Scratch Build – In Progress tf2 heavy tribute 2-07-08

for some reason my log got messed up so im reposting it

i reccently became interseted in moding and this is going to be my first mod so wish me luck

my idea for this mod was to make a tf2 related mod
i didn't want to decorate an exsisting case so i was going to make something from the game
my only options were
the heavys mini gun
the engie's sentry
and the pyros flame thrower

so i decided to do the mini gun

incase you have no idea what im talking about or dont know what tf2 is here are some pics



ok so the first thing i did was remove all the parts from the old dell case i had
i used this in stead of new parts since i have no money


here are some pictures of the case and what it looked like empty


this is the mother board and the other parts that i took out

so after starting i had many ideas on how to do this over all i decided that i would put the mother board and most of the rest in the ammo bucket/tube

but making a circular pc case was something that i was stumped on so had 2 ideas that might actually work the first was to makea wire frame with hard ware cloth and then cover with fiber glass

but my second idea came to me as soon as i saw it it was to take a bucket as the frame and wrap fiber glass around it to make the relative shape


here is the ordinary bucket that chlorine and other chemicals usaly come in

so now that i have an idea of what to do, im going to use the exsisting mother board panel and attach the mother board to it and that to acrilic for strength which will all go inside the bucket

first i removed all the panels by drilling the rivots out


here is all of the different panels that i took apart
i wonder if my warrenty still aplies

after geting the panel i needed, i had to cut it down in order to fit inside the bucket
i cut it with a oxyacetylene cutting torch and then finished it of using a grider


here is the finished product


and here it is inside the bucket


since my acrilic and fiber glass has not come in this is as far as i could get

due to the fact that i have school at the soonest expecct there to be a new one every week

and on a final note sorry for the pictures in my next post and the ones after they will be a uniform size

 

good news and bad news

the good is i got the supplies so i will be getting more done

and there are actulally 2 bad things
the first is i could not get acrilic but im using some wood instead
and the second is when they moved this post all you guys that subscribed were un subscribed i guess

 

such a picture should be in every first post in the project log section
this is why you first log was moved

the second try is a good start now nice idea

 

ok sry but that didnt make much sense

 

he means they want more progress and pictures when you post the worklog thats why it was moved the first time

 

ok so after i got the mother board ready i started to set it up


so now i need to cut some slots for the wood to support the mother board

so first i measured the board on to the wood


then i had to cut it
heres my weapon of choice


and the finished product


then i had to remove the rigdes with some razors and huge scissors


and done


i few random pictures of my dog


now mark the slots


this what i used to cut it


first drill a hole


then through the hole cut along the lines


finished


and all layed out


well thats it next week ill start with the fiberglass

 

sorry for not posting for about 3 weeks but i have had many problems but i dont want to bore you so i will tell you a very few of the problems i have been having

well 3 weeks ago i had finals and lots of homework

2 weeks ago my dad made me wait because he wasnt at home and wanted to be there to help me

last week he came home we worked on it and he screwed it up horribly because he didnt listen to me

and this week there is three things
he is now away again
we are waiting on new fiberglass
and finaly i lost the camera which for once was my fault and not his

but i assure you that the case is fine we just have to redo the fiber glass
and that when he returns and we get the fiber glass i will start posting again
and finally when i find the camera i will put up the progress between last one and before the horrible screw up


on the final note sorry that this was so long and sorry for no posts

 

i have stoped posting here since no one cared but if you wanna see it go here
http://deadworkers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1133

 

Hullo, I've been following this thread from the shadows and I'm sorry I didn't post earlier... I though I had, remember thinking an answer to post #7, but I probably was too tired at the moment to post and though "I'll post tomorrow when someone else has"... but no one did apparently, and thus the log didn't show up on my "
New Subscribed Threads" list, and I forgot (I forget everything that's not in front of my nose).

Anyway, I always enjoy reading scratch build logs, and this is no exception. Sorry to hear about the screw up, but reading the other log, it looks like you're well back on track again. =)
About no one commenting... it might have something to do with the low quality photos (that usually puts me off), try using a support when taking pictures.. like resting the camera on the back of a chair... also, I think that the amount of comments will increase exponentially with the number of updates you post. It's always a bit slow in the beginning.
I think this build is really interesting and I look forward to seeing it evolve and reading about how you solve different construction problems etc. Don't let the lack of comments put you down, after all, it's "just" a bucket with a board in it so far... it's more really, but you get my drift. I'm confident that when you start showing more progress, like the fiberglass and steel mesh work ppl will speak up.

Keep up the good work mate! Keep posting!

 

Ummm ok...

 

Reported'd!

I second Macros_the_Black on the project looking interesting, I however only found it today, consider me subscribed if you decide to keep us updated.

 

I only found this today and wow, looked at your other thread, very exciting!

But I just tend to lurk on the forums, but certainly something original and great to see modding done on a budget .

There was $0 scratch mod ages ago you might want to look it up to give you some ideas on doing things on a budget... it's all about being extra creative! That's why I love it - there's certainly nothing wrong with getting laser cut grills or whatever, they look awesome... but there's something that makes me grin like a child when I see people modding cases with stuff they found lying around...

Keep at it! It's brilliant!

One idea would be when you get to that stage to have a small switch on it that runs a small servo (these can be picked up pretty cheaply... http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=3739&C=Froogle&U=3739&T=Alias&MA=servo) that runs the minigun!!

Also, awesome dog. I think featuring him in the mod proper would make it even more unique

 

That would be really cool!!! Ooh! and leds or lasers (the latter can be salvaged from cheap laser pointers, and if the barrels are hollow through their whole length, you only need one laser mounted in the body of the gun) in the barrels that light up when they get to top (or bottom) position like on a real gattling gun... except for the fact that a real one fires bullets instead of light. <=D
The leds / laser feature would be easy to hook up, purely mechanical, no electronic skills required. =D

Come on dogneely, pleeease make the barrels spin and shoot laser!!! It would be so awesome!!!

[edit]
This really fired up my brain... I'm getting ideas on how to build the spinning barrel mechanism... a round metal rod (or pipe, depending on strength, weight and size requirements), ball bearings, belt wheels + belt, servo/electric motor, ... this would be so much fun constructing!!! 8D¨ *rubbing hands together*
[/edit]

 

Nobody can afford to fire the real real bullets that thing takes

Plastic would be much better, just because theres going to be a few of them and setting that kind of mass spinning would create interesting forces. It would be better to have a single LED in line with the top barrel, so when the barrel passes light shines down it, easier than having an LED in each and making them light when passing the top.

 

Hehe.. the barrels should be plastic off course, to make the whole construction as light as possible... it's only the arbor that should be a metal rod or pipe for strength (the whole barrels part will weigh down on it). I was only talking about the driving mechanism, not the whole barrels thing. =D I would even recommend not using particle board for the round pieces on the barrel, but instead making a hollow disk out of plastic sheets and perhaps some plastic drain pipe (or something) to keep the weight down.
[edit] ...or fiber glass... dogneely have done some of that in his other log. [/edit]

That exactly was what I saying about just having one laser in the gun body. I'm a bit concerned that mounting a single regular led way back in the gun body, won't make the muzzle flash bright enough. Hmm, perhaps a laser beam in the middle and a ring of bright leds arround it, this way you get both the bullet beams and the muzzle flash. =D I guess some experimentation is needed to find the optimal visual effect.

[off topic]
It's amazing how often I am miss understood on forums.... but I'm getting used to it now... I've begun to think that I don't think like other ppl.. I might even be a little crazy, lol. (jk)
You see I try to not explain everything in minute detail, cause I'm afraid I would offend ppl, them thinking I think they are stupid (which I don't), and in the process I make them think that I'm stupid instead, lol! ...besides I don't want to take away _all_ the fun of the design process either, cause I'm afraid I could if I didn't hold back. Every time I see a problem like this I itch to make CAD drawings and design proposals. <=D
[edit]
I'm not saying it would be good proposals, but I _might_ accidently propose the same design the modder had in mind, and thus taking away his/her joy of presenting it him/her self. Hehe, this is getting wordy.. I should shut up now.
[/edit]
[/off topic]

 

wow thnx for all the comments i guess ill transfer my new stuff back over here and by the way my cusin designs game controlers and we were going to work to gether to put buttons in the mini gun so you could actullay play tf2 and of course the motors to spin the motors


so here is the other stuff

ok before you read this i have a few disclaimers the pictures you see of the fiber glass being put on is not what is actually on it because it wasnt strong enough the carbon fiber that is actuaaly on is much thicker and stronger

and second i realize that i do this in a very sloopy way like useing the foam and duct tape but since this is my first one and i dont have money please just accept the way i did it


well first the board was having problems staying in


so i duct taped it on


so in order to get it to look right i started adding a frame so it will be the right shape

here is the wire im using


then i folded it up into a thick strip


here it is wrapped around and taped on


then i coverd it with sealent foam or what ever its called but it comes in an aerosol can and expands


then i wrapped the wire frame around, two layers of foam and wire, then added plenty of ductape to stop foam from coming though the holes and to secure it on the case


and some more random pictures



ok i added some more wire frame to make it the right length



here is the fiber glass wraped around but remember this didnt work and i up graded to carbon fiber the same stuff used on high perfomance cars


the high strength resign


dip it in and soak it all over


and the finished product


ok iknow that wasnt much but dont be disapointed

incase you are wondering about the duct tape dont worry that was just to hold in the stuffing all the strength and support is in the carbon fiber which is two layers

ok moving on ive made some more progress i have made the covers for the case
they are fastened
i have made the brace for the hard drive
i have wired configured and secured every thing in side of the computer
in fact its up and running and every thing is completed pc and case wise now all i have left is the mini gun part
and just to test that every thing works fine i am writing this on the mini gun computer so now i know it works fine

how ever i have two disapointments
one another camera problem
and two its an old computer so i cant kick your arse in tf2 while on my minigun pc


so sry and i might post some crapy cell phone pictures later

 

Welcome back! ^_^
Integrated came controller and spinning barrels, who-ho! =D
So what's next, a load of bondo work to smooth the surfaces before painting, or have you done that already?

[Photography tip]
Make sure you have _plenty_ of light when taking pictures with the cell phone to lessen the noise. If you get camera shake in your pics, use some kind of support.. a simple broomstick will help a bit. Just hold the camera/cell phone against the broomstick with both hands and keep your feet wide apart. This should eliminate/lessen camera shake due to pressing the button and also any 'high frequency' kind that originates from the muscles. It should also lessen the any swaying movement of your body, since you essentially form a tripod with your body and the broomstick. Alternatively use the back of a chair like I suggested earlier.
[/Photography tip]

Keep it up!

 

Duct tape is underrated as a modding tool. Im curious how you are going to mount the barrel half to the bottom, and wether or not you have thought about making a stand for it.

Very interested indeed how the controller will be integrated, I hope you have considered a very easy to reach medic button

 

That's the most backwards way I've every seen for using fiberglass....

 

yes im making an acrilic stand for the barels and ammo drum and im probably going to use apoxy to attach and the stand will support but im still thinking about ways to attach if ya have ideas id love your help thnx