Finishing The Second Han In Carbonite

I got accepted into Univeristy and will be studying for a bachelors degree in electrical engineering these next three years, and I expect to be swamped with school, so I took the time these last two weeks to finish the second Han In Carbonite, the one that's going to stay in Gabba's Palace.

My friend Gabriel, who owns the garage (and house/basement I've been working in) and will be the owner of this HIC had been a busy bee spackling and sanding the joints and screwholes. When I arrived we gave it a coat of primer, and then poured the first pass of woodglue for the carbonite texture:

Let the first pass of woodglue dry pretty much, and poured the second pass of glue, moving it around and creating the texture, being even more meticulous here than on the last one:

Let that dry for a few days and came back to paint it, I first sprayed the box portion in stainless steel, let it get dry to the touch, masked off and sprayed Han and the carbonite panel in aluminium:

Let the paint dry for a few days and came back to do the weathering. Here I used watered down black acrylic paint that I brushed on, and then dabbed/rubbed off with a cloth/old white t-shirt, doing several passes to get it just right. Afterwards I applied Rub'N'Buff on the highlights, which is a waxy solution that shines to a silvery finish if you rub it.

I went easier on the weathering on this HIC as it's only going to stay indoors in Gabriels basement, under soft lighting conditions, whereas my HIC will be outdoors in the 17th of may parade and out at conventions under bright lights. I actually think Gabriels HIC turned out a little bit better, and I'm really proud of how it looks:

Gabriel isn't too specific about the sidepanels, and says he doesn't need them, and we omitted the pockets/boxes on the ends, as you'll never be able to see them anyway. So I consider this HIC to be done!

The next projects are finishing the sidepanles on my own HIC, and making a Death Star wall panel to display blasters on when we have stands at conventions. So I'll probably have my hands full well into the autumn...

What's this?

I recieved a brown box in the mail before I went on vacation earlier this summer.

What's this?

Lots of potatochips! But wait, these aren't crispy or delicious, they're soft and flavourless! This chipscompany should be ashamed of themselves! Oh, wait, there's something else down there...

Silicone and resin!

Now I can start making a mold and casting copies of the Volvopanel for the sidepanels on the Han In Carbonite. Completely unchartered territory, so this can be interesting...

Third Troop At Sirkus Shopping

We were asked to return on june 15th for a third time by Sirkus Shopping, and we were only happy to oblige!

These troops at Sirkus are very enjoyable and havce become a favorite among several troopers, one of the reasons being the positive atmosphere and enthusiasm of the guest at the centre.

At this troop we also had the pleasure of welcoming a new member here in Trondheim (and Nordic Garrison), namely our very own Darth Maul!

 Picture courtesy of Sirkus Shopping.

17th of May National Day Parade

We were a fixture in this years parade as well, something the public has come to expect and look forward to.

We wanted to make a bigger impact than last year by having even more troopers, but we weren't able to recruit enough. Although we had a few new ones join us this year, most notably Ingeli who came all the way from Sweden to take part in this joyous celebration!

Local newspaper Adressa also highlighted our appearance in the parade: Athletic Girls and A frozen Han Solo in the Parade

I even got to stroll Han Solo in Carbonite around

A videoclip as well:

We changed into our gear at the firestation and decided to take our group-photo there afterwards as well:

Posing for my mom:

It was a nice day with great weather and we got an awesome response from the public as always.
This parade is the highlight of trooping in Trondheim, and it will be even better next year!

Painting Han

The previous pass of woodglue had seeped in to the woodwork pretty good, so I did another pass and made the texture around Han Solo. I figured I'd get the texture approximately the same as the original, but not be nitpicky about the exact patterns, just get the right "feeling". Then I sanded and filled the remaining spots, and then sanded again.

Wiped it clean with a damp cloth and finally put primer on it, which made it look like a complete piece.

Then I was quick to spray the box-portion with Rustoleum Stainless Steel

I then waited until it was dry to the touch, masked off and sprayed the carbonite texture and Han with Rustoleum brand Aluminium

The whole painting seance took me less than two hours, from primer to Aluminium coat (including driving a trip to get another box of primer because I had been a noob and only bought one, which wasn't enough).
I let the paint dry for a day, and came back to weather it with thinned down black acrylic paint.
I painted the black on with a brush, let it sit for a little bit (just the right amount of time, a delicate business) and wiped it off with a cloth, doing multiple passes over all. I also weathered the "stainless steel" box.

After that, which took me just under two hours, I let him get some sun, and meet other people.

I am very happy with the result, and I'm looking forward to getting him in my livingroom.
Right now he's at the firestation where we will change tomorrow and walk in the national day parade.

I still have the sidepanels to finish, and will probably do those across the summer. But in the meantime, I'm happy to let him shine as he is!

Pouring The Carbonite

Had another go at it today, and did another pass of filler where neccessary and finally started to make the carbonite texture by pouring woodglue over, something that went very smoothly:

I have been swamped with school and work since newyears, so I haven't been able to do nearly as much on this project as I would like.
I'll try to make another pass tomorrow, as I have the entire day off.
Wanting to make it presentable (sans sidepanels) by next saturday, and maybe stroll it around during the may 17th national day parade.

Another troop at Sirkus Shopping

This weekend we had another appearance at Sirkus Shopping

 

I have also made some more progress on the Han in Carbonite, although it's not that visible. I've strengthened the boxes with crossbraces, glued the main panels with Han in place and started to bondo the screwholes and other irregularities. So the boxes are completely assembled now, and I'm missing the bondoing and filling in the woodglue to create the Carbonite texture.
Trouble is the solvents in the bondo are pretty toxic, and I'm working in a basement with no ventilation, so I would like to take it outside in the garage to get good ventilation while filling and sanding it, but it's winter here now and minusdegrees so I'll have to wait a little bit for the temperature to rise. Might try to give it a pass anyway.