Frock Chick

My Ahsoka hilts skew up the green axis when I used the plugin that bends shapes. It’s so subtle though that it’s very hard to see. And there seems to be a strange slight warp on the surfaces too. So I have had to go back to a much earlier saved file to see if I can get it to do the thing it needs to. I will take the opportunity to try and create the support extrusions as they can be all bent at the same time.

The site will default to your WP login but if you aren’t logged in you can use FB, or Twitter at the very least.  Woo!

After using the shape bender I used hidden geometry to work out why the end looked blunt and then added lines.

And then used Solid Inspector2 to check for errors. It actually fixed some things that were meant to repair, but not my edges which I did expect.

And then I found trying to slice through horizontally just did not work. The model is perfectly horizontal but as soon as I intersect faces it doesn’t. So lots of short pieces like for Ventress 🙂 I know that worked so this should work too 🙂

I started making fairly the overlaps to help join those pieces once printed but I’m not so I like them, so I’ll spend a little more time today on making ring supports instead.

Each hilt is more than 10 pieces. This is to better reflect the different materials (copper, silver, black) Also to allow the same print to be used as non functional and functional by having some separate blade holders able to be used simply as support, the end cap being functional with the D ring holder and screw. I kept getting errors using the bolt making plugin so I’d rather just not use that atm. It should work at a larger scale but I did find scaling could be unpredictable with curves,

These also have to be arranged in correct alignment for printing. which I will do once the connecting sections are added.

I find this quite painful and painfully slow work. A lot has had to be drawn by hand even after using tools and plugins. For example the supports I’m making can’t be just extruded as they connect into pieces on a different angle. So I have to copy from one piece and add to the first and then measure and draw to size. Luckily 5mm seems to work well so I can at least be fairly consistent with that 🙂

It’s seriously fiddly work, lots of copy paste and drawing on the inside and outside

This is where I left her Montral. The lekku are the next on the agenda.

I have a cunning plan, but I have managed to move and misplace or actually corretly store so many costume elements this year that I am not sure where all my lekku making materials are.

Sadly probably no pictures while I actually do the work. Latex all over the place and latex cures super fast when in thin layers so it’s easy to lift finger prints or grab fibres from anything if I am not careful 🙂 But it’ll be much the same way I worked on all my lekku.

So that is the plan for tomorrow- work out the lekku proportions and start marking the montral for seamlines with the lekku- I hope to hide the seam in the paint.

There’s an extension for that. A reminder of all the pieces I had made.

And now totally new model with 16 pieces (well will be when I make the blace support for the smaller hilt.

So pretty. And to show they are indeed separate pieces!

Next I am going to use the Bender extenion as that’s what I used for vetress. I’ll have to make sure the ends are definitely straight so they do not affect the greeblies.

I am so happy with these I can’t say how much 🙂 I wish I’d rememered all the extensions I’d used as there are a few very handy one. I hope the threading ext. works. It is going to help me hold the saber in place.

See those long pieces at the end? They are l shaped braces to hold the end cap in place. The screw has been made to go all the way through the model into the corresponding button and counter sunk button respectively in the long and shot sabers.

I think i have a light source sorted. It’s a but spendy but actually within budget so I may hit the “buy now” button on the torch and batteries and charger.

I just need to figure out how to rewire a torch intended to be used with an aluminium body that acts as part of the circuit. I think.

But I wired up my mini hilt last time so…. Also- I can print a battery holder- I have seen some on thingy verse so I think I can use then to help make one that will fit in this. I’ve also figures a way to help strenthen a few weak points in my hilt 🙂

Very next things to do:

Add a tiny stop to the screws. mothers to the button and counter sunk piece.

Get my curves! Get them to full length including straight ends. These are done as lines outside of a group- so I will need to group my components, then make a curve then fingers crossed!

then slice (and I have a tool for that now 🙂

#ahsokalives hilts are looking lovely. But there is an entity that skews when I try to slice through to make the hilts in short sections. I have a feeling it actually is SKU trying to tidy. So I’ll have to move the body of the hilts, erase one entity look inside and then close it all up before putting the cutting entity through.

So I am preparing for a day of swears. Yes. I do. I try to turn them into not obvious swears but sometimes it sort of slips through.

Right. Prep.

Also i’m allowed the glass topped TV table to use for my 3D printer! Woo. That means I can print with ABS as you need a well ventilated area. My workroom is, but I do not have any stable surface. Aside from my overlocker. I coooouuld use that. Actually. we’ll see. I want to replace the current heavy frame tv table out there with shelve for my molds anyway. The Togruta molds will be difficult but I also have a cunning plan (Trademark Baldrick) to help. Also the new position would be ideal.

Okay.

Now to prep for the day as this is all very exciting.

I sometimes think I should try and capture the fun times of working with SKU on screen record. And with mic on so you can hear the sears. They get a creative. Though the f’bomb is usually muttered. and the s’bomb gets stretched out to sheee-er-gerrr.

I saw my PC space with other so it means trying for levity in the stress.

So lots of what the foo, whyyyyyyy? *push keyboard away*  but whhh-hy-hhy-hy-hy-hy???

Never the less she persisted! Yes I went there. It’s basically the mantra of my life. And there will be a post!

I started with the original images, Note, this is a screenshot, it really is that blurry to work with. I wanted to do a line art originally but used a photocopy in hand and on screen just scaled to hight.

I actually then started a new model with the hilts cropped to height to make it muuuuch easier. And yes, when you import images you need to scale them once in as well. Unless there is a keyboard trick… there probably is.

then I made a series of guides and then drew curves and loved it. Until I realised yes, the sides are totally rounded, I did say the images are fuzzy!

So, Viola! (that was a pun.) New guides new scaled image and new face made the same way. From here I extruded a series of tubes leaving the inside empty. It worked really well for Asajj. But I am making mie a touch simple in the joins this time.

Guides guides everywhere!!!!! This was to create the inset grip of the longer hilt. Basically pecil and extrude and some maths!

And yep the decorations are in place. But I wound up having to move them on my longer hilt. That was just a bit frustrating.

Then came the other pieces; inset switches, what i think are peg/screws to hold the end caps in place, the long end cap holder, and the large button. Finally the emitter caps!

The large button. I goofed and wound up with the circle not centred so yesterday was a day of fixing issues like this. I placed everything together (they are all separate components so they will print separately and in whatever orientation works best. I also adjusted length and made the end cap holders fit smoothly to let them pass so we can gain acccess to the insides to put electronics inside.

Here you can see I had yet to place the end caps. But the are there not. I also got the emitters to their final shapes and sizes. One emitter needs some smoothing but aside from that I think I’m happy.

So today with the emitters lined up correctly it’s time to get the pencil out and start cutting.! Had a few practices but it’s not really been perfectly even as I didn’t have then perfectly on my guides.

It would be so nice if there was a super easy way to scale in SKU! It really should be as simple as selecting all, choosing scale and typing in the measurement- but there is a trick to clicking and unclicking and holding the mouse while typing(?) and so I am amazed I managed it. But scaling up by 1000% means I can do half mm in my print.

It is essentially an architectural tool so I get why it is much more sensible to have started at this size. Anyway.

Not bad for a single day where I had a big rest in the middle! My ribs are still sore, and my muscles in my forearms are sore (the shortened bones in my hand mean the tendons and muscles are overworked all the way to my elbows.)

So there are little greeblie details to add but I genuinely have to stop typing in 3,2,….

I totally forgot how to do all of this so what should have taken a half hour took a few. But I did finally settle on scale. I enlarged 10% on the face and 20% on the side. It really was the only way to keep length and minimise thickness disruption. Now I need to remeasure and work on the weird grip.

Okay I forgot to publish so here is where I am now!

Next is to figure out the size of the diamonds to add them in and also make the emitter. But I forgot to have lunch and also my ribs are so sore I have to have a lie down.

I decided to set aside a lot of projects so I can really enjoy what I can do- time is slipping away so fast . Well healthy time. So I want to not waste any of it.

So of course I decide to go back to trying to do some 3D projects!

Because Asajj didn’t nearly break my brain. I thiunk I will put them up on Thingiverse though 🙂

Anyway 🙂

There is an Ahsoka print on thingy verse and it’s so nice, so I may or may not wind up adding mine there. But I’d like to make mine hollow to allow for future blade attachments. So yeah. that also means making sure the emitter can be removable.

Next step is to actually get those hilts the right dimensions. Okay. I did manage it before so where to next.