[Frightshow]

During our 2015 Pirate Theme, we included a torture "Pillory" - double sized for kids and adults to take selfies in front of the house. It was a total hit and we had a line down the sidewalk of people trying to get their photos.

Since that concept gave people something to do while they awaited their turn on the porch to get candy, I thought what kind of Star Wars-themed selfie outpost could we provide that would provide a similar experience?

Bingo - the Speeder Bike from Return of the Jedi!

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(END OF BUILD UPDATE):

 

[Frightshow]

Okay - Since the Star Wars costumes will be out in full "force" this year (sorry, couldn't resist), the goal for this one will be the following:

1) Must be life-sized and true to scale

2) Must be built solid enough to withstand sitting and selfies (not climbing and screwing around)

3) Must be able to be built in under 8 weeks

4) Must be cost effective (all of my props used recycled materials and ready-made pieces) - no expensive movie/prop artifacts for this project

5) Must be lightweight enough to be mounted on the wall in my movie room after Halloween (Okay - so this one stays with me this year)...

So - let's do this thing! (I've always wanted a full-size speeder bike - and need to get started before my wife changes her mind)

 

[Frightshow]

For starters - this thing will need to be built from a plywood and pink foam skeleton (cheap and easy) - like... nevermind that bad joke!

Okay - I started in Photoshop and began working up a set of plans that I could use to build the formers from. Since the entire Speeder Bike is just over 11 feet long, how to get them scaled up to actual size? VWALLA! The projector - once the plans were scaled to the right size, I simply hired some Stormtroopers (in-training) and had them trace the projection onto the sheets of foam and plywood.

 

[Wicked26]

excited to watch the progress of this build!!!

 

[Trex]

Wow ambitious, its going to look great!

 

[Frightshow]

Just like building a balsa wood model airplane, the parts need to be cut out and lightly sanded down.

 

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You'll notice the base of the speeder bike is not completely flat and includes some ramping shapes. I opted to build some elongated triangles for the shape changes, but to also incorporate a flat base for the mounting frames (office chair bases) to be secured. Holes were drilled in all the plywood pieces to help lighten the structure.

 

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Building the base

 

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The vertical runner in position

 

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With the base prepped and ready, all the formers are aligned and put into order for assembly. I opted to use the plywood formers at the critical junction points (near handlebars, under seat, ends, etc) and used pink foam in between. There are still gaps in between, but we'll tackle those spaces later.

 

[Frightshow]

To adhere the formers to the base, I used Liquid Nails "FUZE IT" all-surface adhesive as it grabs fast, doesn't react the foam, and is fairly tough stuff. In case you glue the wrong the part down, this stuff can be cut up with a knife when cured (a few hours), so it's definitely not as solid as something like epoxy. Once the formers are setup, let them cure overnight to keep them from shifting.

 

[Frightshow]

It's at this point that the hair on the back of my neck begins to stand up! It's starting to look like a speeder bike!

 

[Frightshow]

The gaps between the formers are filled with the Great Stuff expanding spray foam. I used both the normal and big gap filler types and would highly recommend staying with the normal gap filler for all these prop projects. Although its tempting to shoot the big gap filler all over since it fills bigger gaps faster (right?) - it actually continues to expand for days upon days, thus upsetting the cutting, sanding, and fiberglassing process. Trust me - and stick with the simple gap filler. Within the deep recesses, I layered scraps of foam so that I didn't have to use so much of the spray version. I ended up using 3 cans to fill all the remaining voids.

What a mess at this point!

 

[Frightshow]

Cuts Just Like Butta'! Actually, using a bread knife and small box cutter, the foam does cut somewhat like butter. This takes some patience, time, and a large garbage can at your disposal. Making sure to not go too deep and keep things symmetrical - this is the key at this stage.

 

[Frightshow]

Starting to take shape

 

[Frightshow]

Once everything has been carved and sanded to the proper contour, I take a 1:1 ratio of wood filler and lightweight spackle mixed together and apply it to help fill the voids.

 

[Frightshow]

The intakes were lined with heavy foam core board to create nice flat surfaces (and sharp edges). They'll later receive a coat of epoxy to harden them up even more.

 

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Sanding, sanding, and more sanding... The Sanding Speeder - errr, Speeder Bike is starting to take shape.

The edge of the top deck is also blended in with more putty at this stage.

 

[Frightshow]

The hog gets some skin! Using some 1 oz. fiberglass cloth to sheath the foam bit underneath begins with a large drape. Now this is starting to get real!

 

[Frightshow]

Epoxy

This is a terrific, pro-grade product that is fairly forgiving. Here's my order of operations for the epoxy/fiberglass process:

1) The initial coat of epoxy is applied (slow cure variety) over the structure to permeate the fiberglass
2) Wait to Dry (usually overnight)
3) Another coat of epoxy is applied with 410 filler added - peanut butter consistency
4) Wait to Dry
5) Sand high spots and use more filler as necessary