Makonde Dagger Build

The Makonde Dagger was designed by artist Jonah Lobe to commemorate 250K YouTube subscribers for Punished Props.

Bill Doran built an absolutely beautiful one in a video you can check out here, and then issued the challenge to the PropTarts to build their own. Here's what I did.

Due to work, a few conventions I was preparing new coplays for, and a vacation, I had to wait until Labor Day weekend to start work on this project. A very generous PropTart with Fusion 360 skills far beyond mine uploaded a model for the dagger onto Thingiverse. It's an excellent model and I tried slicing it but could not for the life of me get the blade to fit on my 3D printing bed. So seeing as how I probably wouldn't be able to complete a full size build anyway, I decided to make a 50% scale version because you know, it would be adorable. So I printed out the sliced parts on my Prusa I3 MK2S using MatterHackers Pro PLA filament in gold.

CONstruct 2017

Here's a recap of CONstruct, a convention I went to recently that took place at The Compleat Sculptor. It's a convention for makers and artists that has workshops and panels demonstrating different techniques and materials and it was super fun!

 

CONstruct
The Compleat Sculptor
Punished Props
Jordu Schell
Joshua Turi
Becka Noel
Dhareza Cosplayza

Sir Botsalot Model Kit Project

Recently Bill Doran from Punished Props designed a robot resin model dubbed "Sir Botsalot." He partnered with Level 52 Studios to help produce a limited run of these kits and I was lucky enough to snag one. 

Emerald City Comicon 2017

Here's a little recap of all the cool things and awesome cosplays I saw at my first Emerald City Comic Con. It's also my first time editing a video like this so I hope you enjoy!



Cosplayers appearing in this video:

Buzz Lightyear - RawrBomb
Chirrut Imwe - kirikavision
Emerald City Ghostbusters
Foam Friction Cosplay
Diablo Barbarian - Theena Cosplay
Commander Shepard - Evil Ted Smith
R2-D2 Mech - Kato's Cosplay
Torbjorn - Doran Clan Creations
Fallout Assaultron - LadyLongShanks
Ghostbuster - Sophy Wong
Borderlands - Modulus Props
Singing Robot - Jonathan Rose
Logan and X-23 - That One Cosplayer Guy

Lightsaber Build

One of the prop making groups I belong to, The PropTarts of Punished Props, put forth a challenge. Build a lightsaber using only $20 worth of materials bought from one store and only using small hand tools to build it. Above is my finished lightsaber. Below is how I built it.

So I chose Dollar Tree to purchase my stuff. I actually made two trips. The first time I went, I picked out mostly cylindrical objects without having a clear plan of what I wanted. That served to bite me in the ass because when I got home and plotted out my lightsaber, it just looked kind of boring. So I went back to Dollar Tree and purchased more items, this time picking things with textures.

2016 nerdy views in Review

2016 was no doubt a savage year, and here at nerdy views, which is now three years old (yay!) it was definitely a year of transition. I started this site to write about movies, television, & entertainment in general, and this year I continued to move further away from that to focus more on building creative projects. And judging by the response I've gotten, it sounds like I'm doing a decent job. Anyway, I just wanted to take a look back at some of the things that made my 2016 memorable.

Celebs

Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Doctor Who, & the Power Rangers really does kind of sum me up. And add a little Fresh Price of Bel Air in there to top it off!

I met Peter Mayhew at WinterCon and he signed my Chewbacca Funko while he enjoyed his orange mocha frappuccino.

Steve Cardenas was the second Red Ranger from the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I remember scheduling my college classes around that show.

I met Steven Moffat, the current Doctor Who & Sherlock showrunner just randomly at a Star Wars booth at San Diego Comic Con and I totally fanboyed it.

I met Ernie Hudson from the Ghostbusters at Hudson Valley Comic Con, and he was super nice in allowing me to take this selfie with him after he signed my Winston Zeddemore figure.

And finally, I wondered what Karyn Parsons from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was doing at WinterCon, but it didn't matter why because she was super cool, and her show definitely helped shape my sense of humor when I was younger.

I can't imagine meeting any of these people under normal circumstances, but at conventions, there's always a chance!