In this video I build a mech from various found objects and resin casts. www.thedarkpower.com Facebook / thedarkpower Instagram / thedarkpower Twitter / thedarkpower
This is exactly what I was looking for after watching the video of by Adam Savage, thank you very much for showing the process and explaning all the little tricks, I really want to make a project of my own now.
Hey thanks for watching. I'm curious though, which Adam Savage video do you mean? The reason i ask is that this video has suddenly got loads of views so I think it might be because RU-vid has latched on to a more popular video and is recommending this one.
@@thedarkpower Well if you don't mind here's the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QCBcWm85gWo.html That's good your work is recommanded, I think it's a really cool hobbie.
Wow this was SO cool! Very creative. This video was right up my alley, I've always wanted to scratch build something and right now I am about to so some resin casting of a sculpture I made. I can't wait to see this piece all painted up.
I dig this a lot. New follower here. I just started scratch building and kit bashing and I've been thinking about casting my own pieces. This video solidifies it! Thanks dude
I always love watching your videos. Fascinating to see this done from nothing to a complete model. Have you tried Smooth-On Onyx? I was using the DWP stuff but picked up a trial of Onyx fast last time I went to Bentley. Cast 2 of the same part back to back and I much prefer the Onyx. It's a little more expensive but not outrageously so I don't think anyway.
Thanks very much. I've not tried Onyx although I did consider it a while back for a project. I had tried smoothcast a while back which was great but just too expensive to use routinely. DWR is quite cheap by comparison.
Superb build with some very interesting uses of everyday objects used in a very different way. Always nice to see such attention to detail ending in a quality result. Had you thought about lighting this mech to bring it to life!
Very well made but I think you missed a story to be told here. You have this huge hulking creature with a downward tilt. If you had given it more raised arms and stuck to the hand design you could of had a really nice "monster looks down at prey" story to it. It would make the long neck being so extended make a bit more sense. Could even have the head tilted slightly as if it's curious rather than threatening. Like an AI escapes and discovers a child, having never seen one before it's curious but it's also a huge gangly monster. Maybe one arm would even be half blown off to give a sense of vulnerability in the machine. Really enjoyed the video and I'm looking forward to more. Wanted to give some feedback and hopefully offer some userful advice in improving the narrative in your awesome designs.
Thanks - well as it happens the pose isn't finalised yet - the head's only aimed down because it's loose. I can't secure it in place as I still need to install some LEDs in it. The arms also move so can be repositioned to an extent. I think what I'm going to do is to have some burnt out vehicles on the base to give an idea of scale. I have been watching some diorama building videos recently too, so the idea of doing a narrative piece does intrigue me. Maybe next time... ;)
Even though you do build as it comes. Have you ever thought of using central rod or supporting rod in case your project becomes to top heavy,? Or as a support in case the glue(adhesive) is not enough or becomes brittle? Love to see the finished robot.
I try and build things so they're free standing as it doesn't really look as good if the supports are visible. Obviously that's easier if you actually plan ahead! ;) I've fed steel bars through legs for other projects too. There's a part 2 if you want to the see the finished robot.
Where and how did you learn your craft? You know so many different disciplines--mold making, casting, machining, etc? I would love to build my own projects but I feel intimidated by all the the different bits of knowledge required to execute the beautiful work you do.
Hey, thanks very much. Well I started customising warhammer 40k miniatures and kinda went from there. Alot of it's trial and error - you've got to be willing to screw things up as that's part of the learning process. I pick up alot from youtube videos though - it's always worth watching how other people work as it allows you to pick up on techniques you might want to try.
The only downside with using those Solid replicas you made Is the weight of them like for the lower legs and the feet Makes perfect sense And I know The copies aren't super heavy but they add up
Thanks! Yeah I could use the original pieces in some circumstances, but the resin copies are very easy to sand and cut, so I can easily modify the casts. Additionally things like yoghurt pots don't have that much structural strength, so the casts are stronger. Some types of plastic don't take paint so well too, so the resin casts are usually preferable.
@@thedarkpower that explains lots thankyou. I have never worked with or tried casting so I may have a go building with original pieces but casting is something I definitely will look into in the future. Thanks again
Thanks! Yeah I have, the current resolution of the prints is putting me off though so I'm inclined to stick with the old school methods for the time being.
Freakin' Awesome Sauce! :D It reminds me of the end of Skyline when he gets put inside the alien mech. It also makes me think it should have an Anime girl in a bikini standing next to it! ;P I've started on that alien grey sculpture I mentioned, fixing the marble 'eyes' to a copper rod and to a wooden base with some milliput. I'm going to take a photo of that for record, then bulk out the head and shoulders with foil, before getting the Sculpey out. :D
Thanks! Yeah it does have that look - to be honest it's got influences from a million different robots in it. An Anime girl would certainly show off scale though! Cool - post a vid of the alien!
@@thedarkpower - I've finally discovered the delights of superglue accelerator and am using it to scratch build a Borg Sphere. Alien Grey scuplture is on hold, I want to do it right so I'm letting the idea fully form in my head, I'll probably post some pics on my Deviant Art, not so good with videos. :P
This is so awesome, superb work mister! I primarily work with bashing 1/32 sculpts but I'll now definitely give this kind a go. Have you looked into Warhammer anything?
Your mech scratch builds are so rad dude. I’ve always liked mech design but seeing the build process here, step-by-step, is really impressive. I might have to dive in and give this a try. It looks like a rewarding project. Do you have any videos showing how to wire up multiple LEDs for a model? I’ve wired up LEDs with oscillators (for music based projects) but I’ve always felt a bit lost on how to best calculate the appropriate resistors to use for multiple LEDs, specifically for a sculpture or model application. Anyway, I would find a LED wiring video very helpful. Do you wire them in series or parallel? Also, what is the voltage of your power source and how do you know which resistor to use on each LED? Thank you.
Thanks very much! Yeah I always struggled with getting the right resistors for the LEDs. There are online calculators that work it out for you, but it was abit of a faff. So these days I just use 12V pre-wired LEDs like these: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Pre-Wired-LEDs-3mm-5mm-10mm-Various-Colours-Lamp-Wired-LED-9V-12-Volts-UK/262762466125 Just hook them up in parallel to a 12V supply and you're done. You can get flashing or flickering ones too. And yes I remember Zoids, wish I still had mine ;)
The Dark Power Perfect. I’ll give these pre-wired LEDs a shot. Great suggestion. Thank you. On another note, I think it would be badass to design one of your mechs with a brass armature/skeleton, with poseable articulation for stop motion sequences. Wouldn’t that be sweet! (Look out Gumby, make way for Scratchbot!) This guy in Spain, Mr. Edu Puertas, makes some nice custom build videos for his armatures. Could be a interesting project, combining scratch builds with armature design. Anyway, just a thought. Edu Puertas: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8hPbiOy-kts.html
Thanks, yeah the LEDs have been abit of a game changer for me. Funnily enough a few people have mentioned putting an armature inside and doping stop motion with them. They do all have a degree of articulation - you can move the arms etc. What I'm actually planning on doing is adding some servos so they can run through some pre-programmed sequences. Thanks for the link!
Thanks. It was these ones but they come in a variety of cool shapes so you can just pick whichever look the best. rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F263589420173
Cool - I think it was 4.5mm. Not sure if this is the exact link I used but in case you need one www.amazon.co.uk/AUPROTEC-Corrugated-Protection-non-slit-choice-5m-metre/dp/B00VJYZ1I2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa
Me and a good friend of mine play Titanfall 2 & we absolutely love the Mechs in it, I have shown him your channel and me and him both agree that you could do a Titanfall mech justice by scratch building it we both would love to see a step-by-step kind of tutorial on how to make one if you’re interested that is one day?
Thanks! I'll certainly be doing more mechs I think, I tend to make my own up rather than do builds of film or game characters though. Maybe I could make a mech that would fit into titanfall. I have the artbook for the game and really like the designs.
That would be absolutely amazing I would very much like to see your design process and maybe do a series of videos from drawings to end process that would be fantastic as I’ve scoured RU-vid and found nobody else even attempting a scratch built Titanfall 2/3 meka
OOOh, great stuff again, very very nice watching this makes me eager to finally get on with my stuff - as for bolts you might be interested in acrylic half balls (????) on sale on ebay uk, going down as small as 0,5mm, a 1000 of them will cost you 1,90 GBP if I remember right ...
@@thedarkpower Hope this will work. www.ebay.de/itm/HALF-PEARLS-ROUND-FLAT-BACK-ACRYLIC-GEMS-NAIL-ART-CRAFTS-3D-DECORATION-NEW/330856747955?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=540133062640&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
Another one the best in my opinion. Not really cheap but brilliant. knupfer.info/shop/index.php/deutsch/nieten-nietenschrauben/feinnieten-halbrundkopf.html
Sorry, do not ge confused. Kopfdurchmesser stands for "Head Diameter" First number gives you the diameter for the shaft, second the overall length. Hope this helps ...
If you hadn't noticed……"I'm making this up.....as I go along"......oh..my..god....That's My Life's Moto....I've only Now just come to THAT Realization...hmmmm…..that's ummm…..sad-ish?! Thanks TDP...
Well 2kg of resin is about £30. I used 10 lighter casts on this. I think the lighters were about £5 each, so that'd be £50. 10 casts costs far less than that, even if you were to include the silicon for the mould. Plus you have the added bonus of being able to drill into them or cut them up without having to worry about the thing falling apart.
@@thedarkpower fair enough mate, I'm a scratch builder myself and I like to use whatever is free, I could not afford your method to build. Good build though, looks fantastic
Okay this looks realy impresive... BUT... the right arm gun looks not THAT much as a canon. Usually canons have more on to it than a solid piece of pipe. A muzzle break, a spiral knurl inside (if its supposed to shoot kinetic shells), a slightly thicker middle part to handle the recoil and maybe some kind of stabilization
Great work. My only issue with this is that you're not exactly building a "junk" robot when you're making a lot of your parts instead of using actual "junk". That stuff your using can be expensive for a casual or younger modeller...
First I want to say thank you thank you thank you thank you a million thank yous all right don't really care for the small g.i. Joe skills and maybe you guys do I don't you gave me an idea how to make a 12 in g.i. Joe robot like that I take my GI Joe and putting your the beach so I put in your life you know I put him near the forest I'm making a GI Joe magazine yo Joe and I'm trying to make him totally different you gave me the coolest idea of the robot guy kind of like the old cartoons that you always watch that had something with the small-scale I'm going to try to make mine with a bigger scale thank you so much and I'm going to tell everybody that you make the coolest projects my name is Joe
