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Taster Is this your first time in the HobbyShed? Below are five links to pages within the site, randomly selected for you to sample. Links: Manufacturers, tools, museums, miniatures... Gallery: Ghost Rider - Horizon 1/6 Vinyl Model Kit Gallery: Star Wars Yoda - Screamin' 1/4 Vinyl Kit Guides: What exactly is a scale model? Glossary: A-Z of modelling terminology. 300+ entries! About Me My
name's Adam, I'm 30 and from the West Midlands
region of England in the UK. I've
been modelmaking and painting for around twenty years.Adam Bagley. Formerly Redditch, Worcestershire. I've come a long way since, learning through books, clubs and plenty of trial and error. I'm always happy to share my knowledge with others and I'm still as keen as ever to learn new things and to see how others approach their work. It's because of this that the HobbyShed modelling resource has been created with sharing in mind. I hope you enjoy your time in the shed. Modeling. Contact I'd like to know what you think about HobbyShed. Perhaps you've found a dead link, have some constructive criticism or know of an event or product worth reviewing? Whatever your input, I look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions - afterall, it's these that make a better resource. |
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The West Midlands modeler's forum, scratchbuilt modelers forums, scratchbuilding kit, modeler tutorial, model making glossary and guides on how to build and paint, modelmaking assembly kit and scratch built studio scale modeling web site, assembling website, resource, Stingray submarine docked in Marineville, Terrahawks, Joe90 and Joe 90. Modelers, modeling, modeler, Thunderbirds 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are go!. SIG Secret Service, StarCruiser1, Star Cruiser 1, StarCruiser tv pilot with supermarionation. Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson. Modeling, modelers, modeler's, moon base, UFO, Space 1999, Space1999 minus Destiny's Angels, Destiny, Harmony, Rhapsody, Symphony, SPC (Spectrum Pursuit Car), SPV (Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle), Cloudbase, Cloud Base, Colonel White, Lieutenant Green and Captain Black. Captain Scarlet alongside Captain Blue, Captain Grey, Captain Ochre and Captain Brown battle the Mysterons from Mars. Scott, Jeff, Gordon, Alan and Virgil Tracy are friends of Lady Penelope and Parker who drive Rolls-Royce FAB1. Marionettes, puppetry, puppets and strings all part of Space Patrol created by Roberta Lee. World Space Patrol headed by Commander Zero. Doctor Venus, Professor Matthew Matic assist the crew of Fireball XL5. FireballXL5. I wish I was were a Spaceman the fastest guy alive. Lieutenant Ninety, Jonathan & Elanor Zero, Modeler's, modeling by Jock Campbell. Mars Military cruiser K17. Destiny Angel. |
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Gallery
Fireball XL5 Robert the Robot - 1/6 Scratch Built Model by George Bagley I have always had an interest in robots, especially those seen in movies and on TV. One that I fondly remember from my childhood is Robert the Robot, co-pilot of Fireball XL5, a spaceship from the 1960s Gerry Anderson TV series of the same name. As a result of my interest, I've collected many science-fiction robot themed toys and models over the years but I have never seen Robert available as either, probably due to the complexity of his construction and also that he has a see-through body showing his internal workings. I have been making and constructing models for many years and decided that my skills were good enough to take on the construction of this robot from scratch. What follows are details and images of my project which I hope will help you should you wish to build your own model... 
Research and planning In order to build Robert the Robot I needed accurate blueprints and after studying as many pictures and videos as I could find of the Fireball XL5 TV series I was able to put together drawings using a cad computer program. The original puppet of Robert, made by John Blundall, would have been approximately 1/3 scale. I chose to work to 1/6 scale, meaning the model would stand 12in/30cm tall. Next I had to decide which materials would be best suited for the various parts. After researching, collecting sample materials and a bit of trial and error testing, I chose clear acrylic tube for the main body sections, arms and legs and because of their special shape I decided the head, hands and feet should be cast in clear resin (I did try vacuum forming the head on a home made vacuum forming machine but results were disappointing). Discs for the arm and leg joints were cut from clear acrylic rod and internal parts were made from a variety of materials that I will describe in detail later. Constructing the head The head is basically a tapered cylinder (I'm guessing an upturned plastic tumbler was used on the original puppet) which sits on a dish shaped base. To cast these parts from clear resin I first needed to make wooden masters of the parts, which I did by turning them on a lathe, taking care to get them as accurate as possible to ensure correct fitting after casting. 
From these masters I then made two part moulds in RTV rubber casting compound, which takes around 24 hours to cure. The casting resin was carefully poured into the moulds to avoid air bubbles and left to cure. Once dry, the parts were removed from the moulds and cleaned in soapy water to remove any tackiness. The parts were then polished. Using polishing wheels and compounds the parts were polished in stages until they appeared clear and mark free. Then, using templates drawn on the computer, the black segments seen at the top and bottom of Robert's head were made using pieces cut from a sheet of black plasticard and glued into position. The next stage was to fit the internal parts to the base section of the head. A hole was drilled through the centre to take the neck cord and the off centre column (computer brain) was held in place using a countersunk screw through the base. The vane structure that represents the mouth was fitted into a partly drilled hole and held with a drop of glue. I decided to add two light emitting diodes (clear yellow types) for the eyes and control these with a sound operated circuit later on. Taking care to observe the polarity, the led’s were soldered to two pins in the base on each side of the mouth and fine wires from these were threaded through the neck cord to be connected to a socket in the lower body section. The antenna was cast in white metal from a master made of brass tube and following the same principles used for the resin casting. The outer black flexible tubing from bicycle brake cable was used for the neck, arm and leg cords and a piece of this was also glued to the centre hole in the head base. Four discs were cut from 0.75in/19mm diameter clear acrylic rod, which were polished and drilled through the centre and then glued at equal intervals along the neck cord (using a spacer disc to get the correct spacing). To complete the head the top section was fixed to the base using a clear silicon sealant so that the parts could be separated if needed. 
Upper and lower body sections The body sections were cut from clear acrylic tube; 3in/77mm in diameter for the upper section and 2.5in/65mm diameter for the lower section. A jig was made from a circular section of wood turned on the lathe to fit the internal diameter of the upper body section; this was cut with a slope to match the slope of the chest on the robot. Once cast, part of the upper body section was cut away to take a disc of clear acrylic to form the chest slope. This disc was heated to soften it, and bent over the slope on the jig; this was then glued to the top of the upper body section. A template was drawn on the computer to match the positions of the collar strips and this was attached to the underside of the upper body shoulder disc. Fifteen strips were cut from black plasticard and glued in position using the template for correct spacing. Another template was made for the black strips that are attached to the waist part of the upper body. Two clear acrylic discs, one slightly smaller than the other, were glued together and then glued to the bottom of the lower body section to form a base. These discs were drilled to take the leg cords and the internal parts, which comprises of a motor unit, solar panel and a gyroscope. The upper body was attached to the lower body section by spring loaded pins fitted to the bottom of the generator unit. These pins go through the lower body and slot into clear acrylic washers glued to the internal sides of the upper body. Black self-adhesive lining strip was added to the collar join and also to the bottom of the lower body section as a finishing detail. 
Arms and legs The limbs were cut from clear acrylic tube; 0.75in/19mm diameter for the arms and 1in/25mm diameter for the legs. The tubes required end caps and these were cast from clear resin. Separating discs were cut, polished and drilled from clear acrylic rod and glued to the connecting cords at equal spacing using the blueprints for all measurements. Two elongated spacers for the top of the legs were cut from clear acrylic sheet. Solid copper wire was inserted into the cords, which gave the limbs a degree of poseability. Hands and feet The hands and feet were cast from clear resin, again from wooden masters, to make rubber moulds. The hand master was cut from a circular section of wood turned on the lathe and then, using the template that was attached to it, drilled then cut on a band saw. After casting and polishing, the two halves of the hand were drilled through the pivot point then held together along with a spacer with metal pin and acrylic washer at each end. The hand was attached to the arm by a clear resin dome wrist, separated by an oblong clear acrylic washer and fixed through with a metal pin. The foot master was again turned on the lathe to form an egg shape which was then cut through the centre along the length. One piece from this turning was then drilled using a 1inch/25mm forstner bit at the wider end to form a flat base for the ankle joint. It was then further shaped using the sander before making the mould. Both feet are identical, so only one mould was needed. After casting and polishing the feet a piece of thin black foam sheet was glued to the bottom of each foot. Internal parts The head column was cut from 0.75in/19mm diameter clear acrylic rod and then placed in the lathe to cut twelve equally spaced grooves along the length. While still in the lathe a blue permanent marker pen was used to apply colour to the grooves. A small half cylinder component was cast and painted a matt grey and added to the centre front of the column to represent an electronic nose. Zoonie the Lazoon, Commander Wilbur Zero. The mouth was made from brass wire and tube and because my intention was to make more than one robot, I again made a mould and cast this in white metal before finally painting it ready for installation. 
The power generator was made from perforated metal sheet bent and formed around a plastic tube. Near the bottom of the plastic tube a hole was drilled through centrally from one side to the other in order to take a piece of brass tube in which two pop rivets with small compression springs were fitted. These spring loaded rivets were used to join the upper and lower body sections together allowing for movement between the two. Two black solid wire coils were connected to the top of the generator down to the rivet tube using terminal washers. Finally, a black piece of plasticard was drilled and fitted to the back of the generator for the solar panel and cast resin parts were fitted to the front. The motor unit was constructed from two sizes of plastic discs glued and stacked together using a jig to keep them straight while setting. This stack was attached to a bracket made from brass strip with dome shaped pins. All this was then painted black and attached to the base of the lower body. The gyroscope fitted to the lower body was made from brass wire and a resin cone painted silver along with two more cones in white. Another plasticard solar panel was added to the back of the lower body and this concealed the socket for the led eyes connection. Display stand With the construction of my Robert the Robot model completed, I started to build the display stand. Incorporated into the design were the needs for it to hold the model and also contain a sound to light electronic circuit. 
Built mainly using MDF, the stand was styled on part of a spaceship interior complete with port hole window. The electronic circuit was concealed at the rear and via a microphone installed underneath the port hole it picks up sound, sending pulses to the led eyes through the connection at the body base. The bracket mounted connection also holds the robot upright on the stand. 
Fireball XL5 and associated characters are the property of Carlton Television. |
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