Painting and Finishing The Machine

I wan't the machine to have an old industrial feel to it. I want it to look old, and odd yet understandable. To do this I have chosen a turquoise colour for the paint job and I will make it look corroded with rust.

I first painted the parts of the inside of the machine that the camera might pick up to unify the inside and made it look like it is all part of the same object.

I then gave the whole of the outside a prime coat in grey again to unify all the different parts and textures. This means that on especially the front panel there will be less difference between the different levels of the built and it will unify the Millput and the foam board.

I then masked off the front panel as I want it to be a different colour from the rest of the body. I tested putting a copper/rust colour where I wanted them to be but I could not control the turquoise spray paint for this to work. However it gave me a good idea of how the final paint finish might look.

I put three coats of the final colour on the machine, sanding it down between each coat. This gave me quite a smooth finish. 

I painted the front a copper colour.

I then painted the silver highlights of the front panel and painted the rusted highlights on the body of the machine. Thankfully I was able to use the imperfections already created by my half rushed effort to make the  machine for the rusted parts

On the side of the machine I stuck on the instruction panel and scuffed it up to make it look old and worn.

I then stuck in and on the remaining details on the front panel and again dry brushed it to make it all look as old as time itself!

To make the outside parts animatable finalised my Lego Technic mechanism and used hot glue to keep it all together.

I then stuck it inside and used more hot glue to keep it all in place.

Here is a video of me testing the mechanism. It is a bit clunky but when I animate it, it should be a bit smoother.

At this point I thought I was finished but felt it needed a little something else to give it that extra edge and machine feel...

Rivets!

I made some hemispheres from Milliput...

...and then painted them metallic grey.

I stuck them onto the machine with contact adhesive and then dry brushed them to tie them in with the rest of the machine.

I put some fairy lights inside the machine and pushed one into the orange light to see how it looked.

 I put one of the cave walls behind the machine to check that it tied in ok with the orange of the cave walls. I am quite pleased with how they tone in together. Now I have one more prop to make and I will be ready to start shooting again.