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Zorg Industries ZF1 - Fifth Element film prop replica


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Progress has slowed a bit of late mainly due to these parts..

 

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...they are all being anodised different colours; blue, yellow, gold and black!

 

So I have been tinkering with other parts, namely the lower lining.

 

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This is just toolbox, anti-slip stuff off of eBay laid over some black 3mm PVA foam.

 

Painting continues with the rocket tip!!

 

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And where we're at..

 

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I’ve also been spending my lunch breaks turning all my AutoCAD drawings into a 3D model..

 

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...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!!

 

 

 

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Lots of smaller jobs now.

The rocket needs its aluminium fins attaching...

 

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..I used a slitting saw on my mill to get a nice thin groove.

 

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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..

 

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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...

 

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The shell is now held on by 4 screws..

 

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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...

 

4agMcx0.mp4

 

(If this isn't visible, please open in new tab and you'll be able to view)

 

Cheers!

Jake

Edited by JakeEaton
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Paint time. I neatened up some of the edges and sorted out some problem areas before spraying the white primer coat..

 

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Tan colour..

 

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Speckled and finished!

 

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Rocket tip sprayed yellow gloss..

 

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Rocket complete! I vapour blasted the rocket body too..

 

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I've also started experimenting with the lower lining..

 

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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..

 

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Electronics..

 

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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..

 

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..I used 5mm neoprene foam cord.

 

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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..

 

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..only replaceable when the gun is in pieces.

Next was to age the aluminium parts..

 

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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..

 

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...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!

 

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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..

 

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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.

 

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Just waiting on those anodised parts now..

Cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...

3D printed a cover for the Arduino and circuitry..

 

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..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...

 

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...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...

 

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(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.

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23 hours ago, JakeEaton said:

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...

 

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That's as good as any movie prop I've seen. Excellent addition of the red button, it has to be there really 😂

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On 3/11/2020 at 3:26 AM, Sandrock said:

That's amazing. How heavy is it to carry one handed?

 

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!

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Lovely work Jake. :yes:

 

Some of your pics are a bit MAHOOSIVE though, which is why they're taking so long to load.  The one I managed to test was almost 1mb, which will take precious seconds to load each.  Try resizing them to 1024x800 max, and optimising them when you save to 250kb maximum so the load time is almost instant on a desktop with decent broadband :)

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  • 3 weeks later...


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...

 

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The prop is a vintage handheld video game like this...

 

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...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..

 

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I then made changes to the model to allow the inclusion of this cheap IR remote...

 

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...which I slightly rewired to allow the IR LED to pop out the side.

 

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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!

 

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...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.

Edited by JakeEaton
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  • 2 weeks later...

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...and of it moving.

 

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(open in a new tab if video doesn’t load)

 

..and the remote activating it.

 

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(open in a new tab if video doesn’t load)

 

That's that sorted then! Next project!!

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