Middle Earth Map: Part II+

I haven’t really had much time to continue with the Middle Earth map.  I’ve finished a second copy and the edges came out much better.  The trick was to tear them before the staining.  It gave a much better result than doing it after the fact.  Unfortunately I went too overboard with the spot staining, and some areas turned out too dark and murky. I’ll have to try and hold back next time.  It’s so hard to stop the tearing that happens as well.  I just HAVE to be more patient and let it dry before I touch it.  It’s a fine line between it sticking to the surface of the table (well, washing machine) and having it rip.   Perhaps I’ll dry the edges with a hair dryer and see how that goes.  It needs to be consistent though.  Another thing I realised is to do the folds in the map a lot earlier as well.   After the second coat of wash is probably the best time.  It doesn’t tear as much and looks a little more natural.

In other news, I was sent a copy of another map, this one from Raiders of the Lost Ark.   At the beginning of the film, Indiana Jones is walking through the South American jungle looking for the golden Chachapoyan Fertility Idol.  At one point he holds up a map of the area, torn and badly weathered.  This is the map I have and it’s going to be my second weathering experiment. It was made by a fellow named Pat Riley who frequents the Replica Prop Forum.

Raiders of the Lost Ark Map

I’m also going to start making some more USB mods soon.  At long last I found a Jack Sparrow Pez dispenser and I’m going to convert it for my sister for Christmas.  I also landed a small Thomas the Tank Engine and a Lightning McQueen from the Cars movie.  Both of them are pretty small so they should be ideal for custom USB mods.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Pez™ Dispensers

Wall-E & Simpsons Pez™ USB Mods

I was visiting the Instructables web site, which is a treasure trove of user-made guides to making all sorts of wacky crap. I’d been hankering to get a little creative and a custom USB was just what I felt like doing. I’d already made a Wall-E custom and having spotted some Simpsons Pez™ dispensers in the local supermarket I decided to pick them up and have a go. I needed a few USBs and found the ideal sort at JB Hi-Fi. They sell a brand called Soniq which are tiny and durable. I also purchased a cheap hot-glue gun and set to work.

Wall-E USB

Simpsons Pez USB

I’m pretty happy with how they turned out, especially Wall-E as he was totally my idea. The Pez™ ones are OK but the back is a bit messy due to the way the dispenser is made. I sold a couple of them already but it’s a limited market as Pez™ characters have a limited run and can be hard to get.  Wall-E was done with a $4.95 toy from Big W, and took ages to carve out a perfect slot in the front.  It was after that I decided to buy some more useful tools.  I have another two Wall-E’s that I’ll carve up and convert one day soon.  I might sell them some place but haven’t decided yet.

Modding – Warhammer 40K for Fallout 3

One of my current projects is working on a set of modifications to the game Fallout 3. Some time ago, a fellow named cerberos008 released a series of armour pieces from the Warhammer 40,000 universe by Games Workshop. These were massively popular, though cerberos008 didn’t make any weapon mods to go with the release.

Soon there were some bolt guns and a few other things, but nothing major. So, I went into milkshape and began to tinker around making a slew of weapons and items to complement his armour sets.

I grew a little burned out and work was heavy by then, so I had a bit of a break, but came back and released my mod at Fallout 3 Nexus. So far it’s proven popular enough, and so I’m going to add a few more bits and pieces until I run out of ideas or get burned out again.

New Bolter Texture

Heavy Bolter

The new addition will include a Heavy Bolter which people have been demanding and maybe a power fist. I’ve also updated the meshes (the models) and textures of some of the weapons released by others so that they’re cleaner and match more with the armour sets.

I’ll keep you posted with the changes.