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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 1, 2012 21:01:51 GMT -5
I don't believe anyone has tried this yet (at least not properly), so I reckon I'm first in with this project of the Avatar Unobtainium floating display unit. I did build a rough one for myself a short while back, but after getting a lot of interest from people to see it in action, I have decided to clean it up and iron out some kinks.  I started sculpting the RDA logo for the center of the unit (where the recess on top lies). I still need to add a proper lighting unit and clean up some rough lines. The floating Unobtainium material floats very well, but I'm having problems giving it a decent metallic finish to mimic the real-life Unobtainium - Galena. Galena is the actual mineral used in the movie to portray the fictional Unobtainium. The best effect obtained so far on my cast resin piece is a dull metallic grey. I'm having trouble getting the prefect 'mirror' finish. The piece has a lot if very fine detail and I don't want to spoil that with a lot of coatings of paint. Even one coat dull the sharp texture and that's bad enough. Here's a computer image of the unit I'm working on. Attachments:
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 9:00:02 GMT -5
How are you going to get the mineral to float? Nobody has ever achieved this. The closest I've seen is a magnet attached to a string which is pinned to a base and a piece of metal mounted high to 'pull' the magnet up. I've never seen a magnet float and be completely stabilised. Hope you can finish this and make a video demo of it in levitation....let us know how you get on man !!
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 9:25:53 GMT -5
How are you going to get the mineral to float? Nobody has ever achieved this. The closest I've seen is a magnet attached to a string which is pinned to a base and a piece of metal mounted high to 'pull' the magnet up. I've never seen a magnet float and be completely stabilised. Hope you can finish this and make a video demo of it in levitation....let us know how you get on man !! It can be done..trust me, you won't be disappointed in this prop. It'll look just like the screen unit and feature lighting as well. I've attached a pic of the original sculpt build I did and had since made a mold in an effort to clean it up further. Attachments:
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 9:57:31 GMT -5
That is looking good so far. You still need to add the RDA logo in the center and cut a ring out for the lights. Btw...here's the video I was talking about:
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 10:53:15 GMT -5
Yeah, I did see that video before when I was looking for reference pics on the unit. I actually did what's shown in the video when I was in school, so nothing special. Here you can see one of my castings of the unit, but it still needs polishing up more and I'm not even convinced that the top half is black, or just appears a darker blue because of the light coming from it. Attachments:
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 11:13:35 GMT -5
wow, your lev unit is looking pretty accurate already. Is that silver paint or metal? I think the top part is probably black, and lit up blue by the leds/bulbs.
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 11:22:43 GMT -5
wow, your lev unit is looking pretty accurate already. Is that silver paint or metal? I think the top part is probably black, and lit up blue by the leds/bulbs. It's metal filler mixed with resin (aluminium) and polished up to bring out the shine. Here're some test piece of fake Galena/Unobtainium. I'm having real problems getting a perfect mirror finish on the resin casts. The actual mineral has near perfect reflection, and the best I can come up with so far is a dull silver or slightly shiny grey. Attachments:
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 12:32:27 GMT -5
Couldn't you use metal foil paper crinkled up and filled with resin? That way you get the perfect mirror finish you're after.
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 13:40:35 GMT -5
Couldn't you use metal foil paper crinkled up and filled with resin? That way you get the perfect mirror finish you're after. I can't do it that way, I have to cast a hard piece to hold the magnet inside. Also, the rock texture wouldn't look like true Galena, so I wouldn't be happy with the results at all. The only good thing about aluminium foil is the shiny finish, but that's about it. In this picture, I'm holding the real Galena. I don't know if you can really tell from this image, but it's pretty shiny compared to the other grey piece. Attachments:
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 14:01:17 GMT -5
So how high will your Unobtainium float and will it be stable?
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 15:07:16 GMT -5
So how high will your Unobtainium float and will it be stable? It'll float at around 3 cm high and be stable. It can be made to rotate or levitate with no rotation. Attachments:
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 15:24:17 GMT -5
3 cm!! That's pretty high actually. Cool
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 15:37:23 GMT -5
It can hold quite a lot of weight too without losing much height. I balanced a can of coke on it, and lost just 2 mm height.
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Post by moviecreature on Jul 2, 2012 16:00:58 GMT -5
It can hold quite a lot of weight too without losing much height. I balanced a can of coke on it, and lost just 2 mm height. That's one darn powerful magnetic force! |
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Post by Prop-Builder on Jul 2, 2012 16:04:15 GMT -5
Sure is. Hurts too when it flips over and catches my fingers.
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