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Post by Vermin King on Jul 6, 2020 9:58:35 GMT -9
And the backdrop is flat on this one Those look really great! You could quite easily rework the Backdrop, so it has a floor and angled sidewalls: Just make diagonal cuts in the lower corners (green lines), then fold up the floor (horizontal blue lines), and fold the sides forward (vertical blue lines). Either use tape to hold everything in place, or add glue taps... If this one had a little work done to it, the cliffs could be wider (and straighter) and the ship could sit out an inch from the canyon walls with a tunnel going to an inner room. And of course, ground tiles.
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 6, 2020 15:43:04 GMT -9
Been a long four days here, so it isn't surprising that I forgot to have cardstock in the printer when I hit 'Print'. Rather than totally waste the mistake, I partially cut it out so I could see how much beach I am gaining. Definitely seems worthwhile
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 6, 2020 17:07:27 GMT -9
I think the new version looks a lot more fun than the first version
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Post by cowboyleland on Jul 7, 2020 6:29:38 GMT -9
Yep, looks awesome.
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 8, 2020 13:19:32 GMT -9
Going back to the Pirate Mummy Tomb, I think I am going to do it as a simple pop-up, similar to this, papermau.blogspot.com/2018/12/christmas-time-santa-claus-at-work-pop.htmlYou would have the rectangular parts that 'pop up', and you glue things like the ship on the front face. So, I pulled the ship out, but have yet to clean it up. This all falls apart if I can't work out a reasonably clean backdrop. It doesn't need to have the cliffs clean to the ground level, but it does need to be below the decks, and around the ends. Made quite a bit of progress, but quite a bit to go. Once I get that worked out, I will need to have a ground tile base, and I don't think there is enough ground in the original image to build from there, but I should be able to come up with something compatible
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 12, 2020 8:33:52 GMT -9
This playset has gotten pushed back for now. Warren's mom was telling me that we are going to have 18 kids at the party, and previously I had told her that I could do some pirate hats, spyglasses and a 3d model of Skully the parrot from the show. I still have to do the treasure chest, too. As there are three versions of Jake's hat and two for the Pirate Princess, I am checking them out by printing gray-scale so that I can decide on which ones to have printed up. There is also the pirate hat from the Pirate Mummy's Tomb episode and a Jake's Birthday Party Hat. Those two are out of the running already. I think I will do the Captain Jake hat for Warren, after all it is his birthday. Now I have to decide between the blue hats and the purple ones (which are listed as pink on the files). As neither hat in itself is gender specific, I imagine we will have some boys wearing purple hats and some girls wearing blue. I'm just glad that on the actual hats it doesn't say 'Boys' or 'Girls'. On Skully, I am starting with the 2d Skully from an activity pack On that corner view you are seeing side and a bit of the top front, so I brought the front edge in a bit to give more of a side view, and now, using a 1/4 inch grid, I am pulling out border segments along the edge and lining them up as a strip. Once done with that, I will create a clean edge with the appropriate colors to use as a guide to make a wedge that will be the top of the beak, his forehead and then around to the front of his neck. I will also need to develop that black and white skull texture for the head scarf. Then I plan to do a rather blocky body, similar style to this toucan by Monkey Design. On the central section of it, the front will extend upwards beyond the neck to give him a bottom lip (as if parrots have lips, oh well) I will have the feet stick out from the bottom front corners, just glued onto the corners
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 12, 2020 15:03:48 GMT -9
Having an issue with the wedge going between the two sides. From the point of the beak, it seems like it should widen out to just above the top of the beak, narrow slightly around the back of the head and about the same width as the top of the head for the underneath portion of the head. I'm just having trouble trying to work this out so that the sides aren't going to buckle in. I might have to design the bottom to extend into the head and act like a spacer.
Half tempted to move onto the body. Or I could work on the scarf texture.
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 13, 2020 5:12:28 GMT -9
Didn't get as far on this as I would have liked last night, but I think I am ready to start work on the body and feet. EDIT -- I was on Firefox earlier, so couldn't post images Over lunch, I did a little work on the center strip for the body and developed a new tail and have the separated feet. Back to taxes
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 17, 2020 4:47:59 GMT -9
Glad I finished up my Hoard piece early, because the month is rapidly running out. Getting my data back has been a blessing and a curse. I so much want to get things together and back in order. I wish I had transferred files in smaller chunks. I have all of my retrievable VK Projects files back, and they are somewhat in order, but need work. My Canon files were unbelievably disorganized. At least have them to a manageable point. My Autos file is even worse. Working alphabetically, I am up to Lambos.
Need to set that aside until I finish with the birthday stuff for the party on 08/01/2020. Skully is getting close to being done. There are seven different pirate hats, and I think I have decided on which ones to use. There is a deluxe Captain Jake hat I will do for Warren, then the other 25 kids will pick from 4 other choices: blue, purple, red and dark grey. I also need to print out and build the 25 spyglasses. Additional items to be printed are Pin the Tail on the Croc, Musical Islands, a little storybook for Warren, and the enlarged treasure chest which still needs to be designed.
If I get time, I want to come back to the Pirate Mummy Tomb playset. Time is fleeting and madness is taking its toll
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 19, 2020 15:51:21 GMT -9
Gotta call Copy Rite tomorrow about placing an order for some printing. I would prefer to send my printing to the local shop rather than Office Depot.
I have the hats worked out, in spite of a detour -- Captain Jake hat and six each of the blue, red, black and purple hats.
Twenty-five Spyglasses. Twenty-five Musical Island islands
The Pin the Tail on the Croc game now has a page of six tails instead of only three, so I will have that printed up four times, and then the four pages of the poster. Everything on game will be enlarged to 11X17 from the 8.5X11 file pages.
The Happy Birthday sign will also get printed on 11X17, as will my re-designed enlarged Treasure Chest
I might even have them print up the storybook. I am sure their print quality would be better. I took the ads off the front cover and designed a back cover. Instead of lines with 'Child's name here' under them, I copied the lettering from the text that would allow me to have Warren's name throughout.
While I wait on the print order, I should be able to finish up the 3d Skully the Parrot, and hopefully finish the Pirate Mummy's Tomb.
Fingers are crossed, but somewhere over the years, I seem to have lost the ability to cross my toes
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shep
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Post by shep on Jul 20, 2020 6:19:59 GMT -9
Sounds like it's gonna be a huge party...
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 20, 2020 6:22:35 GMT -9
Probably going to be bigger than it should be. I am expecting this to be a new Covid hot spot EDIT -- Finished up 3d Skully design over lunch. Since I am really just doing this for myself, I didn't put tabs around. I probably spent more time double checking things than design today, but it looks like it should work. I will check it again before I print and build.
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 20, 2020 9:18:48 GMT -9
Yowsah! Copy Rite isn't open today, and only accepts orders through their website, so checked out Office Depot. If I do all the printing myself, it is $1.86 a page for 11X17 and $0.88 a page on 8.5X11. I could buy a lot of ink with that kind of dough, but hopefully the print quality will be better. When I did those Vintage trains a few years back, Copy Rite charged $1.16 per page for 11X17. Probably would cost about the same as Office Depot now
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 20, 2020 12:53:34 GMT -9
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shep
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Post by shep on Jul 20, 2020 13:02:27 GMT -9
Calico isn't impressed, but I think it is pretty good Perhaps the cat just got used to your paper contraptions? Nonetheless, the parrot looks awesome...
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 20, 2020 13:20:15 GMT -9
Thanks. As I sit here looking at it as dinner is cooking, I am rather pleased with it. It was only an estimate when I was guessing at how much curve needed to be taken out of the isometric view of the original. The way I built out the center strips from taking segments of the border of the head, and then the body, worked. The way I shaped the beak portion of the center section worked and the various sections line up, beak/head, head/scarf, scarf/head, etc. The way I came up with the tail worked, as did the scarf knot and feet.
This is one of those things that came out better than it should have. I like those
And thanks to aquarium gravel, he will sit upright even in a fairly stiff breeze
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shep
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Post by shep on Jul 20, 2020 23:24:11 GMT -9
It's those ages of experience that help shape the paper to your will...
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 21, 2020 6:54:12 GMT -9
Don't know why I had that much of an issue on the pop-up ship on the Mummy's Tomb playset. Work out where the main fold line should be, then block out to the height you want for the top of the riser. Figure out how wide you want the run (stairs nomenclature seems appropriate). Select a box with the riser and extend it out the width of the run. Copy/Paste and then flip that. As this has the tunnel in the middle, I adjusted the background to have a wider tunnel so that there won't be as much white showing through the entrance in the side of the ship. Still need to make the ground tile, but I think this is good progress for over lunch. Also widened out the top a tad. The canyon walls still tilt towards the middle, but not as much. This will require the stands for the back that were included in the original. Hopefully tonight after work I can get a ground tile worked out EDIT -- the strip under the ship will be overlaid on the run of the extension. Not so much to look like a usable deck, but to hide some of the whiteness EDIT #2 -- Got most of the ship cut out during a webinar, and two sets of stands (one will be used on the first playset). Cut out the backdrop and set the ship on it, and it looks like it should all work. I definitely need to get the ground tile done tonight so I can put it all together. I still think this type of thing is under-utilized in gaming scenery
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 22, 2020 5:22:02 GMT -9
Shopping and mad scrambles after work last night, but with four webinars today, I should be able to slap together a base
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 23, 2020 8:13:57 GMT -9
Only the base printed out very badly. I am low, but not out on all three color cartridges. So, I will print it out at the Printer tonight after I pick up my Impala SS from the shop two hours away from here. I will have to leave it at my folks until I get the plates for it. Then head back. I should get back by six or before and they close at seven. God willing, I should have all sorts of things to work on and a week to finish them out. During the webinars yesterday and today, I finished up lay out on the last batch of figures, including two of Warren and two of his sister I am really pleased with Warren as Captain Jake, though Zoey came out well. The photo with Warren sticking his tongue out seemed appropriate to turn into Cubbie
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 23, 2020 16:10:36 GMT -9
Well, as I was driving the car from the shop, the check engine light came on, so I had to go back and have more diagnostics done, meaning I would be too late getting back to Kansas City to do my printing at Office Depot. But no sooner had I turned onto US 65 Hwy than I remembered there was a Staples in Sedalia, so I stopped there.
Office Depot wanted $.88 for 8.5X11 color prints on 67# cardstock, $1.86 for 11X17.
Staples was $.53 for 8.5X11 color prints on 110# cardstock, and $.70 for 11X17. Thank goodness for the delay with the car. Freed up $46 that would have been spent if I had gone to Office Depot.
Only the roofers will be here at 6:45 in the morning, so I still can't build anything tonight.
But I have an extra $46 to spend on Warren's birthday!
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 24, 2020 5:41:54 GMT -9
Well, it was a bargain, but the gal who did the print order evidently hit 'Fit to Page'. For the items that they did all the printing on, it should not be a problem (unless I have to print a new replacement part), but on the base for the Pirate Mummy's Tomb playset, it is considerably narrower than the backdrop. Had to adjust for the moving parts on the pop-up portions where the ship is glued, but I think I have worked around it sufficiently. I have some questions in my head on the book. I think I am going to need to staple the pages and then glue the cover on, covering the staples. I'm also trying to figure out the best way to cut the cardboard reinforcement to size on the Treasure Chest to allow everything to fit. I'm sure I will get it worked out when I actually have a few minutes to think
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 24, 2020 7:57:01 GMT -9
I don't see getting the Sand Castle playset done. Oh, well. I think he will be happy with these two and Skully. The next step is the Treasure Chest to put all the figures in. I also have the book, which I now wish I had shrunk down. If I had done the layout on it so that it was 8.5X11, folded in half, it would have been much easier to just staple at the crease For the party, I still have to cut out and assemble all those stinking pirate hats and spyglasses, and then the Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Croc game EDIT -- On the Treasure Chest, I left GrayC in the photo to show scale
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shep
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Post by shep on Jul 25, 2020 5:50:35 GMT -9
I'd love that, if I was a kid...
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Jul 25, 2020 9:43:33 GMT -9
"Fit to page" is hard to overcome even when you expressedly tell them to print "actual size."
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 25, 2020 10:31:46 GMT -9
It was probably a carry over from the pages I had them enlarge to 11X17. It seems the letter pages that I had them do before we got into the enlargements were actual size, but she didn't switch back after the enlargements.
I forgot my cardboard last night after a tough night at Chick-Fil-A, so I was working on the hats today. I don't enjoy doing 20 of the same thing. What's bad is that I only have done four, so I still have sixteen to go. Ptthhhhhht
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 26, 2020 16:10:57 GMT -9
Well, I have hats for Warren and twenty of his friends, now. I'm giving my knife finger the rest of the night off
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 27, 2020 4:54:30 GMT -9
Razzum frazzum.
Warren's mom called me last night after I sent her pictures of the hats. She got a notification that she could cancel her order for a banner since it won't be able to ship until three weeks after his party. It's too late for me to get the banner I had planned printed and built.
But she is 'over the moon' with everything so far.
Only now he is watching mostly Ninja Turtles and a smattering of old Power Rangers. He especially likes a TMNT episode with dinosaurs. He sneaks up behind his mom and yells 'Rawr!'. A lot
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Post by Vermin King on Jul 28, 2020 4:29:58 GMT -9
When I was working on the corrugated cardboard reinforcement on the treasure chest, I messed up. I was going for clean lines that aren't even going to show anyway. Duh. My thought is that vertical strength will be most important. glennwilliams's famous 'Smoosh Insurance'. The engineer in me says that the tubes in the cardboard should run vertically for vertical strength. Luckily we had another storm two nights ago, and I had to change out four light bulbs. As I was breaking down the box for shredding and burial (why should cardboard and paper go to a landfill, when I can shred it and add to my compost pile), I realized this would be perfect for the application, except I don't have enough of it. So here's where I got to last night. I will have to use traditional cardboard for the ends of the lid, but I will use my scraps from the lightbulb box to do the horizontal facets of the lid. When done, it should look like this from the outside. Only, it will be much larger than the one in the photo. And quite a bit stronger. EDIT -- The chest lid ends flare out slightly and then goes back in towards the top. So my original end pieces would have worked. My new ones that are vertical don't. Well, they might if I make horizontal scores along the face that glues to the part, but that will change fit. I should have dry fit this first EDIT #2 -- No, horizontal scores, unless I go almost all the way through, don't stop the tubes from keeping it from bending. I'll do new parts when I get back later. Dry fit, dry fit, dry fit
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Post by glennwilliams on Jul 28, 2020 6:01:35 GMT -9
The idea for smoosh insurance comes indirectly from a many decades old book Nomadic Furniture by Viktor Papnek. He designed sturdy furniture from corrugated card board. Because it was so cheap, you could easily replace it. That impressed me with the sturdiness of card board. I still test models by tossing them my second floor landing.
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