Scratch Build – In Progress Project: Blackwing Crypt 4/07/10 - New update and glowing pics

OK, so my Dremel has called social services and they have said they will take it away if I don't start
using it...

On a serious note its new project time for me once again, for those who didn't catch my previous two
mods:





This time round I'm working on a much larger scale and this means I need help (or so my missus tells
me regularly). To help me with this project I have enlisted the help of my soon to be father in law or
MGK42 (as he will be known from now on). He has far superior metalworking skills to me (and a
nice large shed) so im hoping I can pick up a few tips along the way.

Onto the project itself, for those of you that don;t know Blackwing Lair used to be the hardest
dungeon in World of Warcraft and was is full of dragons. This project will use that as a theme and will
consist of a 24" cube case styled on an gothic crypt. The centre piece of the case will be a skeletal
dragon (skull) being kept alive on an altar.

Enough talk and onto the first pics:



My partner in crime in action.. making these



Which go on to make this



and then



It was a real pain to use nuts and bolts but I need this cube to be strong as it will be supporting an
extremely heavy weight. The bolts/joints will be glued using a metal epoxy once the framework is finalized.







These should give you a better idea of how the cube is joined. The material of choice for the frame is
aluminum angle and U channel bar. Besides being lightweight and strong I wanted the U channel to route wires through.

Thats all for this post, I only get 1 time a week to work on this project while it isn't at home so expect a new post sometime next week.

 

The cadillac stacker was great, so I guess this one will be also Good luck, I know it never comes easy

 

Looking forward to this.
Isn't 24 inches^3 a little, umm, enormous?

 

Thanks guys, this thing is Intentionally large, Its going to be a feature in our room too although with my plans for this pc I may need to buy a new reinforced desk!



managed to get a little more done, the frame is starting to take shape now.

 

Stacker and breadbin are great,looking forward to this

 

+1 on the 'HUGE!'
If you can't do the traditional 'hug carry' technique, you will need some serious handles or wheels.

 

Im thinking it will take 2 possibly 3 people to carry so I doubt very much it will travel far lol

 

Why dont you try using 2 screws at every corners. I think it will sit more tite.
or try using bigger screws.

 

I've used 5mm bolts, there isn't really enough room for anymore, its really tight as it is. Im gonna be using a metal epoxy to seal the threads and joints once its all assembled. This frame is going to be covered in a ply outer case which leads me nicely onto a poll....

The outer skin of the case is going to be made from stone slips (miniature bricks made from real stone). Im having to use these as weight really is going to be a big issue with this case. Think Gothic archways and moss and you will be on the right track. I will get a few sketches up when I get a chance. Anyway, I can't decide on which stone to use. here are the contenders:



A B




C D

 

To me it has to be C or D.

Probably D, because it is uneven, each "splip" having different size, a different level surface and even an uneven surface.
I would like it even more uneven.

The color of D, I don't like it very much, myself being more inclined to gray and bluish colors. Thinking about dragons and that (have not seen anything about Blackwing Crypt, never played Warcraft) the stone should have some black and a kind of corroded surface.

EDIT: I do not want to vote before knowing more details.

 

C for me skunk...

 

+1............because of the gray/blue color and different/uneven sizes


Alan

 

I like C too. If you're concerned about the weigth you can use some resin panels, I've seen those in a big hardware/diy store here in my country. They are for decorative purposes, maybe you'll be able to find something simmilar.

EDIT: here's a link you'll maybe find usefull, be patient, the web is soooooo slow (and the link tooooo long XD) http://www.leroymerlin.es/mpng2-fro...e-render=off&lscache=off&nbelementparpage2=10

 

C looks really great imo.

 

Would be D for me..

 

I would go for C

 

Thanks for the input guy's, much appreciated

Had a busy patch at work so its been a while since I had time to venture out to the shed but ive now made a fair bit of progress.

Ive had to completely rebuild the framework.. (a word of warning... think twice next time you decide that it would be a good idea to sit on your finished item to show off the strength of it......!). Its now slightly smaller but much stronger. I used 6mm rivets and metal epoxy to hold it all together and now that its paneled up its much stronger.

So onto the pics:





All the heavy things I had to had at that moment in time.. was interesting to see the assortment of items used by the end of the days work.



This is quite possibly the strongest glue I have come across. Needs no surface prep except a quick clean and even bonds wet surfaces. I tried to pull off a panel and almost broke it...









You can start to see it taking shape now. I have been deliberately careless with the position of the panels. I want them to look old and worn and slightly qirky. I will be filling any gaps in at some point.















This will be the rough placement of the dragon skulls and you can now see my theme a little better. The large skull will be the showpiece of the case and I have big plans for that! But they are all in my head so you will have to wait for the next update now

 

Looks good so far. I haven't played enough wow to get to that lvl

 

hehe, to be honest it's just a wow themed case (dragons and such)

Anyways, morning all, nice big update for you today (and you thought the project was on hold again..!)

First job of the day was to make the stone archway. I used high density sculpting foam (eBay or your local model shop) and cut it into blocks.







I cut a small channel into the foam and filled this with a bead of glue. I then pushed this onto the edge of the archway. I repeated this numerous times and let it set for a few hours ending up with this:





I then used a engraving bit on my dremel to add some detail to the blocks.

Now the next thing on my agenda was the brickwork. I had to come up with a better solution than using real stone slips as these just weighed far too much. After a lot of thinking I came up with nothing... my missus however came up with a perfect solution:



I'm using 5mm foam board which is basically two layers of foam sandwiched between sheets of thick paper. I'm then cutting these into brick shapes and gluing them on . It takes around 3 mins a brick so progress is slow. In fact it took 3 days to get to this stage







( I got a bit too involved this evening and ended up in the shed til 1.15am only 3 hours til work..)







more to come at some point today, lots to get on with.

 

So far you could have named the project "Gothic Dog House" and make people go

Interesting.