And here she is, the pony everypony should know... Rarity!
Being my favorite pony, it was only a matter of time until I got around to making a plushie of everyone's favorite behooved lady. And if I dare say so myself, I really stepped up my game too. I learned to machine applique directly onto the plushie parts and I redrew the pattern I used for Albert yet again.
The body is as always made from a fleece-type fabric that's pretty firm and keeps a shape easily. The hair is a velvet-ish fabric that shines when hit by the light, something I figure Rarity would approve of. To keep its shape I've sewn some lining fabric into it along with a thick plastic coated steel wire. The cutie mark and eyes are directly machine appliqued onto the fabric and also have a shine to them. The eyes are based on a design by the very talented ~datNaro, which you'll find here!
And of course, she talks. And sings. I decided to learn some basic soldering too, so rather than put the buttons in the ears and keep the chip in the head, the buttons are in her front hooves and on two of the cutie mark diamonds. Also, the chip is directly accessible through a zipper on her stomach where it rests in a little envelope. Easy-peasy to switch batteries or change the sounds, in other words!
She says four phrases: * Look upon me equestria, for I - AM - RARITY! * Of all the things that could happen... This is THE - WORST - POSSIBLE THING! * I would appreciate it if you'd stop calling me "pony". *I* am a *LADY*, and I prefer to be addressed as such. You may call me "Miss" or "Rarity" or "Miss Rarity". * Sings the entire "Becoming Popular" song
And that's about all I have to say about her. I'm really pleased with how she turned out, and I definitely intend to make more
That's a great skill to have! I have these little 10 second record boxes for my plushies but the quality is NOT great.
Actually, I'm curious - can you actually do the programming of the board and such for sound? Because I've got this project I've wanted to do but I need someone who can actually like... make a sound board to help me. I could pay you xD
Oh, I'm a complete novice when it comes to electronics, but I found a supplier that does that for me XD
Here, I use these chips wrapped in a nice envelope made of the paper they come glued to and electrical tape. You program them with up to five sound files (mp3, wav) by plugging in a USB cord directly into the chip from your computer, then use an included program to push the sound files onto the chip. If you need to increase the volume or reduce noise in the sound files, I recommend Audacity. It's very easy to use once you get the hang of it. I'll gladly help with that part for free, just note me what sound you want and how you want it.
Hm, about 8x4cm, or 3.1x1.5 inches, give or take. Also have to factor in the fact that the cords to the buttons sticks out a little bit, about a half inch.
The actual switches are really tiny, so if you want the actual activation area to get a little bigger, just tape them in between two sheets of cardboard with electrical tape. That way the activation area becomes just as big as you want, to a certain extent.
Another trick is that you can easily rig an on/off switch with a piece of firm plastic that slides in under the contact area. You'll see where when you unbox the chip, there's a piece of plastic there during shipping. Bit tricky to explain, just ask if you want me to take a picture on how to do it
A warning though, it burns through the three button cell batteries in just under six months regardless of how much you use it, so be absolutely sure to allow for easy access. I've had to take off Sunny Java's head, take out all the stuffing and undo a whole lot of electrical tape and replace it all, and it wasn't fun XD
Actually, I'm curious - can you actually do the programming of the board and such for sound? Because I've got this project I've wanted to do but I need someone who can actually like... make a sound board to help me. I could pay you xD
Here, I use these chips wrapped in a nice envelope made of the paper they come glued to and electrical tape. You program them with up to five sound files (mp3, wav) by plugging in a USB cord directly into the chip from your computer, then use an included program to push the sound files onto the chip. If you need to increase the volume or reduce noise in the sound files, I recommend Audacity. It's very easy to use once you get the hang of it. I'll gladly help with that part for free, just note me what sound you want and how you want it.
The actual switches are really tiny, so if you want the actual activation area to get a little bigger, just tape them in between two sheets of cardboard with electrical tape. That way the activation area becomes just as big as you want, to a certain extent.
Another trick is that you can easily rig an on/off switch with a piece of firm plastic that slides in under the contact area. You'll see where when you unbox the chip, there's a piece of plastic there during shipping. Bit tricky to explain, just ask if you want me to take a picture on how to do it
A warning though, it burns through the three button cell batteries in just under six months regardless of how much you use it, so be absolutely sure to allow for easy access. I've had to take off Sunny Java's head, take out all the stuffing and undo a whole lot of electrical tape and replace it all, and it wasn't fun XD
Well that turned into a wall of text. Apologies