Only started this a few days ago. I'm literally knocking it up from things that I can find lying around the house ! The only specific thing I've purchased especially for the project is the 25mm Acrylic bar. So first up was the jig to form the handle which I put together using a bit of old chipboard, a cut up cork sanding block and a 3 inch coffee jar lid The acrylic bar I placed in the oven on a baking tray for about 15 to 20 minutes at 200c. Formed it round the jig and then threw the whole thing (inc the jig) into a bucked of cold water to set. In order to round the ends of the handle I simply heated them up with an electric paint stripper until the ends formed a soft glob and then quickly smoothed and rounded them off with a wet cloth. They came out 99% perfect although I did have to work very quickly and effectively.



Next I removed the handle from an old but hardly used metal walking brolly.



Then I masked off the tip top and bottom, undercoated and then sprayed it red.



Not wanting to take the easy option and simply drill a hole in a plain wooden dowel cap for the dot of the question, I opted to build something much more like the original prop, where the 'dot' is actually the sliding clip that holds the brolly closed. With this in mind I modified a 1.5 inch Christmas bauble and the case of a thick marker pen. Using some Millput and plenty of wet'n'dry paper the finished result was perfect.



Light wet'n'dry sanding of the handle and stop gap (another section of the marker pen) and we are ready for an undercoat and top coat of all the main sections.



And after several coats of high gloss acrylic paint .................

Looks great, mate! I was shocked when I saw this, I too have just started one of these and it appears we have the exact same umbrella! You, know, if that frill at the base of the umbrella annoys you, you can just pull it off with ease.

Quote from: superrichi1a on May 06, 2011, 04:37 pmYou, know, if that frill at the base of the umbrella annoys you, you can just pull it off with ease.

Really Wish I'd known that yesterday. Bit cagey about doing it now in case it pulls the new paint job with it. I've left the whole lot to really dry out now for a few days before putting it all together. Even though at times these things feel dry you can easily leave a thumb print in the paint if you grip too hard. Post a few pics of yours when your done, I'd really like to see it

Update: Took a chance and pulled. Yep just as you said, came off with no bother and looks much better Thanks for that.

The update's looking really great, and once again, super jealous at how easily yours came off.

You went for a reasonable compromise in regards to the tip of the umbrella... it'd be nice to paint the whole thing red but after the amount of time since I finished mine, the very end of the tip is almost completely devoid of paint... and as one umbrella (probably made after the series itself had ended) left a section of the tip unpainted, there's precedent for the option you went with.

Nice work on the bauble "dot", I must keep that in mind for future reference.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product... and please do detail how you'll be permanently fixing it to the metal umbrella tube, that's something I haven't tried before.

Quote from: Kingpin on May 06, 2011, 06:20 pm
The update's looking really great, and once again, super jealous at how easily yours came off. and as one umbrella (probably made after the series itself had ended) left a section of the tip unpainted, there's precedent for the option you went with.

Thanks As I said beginners luck I was watching 'The Curse Of Fenrick' this week and the brolly in that certainly has what looks like an unpainted tip, which is why I did what I did with my prop.

Nice!! I like how the dot opens it.

Very nice

Well it's finally finished (just have to screw the handle to the frame) and I have to say I'm really proud of the finished item, it's a remarkably flawless moulding and paint job And it's about as close to the original prop (shown right) in design and function as my limited skills and equipment will allow. Totally cost in the end around

Looks abseloutly fantastic!
I'm just curious - why does one picture show the handlein perfect condition whilst on the other it looks chipped?

That's kind, thanx, and I'm going to take that as a HUGE compliment the picture on the right is the original screen used brolly

Very cool

Very well done!
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

That looks lovely!

I must try my hand at one of these one day. I have a small red pool ball with a hole through it that would be ideal, and an umbrella that would fit the job perfectly.

You've done a great job

Thanks very much The build was fun and not as stressful as I thought it was going to be. I've never played around with hot acrylic before The brollies paintwork is now completely hardened, I'm really pleased with the high gloss finish.