Introduction: DIY Death Star Clock
Some backstory: I recently got a 2.5' millenium falcon gift that I subsequently hung in my office...
Well, I got a small wall decal of the death star to put on my wall, but that was sort of... lacking... in some ways.
I decided, why not make a 3D-ish Death Star myself instead?
While I was thinking about it, I also figured, why not make it somewhat functional if I can?
Materials (all available through Amazon and/or your local hobby/craft store):
Lightning "Factory Second" Prostyle #1 Driver $6.48 shipped
Clock Movement Quartz Square Straight Black Hand Shaft 3/4" Kit $12.95
(note: if I were to do it again, I would suggest going with the 1/4" or 1/2" kit instead of the 3/4")
Sticky Back Foam Sheets-Basic Colors $9.44 shipped
Black and Grey Spray paint about $4-5?
Optional but recommended: carbon paper - about $5 as well for 10 sheets
Step 1:
So to start off with, I resized and printed out an internet photo of the death star.
Using the carbon paper, I traced the outlines onto the frisbee.
Step 2:
(side note: if I were to do this again, I would next use my dremel tool and sand away the "emitter / focusing disc" portion as well as dremel in the curved lines -- on this run I did the sanding after I put the foam blocks on and had a few missteps which you'll see on the close up photos below)
Step 3:
Next, I used that same printout photo and traced the outlines onto a sheet of the adhesive backed white foam sheet. Using a scalpel / X-acto knife, I then cut out the blocks and stuck them to the frisbee, using the outlines as a guide to where they should go.
Step 4:
then spray painted the whole thing in semi gloss black (but any black will work I think) - paint was still wet in this image. The textural difference between the foam blocks and the frisbee was quite nice once the paint was on.
Step 5:
I used a strip of 1/4" tape to mask the center groove / canyon area, then lightly misted some gray primer to highlight some of the areas and provide contrast.
Step 6:
I then drilled a small hole for the clock nubbin to stick through and attached the clock arms.
Here it is mounted next to my shop clock for comparison
Step 7:
total cost: about $38-39
and the final result hanging in my office next to the falcon and TIE fighter:
Finalist in the
ThinkGeek Sci-Fi Contest