HiC Carbonite ESB Stand

clmayfield

Active Hunter
I did a thread for my HiC, but I think this one deserves its own thread. I plan to make my Han in Carbonite "hover" just like in ESB. Everyone remembers the iconic scene:

First, I want to get the audio right, so I tried my best to strip the audio out of the hovering HiC. Here is what I came up with:

That was a stretch for me. I have zero sound editing experience. It took a while, but sounds pretty decent.

I know everyone is asking "how are you going to make a prop hover," so I will be following up with some plans to show you how I intend to do it. I actually got the idea from the Gentle Giant statuette:
GGbobafettcarbonite012.jpg
 
Sorry. I was trying to make a nice graphic and din't get around to it last night.

The idea is to have a platform supported by a 1.5" pole that is offset / off center. This is used in magician tricks to give the illusion of levitation all of the time. Fett will be standing by the pole to conceal it.

Here are my plans:

Finished side view with Fett

Top View

Side view (not to scale)

Bottom platform design with measurements.

Bottom platform side view (not to scale)

Top support with measurements.

Top support (not to scale).
 
Here is a video of the levitation trick exposed:

I actually have bought some ball transfer units (basically ball bearing wheels) to put under this thing so that you could push it around during a Con. Typically, you would put a matt under the HiC to hide the platform.
 
I actually moved the pole over to the other side based on the fact that all of the pictures show Fett at the lower right side of the HiC. I thought about the cape, which would be perfect, but the cape doesn't hang low enough. Looking at pictures, they kept the HiC fairly low. The front of the cod is actually above the Surface of the HiC. I estimate 35".

All of the pics I see have Fett more towards the middle of the HiC. From an engineering perspective, that will put a lot less torque on that lower sleeve, and I am leaning a bit in the direction. I already sent these pics in to a machine shop for an estimate, but I would guess that this change would result in a lower price, not a higher one. Personally, I think it is a better illusion to have Fett off to the side. It makes the hover illusion more powerful.

I might split the difference and simply move the pole a little more towards the center without being perfectly centered. Or I could just have it fabbed up and see if it fails and then adjust accordingly.
 
At work our guys fabricate and install steel piping all the time for HVAC jobs. I can help you out on the piping and fabrication. When you get a chance shoot me a PM..
 
This looks like a cool idea, and will look awesome at a Con.
Looking for ward to seeing this fully resolved :)

I’m now imaging this being wheeled around with people parting before it like snow and a plough :lol::lol: Definitely a cool idea..
 
I actually bought some ball transfer units to use as casters to make this mobile should we want to move this through a con. The stand will not be hidden if we do this, but a Fett and a couple of TK's walking through a con with an HiC would be pretty cool!
 
I had not seen the NYC scout bike, but I actually thought of that... I had looked at making the pole out of polycarbonate (translucent) or or taking it and polishing it up to make it highly reflective. I think I am better off just camouflaging it... perhaps by constructing a fake fett leg around it like in the magician video I posted. Or I could paint it with Black 2.0.

https://www.amazon.com/Stuart-Semple-mattest-flattest-acrylic/dp/B0758GKKGZ

There are a lot of options. For the base, I would like to paint it a flat concrete color to match most convention hall floors.
 
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