By crusader_x
#4827409
RGB PKE Meter version 2
Image

http://www.firebladecomics.com/customs/ ... rver2.html

RGB PKE Meter version 3
Image

http://www.firebladecomics.com/customs/ ... rver3.html

The links contain the full photo galleries. Both of these were commissions for separate people. One wanted it more movie style, the other more like the cartoon, so I got to do some fun variations between them.
By crusader_x
#4828391
methos2523 wrote:wooohoooooooo

My PKE...

it's sooooooo gorgeous... thank you so much :D
No problem, it looks great with the RGB uniform too!
SpaceCoastGBs wrote:These are your best yet. What did you use for the main body and the viewscreen shrouds? I've considered rebuilding mine using styrene on an electrical gang box, but whatever you've used looks great.
Thanks man :D The main bodies of both are just project boxes, most likely ABS, that I acquired through various means (shopping on eBay, thrift stores, electronic surplus stores and websites, etc). The viewscreen covers are square PVC cut at an angle. Square is kind of a misnomer for it because it's actually slightly rounded at the edges so it's not perfectly square. I got several sizes from a friend whose father owns a plastics company and they had some inventory they wanted to get rid of.
I recommend shopping on some of the electronic surplus sites for the size boxes you need, such as :
http://www.allelectronics.com/
and
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/

It's tricky to judge just what size you need because they vary quite a bit and you want to get something deep enough for all the electronics and batteries inside. Radio Shack had some project boxes in decent sizes but since they're going out of business, and unless you can luck out and find one closing, this won't be available much longer. I aim for something about 4-5 inches tall, about 2-3 inches wide and 1.5-2 inches tall (or deep). If going for the conduit body boxes at the hardware stores you can find this type which comes in different sizes and configurations of openings and I use them for my Extreme GB style PKE builds:
Image
The only thing about them is they are very deep, so I cut about 1/2 to 1 inch off of them, but the posts go all the way down so the screws will still have something to grab. The covers are found in the same area of the store and usually are a good fit with minimal work. For a RGB style build you can find the type with just one opening which you can use for the handle, and the other end flat which would be great for cutting and mounting the antenna. I just prefer to find the right size ABS project boxes for the RGB builds because there's more room to work on the inside.
By SpaceCoastGBs
#4828445
Damn, you were lucked out with those shrouds. In my past two I did use the conduit boxes - they're a bit too big from my experience carrying them around, but I never even thought of cutting them down. Is the attachment point/bracket where the arms connect a scratch build or a found part?

Thanks for the tips and It'll probably be later in the year when I remake them. I may hit you up with some PMs when I get to building.
By crusader_x
#4828461
SpaceCoastGBs wrote:Damn, you were lucked out with those shrouds. In my past two I did use the conduit boxes - they're a bit too big from my experience carrying them around, but I never even thought of cutting them down. Is the attachment point/bracket where the arms connect a scratch build or a found part?

Thanks for the tips and It'll probably be later in the year when I remake them. I may hit you up with some PMs when I get to building.
I went looking for square PVC for this exact purpose at all my local hardware stores and found nothing even close. I even considered things like square plastic fence posts but everything was too large. I did shop eBay but that's very hit-and-miss for materials like that. And I found some on industrial supply sites, but they always had a minimum purchase to make it worth the shipping, like 10 or 12 feet worth, and I just couldn't justify buying that much yet. So yeah I did get lucky with my find :D

To cut them down, I took a piece of masking tape and wrapped it around the end to give me a straight guide and then used a cut off wheel in my dremel to go around the edge of the tape, taking off about 3/4 of an inch off the back which makes the boxes drastically better for PKEs. Nowadays I just used my band saw or miter saw to line it up and chop through. The only problem as I mentioned is the posts inside reduce your usable space a lot, so cutting things like the window for the viewscreen have to take into account those posts. This is why most of my earlier ones used a round viewscreen and cover because it was easier to fit it squarely at the top and avoid the posts. They are super solid though and make for a very strong body which will hold up very well under cosplay use. I still have my first Extreme and RGB PKE builds and both are going strong, even having been dropped and so forth.

The antenna arms are actually a "rabbit ears" TV antenna that was modified to let the arms swivel almost 180 degrees up. The black piece fits into a square, hollow aluminum rod which gets mounted into the body. I don't know what size the rod is (diameter) off the top of my head but it's likely 3/4. I don't remember exactly where I got the aluminum rod, probably a store like Skycraft (electronics and industrial supply surplus mega store in Orlando). But I'm sure you can find it at a hobby store or ACE Hardware.

Looking forward to your builds man. Hit me up for advice anytime and I'll do my best to help. That goes for anyone.
EnderWeggen liked this
By redfive1973
#4847187
Inspiration. Been having some conduit boxes in my pieces and parts bins and wanting to work on a RGB PKE meter for awhile but could never visualize getting it all in the right order. Did snag up two sets of rabbit ears so I am on the way to make a RGB and down the line a EGB PKE meter.

    I'd really like to see the new t-shirt unlocks t[…]

    Hey and welcome

    My Little Pony/Ghostbusters crossover done by my d[…]

    Great work identifying the RS Temperature Control […]