Alright, so, the other day I got this wild hair to try and recreate the motorcycle from the movie Oblivion. You know, the one Tom Cruise is zipping around on in the ruins of Earth? Yeah, that thing. Looked cool as hell, and I thought, “Why not?”.
First things first: Research. I spent a good chunk of time scouring the internet for reference images and any specs people might have figured out. There weren’t any official blueprints, obviously, but there were tons of fan-made models and interpretations. I pieced together what I could from screenshots and behind-the-scenes footage.
Then came the planning. This wasn’t gonna be a full-scale replica – I don’t have a spare aircraft hangar to work in. I decided on a smaller, maybe 1/3 scale model. That felt manageable. I started sketching out the basic shapes and figuring out the materials I’d need. Mostly foam board, some PVC pipes, and a whole lot of glue.
Next up: Cutting and shaping. I started with the main body of the bike. I used a hot wire cutter to carve the foam board into the rough shapes. This was messy work, and I burned myself a few times (rookie mistakes, I know). It took a lot of sanding and tweaking to get the curves right. The hardest part was definitely the front fairing – that took several attempts to get looking halfway decent.
After the main body, I moved on to the smaller details. The handlebars, the seat, the engine… All those little bits and bobs that make the bike look like the real deal. I used a combination of foam board, plastic tubing, and even some spare parts from old toys I had lying around. Improvisation is key, man.
Then came the fun part: Painting. I went with a dark grey base coat, followed by some silver highlights to give it that futuristic look. I also added some orange stripes, just like the movie version. The paint job was surprisingly satisfying, and it really started to bring the whole thing to life.
- I messed up the first attempt when cutting the foam.
- The paint dripped the first time, which I had to sand down and repaint.
Finally, assembly. Gluing all the pieces together was a delicate process. I had to be careful not to use too much glue, or it would make a mess. It also took a while for everything to dry properly. But eventually, it all came together. And you know what? It actually looked pretty damn good.
It’s not perfect, by any means. There are plenty of imperfections if you look closely. But considering I built it from scratch with limited resources, I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. Plus, it was a blast to work on. Definitely worth the time and effort.
Lessons learned? Measure twice, cut once. Hot glue guns are your friend. And don’t be afraid to experiment. You never know what you might come up with.
Now, I’m thinking about tackling another movie prop. Maybe the light cycle from Tron? We’ll see.
