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My "Pantone" Minimate Project


Ivan

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I really like your display cabinet and wondered if you'd also take some pix of non translucent mini's in there?

I'm thinking this might be a great way to display a bunch of Iron Man minimates.

Certainly. Here's one with ambient light and one with only the stands lit. (Clickably enlargable)

IronManAmbientthumb.jpgIronManDarkthumb.jpg

I think it can work with regular Minimates, but it might be difficult to get the heads lit right.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. I'm glad you all think it is as cool as I do. :D As for cost, parts and supplies were probably right around $200. I can't even guess the amount of time put into it though. I was able to catch up on a lot of DVD viewing during the tampo-removal and wiring phases. Thankfully I only released the magic smoke once.

Additionally, I'm glad I didn't screw up the Pantone information in my post. My knowledge of printing is virtually non-existent and I just had to hope wikipedia wasn't lying to me again. (Damn disinformation on the increasing elephant population in Africa!)

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Certainly. Here's one with ambient light and one with only the stands lit. (Clickably enlargable)

...

I think it can work with regular Minimates, but it might be difficult to get the heads lit right.

Hmmm perhaps turning the whole thing upside down? and having te lights shine Down onto the mates instead of uplighting them? :)

Thanks for That Ivan, looks awesome and perhaps a project I will look at copying in some way or form.

T.

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Hail Ivan! :D

Fantastic piece of work fella. Have you thought about using those colour changing LED's at all?

My kids got some waterproof lights that float in the bath and cycle through white blue red and green. I reckon that would look pretty amazing on your set up.

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:ohmy: good god man!!! that is the single coolest thing ever!!! i would defiantly consider experimenting with changing LED's like rad suggested. that really is an amazing piece of art work, you really out did your self. great job all around, god i wish i had more time on my hands to make something like that.
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I've wondered about Rit dye and minimates for a while now. Did you put them in the microwave or did you use another technique?

No, I just used the stove-top method and tried to keep the water just below boiling. I picked up an old pot at a local thrift store because I didn't want to risk damaging of my pots or ingesting the dye. I also found a nice holder that I can fit a deconstructed Minimate into. Who knows what it is originally used for, but it's fun to play with.

holder.jpg

Fantastic piece of work fella. Have you thought about using those colour changing LED's at all?

I hadn't until you mentioned them. :) Of course, I had a couple of these color changing eggs lying around (who doesn't?), and after a few minutes of deconstruction, I was able to get down to the bare LED. My last clear Minimate has no hands and two broken legs, but since he balances well I called him back into active duty.

is rather dull, so I spruced up the soundtrack. :)

It would be hard to work these LEDs into the current display, but maybe a smaller one with four or five stands might be feasible. This might work well with plain white Minimates instead of transparent too. Just what I need right now, another project. :D

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Fantastic piece of work fella. Have you thought about using those colour changing LED's at all?

I hadn't until you mentioned them. :) Of course, I had a couple of these color changing eggs lying around (who doesn't?), and after a few minutes of deconstruction, I was able to get down to the bare LED. My last clear Minimate has no hands and two broken legs, but since he balances well I called him back into active duty.

is rather dull, so I spruced up the soundtrack. :)

It would be hard to work these LEDs into the current display, but maybe a smaller one with four or five stands might be feasible. This might work well with plain white Minimates instead of transparent too. Just what I need right now, another project. :D

Hah! I'm glad I've inspired you. :D

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Oooh... a Pantone set of white blanks sounds neat! You should probably do a sort-of mono version (black, white, and all the greys --- or is it "grays"? --- in between) too.

As for this thing...

I also found a nice holder that I can fit a deconstructed Minimate into. Who knows what it is originally used for, but it's fun to play with.

holder.jpg

That looks like something you use for making tea (for filtering the tea-leaves probably), but it certainly does look like an awesome Minimate torture device! :devil:

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First of all Ivan this is brilliant stuff....especially the colour changing eggs . We have those in the UK but ours are simply brown ,white or speckled. The picture of Kirk comes from episode 6 in Star Trek Series 2 ......."Strainer in a Strain Land" which borrows the plot from the Hitchcock classic "Strainers on a Strain".

I'm sorry but I've been under a lot of strain myself. http://cgi.ebay.com/stainless-steel-TEA-IN...1QQcmdZViewItem

We just use tea-bags.

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  • 6 months later...

I was doing a search for suitable stands/bases for minimates and I ran across your Pantone project. Like everyone else, who posted, it's awesome work.

I'm wondering if the LEDs get hot? Would it cause any warpage or discoloration of the Minimate plastic?

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I was doing a search for suitable stands/bases for minimates and I ran across your Pantone project. Like everyone else, who posted, it's awesome work.

I'm wondering if the LEDs get hot? Would it cause any warpage or discoloration of the Minimate plastic?

Thanks. :)

I haven't noticed any issues. These are fairly low powered LEDs, they're not Luxeons or anything so they really no heat to speak of. I have done Minimate heat experiments in the past and can say for certain that the plastic doesn't respond well to high heat environments. :P

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Hey, Ivan, can i ask something?? How bright would you say these would be from above; maybe 5 inches above a Minimate?? And how much would 5 cost?? I'm really considering making a "D'anna Meeting the Final Five" display, and a very professional-looking one at that, and coming back to this thread made me consider your lighting.

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Well I am glad to have come across this thread! Ivan that is the greatest custom display I have ever seen. Simple yet complex and oh so beautiful!

Twisted Two Face your final five idea is awesome I encourage you to move forward with that becaue I would love to see what you create.

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Careful on potential BSG spoilers, I'm still waiting on the last half-season.

I picked up the lighting fixtures at Big Lots, I think they were around $10 or $12 a piece. I'm not sure these would work for opaque Minimates though. They're bright enough in standard room lighting, but the LEDs are very directional. The light isn't diffused and you'll get some strong shadows.

The translucent 'mates look good because the light gets inside and bounces all around and lights up the whole figure. With a standard 'mate, you only get light where the LED is pointing.

If you have any electronics experience, you might try wiring up your own display using bare LED and resistor components. That way you can control where the light goes.

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Just seeing this for the first time as well. Way to go Ivan! That is very impressive. Maybe DST will take a cue from your creation and make an official one (probably not). Anyways, I love your pantone creation.

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