Design and Modeling
The Cerberus pauldron was modeled in Autodesk Fusion 360. The model includes all the hardware, rigging, and electronics. Everything was sculpted with T-splines in the form workspace.
The upper skull and jaw are separate parts that are joined with steel pins at the jaw hinge point. All of the individual vertebrae of the spine are separate parts that will be glued together after painting. These are separated for easier painting - there are a lot of overhangs that are difficult to airbrush if they were one solid print.
The pauldron attaches to the body with a plate that sits up on the shoulder near the neck. This plate will have strong magnets installed that will match magnets stuck onto the body with KT tape. The base of the spine will connect to this plate behind the back of the body, and will be hidden underneath the chiton.
Raw Fabrication
All parts were 3D printed with PLA plastic. They were then finished with sanding and filling with XTC-3D, to 400 grit before painting.
Painting
Parts are first primed with Createx UVLS Gloss Clear, followed by Createx Autoborne Sealer White.
Various shades of light brown and grey are then airbrushed on lightly to accent the contours of the skull, resulting in a slightly off-white appearance overall with more visual interest across the piece.
Masking tape is applied around the eyes and nose holes, which are then airbrushed mostly black with some hints of dark brown and grey at the edges.
Parts are then sealed with Createx UVLS Matte Clear and followed up with Alclad Klear Kote Flat for an extremely matte finish.
Rigging and Assembly
As described in the design section, the pauldron attaches to the body with a plate that sits up on the shoulder near the neck. This plate will have strong magnets installed that will match magnets stuck onto the body with KT tape. The base of the spine will connect to this plate behind the back of the body, and will be hidden underneath the chiton.
The spine vertebrae are all glued together, and also glued onto the bottom plate of the skulls. This bottom plate has small magnets installed and slots into the underside of the upper skull. The upper skull and jaw are attached with steel pins at the jaw hinge.
Electronics
There are some simple LEDs installed into the eyes of the skulls. The circuit is just a LED-Resistor-Battery circuit using a coin cell battery (CR2477 for longer life), with a switch installed. The LEDs slot into a small printed cylinder that has a yellow diffusion filter on the front and the battery slots into a crevice on the inside of the skull. The wires fold up into the space which is all covered by the cap piece that is attached to the spine.