Friday, April 29, 2011

Dude costume 100% done!

Finally found the last part for my costume. The drill battery.  This one has seen better days.
I opened her up and took the actual battery out to make it lighter.
I then glued the casing back together then glued the battery case permanently to the drill.
By the time I get to wear this again my real hair might be long enough to not need a wig!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

No pictures this time but got some stuff done.

No pics this post but got a few updates.
Got K-9's neck all done the other day only to find out the motor set up I am using makes the head move at different speeds depending which direction it is moving. I want a more fluid movement. so I am going to change part of the set up to fix that.

R4's new dome base plate is now mounted to the lazy susan.  I also got thedrive motors installed again but not the wheels as I need to make some spacers for them.

The Tron room now has the start of it's sides and will get painted hopefully next week. Also got the jigs made so I can make the other back wall.


Patches (R2-CM) is slowly getting his 5000 mile tune up for this summer. Lots of little things to do on him over the next few weeks.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

"Goodbye Mistress."

Elisabeth Sladen
 On April 19th of this year, one of my favorite actresses of all time that I have watched sense I was a kid passed away at the age of 63 from cancer. Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith). She started on Doctor Who in 1973, (a year before I was born) costarring with the 3rd Doctor , Jon Pertwee. She left in 1976 after traveling around with the 4th Doctor, Tom Baker.  She has had numerous return visits to the show over the years and even has her own spin off show that was currently in it's 5th year of production. She always portrayed herself in public just like her character; smart, funny, brave, and caring.  Most of the public including me had no idea she was even sick. Her loss is sudden and tragic for everyone.
 I was hoping to meet her in person some day and get her autograph on the K-9 I am building, but alas that day will never come. I am more determined than ever to get my K-9 done this year and put a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen on K-9's view screen.
 She will be missed by family and fans alike. As the 10th Doctor said to her, "Goodbye...my Sarah Jane Smith."
  -Moose Mendolia

Hardware Wars

If there is one thing that you will underestimate in a build, it is the cost of all the little hardware odds and ends you are going to need for it. LOL Yesterday I went on a run for miscellaneous nuts, bolts, and spacers that ended up costing close to $25.00. Here are a few of the items I got for R4, first are the bolts for the drive motors....
and here is the bolts and nuts for the lazy susan.
I got some hardware for K-9 and Patches but I will save that for another post.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Get er' done day

Today I was at home installing ceiling fans and cleaning house and I got a bit dirty, so I decided to stay that way for a bit longer and get some robot work done as well.
First I wired up a different motor system in K-9's head so it moves more like the real one does. I also started cleaning up the extra wiring in his body. Boy what a mess! Hope to have the new head system done later this week.

Next I played around with the new R2 dome I got. I cleaned up all the tabs and got a tight fit to the inner dome.
Once that was done I cut the holes for the front and back holos.
Front view with R3's eye.
It started getting cold in the downstairs workshop so I moved on up to the main floor work area. I made some side pieces for R4's body.

More to come!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Constellation Con

Went to a little con in Lincoln the other day with a few friends.  For a small con there was plenty to do!
Taking pictures with everyone. :)
Jen driving R3 around the con.
I wore my Dude costume and Jim trooped in his now finished TK armor.  See if you can get why we are pointing at Jen's shirt....
Look ma! Droids!
Dead or alive game, your coming with me!

Later in the day at our booth we had a Star Wars minis battle.Fringe vs Separatists.
The Dude in Flynn's Arcade???

Epic space battle!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

R4's spare dome

 Got the spare dome in today and it came in decent condition. A few little things to fix here and there but over all it looks great!
 Ok, I could not let a new toy sit there without playing with it. I started to carefully take it apart and clean up all the tabs.
TADA! It is all done!  (I wish) Got a good start on it anyway. :)

Monday, April 11, 2011

Just some updates

Today while we were out I got same brass pipe to make K-9's ears. It is going to be tricky to get them to look right.
Also today I got R4's horseshoes together and mounted. Now I got to bondo the ends of everything just like R3's legs. I am really not liking the yellow on R4's boosters, It scratches off easily and is not uniform in color. I may strip them and try a different brand of spray paint.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A little of everything

No pics today but a few updates.
K-9's buttons lenses came in already today so soon I will start making the surrounds for them.
Figuring out what electronics I need for the secret robot project and making an order list.
Working on a few other detail pieces for R3, getting them ready for paint.
Getting ready to get supplies to make K-9's ears.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Spare dome for ED

Started on another dome for R4-ED's body. Should have it done when I have the rest of his body done.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Jen's Day with R3 at Willycon

Jen got a chance to take R3 out for a spin all by herself without our our other droids. It was nice for me to be the wrangler for a change instead of the driver. We did not take many pictures but here is what we did get that did not turn out to dark.

Jen driving! Ya!

"Hey, this droid was looking for us!"
Group pic
R3 back home telling Patches and Ed about her adventure.

Buttons!

Finally ordered the buttons for K-9. Dam they are expensive! LOL

Friday, April 1, 2011

Last minute touch up

 Getting R3 Ready for WillyCon this weekend and did some last minute detail work. One of details that was bugging me was seeing the wood and bearing under the dome.
 I colored the wood on the top of the frame black.
 Then some of the bearing as well.
Now she looks a lot better. A cleaner look. Now time to pack up the trailer and get her to the Con!