*If anyone has trouble seeing the photos, here is an imgur link to the album there: https://imgur.com/a/PaUT5T1 *
I'm an amateur filmmaker, writer, prop maker, and avid D&D player. After a year-long hiatus, I'm finally joining a group as a High-Elf Rogue. He's a treasure-hunting archaeologist (thanks to Tomb of Annihilation for providing that background to make things easy), and I'm looking to make some props for him. Eventually I'll make a whole costume but for now I'm keeping things small-scale.
While I could try to build a handful of items - a chalice he found on a previous adventure, a pocket notebook describing puzzles and discoveries from other expeditions, a couple of embroidered patches he's made for his leather jacket - I've decided to start on something a little more mundane.
Enter the humble bullseye lantern. This adventuring tool can project light in a cone out to 60 feet, and it's a perfect fit for a treasure-hunting, spelunking rogue.
This is the most common type of lantern I've come across in my research:
But there's another one I found that feels more appropriate for someone diving into ancient ruins:
I think the boxy design has a more military surplus feel to it, something that's built to take a beating for ages. Perfect for a treasure hunter who doesn't need to worry about a piece of essential gear failing on him.
I'll be posting progress pics as I go from design to construction to finishing and weathering.
*Feel free to comment and ask questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability. If you have any advice on how to approach a certain step or design problem, I would be grateful for your help.*
So here's the first sketch of my design. This boxy design makes it much easier to build, since I've decided to make it with metal instead of EVA foam or a more forgiving material.
I'll need to source metal wire for the handles, enough sheet metal to build more than one lantern with (because mistakes will certainly occur), and tools to work with.
I've made a note to reference Tin Can Craft from a book I've got. This is important because it gives me a list of tools to have on hand, simple instructions for making a similar project, and it allows me to work with metal that I don't need to have a heat source for.
From here, I can go on to make a rough model from cardboard.
I've deliberately left the top and rear assembly off this model. This is because I haven't figured out how to attach the back yet, and the top piece is fairly simple to make. I've also left the lens cap off because I need to find a suitable lens for this project. However, progress is progress. I can use this general pattern, with some modifications, to make a rough model from sheet metal.
For working with sheet metal, I need the following tools: tin snips that cut a straight edge, a square, a ball-pien hammer, a metal file, and a block of wood to hammer on. I wrangled these items earlier today and spent about an hour working on two rough designs. The first one was a little wider, and mostly served as a way to get used to working with metal.
What I've noticed already is that I could really use a tool to bend a straight, tight edge. Hammering is fun and all, but I would love to have access to a tool that would let me just bend everything in place.
Here is the second model, which is narrower, taller, and has a base that's been bent into place:
From here, I have quite a lot of work to do. I need to cut and shape a faceplate, complete with a hole for mounting a lens. I also need to make a lens cap and find a solution for mounting it. Then there's the entire top and rear assembly, which needs to be drafted and built.
The wire handles should be easy enough to make, but mounting them could be tricky. The lens may just come from an old magnifying glass.
Anyway, that's all I've got for today. Stay tuned for updates in the near future, and happy adventuring!
Apologies for the delay in updates, things have gotten away from me a little bit.
I received the "lens" for my lantern - a 3.5 inch diameter magnifying glass. I'll need to do a bit of work removing the lens from the handle, which may require careful cutting. So we'll see how that goes. I'll probably keep the metal rim around the lens to make installing it easier, and also because I don't want to risk breaking the lens by trying to remove it.
The more pressing issue now is cutting out the hole in the faceplate for the lens. I don't currently own the tools to make that kind of hole, so I'll need to find someone who does. After that, the handles and belt loop are the only tricky parts left. The light source should be a simpler project, since I don't need to worry about heat damaging the lens. Then it's on to painting and weathering.
I'll try to get some photos soon, but I haven't abandoned the project yet. I am looking at some alternatives though, because sometimes the best prop is the one you find at a flea market or a garage sale and not the one you build from scratch.
At any rate, happy adventuring folks, I'm off to talk to a man about cutting some holes.
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*If anyone has trouble seeing the photos, here is an imgur link to the album there: https://imgur.com/a/PaUT5T1 *
I'm an amateur filmmaker, writer, prop maker, and avid D&D player. After a year-long hiatus, I'm finally joining a group as a High-Elf Rogue. He's a treasure-hunting archaeologist (thanks to Tomb of Annihilation for providing that background to make things easy), and I'm looking to make some props for him. Eventually I'll make a whole costume but for now I'm keeping things small-scale.
While I could try to build a handful of items - a chalice he found on a previous adventure, a pocket notebook describing puzzles and discoveries from other expeditions, a couple of embroidered patches he's made for his leather jacket - I've decided to start on something a little more mundane.
Enter the humble bullseye lantern. This adventuring tool can project light in a cone out to 60 feet, and it's a perfect fit for a treasure-hunting, spelunking rogue.
This is the most common type of lantern I've come across in my research:
But there's another one I found that feels more appropriate for someone diving into ancient ruins:
I think the boxy design has a more military surplus feel to it, something that's built to take a beating for ages. Perfect for a treasure hunter who doesn't need to worry about a piece of essential gear failing on him.
I'll be posting progress pics as I go from design to construction to finishing and weathering.
*Feel free to comment and ask questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability. If you have any advice on how to approach a certain step or design problem, I would be grateful for your help.*
So here's the first sketch of my design. This boxy design makes it much easier to build, since I've decided to make it with metal instead of EVA foam or a more forgiving material.
I'll need to source metal wire for the handles, enough sheet metal to build more than one lantern with (because mistakes will certainly occur), and tools to work with.
I've made a note to reference Tin Can Craft from a book I've got. This is important because it gives me a list of tools to have on hand, simple instructions for making a similar project, and it allows me to work with metal that I don't need to have a heat source for.
From here, I can go on to make a rough model from cardboard.
I've deliberately left the top and rear assembly off this model. This is because I haven't figured out how to attach the back yet, and the top piece is fairly simple to make. I've also left the lens cap off because I need to find a suitable lens for this project. However, progress is progress. I can use this general pattern, with some modifications, to make a rough model from sheet metal.
For working with sheet metal, I need the following tools: tin snips that cut a straight edge, a square, a ball-pien hammer, a metal file, and a block of wood to hammer on. I wrangled these items earlier today and spent about an hour working on two rough designs. The first one was a little wider, and mostly served as a way to get used to working with metal.
What I've noticed already is that I could really use a tool to bend a straight, tight edge. Hammering is fun and all, but I would love to have access to a tool that would let me just bend everything in place.
Here is the second model, which is narrower, taller, and has a base that's been bent into place:
From here, I have quite a lot of work to do. I need to cut and shape a faceplate, complete with a hole for mounting a lens. I also need to make a lens cap and find a solution for mounting it. Then there's the entire top and rear assembly, which needs to be drafted and built.
The wire handles should be easy enough to make, but mounting them could be tricky. The lens may just come from an old magnifying glass.
Anyway, that's all I've got for today. Stay tuned for updates in the near future, and happy adventuring!
Apologies for the delay in updates, things have gotten away from me a little bit.
I received the "lens" for my lantern - a 3.5 inch diameter magnifying glass. I'll need to do a bit of work removing the lens from the handle, which may require careful cutting. So we'll see how that goes. I'll probably keep the metal rim around the lens to make installing it easier, and also because I don't want to risk breaking the lens by trying to remove it.
The more pressing issue now is cutting out the hole in the faceplate for the lens. I don't currently own the tools to make that kind of hole, so I'll need to find someone who does. After that, the handles and belt loop are the only tricky parts left. The light source should be a simpler project, since I don't need to worry about heat damaging the lens. Then it's on to painting and weathering.
I'll try to get some photos soon, but I haven't abandoned the project yet. I am looking at some alternatives though, because sometimes the best prop is the one you find at a flea market or a garage sale and not the one you build from scratch.
At any rate, happy adventuring folks, I'm off to talk to a man about cutting some holes.