JakeEaton

Thanks for the kind words chaps. Really enjoyed making this as I’ve never made a film prop before and the feedback across the board has been very enthusiastic.

...and of it moving. (open in a new tab if video doesn’t load) ..and the remote activating it. (open in a new tab if video doesn’t load) That's that sorted then! Next project!!

Hello chaps, While waiting for my parts to be anodised I got cracking on some finishing touches. In the film Gary Oldman's character uses a little remote to activate and expand the weapon. I thought I’d use this as a second way of activating my replica from afar... The prop is a vintage handheld video game like this... ...only sprayed black with a yellow screen. The only one I could find on eBay was selling for £75 so I downloaded a 3D model from thingiverse created by a guy who had bought, measured, modelled and shared it.. I then made changes to the model to allow the inclusion of this cheap IR remote... ...which I slightly rewired to allow the IR LED to pop out the side. The two small middle buttons press down onto buttons on the remote below, sending two different IR signals. I wired an IR receiver into my ZF1s Arduino which has been programmed to react differently depending on what button has been pressed... At this point I received a nice package in the post! ...the anodised parts! I hastily assembled them to the gun. This is going to be the penultimate update and I’ve really had a great time making and sharing this prop. It’s my first but probably not my last! Final post in a day or so.

It’s just under 10kg so not a single handed weapon. There’s a reason why he uses two hands to hold it in the film!

3D printed a cover for the Arduino and circuitry.. ..plus I rewired the whole gun to neaten it up and hide some of the cabling. I also upgraded the battery and I’ve set it up so I can power it off the mains if for example I want to have it turned on for displays. I upgraded the drive and lifting arm shafts and spur gears to steel ones too... ...these will ensure long term durability. No chance of slipping or stripping. I got the red light (finally) wired in. The amount of people that ask for that is insane! Don’t worry, I won’t press it... (open in a new tab if the video doesn’t show) Waiting on the anodisers to send me back my parts, and got one or two little jobs left to do and it’ll be finished.

Paint time. I neatened up some of the edges and sorted out some problem areas before spraying the white primer coat.. Tan colour.. Speckled and finished! Rocket tip sprayed yellow gloss.. Rocket complete! I vapour blasted the rocket body too.. I've also started experimenting with the lower lining.. It's tool box liner over a layer of 3mm black PVA foam. After that I stripped the whole gun down to start ageing the frame and fix some other problems that have popped up.. Gun's in bits.. Electronics.. I'd love to design a custom PCB that handles all the parts but maybe that's a project for the future. Painted the shell internals a very dark grey and added edge trim.. ..I used 5mm neoprene foam cord. The plastic spur gear I was using the drive the scope had started to develop some play so I replaced it with a brass version.. ..only replaceable when the gun is in pieces. Next was to age the aluminium parts.. First a coat of black cellulose. If I ever did this job again I'd go for something a bit lighter in tone but it's pretty close to my references. I attacked them with a sponge and spray gun full of thinners to try to match the original.. ...I let the paint dry, then rewetted it with the thinners and patted with sponges as well as speckling pure thinners over with the spray gun. A proper arty experiment! I removed all the laser cutter marks around the visible edges with 240 grit sandpaper, I also went over the fronts with some light sandpaper to remove paint from the edges, this helps them pop a bit more. Sealed with a clear satin topcoat. Put all back together again.. Getting there! The scope motor and other electronics haven't been reconnected yet so the scope is in a middle position. If you think the ageing is overdone, the original really is like that, and a lot of the parts cover it too so will lessen the effect. Just waiting on those anodised parts now.. Cheers!

Lots of smaller jobs now. The rocket needs its aluminium fins attaching... ..I used a slitting saw on my mill to get a nice thin groove. The fins were then set in a jig to make sure they're square and glued internally with 2-part epoxy glue. I included tabs on the bottom of the fins to aid in gluing. Nice and strong! In place on the gun.. Not much room for inaccuracy here but it just fit right in there. I also had to finally fix down the top shell. I made some angled tabs and first screwed them to the horizontal trim. I then put my shell into place and squirted in a load of epoxy glue inbetween the shell and tab... The shell is now held on by 4 screws.. Surprisingly it doesn't need anymore! Really good firm hold with this method so I'll leave it there, especially as I cannot find any evidence on the film props that they were secured in other places. Couldn't resist having a pose... (If this isn't visible, please open in new tab and you'll be able to view) Cheers! Jake

Progress has slowed a bit of late mainly due to these parts.. ...they are all being anodised different colours; blue, yellow, gold and black! So I have been tinkering with other parts, namely the lower lining. This is just toolbox, anti-slip stuff off of eBay laid over some black 3mm PVA foam. Painting continues with the rocket tip!! And where we're at.. I’ve also been spending my lunch breaks turning all my AutoCAD drawings into a 3D model.. ...The aim is to have an entirely 3D printable version I can sell in kit format relatively cheaply and easily! The most accurate representation of the prop on planet Earth, even the Milky Way!!

Slapped a bit of paint on it. Tan base layer with a medium brown, dark brown and yellow camo pattern finished with a light speckle of the tan colour and a dark red/brown colour.

Got a couple of layers of white primer down as a base coat, neatened up the edges and tidied the gaps between moving panels with body filler and sandpaper... ..next task is to start laying the tan base coat down, then camo, then a light stipple to blend the colours.

Hello chaps, Firstly I’d like to apologise for the complete lack of updates on my Sea Harrier build over the last decade. I’ve noticed all my old pictures have since been taken down so I’ll try to get them reinstated. A very friendly fellow Britmodeller has since sold me a new FRS1 kit so the build will resume soon... ...until then please check out my latest project to see what’s stalling me on my Sea Harrier. I think it’s pretty cool so hope you guys do too..

The latest..

I made some brackets from angled aluminium.. ..and glued this to the frame using 2-part epoxy. This stuff is STRONG. Keying up both surfaces with rough sandpaper is vital. Where I’m at..

Metal frame and wires can be a bad combo so rubber grommets were used where cables ran through parts.. Learning from earlier in the build I also included ports for the Arduino programming lead.. ..this saves me from having to take the frame apart to update the Arduino code. Got it all functioning again.. ..lovely seeing all those parts I’ve designed running like clockwork. Next job was to fit the 1mm trim. ..a combination of bending and rolling to get the required profile. A lasercut jig provided a guide.

Kicking off 2020 with style. I had these parts cut from 3mm + 1mm aluminium. They also include the rocket fins and other important parts. Bent in the old bender.. Taken apart.. ..takes about an hour to strip it down to this degree now. Got to ream out all the important metal holes for housing bearings etc. The 3mm all together!!