# WIP Radioactive Bone Pit



## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

I made a lot of progress tonight on a prop I'm pretty excited about: my radioactive bone pit.

The idea I'm going for is that a glob of radioactive waste has cracked through the crust and burbled to the surface, carrying with it the irradiated bones of some poor bastard. There will be a flourescent FCG hovering over it as the unquiet, nuclear spirit. I'm basically using the glowing coals idea but making it green and radioactive instead of red and firey.

Here's the current state:










You can see the in-progress photos here (I'll do my best to keep this album up to date, as well as this thread).

*Update from the future! Lessons learned:*

For this particular effect, the color comes from the light instead of the paint. Don't throw on lots of paint to get a really cool look, because all that's going to do is not let any light through. Less paint, more light.
Nice formula for nasty, radioactive-looking stuff: cover with hunter green or other dark green, then kind of mist with a nice brown and a very bright green (in my case, citrus green).
When people tell you that Great Stuff shrinks after it sets, they mean that. If you're trying to form it around something, it may creep up the sides of that thing rather than keeping its nice shape. Plan for this.


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## Undone (Jul 21, 2015)

Nice and slimy looking. I wouldn't stand too close.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Looks great! I think the ghost hovering over it will be a cool effect.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Ewwww, gross!

Agree with JD - the hovering ghost idea is brilliant.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

I love the creative ideas people come up with on the Forum. Really cool (or actually probably hot) idea


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## Lightman (Aug 25, 2014)

Terrific effect! Looks realistic (not that I really know what a pit of radioactive bones looks like)...but I like what you have done.


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## elputas69 (Oct 27, 2014)

Really cool, love the wet look and the gradation in painting. Do you have any pics with the glowing effect working?
Cheers,
ET


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

You know, it looks wet simply because the paint was still fresh when I took the photo. Enough people have commented on that aspect, though, that I should probably find a way to pursue it. Anyone have any recommendations?

I don't have a photo of it lit up yet because I haven't found lights that I'm satisfied with. Soon, though...


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Clear epoxy is a very good way to get a wet, drippy look ($$). Easier ways are clear gloss varnish in a spray can, matte medium from liquitex (it's not really matte), or polyurethane, although that will get cloudy if it gets too wet. Spar marine varnish is a favorite waterproofing method of mine, and it is extremely glossy, but it has a bit of a yellowish tint to it.


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

What were your rocks made out of? If they are foam you'll have to be careful what you put on for the wet look!

Looks great. I love the idea of the ghost too. Well done.


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

Well, my first attempt at making it look wet and gooey wasn't really successful. I went to Wal-Mart last night and picked up what they had: Krylon's spray-on, high-gloss lacquer. Instead of making it look wet, it just made it look... kind of grey. I was able to recover it a bit with some more citrus green, but I may just cut my losses and leave it like that.


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Be careful when using Krylon, or any kind of clear sprays. If you pile it on too thickly, it looks great when wet, but it will dry cloudy and often flakey. A brush-on varnish of compatible make-up might fix that cloudiness for you, as it will penetrate the stuff you just sprayed on. I've had this happen with my mâché pieces and matte spray and I've always managed to fix the cloudiness. Best to test a small area first!


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

So. This is what it looks like at the moment:










That's because this is what it looked like lit up (no, you don't need to adjust your monitor):










Lessons learned, though. I'm going to get some more Great Stuff and make attempt number two. I was able to salvage the stones and bones, so I'm not all the way back to square one.

The big thing I learned (which I may or may not have mentioned previously) is that, for this particular effect, the color isn't supposed to come from the paint; all the paint does is dim and mask the light for the desired effect. Although I'm going to remember my radioactive formula for future props, for this one I just need a dusting of paint on the foam, so that's what I'm going to do for round two. Pictures to follow soon.


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## nimblemonkey (Aug 21, 2011)

Glad you were able to salvage the bones and stones. And thanks for reminding me about a light dusting of paint for the glowing coals effect.


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## Mattimus (Oct 23, 2013)

I loved the color in the original photo. Reminded me of Troll 2 (in a good way). Looking forward to see attempt number 2 and the finished product.


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

Attempt number two won't look nearly as good in the light: my main focus on this particular prop is the nighttime effect. After a quick light test, it might not get any paint at all and I'll probably try to add a couple more strings. I'll know more after it cures, though.


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## drevilstein (Sep 17, 2013)

that sucks that you have to start over, but I'm sure you will make it look great


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

The results of tonight's light test:



A very large improvement. That's without any paint at all, though, and still isn't as bright as I'd like. I'm going to pick up some more strings and see if that helps. As a bonus, this will also allow me more variety with the blinkers.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I think it looks good. You see it and expect something to come crawling out of the center.


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## elputas69 (Oct 27, 2014)

Yep, that's looking great. Very good 'radioactive glow' (not that I know, or have seen, anything radioactive glow).
Cheers!


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

Added two more strings of light, and I'm much happier with the output now. You can clearly see the outlines of the bones in the dark.


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

that is coming along great, nice work on the salvage.

you might try a few dry ice pellets with some liquid soap & food coloring for slow steady oozing/bubbling action.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

That looks great, Mike! The added lights make it.


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## Savagebeastxl (Mar 7, 2015)

Wow! That looks fantastic!


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

This has been sitting in my basement for a little while now, and I just couldn't get used to the look of it unpainted. It just looked so unfinished. So I bucked up and tried painting it again, with a much lighter hand this time. It doesn't look as good as the initial one did in the day, but it looks worlds better than it did unpainted and still has the same light output in the dark.

There may be some more tweaks here and there as we approach the end of October, but I'm calling this one done, and I'm satisfied with how it turned out.


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