Topic: Boryla Sector, Outlands Station - Admin Office

[DocOutlands]

Spook, I'm glad they lived up to his expectations!  I have a couple or three molded up, but I haven't painted or photoed them yet.  I really should...

I'm learning a LOT as I go and little by little am getting better at it, I think.  And *now* I'm making my own masters for molding...

[DocOutlands]

Lest you think Production Platform 3 has been shamefully idle...

R&d has been cooking up some new goodies.  While they aren't *quite* ready for full-scale production, the lads have agreed to releasesome teaser pics and such.  So, with no further ado, here's what's cooking!

So I decided I wanted to try out a project using Smooth On products start to finish. I have been using Alumilite products, but am not completely thrilled by their recent reformulation of their High Strength III rtv silicone. I decided I'd try the Mold Max 10 from Smooth On as it seemed an almost identical match, stats-wise. Since I was trying that out, I figured I'd try out Smooth Cast 327 resin for its 30-minute pot life and the sampler set of So Strong tints. Here's a pic of the results... the white boxes are Alumilite's Amazing Casting Resin that I normally use. The brown boxes are the 327 with 4 drops of So Strong Brown tint in 2oz of resin. The boxes are scratchbuilt by me and were molded in Mold Max 10. The rough texture of the box faces is the result of the material I used - the Mold Max caught it wonderfully. The glossy patches are patches of superglue and plastic solvent/cement. Talk about able to catch EVERY detail!! I'll be experimenting with tint mixtures in the coming days, as well as a vacuum-casting approach to try and eliminate trapped air bubbles in certain troublesome molds, so stay tuned. So far, I am extremely pleased with the Smooth On line.



(these are the casts from the master-part the Imperial Tech was carrying...)

Here's some more containers made from Smooth On's Smooth Cast 327, tinted with So Strong Brown. You've seen the Iconic Box and Joe ammo can before, but the other two are new. They are part of the upcoming "Cargo Cylinders" set, intended for use with both wargaming minis and action figures.

[DocOutlands]

Totally flabbergasted! Smooth-On shared the second pic, all the brown boxes, on their Facebook page the day I posted it!

Well, thanks to a rather long work-week (over 60 hours and 5 days instead of the regular 4) and a rotten case of what appears to be bronchitis, casting this week fizzled.  I think I got 3 parts cast and a few tests of the vacuum system run. (still totally inconclusive as to its effectiveness)  I'm hoping I can sit down and concentrate on the task long enough today to finish up one project so it can head for England and maybe start back making headway on the other two orders.

It looks as if Production Platform 3 is going to have to start its own website!  The past few weeks have seen a number of orders and inquiries about parts, so having a place to send people to is becoming a growing need.  This little hobby of mine is starting to catch on...

(I really think there was something else I wanted to share, but this whole being sick gig has my thought processes jumbled up...)

[The Spectre]

It looks as if Production Platform 3 is going to have to start its own website!  The past few weeks have seen a number of orders and inquiries about parts, so having a place to send people to is becoming a growing need.  This little hobby of mine is starting to catch on...

I am glad this is taking off for you! I shared pics of the stuff you sent me on several other boards and even mentioned you and praised your work  on my podcasta few weeks back

[DocOutlands]

Thankee, sir!  I'm glad you found them to be worthy of sharing!

[DocOutlands]

I had a ponderment this last week, as I considered my small-but-growing resin-casting business.  It was a confluence of thought-streams, stemming from being rather aggravated with my work-schedule keeping me from my casting, new items I need to mold and market, an idea for a series of a/f-scale weapons based on Nerf guns, and then the research on them that led into cosplay.  I already have begun making parts that can be used in smaller gaming scales.  Quite a few people have used items I make in a variety of photographic projects.  Why not enlarge my line to include parts intended for cosplayers - things that could be used to plug gaps in or provide surface detail to cheap toy guns?  Things like new barrel systems that fit onto N-Strike/N-Elite Nerf weapons?  Maybe even complete weapon-kits for something like the Colonial Marine officer sidearm?  So it seems now the best way to sum up my product line may be "trans-scale photographic props and miniatures."

[DocOutlands]

Bought myself a USS Enterprise Bridge Playset on clearance at TRU this week.  Here it is, set up for taking pics of my cast pieces.

[DocOutlands]

Here's one of the pics...

[DocOutlands]

I need a comparison pic of a Lego Greedo head next to an action figure Greedo/Pax Bonkik head... can anyone help?

[DocOutlands]

I just got the Lego Rodian head in this past week, so a comparison will be forthcoming.

In other news, I'm writing this on a real-world datapad.  My wife & I just upgraded to smartphones & I got a Galaxy Note II. It will take me some time tobget used to this!

[Tamer]

Nice. Looks like it works pretty good to me.

[DocOutlands]

Hello, fellow 'Yarders!  I've been quiet for far FAR too long, I know!  Quiet is NOT inactive, tho!  I'm having internet connection challenges at home, new-phone struggles as I adapt to my new piece of kit (it's a joy, btw!), and the ever-popular daily routine of WORK. Blech!  Some of you already know about Production Platform 3's new Facebook page.  If you don't, let me encourage you to check it out!  My new phone has made keeping up on Facebook ridiculously easy and the phone actually has a fairly decent camera on it, too. 

So I've been busy - Darth Optimus has been an *excellent* gent about loaning out a number of sweet originals for me to make molds of: heads, cargo boxes (yes, the old Kenner Dagobah crates are available as repros!), and now melee weapons are underway.  I'm still looking for a storefront (leaning towards ecrater.com - looking for input) to tie the Facebook page to, but I'm not letting the dust gather on the mold-making supplies!

If you are on Facebook, be sure to to drop by Production Platform 3's new page and give it a Like so you can stay up-to-date on new goodies as they appear!

Coming soon: engine pods!

[DocOutlands]

Just a quick update this morning.  I'm working on a way to get the computer consoles to cast hollow. First test *should* be this evening, so everybody keep your fingers crossed! I've got some casting & photography to do for the store, so keep an eye out there, too. That may happen this evening, as well. Yes, this *will* include 3 (or 4!) sizes of turbines as well as door control panels.

[DocOutlands]

Hello, family and friends! In just two short months, the Production Platform 3 page picked up its 100th like, thanks to Wookieballs Customs (now we're at 104!). I'm thrilled to see so many talented and known names of the collecting and customizing world show up in the list of folks who have taken the time to check out and like our page. In case you aren't aware of it, Production Platform 3 has a storefront where we offer a growing array of resin castings for action figure customizers and wargamers. If you haven't checked it out yet, take a few minutes and go look around. We'll wait.

Back so soon? I'm pretty sure you liked what you saw – even people who aren't into action figures have confessed to being at least a little impressed by our offerings. What I'm hopeful of is that as you look around our Facebook page and the storefront, you've thought of at least one person who would love to get ahold of the stuff we make. Eventually, we're sure you'll let that someone know about us.

But we are terribly impatient! We'd like you to tell them about us NOW! And to encourage you to do that sooner rather than later, we've decided to hold a contest. More exposure means more browsers and more browsers means more buyers. To help get more people looking, we need help. To get help, we need to offer some incentive. How about a shot at winning a “Cargo Bay Starter Set?”

If you help us spread the word about our Facebook page and get us to 150 likes, we'll hold a drawing to award a Cargo Bay Starter Set to one of our lucky fans! And not just a boring old white set, either – the parts will be molded in a variety of colors! There's only one catch.

We have to hit 150 likes by midnight of May 31st, CDT. That's a little more than 3 weeks away. We picked up 100 likes in right at 8 weeks. If you help spread the word, I am confident we can double that pace to pick up 50 more in just under half that time.

In fact, I think we can do better than that. For every additional 50 likes (200, 250, etc), I'll give away another Cargo Bay Starter Set. Sound good? Then spread the word...

[Tamer]

Perhaps you don't mind me spreading the word about your contest? If you want to do a front page write up for me I can take it to the front page. Do you guys have a page picture or header I could use too?