Firefly Lunch Box? by nuclearday

ONE TRADING POST

Firefly Lunch Box?

POSTED BY: NUCLEARDAY
UPDATED: Saturday, March 25, 2006 07:56
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VIEWED: 5383
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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 3:28 AM

Got this gorramn idea in my head a few weeks ago, and it just won't go away. Figure if I'm going to be a fan of a "cult" TV show, I need a lunchbox to go with my geekdom status, right?

I wouldn't have the resources atm myself to put anything like that into production, but I'd definately be willing to shell out some money for one... I figure I could fairly easily work up some stuff on the computer and run it down to Kinko's and print out some stickers, cover up an old lunchbox, but... wouldn't be the same...

Anyone know how hard it would be find someplace that would do some custom tin-work, though? Do they even make metal lunchboxes anymore? (Back when I was a kid they made pretty handy clubs, too, maybe in today's PC age they're deemed unsafe or something...)

Anyways, just a thought...

_______________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 3:56 AM

REYNOLDSSTYLE

Go to Cafepress.com and set up an account. You can have whatever you want printed on metal lunch boxes there.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 3:58 AM

GRIZWALD

That'd be a really fun thing to have.

http://www.wadayaneed.com/silverretrolunchboxescustomimprintedpromotio
nallogo.htm

I don't actually have a thousand bucks to get started, but if you do, go for it.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 4:02 AM

GRIZWALD

Quote:
Originally posted by ReynoldsStyle:
Go to Cafepress.com and set up an account. You can have whatever you want printed on metal lunch boxes there.

Oh... duh! CafePress! I shoulda thought of them first.

BTW, I just noticed that "firefly" is #4 on their "most popular searches" list right now!

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 4:15 AM

GRIZWALD

Okay, somebody help me out here: I cannot find metal lunch boxes on cafepress.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 4:30 AM

REYNOLDSSTYLE

did you create an account? when you upload your artwork and select items you want to sell it should be there. i hope they didn't stop offering it.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 5:09 AM

GRIZWALD

Quote:
Originally posted by ReynoldsStyle:
did you create an account? when you upload your artwork and select items you want to sell it should be there. i hope they didn't stop offering it.

I already have a store. When I couldn't find lunch boxes on a product search, I tried adding the product to my store and still couldn't find it. Then I went to a store that I recall as having them a year or so (at least) ago and he's not carrying them anymore. I'm guessing the schoolyard weaponry factor kicked in and they had to stop carrying them.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 9:31 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Yeah, I setup an account over there and

1)That's a really a great idea they have over there. (Don't have much in the way of capital myself, but boy is my little brain full of ideas now.

)

2)Yeah, I'm not seeing the lunchboxes either. Tried running through all their categories at once and didn't see it.

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 4:56 PM

MISSTRESSAHARA

Lot's of people here would love lunch boxes, hell any merchandise. It amazes me Universal hasn't taken advantage of all the fans and churned out more merchandise and products. They're slowly starting to, but damn it's annoying how slow Uni's been to jump on this. Fux was the same way, which is why the fans had to rely on each other to make Firefly goods, (some a hell of a lot better than commercial goods. *cough*DVDcover*cough*)

As for being PC and not letting metal boxes being allowed in school, hard plastic is just as bad to be hit with as metal, worse imo because it won't bend as easy as metal, ahhhh the system needs an overhaul.

I suggest going to a nearby Advertising store, the same as Cafepress, but in your own area it should be less the cost, and you can buy your own box. they'll use lazerprinting, perhaps etching, and make it durable. Just a thought. Show us a picture if you get one.

If I'm a bitch, then life just got interesting

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 8:18 PM

NUCLEARDAY

Yeah, after a bit of looking around on the 'net, seems like trying to find something local may be the way to go, see if I can find a place that'll do just one at a time. (Getting a blank box shouldn't be too hard if I can locate someplace that'll etch it, etc for me.)

Found a couple places online with custom lunchboxes, and they'll do all the fancy stuff like embossing and the like, but they tend to have minimum orders of 100+. I'd almost take a jump and try to sell something like that if I had the capital, any business sense, and a feeling that the product would move.

So looks like I'll try to get off my lazy keester and look around town here. Getting the art together won't be hard, I've already got a pretty clear idea of what I want (kind of a hand-drawn retro thing, I've got a couple old boxes to use as reference...) and might prove to be kind of fun, too.

Yeah, if I ever get this done, Fireflyfans.net will be the first to know about it. (Then the only challenge will be to try and get Joss and all the BDH's to autograph it of course... :)

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 8:59 PM

MISSTRESSAHARA

Just a thought Nuclear, are you any good at crafting, because let me tell you there are so many crafting things out there you can make your own merchandise and open your own shop.

Now see there's a product that etches glass, it's a rather strong solvent so when you use it you have to make sure you wear some gloves or else you'll permanantly remove your fingerprints. I say this because I think they have products out there now that can also etch metal, I can't be sure, but it's something to look into.

As for printing, you can do your own handmade silkscreening now, all you need is to make the frame, just like a picture frame and then stretching a silk over the frame and stapling in place. (Advertising Art major here)

They have a product out that simulates screening, though it's not heat or lazer pressed it might work. It's a masking fluid, what you do is place your design under the stretched frame and paint on the masking fluid covering up the design. Let it dry, and hazaa there's your silk screen. All you need after that are the proper inks that are used for metal. They're out there, the things these crafting stores have boggles the mind.

Now in order to get the different colors on to your design is making seperate screens for each color, I know, it sounds tedious, that's why these companys charge so much, but doing it yourself you'll save some money. Base color, let dry, then all the following colors, then if you feel bold a seperate screen just for a black outline to make the picture stand out. Best thing about this is you'll have the screens for as long as they last and can start to make other things. Maybe try a t-shirt first to get the hang of it.

Be sure to put a coat of sealant on it, so the ink doesn't scrape off.

I don't know if you'd be willing to actually go through all that yourself, but it's another option. Goodluck, post pics soon.

If I'm a bitch, then life just got interesting

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006 1:04 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Yep, I think I'm officially obsessed with this idea now. ;p Guess I won't get it out of my head until I actually go through with it now...

hmm... I kinda dig the silkscreening idea. My only problem might be getting the level of detail I'm thinking of. (You know how you get a specific image in your head...) Plus the learning curve. I'm "fairly" crafty, I suppose, knew a couple printmaking majors in college so I've seen it done...

Think what I'll do first is get the art together, see if I can do a little mockup or the like with it so at the very least I'll have something to show what I'm aiming for. Likely help for if I find a company willing to help me out.

I'm coming up with a backup plan, atm, that ought to be relatively cheap. Found online I can pick up a blank tin lunchbox for like under five bucks. So that's no problem. I used to paint pewter miniatures back in the day when I had money, so I can find the right paints to get some of the stuff down. (Not much of a painter, but I can probably get the base colors down pretty well.) Also thinking that I'm sure they make a specialty printer paper I could use as a decal over everything for the final touches. I know they make high-quality decal paper stuff... would need to find a transparent type.

Should have a mockup done in a couple days I'll post here so you guys know what I'm thinking of.

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006 2:15 AM

GRIZWALD

Quote:
some kind of decal paper

Yep, I produce waterslide decals and sell them through my website, SweetGalDecals.com, but they are not durable enough for a lunchbox, IMHO.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:38 PM

NUCLEARDAY

One thing I did find on the 'net was a type of decal paper I'd totally forgot about. The rub-on transfer stuff. I remember using those back in my modeling days and IIRC they worked pretty good if you're really, really careful. Ought to be relatively durable if I seal it with some high-gloss or something.

Might try to going for that, trying a couple test sheets. I think it goes on metal okay, but I'll be priming the tin at the very least, and likely doing a little bit of hand-painting too.

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:39 PM

GRIZWALD

Well, it's sure worth a try. Good luck, and let us know what you come up with.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 3:13 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Okay, I've put up the first draft to my top piece for review in the Blue Sun Room... The sides I think will be a little less time-consuming, as I have a pretty clear idea now of how to go about it. Think what I'll end up doing is getting my hands on some rub-on transfer computer paper, see if it comes out right on my printer, with Kinko's etc as a back-up. Should come out okay that way while saving me money...

Probably ought to move this thread to the blue sun thread, as I'm using some pretty heavily-copyrighted source material, and I doubt I'd have the capital to put it into production. Still, assuming it works, I can post how I accomplished this...

edit: oh linkage:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/sunroomitem.asp?i=8293
________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Friday, March 17, 2006 5:40 AM

NUCLEARDAY

oh, just feel the need to vent a bit, and I figured I've already got this stuff here in a thread. so nothing useful here, just working through some stress ;p don't feel obligated to read any of this :)

gave my rub-on transfer idea a try yesterday, and i screwed up the first three attempts, but I had sort of figured on that. (even bought 2 blank lunchboxes for that eventuality.)

this stuff I'm trying, it uses 2 different sheets of paper. one is what goes through the printer, which is a tissue-thin piece on some backing. the other is a super-sticky adhesive. so you print it out on the thin paper, and put the adhesive over the printed part. then you pull off the adhesive part. (this is where complication number 1,891 comes in :) it's REALLY sticky stuff, so the trick is to pull the adhesive off without pulling the actual decal off of it's backing.)

anyways, long story somewhat shorter: the rub-on transfer is a no-go. multiple attempts and it looks like what I knew was going to be a careful and tedious project... well, it's just too big a decal to work that way. too many imperfections, tiny airbubbles, etc...

so, going with method number 2 in the next few days, and I'm pretty confident it'll come out just fine like this: transparent sticker printer paper. the blank boxes I've got are a nice brushed metal, and I thought I was going to try and prime them first and do some painting, but I really like the incandescent quality I get where it shines through the colors. really vibrant metallic sheen in the right light. (rather than plain reds and browns it's coming out gold and bronze, etc.)

anyways, felt the need to vent, and I'm not expecting anyone to read through all that, and I'll put up some pics and info once I get it all done, etc... actually, it's really nice being able to look at the front panel on the box even if it's all screwed-up. coming out better than I thought, actually. so I'll be out to the computer stores looking for the right paper in the next day or so. I'm setting a deadline for myself for getting it all done by next wednesday, so hopefully I'll be done and be able to put the whole project behind me ;p (still hate the actual work, but always shiny to see a finished project.)

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Friday, March 17, 2006 8:11 PM

FLORALBUNNY

nuclearday,
I can't look at yellow Firefly flares without thinking about your project and wishing I could capture some of the best!
Also think you could put "Girl in a Box" inside the top of the box. Heh.

bun
-- bastards singed my turtle --
----- why's the rum gone? -----

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Saturday, March 18, 2006 1:29 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Quote:
Originally posted by FloralBunny:
Also think you could put "Girl in a Box" inside the top of the box. Heh.

OMG! I am SOOO gonna have to do that! ;p

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 7:56 AM

PENGUIN

Just an FYI...The Oriental Trading Company also has metal lunchboxes...

www.handsonfun.com

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