I picked this up a couple of weeks ago, and decided it would be a shame to not have it at Dragoncon, so here's my quick and possibly dirty build.
Here is everything, prior to paint or assembly. The only thing I did prior to taking this picture is wash all of the parts, and trim some paper-thin flashing off of a couple of the smaller pieces (pump widget, flat thingy that goes on top of handle). The parts are all sharp, there are minimal sprues, and the only part that had bubbles worth filling was the bottom of the handle (you'll see later I didn't get to that yet, and for some dumb reason left it for after the thing is fully built). I love the Fresnel lens, I know it's a simple piece of clear pressure-cast resin, but it looks so cool.
Black parts after some paint. I had to sand the edge of the lens a little in order for it to snap in place, but it is secure without glue or a mechanical fastener.
Partially assembled and primed. Most of the parts can be screwed together, the keypad has cast-in countersunk screw holes.
Here's the interior of the Kango body, you can see the screws I used. The top is also mostly hollow, and the small detail parts can be screwed from the inside. For those parts, I positioned them with CA glue, then predrilled & screwed them in from the inside. If you're inclined add electronics there is a fair amount of space within the Kango body and the slide viewer.
The Kango top comes with the "screen" area cast solid. I decided to cut the area out so I could install a screen. The front half of it is hollow inside, but I had to dremel out the back half. Forgive my lousy dremel work, I haven't used that thing in a while and I've clearly lost my touch.
[scene missing] Sorry, I got a fire under my tail and put everything together without taking any more photos, although there really wasn't much more done aside from painting. The only significant thing I did that I failed to take a picture of is instead of drilling a 1/4" hole in the side for the slide viewer to plug in to, I installed a 1/4" female jack part into the side of the Kango body. This allows the viewer to pivot without coming out. I used a
1/4-1/8 jack adapter (a < $5 item). The installation involved drilling a hole that the jack would fit into, and gluing it into place. All that is left is to install two swivel mounts for the strap, and to touch up some paint. The build didn't take much time, and everything fit together with minimal effort. It's also notable that the slide viewer halves snap together securely, allowing one to change the picture behind the view screen, or access added electronics. The screen is from a google picture result, and the keypad is a file that was posted here on the board. For reference, the print size on them was 64mmx50mm and 45mmx34mm respectively. The large black wire is from a guitar patch cord, and the headphone jack & wire is from a pair of headphones.
_________________
Sir, does this mean that Ann Margret's not coming?
Register
FAQ
Search
Login
