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Urban legend ....... The Mothman.

 
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ShadowLandz100
Senior Crewman


Joined: 24 Sep 2014
Posts: 16
Location: Portland Oregon

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 5:38 pm    Post subject: Urban legend ....... The Mothman. Reply with quote

I love urban legends and none is more mysterious than the Mothman who was sighted on many occasions in Point Pleasant West Virgina from Nov 15, 1966 to Dec 15, 1967 the date of the Silver Bridge collapse killing 46 people after this disaster the Mothman sightings stopped in the U.S but was to be seen in areas around the world as an omen of impending doom.

I purchased the Mothman resin model from Alternative Images a few years ago but kept it on the shelf trying to figure how I was going to attack this model and do the things I wanted to do that included lighted eyes and an on board power supply and opening it's mouth and showing his teeth as this figure has a closed mouth this is a must on this figure but looking at this intimidating hunk of resin kept me from the task until I just got tired of looking at it and jumped in with both feet.

The first order of business was to drill out the head for the eyes and to do this was my trusty friend my Dremel and my milling tool bits then finding the right LED's and last that base, a large solid chunk of resin that had to be opened for a 9 volt battery and wire. After several nights of drilling and milling clad in goggles and a dust mask the job was done along with a trench from the top of the base to the box for the wires from the figure, and using Apoxie Sculpt I made a bunch of teeth and was fitting new teeth to an opened mouth there's even a forked tongue in there.

The figure also presented some problems getting the wires from the head down to the figures bottom that attached to the base so a trench was cut from the back of the head down the back and through the figures rear into the base, a fun time for all ho ho ho, but this went better than I thought and was finished within a few days thanks to Apoxie Sculpt all traces of the trenches in the figure and base are gone as this does a fantastic job of hiding all trench work.

Finally I got all the ingredients together and assembled the figure and finished the painting using an airbrush with acrylic paints and dry brushing added details and my model is done just shy of Halloween but at least I can have it for next year. Karl


The box cover.


Sneaking up on him.


Caught.








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Last edited by ShadowLandz100 on Sat Aug 29, 2015 6:39 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17017
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Emerald Duck Call Award

Do you have any pictures of the work in progress? We love to see those.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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ShadowLandz100
Senior Crewman


Joined: 24 Sep 2014
Posts: 16
Location: Portland Oregon

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I sure do, Bud. This model is solid resin, and to achieve what I want to do requires special tools, long 12" drills to drill through the figures head for the wiring, then a cutter blade to cut a trench down the back of the figure from the back of the head to the lower end of the figure.
Where it is attached to the base, the other attachment is at the lower foot where a steel pin is inserted from inside the battery box to the foot to be epoxied to the base.

To start the base box, a series of pilot holes are drilled by using the Dremel drill press stand to insure all holes are the same depth of 1-1/2" deep. Then a milling bit is used to mill out the remaining material to get a smooth finish to the back and sides of the box.

After the milling is finished I then cut styrene sheet plastic and fit it inside the walls of the box and to cover the wires coming in from the switch, which is another hole drilled into the base and made for the on / off switch.

The head of the figure was drilled out to accept the eyes and a 1/8" x 12" drill bit was used to drill a hole for the wiring from the eyes. The mouth was cut and fitted with teeth cut from a strip of styrene, but it was scrubbed in favor of separate teeth, fit into gums along with a forked tongue. Both the teeth and tongue were made using Apoxie Sculpt, a two part modeling clay that sets up in a few hours to rock hard material.

Assembly of the figure was done using a two part quick cure epoxy cement. Exact amounts are blended, then applied to the parts and allowed to dry overnight, after which there is a solid bond -- so making sure you have the parts in the right location is a priority. No second chance for errors.

Apoxie Sculpt is used to patch the trench of the figure with the wires inside ready for the base attachment.

Painting was base coated with rattle can acrylic primer gray paint, allowed to dry overnight and then airbrushing with acrylic tube paints to achieve unique coloring, then sprayed with Testors dull cote to keep the shine down.

The last item is the inserting of the glass eyes and the soldering of the LED's, then with Apoxie Sculpt applied around the eyes to secure them to the head.

The last step is bringing the wires through the top of the base from the figure down the trench to the battery box, then soldered it all together using a 150 ohm-1/2 watt carbon-film resistor (connected to the LED's and switch), checking all along for proper connections and being in such cramped quarters. Liquid electrical tape was used over the soldered connections to prevent shorts.

And this concludes the construction of my Mothman model ..... whew.

Karl


The head with the mouth opened.



The scrubbed first attempt for teeth.



The new teeth and Led's for the eyes.



The base after some drilling and milling.



The Dremel drill press stand a great tool.



The battery box almost finished.



Finishing up with some airbrushing acrylic paints.
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17017
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Magnificent!

I could teach a class on this and just show my students the pictures after giving them copies of the instructions!

Shadow, I wish I could do more than just award you an EDCA to show my appreciation for the work you put into your post -- not to mention that magnificent creation!

So, like a good bartender, why don't we just make it double? Cool

Two Emerald Duck Call Awards
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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ShadowLandz100
Senior Crewman


Joined: 24 Sep 2014
Posts: 16
Location: Portland Oregon

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you Bud, I just love model building and to give people who see my work an appreciation of this hobby. I like these models because they not only show the talented works of the unknown artists who sculpt them, but what can be done to them by people like me who can bring them to life like you're looking at the real thing.

My modeling work is a far cry from what modeler members are doing in the Clubhouse, an online modeling website. I read their WIP's and study the photos of the work they do and I have learned plenty from these extremely talented artists. I'm grateful that I can share with you and all members here on All Sci-fi what I have learned.

Karl

http://theclubhouse1.net/phpBB3/index.php
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17017
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are very welcome, Karl. Please keep the good stuff comin'. We love it.

That model builder's site looks great. Be sure to tell those folks that we have a section devoted to the display of models and dioramas, and since our board recently had to start over from scratch, we're eager to put that section to good use.

I mean, good Lord, they've got 889,285 total posts . . . by their 2,627 members!

Jeez, that just not fair! Shocked


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Rocky Jones
Astral Engineer


Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 225
Location: North Texas

PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very nice work, Shadow. I haven't heard of this model. This representation actually looks kind of more bat-like that moth-like to me. I sure wouldn't want to bump into him on Halloween night, though.

This reminded me of a great story magician James Randi told on a recent edition of the Skepticality podcast. Randi has long been known not only as a magician, but a debunker of fakers and popular myths. He told about how he and a friend were sitting around one evening talking about monster legends such as Bigfoot and Loch Ness and wondered how easy it would be to concoct one of their own. Apparently it wasn't very difficult. They came up with a ridiculous yarn and spread it around through the right channels. Their conversation was ground zero for the whole "Mothman" legend.
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