Parts Not Included - Garage-built parts and DIY projects

Playing Spin Rhythm XD with a Modified DJ Hero Controller

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine introduced me to a new rhythm game. Unlike previous titles such as Guitar Hero or Rock Band that use multiple discrete buttons in order to match different notes, this game used a virtual wheel – an analog input to slide, spin, and tap along with the beat. To top it off the game featured an electronic music tracklist and was a blast to play.

The game is called Spin Rhythm XD, and it was designed to be played with a DJ MIDI controller. Having no such professional DJ-ing equipment handy I decided to do the next best thing: convert my old plastic Wii DJ Hero turntable into a controller for Spin Rhythm XD!

Building McCree’s Belt Buckle from Overwatch

I decided to try my hand at building my own version of McCree’s belt buckle from Overwatch! I used references from the game in order to create a comprehensive digital model which I then 3D printed, smoothed, molded, cast, mounted to a buckle blank, painted, and weathered. Start to finish (and with lots of breaks in-between!), this entire process took me a little over three years to complete.

McCree’s Belt Buckle: Conclusion

Phew. Three years (three years?!?) and a lot of sweat, sanding, and tears later, I finally have a finished belt buckle! To be honest it turned out much better than I expected. There are of course some issues with it and things I wish I could have done differently, but the final prop itself is fit, functional, and looks the part. I may be biased, but I really do think my version of McCree’s buckle is one of best I’ve seen.

It was quite a journey to get to this point, and there were lessons learned for every step along the way. The buckle is done! Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and figure out what worked well for this build – and what didn’t.

McCree’s Belt Buckle: Mounting and Paint

At this point the physical geometry of McCree’s buckle is done! I designed a 3D model based on the in-game buckle, built a physical ‘master’ prop, created a silicone mold, cast a version of the buckle out of solid plastic, and cleaned up the casting to fix the defects from the molding process. The buckle is so close to being complete! But before I can call it “finished, I need to attach a metal mounting plate so I can use it with a real belt and then give the buckle a shiny gold paint job.

McCree’s Belt Buckle: Molding and Casting

In the previous posts of this series, I created a comprehensive 3D model and physical ‘master’ prop of McCree’s belt buckle based on references from Overwatch. Now that I have a polished physical version of the buckle in hand, the next step is to create a solid cast of the buckle from a silicone mold!

McCree’s Belt Buckle: Building the Master Prop

With the digital model in hand, the next step in the propmaking process is to bring this digital version of the belt into the physical world. To accomplish this I’m going to use my 3D printer in combination with some epoxy, some body filler, and a lot of painting and sanding.

McCree’s Belt Buckle: Creating the 3D Model

The first step in creating a real-life version of McCree’s belt buckle from Overwatch is to find references that tells us what we’re aiming for and how the final version should look. From these I’m going to build a detailed digital model that will serve as the basis for building the “master” version of the prop. Let’s get to it!

New Year, New Logo

It’s the new year! A time of rebirth and renewal, where we put aside the past and look eagerly towards the future. In that spirit, I’ve been redesigning some of the website and reworking a few things that have, up until now, been set in stone. Just a few days ago I completely revamped the website’s taxonomy, building a new categories list and even changing the permalinks structure. Today we’re continuing that journey by replacing the original website logo, which hasn’t changed since I created this site a little over 3 years ago.