So long story short, I'm planning on making my own version of Sp//dr from the Into The Spider-verse film (the film toy is way off model and ugly looking, and the comic version just isn't the same.)
I've got the core of the mech handled (I'm commissioning a modeller I trust to model the solid pieces and then I'll 3d print them) but in the film the joints are actually these oscillating energy tendrils that squash and stretch around. The limbs also swap around, with the upper arms sometimes moving to the back like jet boosters.
I'm trying to devise some sort of system with magnets and clear rotating joints, but I was curious if anyone here had any ideas. This is the last Spider I need for my collection, so I'm trying to go all out with it.
So the rough plan RN is that I have a 3d model with a hollowed out torso to use as the base, with magnets inside as space allows (discussions of a LED screen are being discussed, we'll see if that'll happen and how much room it'll take up). That's all gonna be a bit, but where I'm stuck right now is the joints.
While the attachment points will likely end with magnets on either end so I can swap them out, my plan was to have the joints be ball-hinge joints (similar to shoulder joints on an action figure) to allow for full range of motion. However, to match the look of the film with its oscillating energy between the sections, I'd LIKE to have those joints be clear so I can paint the energy lines by hand on top of them. The problem is that the Hobby Base joints that most closely resemble what I'd like, the "Ball shape joint" do not appear to come in clear plastic.
The easiest way would be to make the central part of the mech out of metal, so that the magnets can attach wherever you want. Perhaps a hollow metal ball as the base, with some modeling around it? Or maybe place strips of metal just underneath your sculpt.
Another way to go is to hide strong magnets underneath the sculpt at specific areas where you want the limbs to attach.
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While the attachment points will likely end with magnets on either end so I can swap them out, my plan was to have the joints be ball-hinge joints (similar to shoulder joints on an action figure) to allow for full range of motion. However, to match the look of the film with its oscillating energy between the sections, I'd LIKE to have those joints be clear so I can paint the energy lines by hand on top of them. The problem is that the Hobby Base joints that most closely resemble what I'd like, the "Ball shape joint" do not appear to come in clear plastic.
Does anyone here know of a joint set I can use?
Another way to go is to hide strong magnets underneath the sculpt at specific areas where you want the limbs to attach.