And The Winner Of The GO HERO x TOYSREVIL Home-Made Ray-Gun Contest Is...
After intense and careful considerations, a single raygun has been chosen out of the multiple zapperific submissions to be the WINNER of the Go Hero x Toysrevil HOME-MADE RAY-GUN CONTEST! Congratulations Russell Williams for his winning raygun: The TESLA DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON! [HERE] ~ Russ walks away with a 1:1 scaled Atomic Disintegrator Pistol - sponsored by Go Hero!
Steve Forde (head-honcho of Go Hero) has this to say about the winning raygun: "While I enjoyed each piece for different reasons (I do have a place in my heart for potatoes) I love the spirit of this piece. I was drawn to the practical effect of taking all these great shapes from that era. It lights up, it is colorful, and of course the pair of dice was a nice touch!” ~ I couldn't agree with you more, Steve!
/// CLICK THRU to peep more raygun-pics, as well as my Q&A with Russ about the inception of this beast-of-a-weapon!
My thanks to each and everyone who've taken part in this contest - for your efforts and dedication. And to Steve for his generosity with the contest-prize and his time. And even though the contest has ended, I will keep the RAYGUNZ flickr-group open to anyone who wants to upload and share their raygun-contraptions (in any scale ~ winkwink JimmyFoo :p) ~ who knows what the future may bring? Buck Rogers sure didn't know before he was thrust into the 25th Century, did he? heh.
TOYSREVIL: First off, congratulations again for the win, Russ! So, what was your primary inspiration for the TESLA Directed Energy Weapon? What was the genesis in it's inception?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I have been an avid fan of early sci-fi art and design. The early mechanics of that era were not only functional but extraordinarily sculptural. With lines and materials only available at the time, these creators of industry made some radicle devices.
The prop makers of that time as well as artists definitely drew from common objects and machines to develop their fantasy world. I have been collecting ray guns from the 30's, 40's and 50's for several years and think about them all the time as they hang in my studio.
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I am a scavenger of unique objects and found the base of the ray gun, an old 40's style circular sander about a year ago and had envisioned making into a ray gun of some sort. It had the look and feel of just that.
It sat in a box until my good friend Brian Colin of codedecoinc.com told me about the contest. The rest just fell into place.
TOYSREVIL: My thanks to Brian for reading my blog! LOL ~ And how long did it take to make this particular contraption?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I probably have about 20 or so hours of time in to the thought, scavenging and building of the gun.
TOYSREVIL: How was the process of making the raygun? Break it down for us, Russ! LOL
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I was excited to have a new reason to start the gun and use this old sander I had found. I knew I would have to make the rest of the handle since none existed on the sander. I used some oak and pine pieces sandwiched together to create the back side of the handle. Carving it down on a sander and by hand. The rubber "O" rings gave the handle some grip and the dice a retro feel in the lines of "Nick Fury"
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I had some other yard sale finds as well to use. The citronella candle holder and JELLO molds would help complete the front and rear of the gun which were missing.
I used a glass vase for the first glass housing and then put a water cup with silver trim over that and tipped it with an old salt shaker top to complete to containment beam directional area.
I knew it had to light up if it was to truly be a ray gun. I started to mess with some LED lights and some dime store light sticks and self taught how to get them to work on just a 6 volt camera battery. I was pleased with the results.
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I then thought of the fuel bottle. It was from a mini treasure map bottle I got at the beach. I put a some antifreeze in it (just the right color) and a led light and then sealed it with some "Household Amazing Goop"
Working on the gun in spurts and fits of procrastination I was able to get the thing lit and finished on the night of the 4th of January.
I was working on both guns at the same time so I had to keep my mind straight on what was happening with each one.
TOYSREVIL: Well worth the effort, IMHO (I personally feel "procrastination" somehow fuels "creativity" myself LOL). How does it feel to find out you won the contest?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I feel great about winning. I want to thank both GoHero and TRE for setting up the opportunity to participate.
I think that the entries from everyone were terrific and that they should all be proud of what they made. It is one of the great things about this kind of competition. Seeing how people put their own twist on things.
TOYSREVIL: Most def. And I would love to keep the spirit of DIY-rayguns and telling a story thru the guns going (We'll see how it takes :p). Thanks again for your time and efforts, Russ! And in conclusion, please share with us: WHO IS RUSSELL WILLIAMS?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I am a graphic designer by day and dad/sculpter/inventor by night. I have a love for toys and collecting junk that hinges on OCD but not really. I see something and think what it could be and the possibilities seem endless. I wouldn't be able to do it if my wife Molly wasn't as understanding as she is. Thank God for that.
ORIGINAL-SUBMISSION-TEXT:
Based upon Studies of electric arcs and Nikola Tesla's attempts at developing directed-energy weapons. The lost sketches from Tesla's personal library have surfaced.
Using found objects a 1940's electric sander, tiki torch holder, jello mold and the like. Let's not forget the lucky dice lanyard!
Fueled bey a glowing green liquid of questionable origin the strange liquid when activated enables the weapon to fully light and direct a fatal blow at its intended target.
Nikola would be proud!
Steve Forde (head-honcho of Go Hero) has this to say about the winning raygun: "While I enjoyed each piece for different reasons (I do have a place in my heart for potatoes) I love the spirit of this piece. I was drawn to the practical effect of taking all these great shapes from that era. It lights up, it is colorful, and of course the pair of dice was a nice touch!” ~ I couldn't agree with you more, Steve!
/// CLICK THRU to peep more raygun-pics, as well as my Q&A with Russ about the inception of this beast-of-a-weapon!My thanks to each and everyone who've taken part in this contest - for your efforts and dedication. And to Steve for his generosity with the contest-prize and his time. And even though the contest has ended, I will keep the RAYGUNZ flickr-group open to anyone who wants to upload and share their raygun-contraptions (in any scale ~ winkwink JimmyFoo :p) ~ who knows what the future may bring? Buck Rogers sure didn't know before he was thrust into the 25th Century, did he? heh.
TOYSREVIL: First off, congratulations again for the win, Russ! So, what was your primary inspiration for the TESLA Directed Energy Weapon? What was the genesis in it's inception?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I have been an avid fan of early sci-fi art and design. The early mechanics of that era were not only functional but extraordinarily sculptural. With lines and materials only available at the time, these creators of industry made some radicle devices.
The prop makers of that time as well as artists definitely drew from common objects and machines to develop their fantasy world. I have been collecting ray guns from the 30's, 40's and 50's for several years and think about them all the time as they hang in my studio.
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I am a scavenger of unique objects and found the base of the ray gun, an old 40's style circular sander about a year ago and had envisioned making into a ray gun of some sort. It had the look and feel of just that.
It sat in a box until my good friend Brian Colin of codedecoinc.com told me about the contest. The rest just fell into place.
TOYSREVIL: My thanks to Brian for reading my blog! LOL ~ And how long did it take to make this particular contraption?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I probably have about 20 or so hours of time in to the thought, scavenging and building of the gun.
TOYSREVIL: How was the process of making the raygun? Break it down for us, Russ! LOL
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I was excited to have a new reason to start the gun and use this old sander I had found. I knew I would have to make the rest of the handle since none existed on the sander. I used some oak and pine pieces sandwiched together to create the back side of the handle. Carving it down on a sander and by hand. The rubber "O" rings gave the handle some grip and the dice a retro feel in the lines of "Nick Fury"
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I had some other yard sale finds as well to use. The citronella candle holder and JELLO molds would help complete the front and rear of the gun which were missing.
I used a glass vase for the first glass housing and then put a water cup with silver trim over that and tipped it with an old salt shaker top to complete to containment beam directional area.
I knew it had to light up if it was to truly be a ray gun. I started to mess with some LED lights and some dime store light sticks and self taught how to get them to work on just a 6 volt camera battery. I was pleased with the results.
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I then thought of the fuel bottle. It was from a mini treasure map bottle I got at the beach. I put a some antifreeze in it (just the right color) and a led light and then sealed it with some "Household Amazing Goop"
Working on the gun in spurts and fits of procrastination I was able to get the thing lit and finished on the night of the 4th of January.
I was working on both guns at the same time so I had to keep my mind straight on what was happening with each one.
TOYSREVIL: Well worth the effort, IMHO (I personally feel "procrastination" somehow fuels "creativity" myself LOL). How does it feel to find out you won the contest?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I feel great about winning. I want to thank both GoHero and TRE for setting up the opportunity to participate.
I think that the entries from everyone were terrific and that they should all be proud of what they made. It is one of the great things about this kind of competition. Seeing how people put their own twist on things.
TOYSREVIL: Most def. And I would love to keep the spirit of DIY-rayguns and telling a story thru the guns going (We'll see how it takes :p). Thanks again for your time and efforts, Russ! And in conclusion, please share with us: WHO IS RUSSELL WILLIAMS?
RUSSELL WILLIAMS: I am a graphic designer by day and dad/sculpter/inventor by night. I have a love for toys and collecting junk that hinges on OCD but not really. I see something and think what it could be and the possibilities seem endless. I wouldn't be able to do it if my wife Molly wasn't as understanding as she is. Thank God for that.
ORIGINAL-SUBMISSION-TEXT:
Based upon Studies of electric arcs and Nikola Tesla's attempts at developing directed-energy weapons. The lost sketches from Tesla's personal library have surfaced.Using found objects a 1940's electric sander, tiki torch holder, jello mold and the like. Let's not forget the lucky dice lanyard!
Fueled bey a glowing green liquid of questionable origin the strange liquid when activated enables the weapon to fully light and direct a fatal blow at its intended target.
Nikola would be proud!
