Stargate Kull Disruptor - Power Cell

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

In the original prop this part holds an electronics board, that flashes lights when plugged in to the body. I spent a fair bit of time drawing up schematics in Eagle, intending to have some PCBs fabricated. However I came a bit unstuck trying to sort out the layout and ran out of time. I still want to output some PCBs from Eagle, maybe next time I'll try an easier circuit.

Power Cell

The tie-dye tanic power cell, as I'm calling it, is probably the trickiest part of this build. I think the original was milled out of brass, which makes replicating it, both the quality and finish, very difficult.

Regardless I ploughed ahead with cutting out plasticard.

After a lot of cutting, layering, filling and sanding I was left with these two. 
Not milled brass, but not bad either.

I've always wanted to try cold casting (adding metal powders to resin to achieve a realistic metal look). This isn't an ideal project for it. Cold casting is best done in larger open moulds on ornate looking pieces where you will get a good contrast when you polish it up.

This piece is small, in a two part mould and has lots of flat surfaces.

However I think they look pretty good.

There was a lot of experimenting to get these results. How much black pigment and brass powder to add can be tricky to balance. Then once the piece has cured I rubbed the pieces down with white spirit (this dissolves the surface of the resin allowing the brass powder to show through. Lastly I give them a final buffing with steel wool.

The paint job on these is odd, it looks like pink with splatters of brass showing through.

To try to replicate the look, firstly I splattered the pieces with liquid mask (a tinted latex paint that easily rubs off when dry)

After that dried I sprayed some translucent pink on them, then peeled off the liquid mask.

I'm sure it's not exactly how the original was made but I think it emulates the effect quite nicely.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3