geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => DIY Discussions ARCHIVE => Topic started by: dirge on Tue, 10 April 2012, 14:24:57
-
With there being a popular Darth Vader cap out there that seems to draw quite a bit of attention.
When I see pictures of him on peoples keyboards I just feel he's missing something..
..Then it occurred to me, Vader never stormed princess Lia's ship in 'A New Hope' by himself! He didn't burst into the base on Hoth solo! Was he all on his tod in the Cloud City?
He needs a team of Storm Troopers!
Time Needed.
15mins
Items Needed.
Modeling saw - £10
Old keycap for stem - £0
Needle file - £2
Storm Trooper helmet - £2
Milliput modeling putty - £4
Step 1
Saw Trooper helmet in half.
Step 2
Saw old keycap stem to remove the stem.
Step 3
Clean edges of the stem and helmet with the Needle file, also rough up the inside of the helmet and top of the stem to ensure the putty can bond well.
Step 4
Mix Milliput so you've the right amount, then sandwich it in the helmet and push the stem on top. Leave to dry for a few days.
Step 5
Repeat until you've a full squad of storm troopers.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]48032[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]48031[/ATTACH]
Now your Darth Vader keycap can be the Hoth rushing bad-ass he should be! And not on his own crying and wimpy, like the end of Jedi.
-
Step 5
Repeat until you've a full squad of storm troopers.
:nod:
-
Haha that's pretty cool! Now, why didn't I think of that before. lol Great job dirge. =)
-
Where did you get storm trooper helmet? is it LEGO.
-
I'm off to wal mart, thanks for the idea! lol
-
Also do you think there would be anything wrong with using like a super glue or something? Like it would come loose after a little while?
-
It's a lego helmet, you can get them on eBay without the bodies quite cheap.
No idea on superglue, will set better than the milliput I used. The milliput just allowed me to angle the stem and height. But they are a good fit by chance and you don't need much really. Glueing the connecting edge of the stems keytop against the helmet may well be enough. Just leave the stem top quite wide to start, then use BlueTak (not sure if it's called that in the states) between the stem and helmet. Use this to test whether the fit and height is right. When you're happy with the fit, glue down the joining sides.
Would imagine that would work.
-
I actually just did this and it turned out fairly well.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/480890_329193283801908_124562774264961_837350_1092022671_n.jpg (http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/480890_329193283801908_124562774264961_837350_1092022671_n.jpg)http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/528749_329193390468564_124562774264961_837351_255783646_n.jpg (http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/528749_329193390468564_124562774264961_837351_255783646_n.jpg)
I think it turned out a little off so I'll probably redo the positioning of it. The super glue actually worked really easy. I used a gel, but am retarded at getting it positioned right. Did you cut your stem down at all on it? Mine might just seem larger because it's the esc key. Tomorrow I'll probably go out and get some clay or something also to fill in the empty space cos looking at it bugs me. All over great job though thanks for the great idea!
-
My donar cap was letter 'A' shorter stem. Yours looks great, a little lower down to centre it, but apart from that looks great on a black keyboard!
White Milliput would fill the gap between stem and helmet, if left to harden can be sanded with a needle file. So when you view the bottom of the helmet cap at a shallow angle, it would look much tidier.
Can't take credit for the idea, ripster did have lego heads way before this :)
-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lego-Star-Wars-Stormtrooper-Minifigure-New-Condition-Legs-and-Torso-only-/220995411295?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33745a5d5f#ht_500wt_1413
Is this from you guys?
-
No but with a stem and a bit of glue a body below the head may look good.
-
My donar cap was letter 'A' shorter stem. Yours looks great, a little lower down to centre it, but apart from that looks great on a black keyboard!
White Milliput would fill the gap between stem and helmet, if left to harden can be sanded with a needle file. So when you view the bottom of the helmet cap at a shallow angle, it would look much tidier.
Can't take credit for the idea, ripster did have lego heads way before this :)
Thanks! Yeah I plan on going over to the arts and crafts store today to pick some up. Going to readjust the stem and make sure it's on center, then probably going to file the stem down a little bit to shorten it. Do you think filing the stem down to shorten it a bit would be better than cutting it? I'm afraid if I cut it I'll screw it up lol.
-
I'd measure it first you don't want to effect the key travel too much. So yeah filing may be on the safer side.
-
Nice! Inspired by this...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]48145[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]48146[/ATTACH]
Gorilla Glue is solid after a night and works great.
The profile, however, does not! Too shallow and the walls too thick. Was worth a shot, though.
-
I'd measure it first you don't want to effect the key travel too much. So yeah filing may be on the safer side.
Filled it up with clay and it turned out really well. I actually had to use a new stem cos the one I had it held too well and broke.
-
Got a few heads in the post. The Vader Lego head seems too small. The red imperial guard head is too big. The snow trooper also doesn't look like a good fit.
Had a few cadets turn up. Think the clack Vader wasn't based on the 1970s toy but the 2003 version.
Was keen to do lando but my little girl has take him and boba fett and I don't think ill get them back..