RWBY SCYTHE V2 + DRAGON CON 2014

Wherein I talk about how I built RWBY transforming scythe version 2 and other Dragon Con 2014 shenanigans! There's quite a bit I want to share in this blogpost, so bear with me, this post is going to be really long!

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RWBY Scythe V2

Above is a video of RWBY scythe deploying.

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Dragon Con 2014 fun

Ruby and her male counterpart!

Shenanigans!
Left to right: Me (Ruby), Alison (Blake),
Charles (Charles on a little electric bike), Jamo (Jayce).

CAUTION: LONG POST AHEAD!
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BUILDING RWBY SCYTHE PART 3 + ANIME BOSTON 2014

So last I left off (in the previous post that I forgot to name 'Part 2' in the 'Building-RWBY-scythe-series-of-posts'), I was in the middle of prototyping. That version was unfortunately scrapped (though not entirely) for the con. In hindsight though, the size was a good reference for the next version. But! For now, let me tell you about the RWBY scythe I build for Anime Boston.

TL;DR:

• RWBY unfolding scythe unfolded manually, but broke before and during the con.
• This version was made of MDF (hardboard from Home Depot), aluminum tubes, two pairs of 3D printed parts, and two commercial steel drawer slides. It weighed ~22.5lbs.
• Next version is already in the works.
• I had fun at the con! Despite being sick and exhausted. Thank you, friends, for your support!

This is going to be a very very long post, divided into the following parts:

I

RWBY scythe build (Part 3)

Folded all together. (Minus the Tail pieces)

Unfolded. (Minus the Tail pieces)

Size comparison. This thing was too heavy for the size to be practical!

How the front mechanism was supposed to work, shown in my CAD.

II

Anime Boston 2014 report

My cosplay group! Thank you guys for being troopers!

Me unfolding it at the Con panel. Thanks for holding it stable for me, Tony! Er-- Brian!

The 18in lasercut MDF scythes I made for Charles and me for the Con on Sunday.

CAUTION: LONG POST AHEAD! 

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SOLDER IRON ART

What could you do with a roll of receipt paper and a soldering iron? Make art!

The finished piece!

Receipt paper is usually 'thermal paper', which means one side of it is coated with a chemical (including the dye) that reacts to heat, providing a way to print text and images without ink.

Taking a heat gun with the right setting...

Finding the right heat setting to make the strokes I wanted took a few tries...

And then taking a soldering iron on the right setting...

Higher temperatures create thicker lines, lower temperatures create thin lines...

And voila! A drawing made without a pencil, pen, brush, etc, but with applied heat!

I also made a quick rose for Charles, hehe, in return for the 3D printed rose (using the Form 1) he gave me. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Happy belated Valentines Day!

And then here's some random things I carved into leftover pieces of foam from work:

This was just a quick interlude post- I'll be back to more RWBY updates in a few days!

SUN + RWBY + OTHER ARTS

Last December, after more than a year of not visiting family, I flew down to Florida for a week to meet up with the ol' crew again - mom and dad, along with some of my cousins and friends and families of friends. They had driven down to meet me there, ready for beaches and a Christmas without snow and cold, which Florida readily gave. The trip had been a long time coming, and seeing family again really brought back memories. I took the opportunity to catch up, to soak in the presence of the people who I had lived without for the past few years, to breathe in a salty air that was so unlike the air up north, to drink in the scenery of sky, water, and sand. A week's worth of family and sun rejuvenated me. It was more than enough - I was ready to go back and tackle the new year.

Happy 2014! Happy year of the horse!

There's a full lineup of things-to-happen this year - but I'll start with just updating on the things I've already worked on so far. This is a LONG and PICTURE-HEAVY post! Contents are below, click the 'Read more!' to read more!

In order of appearance:

I

An update on RWBY scythe

II

A recap of my week in Florida

III

A living-hinge book cover I designed

IV

Some speedpaints I did

Click below to read more!