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This instructable is a walk-through of how I made my life-sized Turret from the videogame Portal. It turned into a far more involved project than I expected, so be warned: this project is not for the faint of heart.
When I made this my company, ThinkGeek, was working with Valve to develop a number of licensed products and toys related to the two Portal videogames, so I was already taking a close look at how to recreate these virtual objects in the real world, just not at such an ambitious scale. I had access to some behind the scenes assets, but they weren't nearly as helpful as you'd think - carefully examining screen-captures is best. The Turret proved to be a special challenge since it's so spindly and transforms in ways that leave no room for internal mechanisms.
This project took me a good 200 hours in my spare time after work over the course of several months and several hundred dollars worth of materials. The entire model is about 48" tall at the top of the egg, with another 10" of antenna above that. I'd guess that it weighs around 20 pounds, but it's such an odd shape that it's impossible to lift in one piece - the front legs tend to fall out.
I'd like to acknowledge some other builders who inspired me to this huge project:
- Citizen Snips, who started his Turret around the same time as I did, but managed to finish his in a more reasonable amount of time. His is at a different scale, uses other production methods, and contains more electronics. It is a thing of beauty.
- Voplin props made an amazing Portal gun and every other project on their page is mind-blowing as well.
- TJ Coffey - This flickr page shows an amazing working Turret with pop-out wings and airsoft guns. He uses a big CNC mill to make molds.
- Aphius - This flickr page chronicles a valiant effort to make a full scale Turret with papercraft.
* All photos were taken by me with an iPhone4 except for the hero shot on the blue background, which was done by the ThinkGeek staff photographer, Chris Hoyer.
When I made this my company, ThinkGeek, was working with Valve to develop a number of licensed products and toys related to the two Portal videogames, so I was already taking a close look at how to recreate these virtual objects in the real world, just not at such an ambitious scale. I had access to some behind the scenes assets, but they weren't nearly as helpful as you'd think - carefully examining screen-captures is best. The Turret proved to be a special challenge since it's so spindly and transforms in ways that leave no room for internal mechanisms.
This project took me a good 200 hours in my spare time after work over the course of several months and several hundred dollars worth of materials. The entire model is about 48" tall at the top of the egg, with another 10" of antenna above that. I'd guess that it weighs around 20 pounds, but it's such an odd shape that it's impossible to lift in one piece - the front legs tend to fall out.
I'd like to acknowledge some other builders who inspired me to this huge project:
- Citizen Snips, who started his Turret around the same time as I did, but managed to finish his in a more reasonable amount of time. His is at a different scale, uses other production methods, and contains more electronics. It is a thing of beauty.
- Voplin props made an amazing Portal gun and every other project on their page is mind-blowing as well.
- TJ Coffey - This flickr page shows an amazing working Turret with pop-out wings and airsoft guns. He uses a big CNC mill to make molds.
- Aphius - This flickr page chronicles a valiant effort to make a full scale Turret with papercraft.
* All photos were taken by me with an iPhone4 except for the hero shot on the blue background, which was done by the ThinkGeek staff photographer, Chris Hoyer.
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Signing UpStep 1Tools & Materials:
Tools:
- Japanese pull saw
- Click out Olfa knife
- X-acto knife
- Bench-top & handheld jigsaws
- Circular saw
- Oscillating hand sander
- Fein sander / cutter
- Bench-top belt sander
- Surform files
- Metal file
- Needle files
- Sandpaper
- Hot wire cutter
- Quick-grip clamps
- 3/4" conduit bender
- Pipe cutter
- Hobby lathe
- Hand drill & bits / forstner bits
- Dremel & sanding / cutting bits
- Hand plane or spokeshave
- Disposable mixing pots
- Disposable brushes
- Epoxy squeegees
- Plastic sheet drop-cloth
- Eye & ear protection
- Respirator
- Shop-vac
Materials:
- 2" & 3/4" thick pink foam insulation sheets
- 1/2" thick MDF panels
- 1/4" Masonite panels
- Assorted craft wood pieces
- Assorted 3/4" thick lumber
- Assorted dowels
- Drywall screws
- 1/4" thick aluminum plate
- 3/4" steel electrical conduit
- Masking tape & paper
- Woven fiberglass cloth
- West systems epoxy & hardener
- 5 minute epoxy
- Micro-sphere filler powder
- Bondo autobody filler
- Bondo spot-filler
- Super 77 spray glue
- Loctite power grip pressure pack (glue)
- Spray primer (white, gray, & black)
- Spray paint (gloss black)
- Japanese pull saw
- Click out Olfa knife
- X-acto knife
- Bench-top & handheld jigsaws
- Circular saw
- Oscillating hand sander
- Fein sander / cutter
- Bench-top belt sander
- Surform files
- Metal file
- Needle files
- Sandpaper
- Hot wire cutter
- Quick-grip clamps
- 3/4" conduit bender
- Pipe cutter
- Hobby lathe
- Hand drill & bits / forstner bits
- Dremel & sanding / cutting bits
- Hand plane or spokeshave
- Disposable mixing pots
- Disposable brushes
- Epoxy squeegees
- Plastic sheet drop-cloth
- Eye & ear protection
- Respirator
- Shop-vac
Materials:
- 2" & 3/4" thick pink foam insulation sheets
- 1/2" thick MDF panels
- 1/4" Masonite panels
- Assorted craft wood pieces
- Assorted 3/4" thick lumber
- Assorted dowels
- Drywall screws
- 1/4" thick aluminum plate
- 3/4" steel electrical conduit
- Masking tape & paper
- Woven fiberglass cloth
- West systems epoxy & hardener
- 5 minute epoxy
- Micro-sphere filler powder
- Bondo autobody filler
- Bondo spot-filler
- Super 77 spray glue
- Loctite power grip pressure pack (glue)
- Spray primer (white, gray, & black)
- Spray paint (gloss black)
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Awesome job!