do you know of any good resources or guides to make your own transistor replica? are there any in particular that you like to use?
Hi there! I didn’t follow a tutorial for the transistor beyond “oh this can basically be a plexiglass box, sweet”, but I can give some advice as far as materials and such go! (for my versions anyway)
for materials (in no particular order)1/8″ clear plexi sheet400 grit sandpaper (or a sandblaster if you have access to one/the patience to sandblast something that big. I sandblasted the first and sandpapered the second. There are pros and cons to each, but both methods work)acrylic paint– turquoise (like the bright glowing part of the transistor), red, black, whitewatercolor paint (whatever color you want the body of your tranistor, I had to mix two to get the color I actually wanted)mod podge (or whatever clear sealant)cardboardcardstockpvc pipingEVA foammodel magic (or something similar. Paperclay?)hot glueacrylic solvent glue (Weld-On #16, trust me)spray insulation foam2mm ELwire (about 13′ for the size blade I made)silver and gold spray paint
holy shit that looks like a lot of stuff. It kind of is, but if you use colored plexi you won’t need the watercolor, and you’ll need less acrylic. That’s still a lot, but don’t worry take it in small steps.
The plexi sheet, sandpaper, watercolor, mod poge and acrylic paint are for the body of the blade. Sanding the plexi makes the blade semi-transparent, and also helps the paint to stay on when you color it. Use watercolor mixed with a bit of mod podge for the body of the blade, that way you get a lot more intense color but can keep the transparency. The acrylic is just for the glowing circuits and the “eye” The PVC piping, EVA foam, and paperclay are all for the hilt. Cut strips of EVA foam and glue them around the pvc to make the handle, use paperclay to make the tapered transition between the EVA foam and the pvc. Use more paperclay for the pommel, then paint the pommel with acrylic paint and seal it with mod podge. The cardboard, cardstock, spray paint, and hot glue are for all the metallic bits (the silver triangle of the hilt/guard and the floating tabs, plus the three down at the end) The cardstock is to make the coardboard look nice and smooth, while the cardboard itself offers structure and “depth”. The hot glue is just to attach the cardboard to the plexi The spray insulation foam is to give the cardboard of the hilt strength, as well as to glue the pvc into place as the hilt (and sort of holds the plexi itself together as a secondary glue. The primary glue is of course the Acrylic solvent glue) The ELwire is just to outline the design of the circuits and make shit super cool and glowy
The floating tabs themselves were made of plexi in my case, with long tabs that went through a slice in the sidewall. If I did this again I’d use foam core board on two thin strips of plexi that go through drilled holes in the sidewall because that would be way easier and also look better (I think). For my current version you’d need a bandsaw to cut out the tab shape in plexi, then cut out more cardstock to paint gold and glue to the plexi (using either modpdge or wood glue or something. DON’T USE HOT GLUE FOR THAT. Trust me.) It’s a lot of hassle for a result I think you could get better in numerous other simpler manners (I say, having done this twice now the way I’m recommending against. Oops)
Okay wow, this is getting long. Also boring without pictures. I’m gonna try to write up a tutorial of this with pictures and such, but these are the basic starters.
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