Well as luck would have it, I am able to attend all four days of this years Droid-Con after all. Cya there.
John
Showing posts with label Droid-Con. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Droid-Con. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Over Due Update
Yeah. Long time since last post.
I've had a lot on my plate lately so my Droid building hobby has had to take a back seat for a awhile. Main issue has been a little water leak in my workshop space in the basement when it rains. I've had to completely dissemble my workshop so I could fix it. I think I have it temporarily fixed so all that's left to to everything back together again.
Second issue is after assembling the new legs I found flaws in the measurements. So back to square one with that. Will have to make a new template again and get a new miter saw. Current one is decades old, slightly out of alignment and can't be realigned. Once I get the shop put back together again I can start on Legs version 3.
Droid-Con IV is this June, but unlike last time I'll only be attending one day. Need the vacation days for something else.
One new project idea I recently thought of is making the head of the droid HK-47, the assassin droid from the RPG video game Knights of the Old Republic by Bioware. Haven't figured out how I'll make it yet. When complete I want him to have glowing eyes, servo-controlled head tilting and voice track playback. He'll be automated so when you get near him he'll start twiching his head and say a phase from the game. I don't think anyone else has done this before...that I can thus far find anyway.
[Closing Statement] "Will try to give another update soon....meatbags."
John
I've had a lot on my plate lately so my Droid building hobby has had to take a back seat for a awhile. Main issue has been a little water leak in my workshop space in the basement when it rains. I've had to completely dissemble my workshop so I could fix it. I think I have it temporarily fixed so all that's left to to everything back together again.
Second issue is after assembling the new legs I found flaws in the measurements. So back to square one with that. Will have to make a new template again and get a new miter saw. Current one is decades old, slightly out of alignment and can't be realigned. Once I get the shop put back together again I can start on Legs version 3.
Droid-Con IV is this June, but unlike last time I'll only be attending one day. Need the vacation days for something else.
One new project idea I recently thought of is making the head of the droid HK-47, the assassin droid from the RPG video game Knights of the Old Republic by Bioware. Haven't figured out how I'll make it yet. When complete I want him to have glowing eyes, servo-controlled head tilting and voice track playback. He'll be automated so when you get near him he'll start twiching his head and say a phase from the game. I don't think anyone else has done this before...that I can thus far find anyway.
[Closing Statement] "Will try to give another update soon....meatbags."
John
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Droid-Con 4
Droid-Con has just been announced for June 16th-19th, 2016. The con will be held at a different Hotel this time because Droid-Con has gotten too big (head count wise) to fit at the previous place. The new Hotel is actually brand new and across the street the other one.
Of course I'm going. Already signed up. I'm thankful they do this in Indiana every time. Once I'm done getting the legs usable I'm going to focus on finishing the head. I have a full year to do it so wish me luck.
As always go to www.astromech.net or www.droidcon.info for more information.
John
Of course I'm going. Already signed up. I'm thankful they do this in Indiana every time. Once I'm done getting the legs usable I'm going to focus on finishing the head. I have a full year to do it so wish me luck.
As always go to www.astromech.net or www.droidcon.info for more information.
John
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Status update 2015
I know, I know. I completely dropped the ball last year with any new news or old news.
So here's the deal. First, I have not stopped wanting to finish building R6-C9. I even started making new legs for him but made a huge mistake in making the new template that I didn't notice until I had already made several pieces....all of which I had to scrap and at that point I had to walk away and regroup. Second, I have my own house now so while that means I finally have space for a proper workshop, I also have the house itself that needs some TLC which must take priority over any hobbies. Plus the long hours at my job and you get little time and little money left over.
I hope to get started doing something with R6 this year, even if it's little steps at a time. Try to focus on one detail at a time. And if I can manage that, I'll post something about it when able. No promises when that'll happen.
As for back logged updates like Droid-Con's 2 and 3, I'll try to get those posted before I do any other postings.
BTW, the Episode VII teaser is released and looks AWESOME! Can't wait. Only 12 months until the new movie is in theaters! I plan to take vacation that week so I can get the earliest showing.
John
So here's the deal. First, I have not stopped wanting to finish building R6-C9. I even started making new legs for him but made a huge mistake in making the new template that I didn't notice until I had already made several pieces....all of which I had to scrap and at that point I had to walk away and regroup. Second, I have my own house now so while that means I finally have space for a proper workshop, I also have the house itself that needs some TLC which must take priority over any hobbies. Plus the long hours at my job and you get little time and little money left over.
I hope to get started doing something with R6 this year, even if it's little steps at a time. Try to focus on one detail at a time. And if I can manage that, I'll post something about it when able. No promises when that'll happen.
As for back logged updates like Droid-Con's 2 and 3, I'll try to get those posted before I do any other postings.
BTW, the Episode VII teaser is released and looks AWESOME! Can't wait. Only 12 months until the new movie is in theaters! I plan to take vacation that week so I can get the earliest showing.
John
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Last minute building
Had trouble finding time to build R6 and update this blog due to being very busy at work this past month. but now I'm on vacation this week for Droid-Con 2. Let the games begin.
Version 2 foot drives are now complete, assembled, installed and tested.
It's a bit sluggish on the carpet, but I think I can fix that by tightening the drive belts a little more.
In addition, I've started working again on the Logic Displays. My big road block of late has been securing the fibers in the bezels. Recently it was suggested to me to try using a hot glue gun. Amazingly that worked perfectly. I now have both halves of the Front logic Display fibered up and ready for installing.
But before I do that, to give the logics more depth, I glued in another piece of styrene behind the logic cutouts in the head. When dry, I'll cut out the holes, fill the seams and then install the Front Logics.
To fill in all the gaps and seams on the head, I'll be using a product used for minor automobile body repair, Bondo. I've never used this stuff before but I'm told it's the best stuff to use for this purpose.
This weekend is the 2nd annual Droid-Con! If you're coming, see you there. Of course I'll be taking some video and pictures.
John.
Version 2 foot drives are now complete, assembled, installed and tested.
It's a bit sluggish on the carpet, but I think I can fix that by tightening the drive belts a little more.
In addition, I've started working again on the Logic Displays. My big road block of late has been securing the fibers in the bezels. Recently it was suggested to me to try using a hot glue gun. Amazingly that worked perfectly. I now have both halves of the Front logic Display fibered up and ready for installing.
But before I do that, to give the logics more depth, I glued in another piece of styrene behind the logic cutouts in the head. When dry, I'll cut out the holes, fill the seams and then install the Front Logics.
To fill in all the gaps and seams on the head, I'll be using a product used for minor automobile body repair, Bondo. I've never used this stuff before but I'm told it's the best stuff to use for this purpose.
This weekend is the 2nd annual Droid-Con! If you're coming, see you there. Of course I'll be taking some video and pictures.
John.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Coming Up.....
I just realized I haven't mentioned anything about a couple of upcoming events me and R6 will be at later this year.
First up, DROID-CON II!!!! That's right. Once again the convention by the builders, for the builders is coming to Indianapolis August 2nd - 4th at the same Hotel as last time. Should be a lot more builders this time around. Here's the link, http://www.droidcon.info.
Second, I will be bring R6 to another local convention I didn't even know about called Star Base Indy. It will take place the weekend after Thanksgiving at a Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. I was contacted by a member of the local Star Wars fan club, the Indy Knights. They asked if I could bring my droid to their table this year and talk to people about building droids and the Builders Club. Of course I accepted. Should be fun.
Well, with these two cons around the bend, I need to get R6 back in shape. And so this weekend I'll be borrowing my brother's garage so I can make only the most crucial repairs. The two things that need the most refinement are the Foot Drives and the legs/ankles. The foot drives only have the one wheel and as such the feet aren't well balanced. This has caused extra stress on the outer ankles resulting in the ankle locking bolts becoming loose because the holes in the wood are becoming bigger. To fix this I'll be adding a small swivel caster to the foot drives so they're balanced and have support on both ends of the foot. In addition, I'll be building new legs with built in ankle locks to avoid future problems. Unfortunately I can't add the new caster wheel to the current foot drive bracket so I'll be making a modified version with new aluminum (already ordered). It seems more and more pieces of R6 are being redone. First the body, then the head, and now the legs and foot drives. Oh well. As I've said in the past, I'll always be making improvements to this droid.
New post this weekend,
John
First up, DROID-CON II!!!! That's right. Once again the convention by the builders, for the builders is coming to Indianapolis August 2nd - 4th at the same Hotel as last time. Should be a lot more builders this time around. Here's the link, http://www.droidcon.info.
Second, I will be bring R6 to another local convention I didn't even know about called Star Base Indy. It will take place the weekend after Thanksgiving at a Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. I was contacted by a member of the local Star Wars fan club, the Indy Knights. They asked if I could bring my droid to their table this year and talk to people about building droids and the Builders Club. Of course I accepted. Should be fun.
Well, with these two cons around the bend, I need to get R6 back in shape. And so this weekend I'll be borrowing my brother's garage so I can make only the most crucial repairs. The two things that need the most refinement are the Foot Drives and the legs/ankles. The foot drives only have the one wheel and as such the feet aren't well balanced. This has caused extra stress on the outer ankles resulting in the ankle locking bolts becoming loose because the holes in the wood are becoming bigger. To fix this I'll be adding a small swivel caster to the foot drives so they're balanced and have support on both ends of the foot. In addition, I'll be building new legs with built in ankle locks to avoid future problems. Unfortunately I can't add the new caster wheel to the current foot drive bracket so I'll be making a modified version with new aluminum (already ordered). It seems more and more pieces of R6 are being redone. First the body, then the head, and now the legs and foot drives. Oh well. As I've said in the past, I'll always be making improvements to this droid.
New post this weekend,
John
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