19 replies to this topic

[Ryan201821]

This writeup will explain how to build your very own mobstacle.

The basic skeleton for each mobstacle is build out of these four way connectors, and 5' lengths of 1/2" PVC. We chose to use even lengths for easy assembly. The reason for the four-way connectors will be discussed later.

First start off with a template of one of the walls. You can do this with any 1/2" PVC connector to make a square. Lay your cloth, or whatever you're using for your walls under your wall template. You'll need a sheet 60" across, and at least 70" long.



Overlap the ends of the cloth around your wall template and pin them down.





Now it's time to sew that shit!



This is very time consuming and not fun. But it will be worth it. If you don't have adequate sewing skillz or a sewing machine, I suggest looking into getting these. They seem like they'd be the perfect thing. Also, if you're going with that option, it's a good idea to looking into buying tarp instead. It seems to be a lot cheaper per square foot than most, if not all cloth.

After you've made four walls, it's time to actually put it together. Here's what you'll need.



If you're making a basic cube, you'll need 12, five foot lengths of PVC, two bungee cords, eight 4-way connectors, 1/4"-3/8" diameter rope, and obviously your walls.

Make a cube. Face the four way connectors the same way on the bottom and top of the cube. You want them to face the same direction so you can add on walls to connect cubes to each other as your mobstacle collection expands. If you have the time and money, and the space, it's feasible to build an entire arena to nerf in.



Put on the walls



Now it's time to tension your walls. This will keep you mobstacle together.

Take the rope and feed it through the top of the frame. You want to feed it through one of the 4-way pieces.



This is also not fun, but trust me it's worth it.

After you feed the rope all the way through, you should have both ends coming out of one of the 4-ways.



Tie a loop on one end of the rope and feed the other end through the loop.



Pull the rope and feed the loop through the PVC and pull it until you've created nice tension between the pieces.



Now, take your bungee, and attach it to the opposite end of the frame. Pull the rope around the bungee and tie a loop while there is good tension on the rope. You might want another person helping you for this part.



Should look like this after it's done successfully.



Now make sure you duct tape the shit out of the bungees so people don't accidentally get diddled by them.



After you've done all of that, you have to do it again, to the opposite end of the cube. Also make sure to do the tensioning (bungee cord and string business) on opposite corners of the cube.

And after you did the other side, your mobstacle is complete.



Customize them, connect them to each other with walls, do what you'd like.

End of picture limit - please do not post

[Ryan201821]

=================================

The best part about this system, is they are completely collapsible.

To take apart your mobstacle, pull out the vertical segments of PVC. Take out the PVC near the tensioning first. This will make your life easier.



After you've pulled out all the vertical segments, you should have something looking like this.



Un-connect all the connectors and fold it up. The rope keeps all the pieces in one piece.





To put them back together, do the same process in reverse. They take five minutes to assemble.

And that's it. If I left anything out or if something is unclear, let me know. I want people to start building these. They only make your wars better.

[nerfdartsmith21]

Woah!!!!! Ryan McNumbers sews!?!?!?!?! Not saying thats a bad thing though.

[Nerfer Dude]

Nice Idea... I want to make somthing like this!

[kidame tomanaka]

I like this very much! Simple and easy, and it can be made for a very cheap price.

[KaneTheMediocre]

Slippery rope works best for the tensioning system I expect. We didn't try any other kind, but the rope needs to slide around corners and through itself, and the more tension you add, the higher the normal force is between the rope and the corner or loop.

[imaseoulman]

I love how we use awesome names for stuff, like MOBSTACLES. I mean, in another setting, this would look like a write up for how to hang curtains.

[cheerios]

From what I could tell at ILFF the Mobstacles are very sturdy, I accidentally ran and fell into it and it still held up. Ryan you need to clean your garage, it looks like you haven't cleaned it in years.

[unTrained NERFER]

Thanks for making the time to explain this! Glad the sheets worked out well, now I know where to get mine.

[Split]

I love how we use awesome names for stuff, like MOBSTACLES. I mean, in another setting, this would look like a write up for how to hang curtains.

Just for general knowledge, it's a combination of "modular" and "obstacles." Here's Slug's original writeup. With that, Ryan, what are the benefits of these over Slug's? His seem cheaper, easier and, well, more modular.

I made a bunch of obstacles for an indoor war a while back (Enchilada's Birthday war?) and I did not enjoy it at all. I used a large tarp from home depot sliced into sections (to reduce cost) then zip tied through 3/4? pvc. They worked alright and were relatively cheap; it sure would have been better with fancier fittings for the legs/feet.

[Doom]

Nice tutorial. I'll try something along these lines eventually.

You can buy huge plastic drop cloths at home improvement stores. The sewing can be replaced with taping or using a heat gun. This should be a lot easier and cheaper.

Split pointed out the the item in the link above is thinner than plastic bags. You might want to use a thicker plastic sheet and/or use layers.

Edited by Doom, 15 June 2010 - 09:24 PM.

[KaneTheMediocre]

I love how we use awesome names for stuff, like MOBSTACLES. I mean, in another setting, this would look like a write up for how to hang curtains.

Just for general knowledge, it's a combination of "modular" and "obstacles." Here's Slug's original writeup. With that, Ryan, what are the benefits of these over Slug's? His seem cheaper, easier and, well, more modular.

I made a bunch of obstacles for an indoor war a while back (Enchilada's Birthday war?) and I did not enjoy it at all. I used a large tarp from home depot sliced into sections (to reduce cost) then zip tied through 3/4? pvc. They worked alright and were relatively cheap; it sure would have been better with fancier fittings for the legs/feet.

Our mobstacles set up faster (5 minutes is a lie. If you even remotely know what you're doing, less than 90 seconds. 5-10 seconds is totally possible with 2 people), and don't require pounding stuff into the ground with a sledgehammer. Pounding things into the ground is great, but it takes time and relies on having the right kind of ground. Rock or mud can spoil that. On the other hand, in heavy winds our mobstacles need will probably need staking anyways, to prevent them from rolling away. The ports allow for stabilization legs among other things, which could be used in place of stakes for moderate winds.

So, if I was going to get there early and set up a big arena for the day, I'd go with slug's mobstacles. If I wanted to show up 5 minutes before the war, throw some stuff together, and then rearrange it for every round, I'd want these. The cost difference is big ATM, but part of that is we haven't gotten around to ordering some tarps online, which could cut our cost down to $30ish for a 5' cube, and $40ish for a 5'x10' rectangle, which I think is comparable in terms of cover per $.

[CaptainSlug]

I made mine to be dirt cheap while still being safe to use. Putting them in a field usually involves 20 minutes of time between two people to place 5 "v" shapes using a post hammer. Taking them down was much faster.
They weren't so much about ease of assembly/breakdown, which seems to be key with these.

1. If you want an easier way to feed rope through pipe, Put a yarn pom or other shuttle at the end of the line, then pull a vacuum at the other end of the pipe.
2. Alternatively you could use elastic cord for running through the pipe. Two years ago I ordered some from mcmaster and used it plus some aluminum tube to make myself a spiffy 12-foot collapsible flag pole.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 15 June 2010 - 11:53 PM.

[KaneTheMediocre]

I made mine to be dirt cheap while still being safe to use. Putting them in a field usually involves 20 minutes of time between two people to place 5 "v" shapes using a post hammer. Taking them down was much faster.
They weren't so much about ease of assembly/breakdown, which seems to be key with these.

1. If you want an easier way to feed rope through pipe, Put a yarn pom or other shuttle at the end of the line, then pull a vacuum at the other end of the pipe.
2. Alternatively you could use elastic cord for running through the pipe. Two years ago I ordered some from mcmaster and used it plus some aluminum tube to make myself a spiffy 12-foot collapsible flag pole.

The trick with feeding by vacuum is attaching the sabot material. Do you know an easy way to do this?

The original plan was a misguided hope that the rope we had would stretch enough to tension the structure just by tying them off. I never thought to check McMaster for elastic cord. That would make the initial construction MUCH easier.

[Chadpuff]

Brilliant!!

[Luke]

Nice job, you've done what I've been meaning to do for the past few months!

[Zack the Mack]

Would using wider PVC make the Mobstacle more stable?
Could solvent-welding it together make it solid enough that you don't need tensioning cords?
If the cloth is left loose, would it be less likely to tear when shot?

Edited by Zack the Mack, 16 June 2010 - 01:42 PM.

[KaneTheMediocre]

Would using wider PVC make the Mobstacle more stable?
Could solvent-welding it together make it solid enough that you don't need tensioning cords?
If the cloth is left loose, would it be less likely to tear when shot?

1. Wider PVC would make the mobstacle heavier, so in that sense it would make it more stable. It would be a bit sturdier too. However, also substantially more $$$.

2. Solvent welding would make it solid enough that you can't ever take it apart, so that's great if you're driving several large trucks to the war.

3. The cloth is loose enough that no, looser would not make it less likely to tear. Any war-legal blaster will not come close to tearing this. If the cloth were EXTREMELY tight, it would tear more easily, as well as excessively bending the verticals with the tension.

[Ryan201821]

Would using wider PVC make the Mobstacle more stable?
Could solvent-welding it together make it solid enough that you don't need tensioning cords?
If the cloth is left loose, would it be less likely to tear when shot?

It would be possible trying larger PVC. But larger PVC means more cost, more weight, and more space they take up in storage.

If you want to solvent weld your cube together, go right ahead. The whole purpose of these was so they could be collapsible and stored in a vehicle to transport to a war. The tensioning was created so we could have the mobstacle stay together when being used, but be easily transportable. The tensioning also keeps everything in one piece (except for the vertical pieces), for easy setup.

The cloth we used is not going to rip from a nerf dart. If it does, you're not playing with nerf guns.

Slug: We'll have to try the elastic cord. That will eliminate the use of bungees and make the initial construction a bit easier.

EDIT: Lolz, Kane posted the same thing right before I did.

Edited by Ryan201821, 17 June 2010 - 01:25 AM.

[burning-ice]

Very nice work... just make sure your neighboorhood homeless person doesn't steal them to use as a house.