74 replies to this topic

[>EXO<]

Not a total success just yet. It still needs a lot of work but I just got my prototype for my stow-able 1/48 DYRL articulated hands. I have to work on some tolerance issues and missing parts from the printer. But it seems like it's getting there.






Hopefully it'll be done soon, but it looks like I got another round of prototyping...

[Reïvaj]

Wow, really looking great!

[MacrossMan]

Save the chicken hands for the chicken chokers...I'm all over these whenever they're ready!

[nightmareB4macross]

These look very similar to area I bought over year ago.

Hands are available on line via ebay.

Or you could search for CarPolyLee. There are two colors available, white and grey.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

They're looking great!!! very functional too.

[>EXO<]

Rendered version...

Save the chicken hands for the chicken chokers...I'm all over these whenever they're ready!

needs a lot more tweakin but I waited a long time for some pretty accurate DYRL hands... the joints are tiny though.

They're looking great!!! very functional too.

Hopefully... I added a little peg that goes thru the gun handle hole, but it seems like the fingers can handle the gun by themselves. The wrist needs work though. I'm beginning to think it doesn't really need a ball joint there. Everytime I pose it to where it's not straight it looks weird.

Don't ask for 1/60s. haha. This thing is pushing tolerances and wall thickness of the plastic.

That little pinky finger moves weird, but I'm going for lineart accuracy.

[Kicker773]

=) You know where I stand. I've been MIA been caught up with my new toy = T4

[mrhillz]

Wow, not bad. Sign me up for the final product when you're done

[>EXO<]

Wow, not bad. Sign me up for the final product when you're done

cool. I'm also working on some side covers. There's not enough people to warrant a mold so I'm making it digital print outs too. I have the prototype and works out well, I'm more or less working on bringing down the costs. Printouts are expensive!

[505thAirborne]

Hey EXO, those DYRL hands look awesome. As we discussed earlier if you decide to make these as well some side covers, I'm in!!

[grapetang]

Very cool!!! So this is one of those skunkworks projects you've been working on...
Sooo much better than the chicken hands!

[Old Man]

Hey EXO, those DYRL hands look awesome. As we discussed earlier if you decide to make these as well some side covers, I'm in!!

+1...I'm in for at least 6 sets of each.

[gwfalcon]

Really awesome work man. Can't wait to see the complete version.

[asgardianboy]

Hi exo, I also like to have a number of pairs of hands. I am in no hurry, I prefer for you to improve them and make them more robust.
Some questions:

1) Construction method: one of those 3d printers with laser, etc?

SLA

2) Will they be avaiilable in different colors? Also for other vf models, like vf-0a?

I'll be recommending a certain material that will be super white but can hold color... still researching...

3) How strong will be the grip on the gunpod? Will the wrist actually hold the whole thing (hand+gun)? Chicken hands are too weak...

As of now the test show a strong grip. I added the small peg that can go into the gun handle but it can be sliced off if you want to just use the pressure from the grip.

4) Will they get some painting or weathering? (plain color is so unrealistic...)

Not by me, it's designed for the 1/48 Yamato which is itself unweathered.

5) Price? Pay method?

6) When are they going to be ready?

Thanks!!!

[pfunk]

Dang, very nice

[asgardianboy]

Exo, could you gives us some life signal? Is the project going on?


Thanks

[>EXO<]

Hi. Sorry. Currently working on real life projects. Will get back to this one next week. Updates will follow.

[>EXO<]

Hi exo, I also like to have a number of pairs of hands. I am in no hurry, I prefer for you to improve them and make them more robust.
Some questions:

1) Construction method: one of those 3d printers with laser, etc?

SLA

2) Will they be avaiilable in different colors? Also for other vf models, like vf-0a?

I'll be recommending a certain material that will be super white but can hold color... still researching...

3) How strong will be the grip on the gunpod? Will the wrist actually hold the whole thing (hand+gun)? Chicken hands are too weak...

As of now the test show a strong grip. I added the small peg that can go into the gun handle but it can be sliced off if you want to just use the pressure from the grip.

4) Will they get some painting or weathering? (plain color is so unrealistic...)

Not by me, it's designed for the 1/48 Yamato which is itself unweathered.

5) Price? Pay method?

Shooting for $15 a pair on the recommended material. Shapeways just changed their pricing and shipping while i was working on this project. They use to ship for free but they just made shipments to the US a $7 flat fee. I'm thinking about doing group buys to myself or would recommend group buys to a certain region to get a shipping discount. Stupid economy. I guess it's wouldn't make it better to say that getting things printed anywhere else is more than 3 to 4 times the price. Shapeways customer service and staff are really helpful though, beyong other places I've tried.

This will be available on my Shapeways store payable by paypal and other methods.

6) When are they going to be ready?

Hopefully soon... I've been working on this for about a month and a half. Most of the time is taken up by the wait for samples.

Thanks!!!

Thank you!!!

[MacrossJunkie]

Those hands are amazing! I can't believe you were able to have joints small enough for the secondary joints on the fingers themselves.

How is it that Yamato can't make hands even half as good as these for most of their Macross stuff?
They put tons of design into engineering the valks and then they run out of steam and half ass the hands.

Given the small size of the joints, are the hands expected to be fairly durable (as in won't risk breaking just trying to bend the fingers)?

[asgardianboy]

Hi exo, welcome back.

As to the unweathered valks, I happen to have bought a nice 1/48 weathered version, one of those from yamato. Anyway, you are no painter!
I live in Spain, so I'll be paying bit more.
What kind of materials are you considering now? If the final one will be holding color, what kind of paint could we use?
I also wonder about durability...

[asgardianboy]

exo, any news regarding your hans project?

I mean HANDS project.

[peter]

Me wants....are they for sale?

[>EXO<]

Shortly hopefuly... it's the ball joint tolerance I need to perfect then it'll be all ready. Sorry holidays got in the way. And these things arent cheap to protoype... they wont be expensive though, hopefully, that's the goal.

[asgardianboy]

EXO, your hands are great, but I've got a bit of a complain regarding the first pics you posted. That joint that keeps the thumb to the rest of the hand........... I wonder whether there could be some other, more elegant solution rather than that slim joint, which will surely make both the thumb and the grip shaky, and doesn't look either cool or sturdy. Besides, the thumb doens't look to be articulated as the other fingers are. Is that because of any technical restriction, I guess?

[>EXO<]

The thumb is different because it's a ball and socket joint. The other fingers are hinge joints. The reason it's high up on the hand is because it needs to swing open so I need some room at the bottom to hold it in place. It's strategically on that spot to get the best range of motion and the thumb itself will have a natural look when positioned in different ways. If you look at the pictures carefully you can really just see it in one pic. Otherwise most of the time youre gonna look at the back of the hand or the stem will blend in with the rest of the palm. The stem is sturdy, the strength of the joint depends on the tolerance of the ball to the socket. I didn't articulate the middle joint because it doesn't lend anything to poses and storing. The middle joint on the other four fingers are necessary so it can fold up into the arm and adds to dynamic posing. It doesn't help with gripping though... the joints are weak there, my main concern there is trying to make sure it doesn't fall out and disappear. Thanks for pointing that out, that was a really good question.

[miriya]

Great work EXO! I would love a couple sets of these if you make them available.

[505thAirborne]

Great work EXO! I would love a couple sets of these if you make them available.

+1

[asgardianboy]

The thumb is different because it's a ball and socket joint. The other fingers are hinge joints. The reason it's high up on the hand is because it needs to swing open so I need some room at the bottom to hold it in place. It's strategically on that spot to get the best range of motion and the thumb itself will have a natural look when positioned in different ways. If you look at the pictures carefully you can really just see it in one pic. Otherwise most of the time youre gonna look at the back of the hand or the stem will blend in with the rest of the palm. The stem is sturdy, the strength of the joint depends on the tolerance of the ball to the socket. I didn't articulate the middle joint because it doesn't lend anything to poses and storing. The middle joint on the other four fingers are necessary so it can fold up into the arm and adds to dynamic posing. It doesn't help with gripping though... the joints are weak there, my main concern there is trying to make sure it doesn't fall out and disappear. Thanks for pointing that out, that was a really good question.

Oh.... By the pics I thought the fingers were connected to the hand with ball-socket joints....... Are those joints in the 4th pic really hinges?

I beg to differ about articulating the thumb: it would contribute to realism as much as the other joints in the other fingers, specially in the hand that doesnt carry anything.

Also regarding the joint of the thumb to the hand: it really shows in the 6th picture, and doesn't look good at all. I believe that the thumb should be more integrated into the hand. The part of the thumb that goes from the stem to the wrist should be a fixed protrusion of the hand, into which the rest of the thumb should be linked by a ball-socket.

Even though I like your hands, I am getting more and more perfectionist: in the 7th and 8th pics it can be seen that the hands are too skinny with respect to the forearm. At the wrist, the hands get really "delicate". To look more robust and powerful they should be bulkier. I think you still haver plenty of empty space in the hand compartment, so you could make them thicker.

I know you want to be true to some comic or design you like, but I firmly believe this proposals would improve the product.

Regarding the white color in the pics, which is noticeably whiter than the rest of the valk: can I assume you'll offer a color matched version, when you ramp up productoin?

Regards,
m

[>EXO<]

[505thAirborne]

Ha!

[Reïvaj]

Exactly!

[asgardianboy]

ok

[Evilware]

I read your post, then I looked at the pictures but did not understand what you were doing...Duhh then looking at them more carefully and reading the comments of course I realized about them. They looked really similar to the original but t\with the added functions. I am impressed with this..job. I see those tiny ball joins that make the little pieces of the fingers movable.

Are you planning on making them a little big smaller for the 1/60 versions (Assuming they are smaller) I guess would be even more difficult.

Heyy How did it go with the hinges you showed us on the other post for the broken ones for 1/60.



Great job !!

[Kicker773]

updates exo?

[>EXO<]

hopefully updates next week... all you guys ordering those other stuff from Shapeways is killing me!!! They need to open one up here in LA.