Honey I Shrunk The Kids SHRINK RAY

[JonLTKnight]

Hi folks,

Thanks to Disney+, i recently rewatched Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and i deffinitly felt in love with the machine. So mush that i quickly wished to have a full size replica in my home. But du to the size of the props and the size of my appartement, it will have to wait for the moment. But i still wished to work on some parts. I thinks the most iconic part of it is the nozzle. and like some of you saids in this topics, it is likely a machined piece of aluminium made for the movie.

So my idea was to make a replica of the nozzle and part of the emitter, until i could build the whole machine. I think i'll 3D print the nizzle so i've made a 3D model on Fusion360. It's a prototype, not the final piece as i only used one picture to mostly match it.

I made this to give me an idea of the overall shape. Now i'm gonna try to find some measurement to make it to the corect size. All advices are welcome.

 

[BrundelFly]

THe PROP CULTURE show just did a segment on HISTK. You should check it out. Dan Lanigan hosts it, and he restores the actual prop for DISNEY.

 

[JonLTKnight]

Yes, thanks, i saw it too. That's nice to see a props being restores to it's proper form. I really dislike the third film. So cheap, instead the TV shoaws have done a better work.

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Quick update! In the process of installing lights, which will eventually be interactive and whatnot. Dryfits are now over, so this will likely be the last time the prop is this bare:

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Another super quick update: thanks to the help of a good friend of mine who is an expert in such things, the "robut" (aka 3D printer) is back up and running. One new extruder later, here it is, hard at work already...!!

 

[EmmaInCandyland]

Very very promising!!

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

We live in a marvelous age.

I also realized my "stabilizer pips" are the wrong size for this specific prop, but would be correct for an actual replica...I only realized this after printing them. So the robut is currently working on a new set that are sized correctly to accept the silly pvc pipe I'm using.

Lastly, I made a new side piece for the "box" out of sheet styrene so the wall-facing side will at least be finished. Here's a test fit:

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Yet another quick update...80% of the emitter assembly has been fabricated! The "stink machine" is looking good with a new nose...

These pieces are of course scaled big to relative to the real Mccoy to fit my homebrew (read: completely inaccurate) dimensions. Here's the emitter itself, awaiting further work:

And lastly, here's me holding the outer ring in place. In the future this will be held in place via a combination of the clear cylinder and the spacer ribs, which have yet to exist:

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Another quick nano update!

Red paint pen I bought ages ago came in and man does it make the piece pop!

You'll also notice I've opted for the simplicity and clean look of a simpler "box" component, which used to be relegated to the opposite side.

Hot off the 3d printer are some comically oversized laser brackets currently drying:

Next update might not be for a number of weeks. Stay tuned!!

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

OK, so by a couple of weeks I meant more like one. Building props is an addiction, I guess!

Here's a dryfit of one absolute unit of an emitter, now that I've finished printing all the ribs:

It's about an inch too big in all dimensions, so it's ridiculous and weighs far too much. Also, the clear cylinder should be slightly bigger by half an inch. Also, who cares?

Speaking of also, I also printed the first batch of "capacitors". With 18x per quadrant, and 9 caps per print, I've got only 7 more prints of them to go before my fake ceramic disk capacitor needs are met. Can't wait to drill all 144 mounting holes!

 

[Ethan Dolan]

Is this replica going to be the same size as the original?

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Is this replica going to be the same size as the original?

This "rough sketch" is about an inch too big in nearly every dimension..still looks pretty cool in person (it definitely hits the ol' dopamine receptors the same way the actual machine does, so I count that as some kind of success). I do recall being amazed at just how small the actual prop is in person each and every time I've seen it, so in a way the oversized nature of this nascent attempt makes it feel a bit "larger than life". As much as a collection of spray painted home depot plumbing apparatus can, anyway.

The next one, which shall be made out of actual metal, will be more accurately sized...as well as motorized. That's a 2022, post vaccine project!

 

[Ethan Dolan]

This "rough sketch" is about an inch too big in nearly every dimension..still looks pretty cool in person (it definitely hits the ol' dopamine receptors the same way the actual machine does, so I count that as some kind of success). I do recall being amazed at just how small the actual prop is in person each and every time I've seen it, so in a way the oversized nature of this nascent attempt makes it feel a bit "larger than life". As much as a collection of spray painted home depot plumbing apparatus can, anyway.

The next one, which shall be made out of actual metal, will be more accurately sized...as well as motorized. That's a 2022, post vaccine project!

Cool can't wait to see it, good luck with it, what will you do with this one after you begin the more accurate one?

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Cool can't wait to see it, good luck with it, what will you do with this one after you begin the more accurate one?

Hadn't really thought that far ahead to be honest! The overall intention in doing this is to be able to stare at these props as long as I want without either theme park attendants or museum curators becoming concerned for my psychological well being.

 

[Ethan Dolan]

Hadn't really thought that far ahead to be honest! The overall intention in doing this is to be able to stare at these props as long as I want without either theme park attendants or museum curators becoming concerned for my psychological well being.

OK fair enough, thanks for talking to me and have a nice day.

 

[lipo1117]

Hey guys, just joined the forum for this particular thread/project. I've been following this along and am excited that it's caught so much traction, especially with the restored prop. RagnarokandRoll , I can't wait till you finish your replica(s) of the shrink ray.

Something I've been thinking about lately is to the reasoning behind the shrink ray being restored. For a while, I didn't understand why Disney would invest money in it's restoration, even though it would've been featured in the Disney+ Prop Culture show. Then it hit me. I believe they're going to use it for the new HISTK sequel, "Shrunk". It's the only way to justify the expenditure on the restoration of a prop from a movie that although deeply cherished, doesn't have as big of a franchise market share/cult following as let's say the Back to the Future franchise. However, this being said, we may very well see the return of the original machine and more so, see it in action again. I also believe they might introduce a new shrink ray, as plot details that have been leaked of the new film show that Nick (now the protagonist of the movie and is an inventor with his own family) has been continuing in his father's footsteps with experimentation on shrinking. Side note, I'm really excited that Rick Moranis is playing the role of Wayne Szalinski again. This is also his first role after his long hiatus from acting.

On a final note, I do want to ask you all if the original machine had lights in it. Upon watching HISTK and HIBTK, I noticed that once the machine began the shrinking process, lights within the machine (especially within the coils) lit up/blink to simulate the energy particles/rays that were emitting. I was curious about this as I know that the emitted rays were obviously special effects that were done in post-production, but that the lights/sparks within the shrinking sequence looked to be very real, even reflecting on the actors faces.

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Hey guys, just joined the forum for this particular thread/project. I've been following this along and am excited that it's caught so much traction, especially with the restored prop. RagnarokandRoll , I can't wait till you finish your replica(s) of the shrink ray.

Something I've been thinking about lately is to the reasoning behind the shrink ray being restored. For a while, I didn't understand why Disney would invest money in it's restoration, even though it would've been featured in the Disney+ Prop Culture show. Then it hit me. I believe they're going to use it for the new HISTK sequel, "Shrunk". It's the only way to justify the expenditure on the restoration of a prop from a movie that although deeply cherished, doesn't have as big of a franchise market share/cult following as let's say the Back to the Future franchise. However, this being said, we may very well see the return of the original machine and more so, see it in action again. I also believe they might introduce a new shrink ray, as plot details that have been leaked of the new film show that Nick (now the protagonist of the movie and is an inventor with his own family) has been continuing in his father's footsteps with experimentation on shrinking. Side note, I'm really excited that Rick Moranis is playing the role of Wayne Szalinski again. This is also his first role after his long hiatus from acting.

On a final note, I do want to ask you all if the original machine had lights in it. Upon watching HISTK and HIBTK, I noticed that once the machine began the shrinking process, lights within the machine (especially within the coils) lit up/blink to simulate the energy particles/rays that were emitting. I was curious about this as I know that the emitted rays were obviously special effects that were done in post-production, but that the lights/sparks within the shrinking sequence looked to be very real, even reflecting on the actors faces.

From what I can tell based mostly on what I know about film in general (graduate degree in film production earned in the trenches of LA) and analyzing the movie, I'm fairly certain that the machine had, at one point, flash bulbs of some kind that would fire in sequence from the rear of the machine to the front to augment the rotoscoped effects added in post production (most of the laser effects, the nozzle lights) when the machine activated. This is supported by at least one still frame of the machine that's out there that clearly shows light of some kind emanating from the machine at the critical moment. In at least one shot we can see that the side laser was also functional, even though it was also rotoscoped in other shots (I can post pics and etc of what the hey I'm talking about when I've got a bit more time)

Additionally, the machine seemed to have been loaded with squibs for the scene when Wayne loses his **** and beats the thing up for failing to meet his grossly miscalculated expectations; you can clearly see them go off in at least one close up which has the added benefit of revealing the spacers between the original circuit boards, which were ostensibly small pieces of wood painted black (pic forthcoming)

 

[Rymo]

Hi folks,

Thanks to Disney+, i recently rewatched Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and i deffinitly felt in love with the machine. So mush that i quickly wished to have a full size replica in my home. But du to the size of the props and the size of my appartement, it will have to wait for the moment. But i still wished to work on some parts. I thinks the most iconic part of it is the nozzle. and like some of you saids in this topics, it is likely a machined piece of aluminium made for the movie.

So my idea was to make a replica of the nozzle and part of the emitter, until i could build the whole machine. I think i'll 3D print the nizzle so i've made a 3D model on Fusion360. It's a prototype, not the final piece as i only used one picture to mostly match it. View attachment 1381432View attachment 1381433

I made this to give me an idea of the overall shape. Now i'm gonna try to find some measurement to make it to the corect size. All advices are welcome.

I did some measurements back in 2016 based on other identified parts in the screenshots, and I came up with 3" diameter for the nose cone.

 

[protonpack]

Whipped this up real quick, every shot in the first movie with the flashbulbs:

 

[RagnarokandRoll]

Still busier than all get-out, but...!

The garage was in such an intolerable state that the slightly questionable decision was finally made to move the "stink machine" to its resting place in our living room, atop the printer cart (and not lag bolted to the wall as I had foolishly planned - somewhere our landlady is smiling and doesn't even know why):

Still quite a work in progress, obviously. The nozzle, which does look rather fetching in the picture above, is being held in place by mostly hope instead of something more practical, but I wanted to make sure the "barrel" could handle the weight. All 287 million capacitors have been printed and are waiting for me to become less insanely busy so I can paint them. You'll notice I ditched the blue tank in favor of a slightly smaller white tank, and thus the machine smells slightly less like coffee grounds. The original "box" from previous dry fits has been fashioned into a hideous wall panel of sorts, with the intention of one day acting as a wire/tube/hose receptacle.

The backstory behind this design is something along the lines of a "missing link" between the HISK and HIBUK versions...perhaps if Wayne was initially charged with the task of recreating his experiment before they'd greenlight the "big" project. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself.