Project Type: Props

  • Grand Entry Arch

    Grand Entry Arch

    This arch was included integrated architectural lighting and was fabricated from XPS foam. The engraved-stone style lettering was carved by hand.

  • Aluminum Rocket

    Aluminum Rocket

    This rocket was inspired by Art Deco designs and the retro-futurism of 1950’s sci-fi. Sleek aluminum panels are glued in place over a base shape defined by lasercut bulkheads and narrow birch plywood spars.

    Engine Lighting

    The rocket uses a microcontroller to light three “engines,” each composed of a 7-LED disc surrounded a 16-LED ring. From a code perspective, this uses a different approach than the last time I created an LED flame effect. This prop depends on code written by Mark Kriegsman, and I’ve shared my version in pubic gist here.

    Porthole lighting

    I thought simple illuminated portholes may be a little bland on a prop this size, so I made small panels to create some “screens” and subtle blinking lights you can see inside the rocket.

    These are mounted deep enough to give a nice parallax effect through the softly frosted plastic portholes.

    Fabrication

  • Horse and Shoes in Steel

    Horse and Shoes in Steel

    I traced a pattern for 1/4" steel from the same client-provided file I used in the Engraved Plywood "Big Jake" Horse and Shoes. I outsourced the cutting to Portland Waterjet, whose work was beautiful and crisp. Sadly I never took a photo of the pristine parts, and by the time I removed the pieces from the good ol' under-bench time-dilating corrosion pot, they already had a nice crusty patina.

    This one didn't look quite old enough, so I put it back in for another 25-year cycle.
  • Colorful Mosaic Flats with Weathered Cedar Planks

    Colorful Mosaic Flats with Weathered Cedar Planks

    This drawing depicts the intended pattern and scale of the planks. 

    I based this pattern on the dimensions of common cedar fence pickets, which I knew to be cheap, readily available, and have a varied and interesting grain.

    See Panel Assembly, Finishing, and more
  • Olympic Torch

    Olympic Torch

    Here’s the code for the fire effect. It is repetitive but it’s easy to change as the prop develops as there’s a one-to-one relationship between the structure of the code and the wiring of the prop. 

    #include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>
    #ifdef __AVR__
    #include <avr/power.h>
    #endif
    #define NUM_LEDS_OUTSIDE_RING 30
    #define NUM_LEDS_INSIDE_RING 25
    Adafruit_NeoPixel stripInside = Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUM_LEDS_INSIDE_RING, 2, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);
    Adafruit_NeoPixel stripInside2 = Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUM_LEDS_INSIDE_RING, 5, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);
    Adafruit_NeoPixel stripOutside = Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUM_LEDS_OUTSIDE_RING, 3, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);
    void setup() {
    stripInside.begin();
    stripInside2.begin();
    stripOutside.begin();
    stripInside.show();
    stripInside2.show();
    stripOutside.show();
    }
    void loop() {
    int r = 225;
    int g = 130;
    int b = 30;
    for(int x = 0; x <NUM_LEDS_OUTSIDE_RING; x++)
    {
    int flicker = random(0,125);
    int r1 = r-flicker;
    int g1 = g-flicker;
    int b1 = b-flicker;
    if(g1<0) g1=0;
    if(r1<0) r1=0;
    if(b1<0) b1=0;
    stripInside.setPixelColor(x,r1,g1, b1);
    stripInside2.setPixelColor(x,r1,g1, b1);
    stripOutside.setPixelColor(x,r1,g1, b1);
    }
    stripInside.show();
    stripInside2.show();
    stripOutside.show();
    delay(random(25,180));
    }
  • Pop Out Cake

    Pop Out Cake

    This prop has been in service around Portland for almost forty years. It had been recovered in a various materials over that time, and remnants of each iteration were inches thick in some places.

    A sketch I made to indicate my intentions for the project.

    During the process of removing the top tier I discovered that it has been surreptitiously signed by various inhabitants over the years. The earliest mark I could find reads 1980.

    • Replaced rotted, broken, and saggy frame components.
    • Replaced broken casters. Increased number of wheels to 10 and moved them closer to the edges for better stability.
    • Replaced top of first tier with 1/2″ plywood.
    • Fabricated new split top and installed with hinges.
    • Fabricated latch plates and installed red-handled lever latches in place of screw-and-hook gate hardware.
    • Covered cake in 1/2″ EVA foam “frosting” with lavender decorations.

    I used EVA foam floor mats to form the base layer of frosting. Then caulk and an auto-body filler spreader create the frostingy texture.

  • Chrome Bar

    Chrome Bar

    This bar was designed as four pieces: the top, left and right ends, and the center panel. Pictured above is a rendering from SketchUp I made to verify my figures for general proportions and the corner radius.

    The center and end pieces attach to each other with latches, so one person can assemble this bar in about three minutes.

  • Eyeball Kid

    Eyeball Kid

    Construction

    This was made as a costume for my daughter. She said she wanted to be an eyeball. Shrugs. I cut strips cut from an old plastic barrel to define the basic sphere fixing them together with high-temperature hot glue. I removed center from a bucket-size lid to form the front of the eyeball. I covered it with sections from an old sheet, again using hot glue to hold the fabric in place.


    Inside I glued a couple bats of packed-air shipping bubbles at either side of the head opening so the thing would sit comfortably on her shoulders.

    Painting

    I started by painting all the sheets with runny white acrylic paint. Then I mixed a dilute warm yellow and worked from the back to the front with a mouth atomizer to variate the surface a little and make it look fleshier and less like a cue ball. I went to cool blue, and then added red and worked through violet to purple red at the back. While that was still wet I used a marker to draw in some vascularity, and then I let it dry a while. I came back later with a dusting of white Krylon to even things out and tie it all together.

    Details

    I drew the iris and pupil on a paper plate and taped in behind the bucket lid ring. I cut a circle from some clear vinyl and attached it to the front with double-sided tape.

     

    For the optic nerve I used a few strands of blue- and red-insulated solid-core copper wire. I twisted them around each other and around the inner structure so they would stick out sturdily.

    eyball-kid-rear-quarter

    The video is like eleven seconds long and not to loud or obnoxious and you should definitely watch it to see how the optic nerve boinged around behind her.

  • Federation Workbee

    Federation Workbee

    In 1/350 scale. Resin body, photoetch manipulator arm, decals. and paint.

  • National Park Sign

    National Park Sign

    Building the Sign Panel

    IMG_0859.jpg

    The Rock

    Drawing the Letters

    IMG_0992.jpg
    IMG_0991.jpg
  • Laureled 45

    Laureled 45

    Made of 2″ EPS Insulation foam.

    Leaves

  • Simple Gothic Windows

    Simple Gothic Windows

    On order were gothic window props, five at three by five feet. I reviewed some reference material with the requirements and budget in mind, sketching ideas and making notes about materials.

    Finishing

    I positioned the strip evenly front-to-back and ran a bead of wood glue all the way around.

    Painted the with gold and copper spray paint, finished with metallic acrylic paint in a couple colors. I painted lines to suggest some of the detail that wan’t actually there in a muddy mix of purple and gold. I used a paintbrush I made with bristles I borrowed from the push broom, then I went home and ordered a set of sword stripers.

    The medallion at the top was made from the pieces that were cut out of the window frames, a teardrop with a disc on top. I made a stencil and sprayed a little bit of red to finish each of them off.