How to make a jungle treehouse for stage Part 2

This is a continuation of the Treehouse


I cut out 3 sections nearly 8 foot long for the large tree branches.  In the middle one I cut out a section so it would fit on the 2x4s coming out of the trunk.
(I should have made the 2x4s longer which would have been more stable.)

I stacked and glued the 3 pieces together with gorilla glue.

Then rounded off the edges and carved some bark. I put these arms on and they stuck straight out. It didn't look right. So then I cut out an angled section in the middle and reglued them back together.

This was a little better. 

(I forgot to take pictures of this part)

I took a sheet of 2-inch thick styrofoam and first drew out some random leaves. 

Then, using a wire brush, I carved into those lines. 

Once I had some deep gouges in the styrofoam, I sanded the edges, which rounded the leaves.

I painted the leaves, making sure to cover all of the white styrofoam. Then, I came in with a slightly darker green for the deeper parts.

I cut some random tree shapes and rounded the edges with sandpaper as well. Then I attached the trees to the back using a little bit of Great Stuf Foam and some 3 inch drywall screws.

Now for the treehouse.

How to make a jungle treehouse for stage Part 3

Making a VBS jungle treehouse part 3

I took two sheets of 4 x 8 foot by 2-inch thick white styrofoam and cut them in half. Then I measured and cut out a triangle to form the front of the treehouse. I did the same for the back. I cut a door hole in the front one.

Then, using a wire brush, I carved gouges into strips to simulate bamboo. 

I even carved the little holes in the top of the door.

I made short sides of the house to match. 

I took some long strips, about 2 inches square by 8 feet long, and rounded the edges off. Then cut a few of those rounded pieces the same height to serve as railing posts. These I attached with some drywall screws from the top of the railing into the post. I carefully squeezed Great Stuf foam in an X pattern to simulate vines or rope tying everything together.

I made the roof by taking another piece of styrofoam, cutting it in half, and making one side jagged. 

I attached all of these pieces together using drywall screws to see what it looked like.

There was a gap in the top of the roof, so I used another railing piece for the top. 

I took everything apart and painted it. 

For the bamboo I just used a darker brown color and made lines. Then drybrushed these lines up and down to simulate the bamboo rings.

I forgot to show the windows which I carved and added the Great Stuf rope.

Here it is mostly finished

Then I sat the treehouse on the top of the tree to test fit it. It looked pretty good.

I made some more leave bunches to go on the ends. 

The leaf ends were a tad heavy, so they ended up getting some fishing line support from the ceiling. 

I also made some vines using the technique on this post. 

I put a small white piece of material across the front door and windows so I didn't have to paint the inside of the treehouse.

If you make your own version, I would love to see it.

Jeff

Building the Rocketeer Helmet - lenses

Update on the Rocketeer helmet project.  I have been really busy and it has been hard to work on some of my "fun" projects.  That being said, I did carve out a little bit of time to work on my Rocketeer helmet.  When we last left off it needed some lenses.

I have never put lenses in anything before, so I had a little trial and error process.

I first ordered some sample lens sheets from http://tapplastics.com.  They come in 4 inch by 4 inch squares.  I peeled the protective paper off of each side, then holding it with needle nose pliers I used my heat gun to slightly melt it.

I melted the plastic outside of the helmet until it would flop over all by itself.  Then I put it inside the helmet and used a rag and pushed on the lens to slightly bubble it out.  

This is the first piece (after it was cool enough to hold.)

I taped the lenses in place...

 and couldn't resist trying it on.

Then I had to take a picture outside.  

I peeled the left side of the tape off of the lens and folded it over.  I put some 5 minute epoxy in a large area around the eye, and folded the lens back over.  I held it in place until the epoxy held then I did the other eye.

It is available for sale on Ebay 
Rocketeer Helmet Fan Made Custom Prop 

Making the rocketeer helmet update

Ok so it has been a long time since I updated the progress on my Rocketeer helmet.  I could use a variety of excuses, I moved to a different state, the majority of my stuff was in a storage shed for 6 months, I was abducted by alien pirates, that last one was just to see if you were still reading or just skipping ahead to the pictures. 

The air dry clay worked great until it dried, popped off the helmet and shattered into a million bits.  Actually it was about a dozen, but you get the idea.  I had to epoxy them back on and repair the spots 

with bondo.  

I learned from the other side and turned the helmet onto it's side when letting the clay dry. The first time it was straight up and down (on top of a high dresser so that my kids wouldn't mess with it.  Which is why they broke into a million/dozen pieces).  This new way resulted in a piece that was unbroken until I tried to epoxy it on. Which it proceeded to snap into several pieces.  Which I had to repair with bondo and sanding.  Despite that, the air dry clay gave me a very good way to add oddly shaped pieces.

The right vent never really had the right shape to me, so add some bondo to try and straighten it out.

After numerous times bondo and sanding and bondo and sanding I sprayed a primer coat on it.  People always ask me if I changed my mind on the color.  Um no. I am impatient and I sprayed it the copper color because I just wanted to see what it looked like with the copper like finish.

I hit it with some hammered black finish mainly I wanted to see if I could get it glossy and since that was the only gloss spray paint I had, I used it.

It turns out I hated the hammered black finish.  It never seemed to dry. It stayed sticky. (It might have been old paint.)  I sanded it some and sprayed it the copper color again.

I needed it to look like I welded the pieces together, so I used hot glue to make the weld marks.  I wasn't sure if the glue would hold the spray paint or not, but I figured I would test it. 

The hot glue did take the spray paint and didn't flake off or anything.

I ended up not liking the welds so I ripped them all off sanded down the small leftover spots and put hot glue on it again.  This time I used a minimal of hot glue and it looks better I think.

Next I needed the four rivets that go around each eye.  I took a brass brad paper holder thing and cut off the two tails.

I bent the leftover pieces inside being careful not to scratch the outside.

Then I hot glued them in place.  I spray painted them and they didn't really want to take the paint.

It left little pools of spray paint which i had to sand off.

I found out several light coats are far better than one heavy coat.

Next up Lenses.

Making the Rocketeer Helmet - Decor

Hey Gang, I'm back with more pictures of the my Rocketeer Helmet.  

I started by drawing where the vents and the weld lines should go.  

Then I got some air dry clay and molded them in place. I have never worked with this type of clay before, so this will be a learning experience.

Top View

Back View.  Now I just have to wait for 24-48 hours for it to dry.  

Don't know if I can wait that long.

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Making the Rocketeer Helmet- The Fin

Update on the Rocketeer helmet. That I started making here. and then continued here. 

I cut a piece of masonite out in the shape of the fin.  I didn't get it exact as you will see in the later photos.  But it isn't anything that I can't cover with Bondo.

I epoxied the fin onto the helmet.  It only touched in the front on on the back side top of the helm.

As you can see there is a gap in-between the fin and the helmet.

The back doesn't even touch at all.   But this can be fixed.

i forgot to take pictures of the bondo process. I smeared bondo into the crack and once it hardened I sanded it down smooth. Then I added a coat of paint to the new fin and all of the bondo areas.  I cracked the bottom of the helmet in two spots.  One was on the chin, and the other was on the right side.  I saw the one on the chin and fixed it. I only found the one on the right side when I painted it.  But that is where the decorative stuff goes so I am not too worried about it.

I am really excited about the way this is turning out.  For my first attempt at anything like this I am really pleased.  I am not quite sure yet how I am going to get the decorative stuff on the sides or the air vents on the top.  The pepakura file I had didn't have those pieces.  I guess I should have looked at that first.

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