on your behalf makes all of my efforts for you seem worthwhile :D

Rise of The MattMobile Episode 11 Is Up!!

I'm very proud to present the latest episode of my webseries, Rise of The MattMobile! I had a lot of help for this one from a bunch of friends. And no, I'm not referring to the five screen used Batmobiles that showed up at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank the other day. This one was really fun to make, and I threw it together pretty quickly so that it would still be current. Check it out!!!



Please subscribe to my new channel, TheProjectWorkBench on youtube so you can stay on top of all the new videos. "Like" it, comment on it, whatever! I definitely need the support!!