Multipass Video Tutorial Is Coming

Just a quick pic of a build up I am in the middle of. It's going together really quickly, so I decided it was finally time to do a video tutorial. As soon as I'm done with this build I will start. Stay tuned for more!

The Fifth Element Mangalore Grenade Prop Replica

This is a replica of the grenade used by Korben Dallas during the climactic fight against the Mangalores in The Fifth Element. This is an all machined piece, made by Russrep, a fantastic machinist who operates out of the UK. The correct maglight flashlight was used as the handle of this piece, just like the one in the movie.

I have since sold this piece, but I keep this page here as reference.

Studio Scale Fifth Element Taxi Cab Kit

As the title says, this kit is for sale. Notice that the front end IS different than the filming miniature. I've spoken to a friend who worked on the production, and I'm convinced that THIS is the model that was delivered to the shop, which then had the front end modded. Not knowing much about what happend in the shop during production, I cannot say for sure why. If I had to guess, I would say it was because someone changed their mind about how the taxi was supposed to look at the last minute, and by that time they had already created the master pattern. This piece has been sold, but I'm keeping this page here as reference.

Kit measures about 22" long. Comes in two parts. A piece on the bottom has cracked off, and will need to be re-attached.

For reference and comparison, I'm dropping in a few screen grabs from the movie.

And while I've got your attention, here's a part of my interview with Ted Smith, my friend who worked on the movie. In this clip we speak specifically about the Taxi miniature for the show.

Fifth Element ZF-1 Parts Progress

There's been a small burst of productivity lately, and the ZF-1 project has benefitted. I think it may be due to the fact that I've been informed that two or three parts sets are in transit from Australia, which will bring me to a near complete set. Excite!

A while back, I sourced all of the model kits that are used for kit bashing on the ZF-1. There were three of them, from the Star Trek: Voyager model kit series. In total, the kits cost me over 100 bucks. I figured I would mold the kit pieces needed to build the ZF-1, not only so I wouldn't have to risk screwing up the original pieces for my build, but also to offer them to fellow builders at a fraction of the cost of purchasing all three kits.

The first side of a couple of two part molds that I poured up the other day when my friend Ewan came over. I had those little pieces clayed up for some time now, but just never got around to putting rubber on them. What you see below is the piece embedded in rubber, after I pulled away all the clay.

This is the one part mold, or "Dump mold" that I made for the big piece of one of the models that goes on the front of the ZF-1. The mold came out just beautifully.

Here is what casting done right looks like. This is an absolutely flawless cast. ZERO bubbles, nice flat back, all level and smooth.

This is another dump mold I made for two little pieces that go on the side of the ZF-1.

Here, I compare the original piece in grey, with some resin copies. Again, flawless. No bubbles, just beautiful castings.

Here's how I prep to pour the second half of the two part mold. I used a thin piece of styrene to make the wall around the bottom half of the mold, and hot glue gunned it to a piece of MDF. Next step is to spray it with mold release, then dump rubber on top.

That's all for now. I'm going to try to pour up the second halves of the two part molds tomorrow, which may ACTUALLY happen as I have some other stuff I need to mold too. I must confess I'm incredibly pleased with how well these pieces came out. If you need a set, please shoot me an email.