Folding Brass Knuckle Ring; Xenomorph, Sexy Beast

Wax & Resin Prototype

The xenomorph was the first obvious form to encapsulate my folding brass knuckle ring concept.  It was far too insistent to ignore, so my concept debuts as an Alien Drone tentatively donned; Sexy Beast.  They've always scared the sh#t out of me and I love them for it.  In a similar way to the Alien movie's heroine, they managed to embody both monstrousity and sexiness, kind of like a folding brass knuckle ring.  Hmmmm.

So what is a folding brass knuckle ring?  It's an inconspicuous out in an open adornment that transforms into the iconic ominous brass knuckle.  I love transformation in its literal and transcendental senses.  The brass knuckle is a tool for fighting, for protecting your money makers, for inspiring fear and mutually assured destruction.

Two Components; fistpack & unfolded ring base

Fistpack locks out ring base

On that last point, I think the brass knuckle pretty much throws out the self defense argument.  Let's face it, the time it takes to take off the ring, transform it, and throw down, is premeditated all the way, or you'll find yourself waking up concussed clutching a partially transformed brass knuckle ring.

Though designed for durability and strength, this sculpt is meant to channel the fights we all face, embrace, and/ or displace.  We fight, that's what we do instinctively in some unconcious way or boldly and loudly for that which we hold dear.  Not all of these methods are physical or violent, but they are all battles we all have endured.

So enough of the back story mumbo jumbo, let's get to the nitty gritty within the ditty!  I'm happy with this ring's current phase.  I've already adopted four additionaly friction locking mechanisms to hold the ring securely closed not including the ring size itself.  The ring sizing will be on the last loop leaving the remaining three oversized.

This accomplishes two important things.  First the finger holes will be loose when the ring is transformed into a brass knuckle and worn.  Since the pinky is generally smaller on the majority of humans that I've met, the correctly sized ring will align with the pinky or index finger.  It's 50/50 on alignment, but alignment with the pinky will ensure a looser fit for smooth placement on and off your hand.

Brass Knuckle locked straight

Secondly, the correctly sized ring hole on the last loop will also aid in keeping the ring closed on the finger, redundantly assisting the six other friction locks.  It's overkill and perhaps makes it more challenging to transform the ring, but alternatively losing the fistpack portion of the ring would really really really suck! 

So what's next!?  Well, I'd like cleaner surfacing, the choice colorway, and some demo testing after a casting in the indestructible stuff.  And the all important question in many minds; how much?  For sexy beast, around the $160 price point.  Variations, and one of a kinds will mottle the inventory as these will be a combination of stocked and made to order.

Xenomorph Brass Knuckle Rings

With that stated, I do find the debut ring a little stifled as I failed to thoroughly incorporate the hand and to attack various perspectiveness more aggressively, but I forgive myself because like Shiva, this concept will manifest itself in many different forms!

I'm really stoked about this platform, as I've already envisioned various forms easily encasing this concept.  From a .22 derringer to encased millenium falcon usb drives to Queen Xenomorph, various totem animals from the jaguar to bear, to an ambitious voltron crew of lions and a faberge egg and that's just within my own selfishly entrenched imaginings and ecclectic tastes. 

Deringer, Scarab, Kraken, Predator, more

Here's the first youtube demo;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f6eJ9hnRe0

Miami Heat Brass Knuckles

Miami's hot!  In weather, in art, in culture, woman, weather & sand.  And it's only natural to want to rep the heat of your hometown.  So, here's an attempt at just that.  Here's my standard brass knuckle lighter sleeve modified with wax to display Miami in the handle & Heat in the knuckles.

She's still in her wax resin phase, but I envision classic brass finish, a classic metallic silver, a patriotic red white n blue, very Cuban tambien, & a translucent pink.  I'm still open to the final finishing. Stay tuned for updates. Miami Heat!!!!

O Positive Daddy

As a boy, I once asked my father what the "O positive" stood for on his dog tags.  He answered, "O positive is the blood type of real men!".  I thoroughly enjoyed this revelation.  It was pretty cool, but more importantly, I'm O positive.  However, some revelations did not flatter.

For example, my late great old man would accuse me and I quote, " You treat your friends better than your family!".  I recall scoffing at his observation because somehow my omnipresent mind trumped his empirical assets.  First, it's nearly impossible to quantify "better" but I respect my father's keen senses. Therefore I trust his measure. Admittedly, assessing the treatment of my immediate family relative to my friends was not a priority, at least not to my adolescent self.

So why the disparity between valuing the respect of friends and that of family? Actually, the explanations are apparent and forgivable.  However, perpetuating this behavior well into adulthood is unforgivable.  Well, that's not entirely true, is it? Forgiveness appears abundant in dealings with family. Well behaved friends rarely breach their relationships' tolerances in lieu of the promised forgiveness that blood regularly affords.

So if forgiveness is not readily promised amongst friends, the better behavior is more a symptom of preservation than a sign of greater respect.

Perhaps my father witnessed this phenomena and not a warped sense of priorities. However the fact remains that my father spotlighted an issue that should not be acceptable. Blood demands more respect and consideration because of its capacity for forgiveness, not the inverse.

Dad, I miss you & all the insights that we will never get to share.  But I promise to share them with others. So my friends, kiss my arse. Will you forgive me?

Waxy is the new Sexy.

Sorry folks, I'm not talking Portuguese or any other furry appendage.  Instead I'm sharing some preserved thoughts at the beginning of my experiment.  Yeah it sounds as if I should have Frankenstein assisting my in laboratory, but alas suck on the reality of R&D in a cave with stone tools.

So my beetle (old pipe reference) has indeed turned into a herculean task, so I'm taking a break by revisiting earlier projects. I'm still not satisfied with the Trojan Turtle's design in terms of sturdiness, however it has provided exciting design tangents. A turtle dragon has been a fun experiment that may lead to a larger version. Ultimately these experiments are revealing the resin's potentials and limitations. However, I still feel as if I'm observing fragments of deliberate design amongst a hot mess, glimpses here and there, as if I'm clumsily combining components because they are shiny. It's still quite early, so I am just naive enough to believe these concerted efforts will reveal all of the "fill-in-the-gaps to keep it moving" - motivated design decisions.

Shine on your crazy diamonds.  Shine on.

Resin Is King Series 2

What's this?  For me it's the chance to mingle with prime talent & skill, osmosis some of that magic, moonwalk as a resin devouring caterpillar, & blossom into a resin crapping butterfly. 

Alas Benny Kline of the illustrious Tenacious Toys explains it like no other.  Thank you Benny Kline, Dead Hand Toys, & Golden Ticket Eric Nocella Diaz.


Tenacious Toys in conjunction with Dead Hand Toys announces Resin is King
Series 2: a blind-boxed resin mini figure series featuring the sculptural
resin work of 16 artists! Each artist was asked to develop a new sub-3"
resin sculpt and submit 10 pieces to the series using that sculpt. With
160 pieces in Series 2, this promises to be a much bigger release than
Series 1.

We even worked with our good friend Lisa at Kidrobot: the KRNY store will
host the Resin is King Series 2 release party on October 4th from 6-8pm!
Many of the artists will be there in person to sign their pieces, and
there will be exclusive and highly-limited prints by some of the artists
available for purchase. Blind boxes and full, sealed 16-pieces cases/sets
of the RIKS2 BBs will also be available, and we'll be hiding a Golden
Ticket in one of those blind boxes that will get the lucky winner a sweet
prize from Argonaut Resins! On October 5th, any leftover Resin is King
Series 2 blind boxes will be put up for sale online at TenaciousToys.com.

WHAT IS RESIN IS KING?

The idea for the Resin is King blind box series was born out of an
interest in artisanal resin collectibles. Brian Ahlbeck (Dead Hand Toys)
and I decided last year that we wanted to shine a light on the top-level
craftsmanship and creativity of resin figures and the artists that make
them. We made a few phone calls and Resin is King Series 1 was born. Now
for Series 2, we've expanded to reflect the wide variety of resin figures
being produced day in and day out. We're always really excited as we
prepare for these releases because every single WIP shot that rolls in is
a brand-new sculpt! We hope you dig these resin figures as much as we do.

Dragon Repeating Crossbow Ring's Summer Evolution

In my quest to bring fruition to a creation that arguably adds little to no value to the advancement of mankind, I'm pleased to share the stages & the results of my Dragon Repeating Crossbow.

In stage one, version numero uno worked occasionally.  However, repeatedly tinkering to get the arrows aligned for ejection was not the intended meaning of "Repeated" in the ring's title.  So, the chamber was expanded & polished and the trigger mechanism was completely reworked.  Initially, the two edges of the hinge that connected the arrow chamber (dragon head & neck portion) to the ring base would lift & release the rubber band which in turn propelled the arrow.  However, precision in construction was sacrificed in consideration for ease of assembly.  This in turn created wiggle room which allowed the two edges to release the rubber band out of sync. This created misfires and inconsistent propulsion power.

Upon determining the culprit for the sub par performance, I gleaned what the Chinese had done so only 2500 years ago.   I adopted their original push peg trigger solution and thus added another element of ancient tech to my dragon repeating crossbow.  This solution eliminates misfires and inconsistent propulsion power.  The initial decision to deviate from this simple yet solid trigger system was based on my design's structure.  At the scale I wanted to execute & the current configuration, certain sections would become too fragile to accommodate the inclusion of a push peg.  That fragility was also at a particularly stress laden section of the crossbow near the rear axle of the chamber.

Version 1 (on lt.)  Version 2 (on rt.) with push peg

So an extensive redesign was required to utilize the push peg trigger & retain a solid robust structure.  These images show version one & the redesign (Version Two) side by side.  Version two fired with power and consistency if the firing rate was very slow & controlled.  However, upon the elimination of one culprit, a masked culprit revealed its true self.  Part of the redesign of version one involved the addition of a rear chamber lip to prevent arrows from getting lodged & thus blocking the rubber band from reaching the rear notch.  It also included the deeper setting of said notch toward the rear of the crossbow.

Version 1 (on lt.) reps original trigger design w/o push peg.  Version 2 (on rt.) with push peg.

                          
  I imagined that these adjustments would resolve my issue with jumbled arrows within the chamber.  While the trigger fired fine, arrows were not settling into the firing groove at the base of the chamber.  I had hoped that gravity alone would align the arrows.  I also believed expanding the chamber would facilitate the settling of my arrows into the firing groove.  My thinking was not flawed, it just couldn't observe the second main culprit to disrupt my crossbow's function.



It turned out that this culprit was the additional vectors of energy from the rubber band.  As the rubber band traveled back into the notch before release and fire,  said rubber band was twirling.  As the rubber band has a squared cross section, these edges would collide & dislodge my arrows within its the firing groove.  This would sporadically impact my arrows during the cocking & firing motions.  On occasion the added vectors would flip or even expel my arrows out of the top of the chamber.  This would occur frequently during the firing motion disrupting the following shot.  In effect, one would experience a jam & have to remove & reload.

This was not acceptable, so plans to design a barrel clips & or banana clips to increase ammo capacity were painfully complicated by the solution.  Version three would in short require a tiny little finger within the chamber to hold the arrows in place & set them consistently within the firing groove.  This finger would in essence be a tiny pendulum approximately the size of my arrows but with twice to triple the mass.  It would sit on top my arrows and counter the rubber band's added vectors, & this pendulum would swing down on top of each arrow to settle it into the firing groove.

Version 2 (on lt.)  Version 3 (on rt.) with Pendulum atop of full chamber of arrows

Testing make shift pendulums with version two immediately eclipsed past performances & reintroduced long since abandoned lofty ambitions.  Consistency, speed & fun improved immensely & the journey to why seemed answered at least fleetingly so.  All these improvements, shifted the balance of functionality & aesthetics back toward function as I envisioned epic skirmishes of tiny arrowed finger warriors throwing down well just about anywhere.  I Increased the size of his horns to provide more finger traction during firing motion.  And to provide more finger traction during the cocking motion I modified the fluid symmetry of the spinal hair on the rear.

Enuff said time for video.

Mix-tape of Destruction & other Confiscated Goodies

I once had this cassette tape crossbow ( cassette - you know those rectangular modular music storage devices that proceeded the 8-track)  that launched tiny arrows comprised of q-tips wrapped in clear scotch tape for weighted heads and invisible tail fins.  Even when I was observed as the general source of the assaults, my inconspicuous cassette and invisible arrows left no compelling evidence of my truly sinister nature.  Ha ha ha ha ha ha, that's right Ms. Warner, you almost had me, & believe the statutes of limitation have run out.  Anyway, my repeating crossbow ring is similar in concept, however instead of hidden in plain sight, it will daze, confuse, & blind would-be party poopers with its sculpted facade.  The following are updated picz.  Absorb. (By the way that crossbow cassette played musical awesomeness of the Jackson 5)  Thanx Michael, R.I.P.

I desire a thoughtful robust piece, so axle diameters will double or triple, all elements that will be exposed to stress & fatigue  will be re-enforced or redesigned.  This ring now stands on its own, a feature that will be standardized on most if not all future designs.

The spinal ridge hair not only facilitates standing, but ammo carriage as well.  I will consider added bolt carrying capacity.

Worked the texture & details.  Debating whether to add pupils or not.  I like the blind/all seeing look or non directional nature of the eyes though I'm not exactly sure as to why.  Much more surface attention is required & then after initial casting, the adjustments for live action mid class distraction satisfaction.

The two issues that irk me are the arrow flights & the arrow jostling in the chamber.  Both can attributed somehow to the elastic power source.  Squared rubber bands tend to twist during cocking and create added vectors in power which appear to alter arrow flight behavior & the occasional jumbling of how the arrows align within the chamber.  A rounded less powerful rubber band seems to have decreased such incidents, but the properties of the wax also impact behavior, so all of this mute until the results can be observed in the final medium of resin.

So now that I've weaved the illusion that I have sense & that this project will be available to the masses soon, may the teasing torture of want & unsolicited expectations reveal your heart's true desire.