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Author Topic: DIY Death Star Clock  (Read 3326 times)

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Offline cannibal869

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DIY Death Star Clock
« on: December 19, 2012, 10:10:01 PM »
Howdy all!

A little backstory:  I recently got a 2.5' millenium falcon gift that I subsequently hung in my office...  
Well, I got a small wall decal of the death star to put on my wall, but that was sort of... lacking... in some ways.

I decided, why not make a 3D-ish Death Star myself instead?

While I was thinking about it, I also figured, why not make it somewhat functional if I can?

That said, I'm presenting the following DIY for those of you who might want to try it.  
Could be a fun project to tackle with the padawans or younglings


Materials (all can be found on Amazon or at your local hobby / craft store):

Lightning "Factory Second" Prostyle #1 Driver  $6.48 shipped


Clock Movement Quartz Square Straight Black Hand Shaft 3/4" Kit   $12.95

(note:  if I were to do it again, I would suggest going with the 1/4" or 1/2" kit instead of the 3/4")

Sticky Back Foam Sheets-Basic Colors   $9.44 shipped


Black and Grey Spray paint about $4-5?

Optional but recommended:  carbon paper - about $5 as well for 10 sheets


So to start off with, I resized and printed out an internet photo of the death star.
Using the carbon paper, I traced the outlines onto the frisbee (pics below are clickable)


(side note:  if I were to do this again, I would next use my dremel tool and sand away the "emitter / focusing disc" portion as well as dremel in the curved lines -- on this run I did the sanding after I put the foam blocks on and had a few missteps which you'll see on the close up photos below)

Next, I used that same printout photo and traced the outlines onto a sheet of the adhesive backed white foam sheet.  Using a scalpel / X-acto knife, I then cut out the blocks and stuck them to the frisbee, using the outlines as a guide to where they should go.



I then spray painted the whole thing in semi gloss black (but any black will work I think) - paint was still wet in this image.  The textural difference between the foam blocks and the frisbee was quite nice once the paint was on.


I used a strip of 1/4" tape to mask the center groove / canyon area, then lightly misted some gray primer to highlight some of the areas and provide contrast.


I then drilled a small hole for the clock nubbin to stick through and attached the clock arms.
Here it is mounted next to my shop clock for comparison


total cost: about $38-39

and the final result hanging in my office next to the falcon and TIE fighter:


thanks for looking!  8)
-C
« Last Edit: December 19, 2012, 10:16:17 PM by cannibal869 »

Offline Jedi Oz 66

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Re: DIY Death Star Clock
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2012, 10:18:04 PM »
I like that , a lot :)

Offline Jerome

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Re: DIY Death Star Clock
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2012, 10:34:34 PM »
You could probably wire up an LED or something to the laser dish, and every time it hits the hour, the laser dish lights up!
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Offline Mersenne

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Re: DIY Death Star Clock
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2012, 12:21:39 AM »
What a cool idea man.
Could be a great holiday time project for the kids.
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Offline C-3P0

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Re: DIY Death Star Clock
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2012, 12:22:43 AM »
Awesome, man! Thanks for sharing :)

Offline kpodolski

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Re: DIY Death Star Clock
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2013, 09:52:34 AM »
That's outstanding!

Offline Clark Kent

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Re: DIY Death Star Clock
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2013, 05:38:10 AM »
now that is super cool. love it  :D

 

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