Flying Jar (Future Boy Conan)

strobez · March 01, 2019, 04:08:56 PM

This seems like the perfect opportunity to get another of my planned Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) builds... off the ground.

From one of Miyazaki's earliest projects, the animated television series (circa 1978), Future Boy Conan... I bring you, Dr. Lao's Flying Jar!

and even a bit of the technical specs...

Coming soon!

Weaver · March 01, 2019, 09:28:26 PM

Nice one - inspired, methinks, by the bottle suit from the Disney/Von Braun concepts of the 1950s:

zenrat · March 02, 2019, 12:33:08 AM

And there's a Falco there in the background.

strobez · March 05, 2019, 10:58:26 PM

There is indeed a Falco in the background. I have that kit, but I'm saving it for a rainy day.

As for this build, it seems to have taken on a mind of its own. I was all set to start, but then I went and got an idea... one which, if it succeeds, will dwarf all the other projects I've attempted before.

I'm still doing a bit of research, but this one will be epic... wether that's a success or a fail though remains to be seen.

zenrat · March 06, 2019, 02:04:10 AM

Quote from: strobez on March 05, 2019, 10:58:26 PM
...I went and got an idea...

It doesn't involve magnets does it...

strobez · March 06, 2019, 02:18:03 AM

Heh... heh... heh...

strobez · March 07, 2019, 07:26:13 AM

Alrighty... we're committed now...

kerick · March 07, 2019, 07:34:29 AM

He found the spare flux capacitor......

rickshaw · March 07, 2019, 03:46:49 PM

Quote from: kerick on March 07, 2019, 07:34:29 AM
He found the spare flux capacitor......

I thought I'd hidden the only one in existence....

kerick · March 07, 2019, 07:06:56 PM

There must be others.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD8430xJRbM

strobez · March 07, 2019, 09:16:34 PM

Alright, so here we go... I've got a used party "popper" cone, some clear plastic tubing, the engine off an Academy 1/72 F-8E, some plastic sheets and a domahicky that I think came in a long-forgotten Gundam kit...

Cut the cone to length... oh, yeah, and I've got some Tamiya racing car tires...

I need to thicken up the cone, so some CA glue, and some plastic sheets to the rescue.

And of course the putty... lots of putty!

Old Wombat · March 11, 2019, 07:26:45 AM

Quote from: strobez on March 07, 2019, 07:26:13 AM
Alrighty... we're committed now...

Most of us should be ...

PR19_Kit · March 11, 2019, 07:52:39 AM

Quote from: strobez on March 07, 2019, 09:16:34 PM

....and a domahicky that I think came in a long-forgotten Gundam kit...

You just can't get by without a domahicky or two in this game.

strobez · March 19, 2019, 08:21:25 AM

Ok... let's dump a major update on this GB project...

I was out with the family a couple of weeks ago and ran cross this noise maker things... I see lots of good shapes there, so I instantly scrapped my previous work and started over...

Just a little bit of slicing and then some rearranging...

Yes. That's a MUCH better shape.

The top part is added, and now comes more putty. This is shaping up much better now!

Now to make the bottom... here's what we need.

A bit of heated plastic and a smash moulding later...

A few more slices and some more reassembling.

Now we've got the main parts... and a few extras.

Let's try a dry fit...

It's a good thing I did a dry fit. It seems like I miscalculated and the main body is too long? Uh-oh. Luckily too long is much more easily fixed than too short.

Ok... I give up... time for plan C... or...D... I've tried every possibly way I can think of to heat mould the windscreen. NOTHING has worked for me. I tried tubes of varying sizes, I tried plastic sheets and I tried plastic bottles and cups. They all worked partially, but nothing worked properly. The plastic expanded when I wanted it to shrink and form... the plastic turned white and cloudy when I needed clear... and the couple of times I thought I might've stretched out the overlaps enough for it to be useable, I couldn't free the plug without damaging the form. Days of frustration and burned fingers...

So I finally settled on Plan.. G... get a clear ring from the fashion market. Seoul has a great wholesale fashion market, every kind of swatch of cloth, buckle, button, clasp and ribbon you can imagine. I had to sift through a great deal of lace and glitter, but I found one that was the right size and shape. I was hoping to detail out the cockpit, but there's no real point with a clear "canopy" this thick. Oh, well, it's probably for the best since the magnets arrived and they're bigger than I thought. I may have to do some hiding.

Anyway, moving right along, let's unpack and sort some electronics from China. The instructions are... limited.

After carefully going through the parts list, I think I found everything and soldered them all in the right spots. Hopefully we'll have an electromagnet at the end of this...

This is going to be epic... a success or a fail... one way or another.

kerick · March 19, 2019, 12:03:17 PM

Good Lord! He's built his own flux capacitor!

This will be extremely interesting!