MeanGene

Let's hope they do more. Looks like they have tons of footage 

Cost me $37.
The DVD case is nice, comes with two discs Bluyray and UHD 4K version.

Watched the special features last night. Some good stuff.

The making of featurette is probably the best. Has some behind the scenes shots of the Feral suit being mocked up by Alec Gillis.
Looked like they 3D printed a generic head and rough painted a bodysuit.
 

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Prey-Blu-ray/316869/

Go buy the Bluray. The more we support the movie the better the chances we have of getting a second! This time with Samurai in feudal Japan.

Great info from a top Lair fan! Hahahaha. So awesome.

@PR_props

How is this shaping up? 

Looks like a fun project. The finish on the bio is like glass, reminds me of a motorcycle.

Is the fade effect from a capacitor? Slow release of the power?
A video would be cool to see how it works.

Great work! Thanks for posting.

I work in home electronics, which often times we find ourselves needing to automate certain functions. 

ie a theater projector screen to drop when a projector turns on.

12v to output from a processor when audio plays to trigger an amplifier on.

Point being, with all of these types of triggers as we call them. The simpler the better.
Seems like you need a trigger.

The event is When helmet is placed on the head, the electronics become active or deactive.

My thoughts are this.

The helmet needs to be completely autonomously operable and controllable on its own  (for quick removale) Separate from the suit.
The act of placing the helmet will trigger the helmet eyes to deactivate.
My thought is to get a magnetic switch that is activated when the helmet is place on it. 
This switch would turn on or off the power to the helmet? Depending on your desired outcome.
ie When helmet is placed on, magnet switch is tripped and cuts power to the eyes.

Maybe a magnetically activated relay? Normally open. When the helmet is placed on and magnet is detected it Closes the relay to complete the circuit?

I am not specifically aware of any magnetic switches that would work, but I am sure something exists.

This is a really great idea and great write up thanks for posting!

Leggs has some excellent 3D modeling skills if I remember correctly. Good luck!

@Leggs.obj

Glad to see you back on the lair, back sculpting a bio. Keep up the good work! 

There were 4-5 coats applied. Proper dry time in between. The last coat got a wet sanding working my way up to 1000 grit sandpaper.

1000 grit sandpaper is available at auto parts stores. Auto body section.

Once the 1000 grit sandpaper did it's job. I cleaned the bio surface of all debris with a tack cloth, then hit it with 1 final coat of the gloss enamel. That final coat is what you see in this video.

Doing all of these multiple steps of sanding and coating has prepped the surface for the metallic rust oleum paint.

That will be the next update.

This has been on hold until I can finish the Juggernaut bio build. That is now winding down so I am looking towards making a silicone mold of this latex head.

That mold will allow me to make resin castings. The resin castings will be a basis for sculpting on.

Have a few ideas for the sculpting process. Hoping to recruit a well known sculptor but have not solidified plans yet.

I did manage to pull another casting for a friend.

The quality is exceptional. I can't wait.

Still working the Bondo to get the transitions correct. Also managed to pop out the eyes without breaking them.

The lenses were molded so I can cast up a different colored set. Maybe black, maybe red. Who knows... Still up for debate.

Next pic shows it painted silver. Rust-Oleum metallic. Has a dullness to the finish that I like.

Next steps are taping it off and spraying the gold on the dome and cheek areas.

Might so some black highlights here and there.

Managed to get the casting sanded. It has some rough areas. This casting is definitely not show worthy and has become a good test bed for seeing how best to finish these out. Will be trying some different paints next.

I really like the automotive primer. Had good luck with it over the years. I always manage to come back to it. 

Multiple layers did a good job of filling in the sanding marks and imperfections in the casting around the dome area.

Sanded it with 220 grit and then 320 grit.

Probably about 8 coats of primer. Will let dry overnight.

After the sanding I trimmed the mold flashing. 

Left the eyes in as this is just a test bio.

Check out the comparison with the finish once the paint did it job.

Made some forward progress.

Used traditional Bondo to get the holes filled and begin blending the areas. Hit it with a coat of primer to see the problem areas.

Will go back in and hit it once more with additional Bondo to get it perfectly smooth.

Project update.


Silicone Mold.

Made significant progress on the silicone mold for this helmet.

Took about 1 solid 8 hr day to make the silicone mold. The brush on silicone has to be applied in layers, allowing each layer to dry to the touch before adding another.
Its a huge pain in the ass to put it bluntly. I've made molds others way before that didn't have as much waiting time but all in all took the same amount time to produce.


The Silicone is Mold Max Stroke. Thickened with Thi-vex.
The mold is probably 1/2" to 3/4" thick at any point along the interior.
On the exterior edges I made it quite thicker, partly because of preference to prevent tearing and partly because there were significant undercuts that needed filling.

This is the sculpture after removing the silicone mold.
It is in decent shape and will make a good starting point for another custom bio sculpture.
When I look at this it makes me want to rebuild the lower half in a P1 style with maybe some of my own subtle twists.

Outer Jacket.
The outer jacket shell is made with Gypsona plaster bandages. The kind you make into casts for broken limbs.
They are very inexpensive, readily available and set up very quickly.

I used 8", 4", and 2" bandage sizes.

Best thing I ever did was read the included directions and follow them to a T. Produced a very nice outer jacket that is superior to the jacket made for the Shinto bio.
Shinto bio's outer jacket had some issues where some of the final bandages applied did not set.
The root of the problem was dirty water in the bucket. As you dip the bandages the water becomes creamy. Creamy water makes it harder for them to set proper.


The outer edges of the jacket has 2" bandages rolled like hot dogs and then pressed in tight. Creates a rigid edge to prevent cracking/breakage as I rock the mold around.

* Whatever you do. Never pour any water/plaster from the bucket into your plumbing drains. It will set in the pipes.
Dump it in the bushes outside.

Cup molds.

These are for the teeth attachment pieces. 

When you have a shit ton of Dunkin cups around makes  a lot of sense to use them.

Tusks mold box.

The tusks themselves need some more sculpture work. Smoothing and detailing. When that is complete they will be suspended in mid air in each box for pouring silicone.
The mold box is not complete, the interior needs to be coated with a smooth finish so the silicone mold can be removed. The bottoms have large holes drilled to allow me to push the mold up and out later.
The holes are plugged with tape and clay to prevent leakage.

When the silicone is finished I will end up cutting a seam with a razor to remove the clay & then casted parts.

Thanks for following the project. I am nearing the end of this journey. Been a long trip, started this about 9 months ago. Still a ways to go but doing my best to stay focused, inspired and share the process to hopefully inspire others to do the same.

Terrible pictures. But you get the idea. It's by and large finished. Will do some registration keys and smooth it and clean it up a bit tomorrow.

Was a pain in the ass. Very large complex helmet. Tough ensuring all the details get captured.

Thi-vex additive was used to thicken the silicone at the final coat. Makes it thick like peanut butter to hold its shape in deep undercuts.

Off camera are some tiny cups full of silicone. Will be used as registration keys.

Plaster bandages will be the outer jacket. Used them on the Shinto Bio mold and worked out really well. Inexpensive and quick.

Thank you sir. Same to you. Thanks for being a part of our community.

Happy 4th of July.

Rotary dremel tool used with sanding disc.

Eye, ear and lung protection all required for this step. 

Don't breath the dust.

The plan for this stealth bio is to remove the fins and  give it a custom paintjob similar to the picture below.
The helmet is one of my favorite. Sculpted by Steve Wang. His style is very unique. This bio reminds me of the Guyver movies he worked on.

This process has been done before. See link here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2189873577925294/permalink/3442282172684422

It may seem crazy to chop off the fins and tear into this helmet. The helmet came to me via FB marketplace, was a local sale. Before I met the guy he assured me the helmet was in perfect shape.
When we met in person, the helmet had obvious damage to one of the larger lower fins. Was snapped off and hot glued back on.
I brought it up politely and he dropped the price. I was OK with this as I already had another Stealth at home in perfect shape.

@Roninpred Reminded me of the finless bio. I discovered the old FB post and decided I would do my own finless version.

Will post some pictures and video for fun. The process is pretty simple. 
Snap off the fins.
Snap them down with a rotating dremel tool.
Bondo/patch the holes that remain.
Mask and paint.

Enjoy.

The sculpture is finally getting molded today. 

Smooth on mold max STROKE. 1 Gallon kit.

Between coats of silicone I am tearing into a Stealth bio. Removing the fins and going custom. 
Will post some of the progress etc on a new thread.

@Ptgreek

Have any advice for this kind fellow?

George, tagged above works with silicone every day. He can educate you.

This poster offering is not from myself. 

The poster was reworked in Photoshop and made available online for purchase. You can then print it in any size you see desire.

See original post here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1599178600107931/permalink/24064515969814207/

It's a GREAT poster. I own a small and large version. Makes a nice backdrop to my statue.

Great work! Feral looks awesome as well. You have special talent.

Today we honor Stan Winston. 15 years ago we lost one of the greats.

Responsible for some many amazing movie monsters that greatly influenced my life.

We have much to be thankful for.

His legacy lives on at the Stan Winston School of Characters Arts.

Thank you Stan.

That looks so good! Looks just like the movie head. 

Great work

Forgive my ignorance.

Can this 3D model be printed in larger scales?

As long as you had a large enough printer?