Extremely Enormous Extremities (Shapeways)

Extremely Enormous Extremities
Update Oct 22, 2012



Somedays, I just like to sit back, relax, grab a mojito and create THE BIGGEST SET OF POSABLE HANDS EVER.

Maybe they are not the biggest, but they sure are at a respectable size, measuring 68 mm from wrist to fingertip
and 40 mm wide across the knuckles. Trying to nail the size down was one of the issues in modeling these hands,
and I had referenced many different hand examples before settling down on this size. The size is based roughly on
Supreme Unicron's fists, but adapted to slimmer, more human-like proportions.



A lot of you have asked me which figure are these hands for. They are not for any specific figure, but they are
created for use with any ambitiously large combiner or city-former project. Finally, you can have an always
present source of good quality, sturdy and very posable hands without scavenging Megamorph Hulks, Primuses,
Unicrons, etc. Those will run out eventually. The supply of these EEE hands are effectively unlimited, and that's a
comfort.



These hands are built very sturdy, and even after playing with my White Strong Flexible sample for some days it
has not lost any of its tightness. These are literally the best joints I have ever engineered. Posability is impressive too.
Every digit is composed of 3 segments, and the thumbs are opposable on a ball joint. The wrist built with a ball joint
socket which is compatible with any Bionicle ball joint or equal diameter system. You can also use the compatible wrist
adaptor on Shapeways that I will provide.



Since the components of these hands are built to be modular, in time I am able to come up with other variant as well
to fit different characters (D variant, F variant, etc). Should you have any suggestions on features and detailing sets
I should do, feel free to let me know and we can work something out.


The 'Bespoke' System

As this is a special scenario and these hands are pretty big ticket items, I will be starting what is called the
'bespoke' system. The default model uses a 10 mm diameter ball joint socket which can work with Bionicle balls,
but I understand some customizers have other ways of attaching their hands onto their project's forearms.

I am offering to customize the individual hand-to-forearm interfaces to suit the unique demands of your project.
All you have to do is to let me know, through in-depth descriptions and/or sketches, how you want the attachment
system to be like. As long as the adaptations are not overly complicated, there will be no extra charge.

I am not sure how large the demand for this bespoke system will be, so I will let this campaign run on for a bit.
We'd see how it turns out.



Assembly



Putting these hands together is very simple. Every piece is engineered to be usable on either the left or right hands,
so it is impossible to mix pieces up. The thumb uses the first and third segments on the standard finger, skipping the
middle one, so be mindful of that.

The peg holes on the palm are for pegging in those armoured panels, and you can peg those in on either side.


Conclusion

It was certainly fun to work on this project, if only for the sake of owning a ridiculously large toy hand. The beauty of
WSF shows the best on large models such as these, as the surfaces are smooth and elegant looking, and the joints are
reliable to a fault. I sure learnt a lot about working with large joints on this project!

I will be remiss if I did not mention names like xaviercal and frenzyrumble who gave their time and expertise to advise
me on the engineering of this baby. Many thanks, guys!

For next steps, I'll probably think of doing a few of those variants. I have heard requests for smaller hands for
conventional combiners; I'll think about those as well.

Happy Halloween errbody! Send me candy!




EEE - M variant on Shapeways.




EEE - Wrist Adaptor on Shapeways.


This model has been tested successfully in White Strong Flexible, and that material is highly recommended.

- Ariel

Flickr is here.

Fakebusker's Shapeways Store