# Interest thread: Endoskeleton arm 1/2 scale



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

I'm trying to guage everyones' reaction to the endo arm crisis that seems to be plauging ebay as of late. There's a plentiful supply of the left arm in 1/6 scale version being sold for nothing. I've seen two different versions of the same 1/2 scale being sold on ebay as well. I just wonder which is the legitimate one as the two are not identical. With China as the worlds' recaster center, and seller of illegally copied goods, is there any way to tell the two apart? I want to offer these, but in an already chromed version ready to assemble for $50.00 - $70.00 with the base. I want to offer an identical 1/2 version to the original sideshow arm. I understand that these are no longer made, but the one I originally saw (the Hollywood Armory) was horrible in its' quality (appearance). My main question is, will this be worth me taking the time to produce this, and buy the rubber/silicone, and resin to do so? I can get the chrome right here in town. Would anyone here be interested in one made in this scale by me? If not, the one I have won't go into rubber, but will stay on the shelf.


----------



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Not to sound stupid, but what does this look like?


----------



## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Dyonisis said:


> Would anyone here be interested in one made in this scale by me?


Possibly.
-Jim


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

I'm sorry, I looked at the 1:1 scale endo arm not realising from the price tag that this _is_ the life-sized version. It doesn't matter anyway, as I still want to offer a 1/2 scale of the real thing with a base. I'll offer these in chrome with the proper detailing that the 1:1 version has. I'm in the process of mastering one in exact 1/2 scale with identical features. I'm offering these as a cheaper, and more readily available alternative for those who have very little room, as I have to display their collection. I'll have to use some very unusual items to complete these = guitar strings and such, to make them as authentic as possible. If you're interested, please send me a PM, or put your name on a post. I'll start a list of names. Once a finished product is available, I'll post pictures. For now, I'll wait before proceeding with casting.

Thanks for looking.












http://cgi.ebay.com/SIDESHOW-TERMINATOR-2-ENDOSKELETON-ARM-1-2-SCALE-NEW-/160442188312?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255b198218


----------



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Ahhh...the Terminator hand. Ok, now I understand!


----------



## bucwheat (Mar 9, 2010)

I would love to have something like that,any models out there.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Unfortunately, the answer is no! There are recasts of this, but you have to find someone to chrome them for you, (unless a cheap can of silver paint looks good enough for you)and they're very expensive for shipping. Not only that, buy they also don't come with the cables for the fingers, or a base. I want to offer these with everything. It costs $30.00 - $50.00 for a set of bass guitar strings, and that's only if you buy one set! To add insult to injury - you'll have to buy FOUR sets to get enough length of the same string diameter for all five digits! These are all the same diameter on all the fingers of the actual model. The fingers on my version will be adjustable - unlike the resin cast 1:1 sideshow arm. 

Another problem with the ebay recasts is, you don't know who reproduced it, and the quality of each varies from vendor to vendor. You see a perfect arm that one of these sellers built, and had chromed, but two, or more sellers will have the exact same picture in their auction gallery. What you get is a bare resin recast with lots of flaws, and no quality control of any kind. Most people are so happy with just having one that they overlook all the flaws! Sometimes you only get the hand, and the main parts, but the rods for the pistons are not included -the cables are never included, and most of these don't come with a base.

If you're not satisfied with it, you have to file a claim with ebay, then wait for a response from the seller, and hope that you get results, but when you do - you have to send it back and still pay for the return shipping costs without them being refunded, which sometimes are almost as much as the item itself! Why waste your money? This is why I'm trying to establish a customer base for these, so that more people will be happy buying them from me with guaranteed quality, and having a reputation for reliability, and honesty on other forums helps to inspire confidence in future customers. I want to establish a good rapport here as well.

I've made two of these in 1/6th scale from scratch. I'll post pictures of one that I made for Coffee Addict on another modeling forum. This way, you can see that I know how to scratch build/make from the real thing to offer these in any scale with 100% accuracy. I figure that the 1/6 version is too small for most peoples' taste, and 1:1 requires more room than most people have on a shelf, so a 1/2 scale version made identically the same as the lifesized version should be more appealing.


----------



## Scorpitat (Oct 7, 2004)

Add me please, and keep me informed. If you DO make any 1:1 scale ones, that would be great too! Hope to hear from you with updates!

Sincerely,
Scorp.

"Boldly GO!" :wave:


----------



## IanWilkinson (Apr 23, 2010)

any chance of doing a WIP on creating the arm??.. this i would LOVE to see!!..


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

I already have Work In Progress pics, but I want to finish as much of this I can, then show it after it's mostly done. I'll mock this up, then post pictures when I have it chromed. Once everyone can see this in the unfinished form, and all the work up to the chrome - I hope this will generate some interest. Please check out the thread I started for this in the same catagory it's related to = science fiction. 

In answer to your question Ian - 1:1 scale arms are only a consignment item, as I have to recieve a payment for it, then ship it. I hope to fill a niche market with quality product instead of the poor half assed version that sideshow offered.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Here's the thread I started so you guys can get an idea of what I've done, and am able to do. The arm in the link below is only about two, and a half inches long. 

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?p=3384993#post3384993


----------



## Thunderbolt1 (Nov 28, 2008)

Put me down for one !


----------



## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Dyonisis said:


> ... It costs $30.00 - $50.00 for a set of bass guitar strings, and that's only if you buy one set! To add insult to injury - you'll have to buy FOUR sets to get enough length of the same string diameter for all five digits!


Get yourself some dean markley blue steel strings They should be closer to $20 a pack. But if you just need lots of one string, just buy lots of one string. If your local guitar shop won't sell them that way, then a bigger place like Guitar Center, Daddy's, sam ash, etc, 'should' have them to offer. If not, head online. 

Here ya go: a 3-pack of the same diameter for $12 from amazon. I picked one of the diameters, but they were all there from B string to high E.
http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-115-Nickel-Bass-Strings/dp/B0002E3NIU

here's the search page
http://www.google.com/products?q=ba...efox-a&hl=en&scoring=p&show=dd&sa=N&start=110


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Model Man said:


> Get yourself some dean markley blue steel strings They should be closer to $20 a pack. But if you just need lots of one string, just buy lots of one string. If your local guitar shop won't sell them that way, then a bigger place like Guitar Center, Daddy's, sam ash, etc, 'should' have them to offer. If not, head online.
> 
> Here ya go: a 3-pack of the same diameter for $12 from amazon. I picked one of the diameters, but they were all there from B string to high E.
> http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-115-Nickel-Bass-Strings/dp/B0002E3NIU
> ...


 




Thank you for that, Modelman. I'll just buy a set from www.musiciansfriend.com, or www.americanmusical.com I can get a set for $10.00 from musiciansfriend for generics. I wanted to use real nickel with a steel core, but I need it all in one diameter. (They used to offer single strings on musiciansfriend, but that was years ago. I'll have to see if they still do.) If I can't get these in singles - I'll just cast them up in 0.72" diameter resin copies, then paint them with nickel coloured enamel. This will save all that buy from me money. I'll post pictures as soon as I get to the fingers. I have to make the wrist plate, and the finger mounts yet. The fingers will be the most difficult, as they'll have to be cut in halves, and rollers made from scratch to fit this scale. I already have the pistons, and the elbow guard made - I'll post photos of these when I upload them to my computer.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

OK, for all those who've been waiting - I'm almost ready to post pictures of my progress. I just don't want to nickel and dime you to death with five, or six photos, then days of nothing to look at again. I've been working on two projects at once and this makes it harder to get this done as quickly as I want to. I'll have to take pictures of the latest progress tonight, then post it here. This is the only forum where I'll be offering these Terminator Endoskeleton arms.


----------



## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Sounds good. :thumbsup:
Please let us know when you will be offering them.
-Jim


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)




----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)




----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Elbow joints ready to be stamped out. I took two pictures of these, but I didn't know I uploaded the blurry one. 












The blank for the wrist plate. This is poplar. This has medium density. I gave up on this because it's so soft that it split when drilled.













Elbow templates.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

I meant to post these pictures last night, but watching "The Dealiest Catch" didn't help a lot, and I needed to rework some parts. I also had to get some aluminum tubing (that I didn't realize I was out of) from the hardware store - a trip that turned into a real fiasco, which I'll spare you the details! 

Half of the photos I posted today are a week old, and the other half I took yesterday, and today. Enjoy! 




This is the elbow shroud after being freshly sanded.












This piston is made form six individual parts. I'll make the rest from only five, as this is the prototype which I used to model the rest from. The finger supports are only 1/4" around - not 5/16" as they look on my monitor. I'll be using 5/16" for the fingers, not 3/8" as these look! I had to adjust this precariously for this picture, because the top of the piston arm kept falling down into the piston body.











*The finger pistons.*​ 
All of these including the one for the thumb will be cast in two separate pieces, so they'll move with the finger joints for positioning however desired.











The junk pile that is my work table.










*The thumb piston*​ 
This is slightly larger than the finger pistons.







inishing 




The finishing washer for the finger joints. This is as small as they come. I was lucky to find these in this size.


----------



## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Lots of work involved there.
Looking good.
-Jim


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Thank you, Jim. I've had to take a couple steps backward on this to ensure proper scale, and accuracy. I hope to have more to show in the next couple days.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

OK, people. I've been gone from the forums for a while because of other things that have drawn my attention away, but now I'm back! This is the latest I have to show. I need to order some casting supplies this weekend to make multiples of parts that need to be identical, so that they don't come out looking amaturish. As you can clearly see - I had to back up a bit on some parts to ensure perfect accuracy, unlike the Hollywood armorys' version. No descriptions, just enjoy!


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)




----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)




----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

This is JoJo - he thinks he's helping me keep the floor clean by eating any plastic that falls on the carpet.



















I'm still in the process of figuring out the correct orientation of the screw heeads. I found out that these are the wrong size after putting them in. :drunk: This is the beginning of the thumb.










This was my haphazard method of slicing the wood dowel I'm using for the fingers.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

This is the elbow guard in it's transitional stage. This just needs to be glued to the inside cap, and a little more shaping required. It took many (scribing)_ tries to get it to where it is now.


----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)




----------



## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

This is the finial (white part) that goes on the bottom of the wrist plate to allow the steel control cable a durable mounting surface.


----------

