Smallville Book of Rao

In a moment of weakness, I just HAD to buy this!

This is a replica of the "Book of Rao" as seen in season 9 of Smallville. It was sort of one of those instrumental plot devices that never quite became instrumental. It played a good role in a number of episodes, but I get the feeling that the original plot-line that they had in mind for this device got lost in the shuffle of everything else going on for this season.





Overall, I would say this is an EXCELLENT quality replica. VERY nicely made. Looks like it's all CNC'd, and hand polished. The company that makes these has had a bunch of hands-on encounters will Smallville props, though I cannot say with certainty that this was modelled after a screen used piece, or just off screen captures. If I find out more, I will let you know.

If you're interested, here's a link directly to the product if you would like to order one of your own.

And on the off chance they change thier website layout and that link goes dead, you can visit them at www.replicaprops.com and check out all of their cool Smallville props.

Cape Material, Again?

Exciting news here from FOS:R&D. (that’s code for “Fortress of Solitude: Research & Development” –ed) I have what appears to be a VERY strong lead on the original source material used in the making of the Superman Returns cape. I’m talking about the pyramid pattern used in the outer shell, mind you.

Historically, I have constrained my searches to a certain type of material, but the other day I had a brain storm that led me down a different path. I did a little google-fu, and found a few places online that seem to deal in the type of material I am looking for. I sent out a few emails, and included a close up scan of the cape material.

Today, ONE of them replied saying they had a match for this pattern! I have requested a sample of the material, which they are going to send out asap. Based on previous experiences, my expectations are low. BUT, I cannot help but get a little excited about it! If I can find this material, it will make my life A LOT easier. One of my main concerns is transportation of the giant mold I made of the cape. If I find the source material, I can just throw out that mold when the time comes. Having the original material will also allow me to remaster the cape mold. I can make them in different sizes, and also correct a number of the imperfections that are in my current mold.

Also, and perhaps most importantly, it would allow me to remaster the mold in different materials. If I wanted to make a stone mold, I totally could. A rigid mold from 1630 could also be done, which would make some aspects of construction much easier.

So yes, very excited!

Perma-Flex Shout Out!

Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my new friends over at Perma-Flex Molds, my local distributor of Smooth-On products.

A very friendly bunch of folks, and also very knowledgeable. Which is a great combination. They have TONS Of Smooth-On stuff on hand, and naturally it saves me on shipping charges. I get the stuff right away, and it's cheaper. What could be better?

Check out Perma-Flex on the web!

If you're looking for a local distributor of Smooth-On products, check out this page on their website. It's SOOOO much cooler than ordering online!

Body Double Tests

With my order of laser etched leather just about to be placed, I wanted to do some final experimentation with Smooth-On's "Body Double" silicone. It's a brush on silicone that cures in just a few minutes, and based on ALL of my tests so far is just fantastic.

What I wanted to determine is the best application technique, in order to make sure I minimize bubbles and maximize detail retention.

To that end, I applied the stuff to my leather sample using three different techniques. I used a stipple technique on one sample, a "goop on" strategy with another (meaning that I applied it in heavy brush strokes), a thin brush strokes approach.



As of this writing, I have not yet peeled the tests up, so I cannot give you the results. However, based on previous tests I ran, it seems not to matter which application technique I use, as all of them seem to yield great results. Which is really fantastic, by the way. I will post the results when I have them.

Also, some VERY exciting news on the horizon, though I am loathe to post it until it is confirmed for sure. But it could literally be a "game changer" for this project, and will definitely eliminate a lot of guesswork in some upcoming efforts. I'm very excited, and hope to know more within a few days. Stay tuned!!

New Urethane Recommendation

I called the good folks at Smooth-On today and talked about the trouble I'm having with getting a thin layer of urethane to work in my 1630 mold. The helpful chap I spoke to recommended their "Brush On" line, which makes a whole ton of sense and I'm sorry I did not think of it myself, or sooner.

Here's a link: Brush On Series

I'm going to order a sample kit to play around with, and see what kind of results I can get.

Thought I would throw a little terminology out at you too. If something is low viscosity, that means it's more like water. If it's high viscosity, that means it's more like syrup.

I was told that the brush on urethane can be thinned with isopropyl alcohol, by the way.

Cape Fabric Revisited

With the outer skin of the cape REALLY coming together, to a point where I think I've pretty much got it nailed, it's time to turn once again to the question of the inner fabric.

I found some stuff that works pretty well, but it's a bit heavy, and I'm not perfectly happy with it. I think if I used it, I would have to build some kind of internal mechanism underneath the body suit to support it. That may not be all that bad, but I'm going to take another shot at finding the right fabric.

I really think it's some sort of gabardine, which fits with the research I've done and the swatch I have. I guess at the end of the day I'm more concerned about function and weight over accuracy. I want the cape to flow properly, be light, and be colored correctly. The weave isn't really going to bug me. So I'm looking at gabardine online.

As with my search before, the real bummer is that there's not a lot of fabric available in bolts over 65" wide, which is what I need. I found ONE place online so far, and ordered a swatch.

Here's the link.

Boot Pattern Test

This will be my last update for today, and should get me almost completely caught up on my blogging.

I am doing a test to see what the best way is to replicate the surface used on the boot. This test has me doing a thin layer of brushed on urethane using a rigid mold of 1630.

I start with the rigid mold, and spray some mold release on it. My previous research shows that the urethane reacts no differently if you brush it onto a treated surface or an untreated surface. The difference is that it comes off MUCH easier if you have the mold release sprayed down.



I then taped off a section. This was really just to help me peel the edges up when the time comes to remove it.



I mixed up a small batch of urethane and brushed it on. I had to keep chasing "lift off" points as I brushed. This continued for about ten minutes, until the stuff started to kick and it didn't pull back as much. Even then, after another ten minutes, a few spots developed. That was certainly not good news.



A day later, I mixed up another batch of urethane. This time I made it more opaque, but didn't bother getting the right shade of red. No big deal, it's just a test.



Interestingly, the two layers of urethane did not work well together. The second layer tended to pull back from the FIRST layer. I did not expect that at all. I expected the opposite: that they would work very smoothly together. Interesting stuff.

I will post a picture of the finished piece later.

Latex Tests On Cape Mold Cont'd

It seems like I am always messing around with this cape mold, trying to figure out the best techniques and materials to use in order to get the best results.

I TRULY believe that I am a lot closer today than I have ever been before.

Check out these patches of test brush-ins that I did just the other night:



There are a number of factors which make these tests interesting. First is that the latex is BARELY lifting up from the silicone. It actually went down VERY smoothly, VERY thin, and is not behaving AT ALL like the rubber I got from Burman Foam a while back.

For the record, I used a dense foam four inch roller brush I got from Lowe's, along with the latex Rubber I got from The Motion Picture FX Company. The pigments I used are from GM Foam, Inc.

I think the type of brush is key, as is the latex.

I need to run a couple more tests, but I REALLY think this is going to be the recepie for success. This new rubber I'm using is just great. The only remaining piece of the puzzle is opacity. I need to figure out how many layers I need to do in order to get the opacity I need. If it's more than three, I will do some experimentation with Kilz to notch up the opacity on the latex. I would prefer NOT to have to use Kilz, as that complicates the coloring process, in case I need to repeat it.

Primer In Mold Test

The other day, when I was thinking outside of the bun, I put some primer down on the cape before brushing in latex. It looked like it was going really well. The latex did not pull up at all from the silicone, and seemed to go on smoothly.

I brushed in another layer of latex, then backed it with some fabric.



When that dried, I peeled it up.



After running under some warm water, and a little scrubbing, I got to this point:



I would classify this as "mixed results". Granted, I needed to spend a little more time and elbow grease getting all the primer off, and that's sort of part of the issue. The final piece looks nice, and there are no bubbles. But for the time it takes to scrub off that little piece of cape, it gets me worried about how long it would take to do the ENTIRE cape. I mean, it's a big thing! I'm also not sure how the scrubbing would effect it. I might damage the pattern or material as I go.

I think for the time being, I will keep this technique in the back of my head, and file under "if all else fails". I did get some good results, but for the labor required to get them, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Etched Leather Tests

This post actually covers a few days worth of stuff, but since it's kind of all part of the same story, I decided to consolidate it.

I received in the mail the laser etch samples from MK Engraving, and they are great. Katie sent me three different tests, showing the varying depths that their laser can etch.



The next thing to do was to test out my planned process. The goal is to have a big sheet of this etched, the mold it, then cast it, and use the castings to build up the boots. The reasons are many. First is that I am not good at dealing with leather. Second, having molds of the stuff will allow me to make as many copies of it as I want, without the expense of having leather etched each time I want to take a stab at it. Third, it will allow me to offer the materials to other enthusiasts who may want to build their own pair of boots.

I'm going to use a Smooth-On product called "Body Double" to make a mold of this leather. It's a two part, very rapid cure silicone product. I have never used it before, but I have heard very good things about it.



Here's a link to the Body Double product on the Smooth-on Website.

The Body Double mixes up very quickly, brushes on nicely. I'm not really sure what the work time is, though I hear it's pretty short. Just a few minutes. Here's the leather after I gobbed on some silicone. Accuracy wasn't really at stake here. All I really wanted was to be sure that the three little samples were covered.



I let it cure for about an hour, though I'm quite sure it was ready for de-mold after five or ten minutes. Here's the mold!



I then poured up a little batch of urethane, just as a test. It didn't really matter what the color was, and yes, this is too pink.



That's where things stand as of right now. The goal here is to have a urethane sample that will represent what the final product will look like. From there, I will choose which etching depth is right for the project, and place an order for a large sheet of the stuff.