#weight cube

The Companion Cube is Complete!

Portal’s Wheatley Part 24: December 2018

The cube is complete!

(Well almost complete anyway.)

We have glued every ornament onto the companion cube and the lights are in. All four sides are screwed in and the light shines through them really well. Even at their dimmest the lights will certainly be visible on a bright convention floor.

All that remains for the cube is to paint the aperture logo onto the circles (done with a stencil and spray paint-a grey color inbetween the two greys of the box) and attach them to the plastic sides. We indented the back of the circles and glued there two tiny screws that will attach the circles to the plastic.

We also have to cut a square hole for the pole to go through the top of the box. The hole will go through the plastic circle and the center of the wooden decal circle. We’re also planning to make an extra decal circle so that, when Wheatley isn’t in use, you can remove the pole, drop in the solid circle, and use the cube as a lamp or such.

You can see in the bottom photo that we’ve attched the light’s control box to the side and drilled a hole to the outside for the sensor. We did this only because the remote couldn’t reach the sensor through the wood, but the sensor is so small that you barely notice it’s black dot and it’s on the back of the box anyway. You can also see the upper level of lights. We specifically attached them there so the support beam wouldn’t block the light coming to the top circle.

Portal’s Wheatley Part 20: November 2018

We have begun assembling the Companion Cube base that will support and counter-balance for Wheatley and the pole he hangs on, and hold his battery packs. The whole cube will eventually be put on wheels.

The first image is the base of the cube. The four smaller cubes are just supports for the sides. The large beam across the middle holds the hole that Wheatley’s pole will sit in. The pole will be anchored in the hole and supported again as it passes through a support beam in the cube and at the top of the cube.

Each side-including the top-has had a circle cut out, with a lip carved into it’s outside rim. A diamond-patterned plastic disk will sit in the lip, and a wooden ring will hold that in place. The wooden rings will be held on with the same silver screws we are using on Wheatley’s body.

One wooden ring has a bracket attached, allowing it to swing outward for access to the cube’s inside.

The plastic disks will be illuminated by LEDs within the cube. A smaller 6” wooden disk will sit in the center of each plastic one. We are planning to have two designs that will be interchangeable- the pink heart of the companian cube and the blue Aperture Science logo of the weight cube. The LEDs are able to change color accordingly.