Presenting Mrs Radicon the first animated Pulp Robot & 1st roboz project

[roboz]

When I first laid eyes on Popular Electronic December 1958 issue

I never imagined finding a radicon (being able to afford one ) or let alone finding his spouse so after nearly 2 decades

of pondering this project of creating her & even speaking to tin tom toys about it over a decade ago 

I decided with the new 3D tech it was time to give it a go

 

Naturally I asked John initially who was tied up in other projects so I enlisted Tom

a local who happened to be a mechanical designer 

 

Now John warned me about not just doing a 3D model that can't be printed as a functional robot

so I made sure to explain in detail to Tom based on John's specs how this had to be designed in order to print

after nearly a month Tom had the basic shell of the robot in STL files I can send to John

 

Of course the shell = zero without all the mounting for servos , lights , wheels , battery box etc etc etc 

So John took the inital shell & did the heavy lifting to refine in & add all the elements to make it fucntional 

& redisgned to add additional robotic details basically everywhere he could , such as the additonal panel & rivet details on the rear

a more detailed neck etc etc , I asked him about a reel to reel on the front which he masterfully pulled off & after perhaps another month 

all the design was finished

 

As it evolved John offered options on actions so not one to shy away when he said he could give it rotatomatic swivelling chest,

independant arm movement, etc I  said absolutely 

 

John then found a very slick sound bite remininscent of Rosie from the Jetson chugging along

 

For the box I wanted a simple redo of the 1958 cover on which the robot was based but after seeing it plain 

I decided to merge a custom radicon moon scape, created from original radicon art,

Hand letter the Mrs over the radicon robot lettering , add the TM logo on the bottom 

for some balance & limit all the computer fonts so many of you love to the end panels 

 

All & All it was around 30-35 hours of corel painting . I also purposely made the end flaps large with a continuing scene

so as to cover most of the plain bottom. The bottom of the side flaps I did a mini scrolling scene like you'd see in the ALPS TV spaceman 

except it is all based from the actual radicon box art work.

 

After mocking up the box , because it was so large I had to find a graphics place that was both reasonable & prompt

after getting some quotes up to nearly $100 per copy , I settled on a graphcs place that did a laminated vinyl over card stock 

still not cheap but very vivid colors & easy to work with & another first I believe, a vinyl box 

 

So without further ado here are some pictures & youtube links 

What you will see is the first working prototype 

 

We are looking at different options for the eyes as I prefer a bigger bulb but nothing cone shape like the pulp art exists

So it's work in progress & the antenna mast will be ditched for an illuminated dome

 

The goal is to produce 12 copies which I call series 1 which will be the cheapest available 

The robot will include a 12" xmas tree to stage with the robot (not the vintage ceramic shown in the pics BTW) 
& a laminated glossy of the actual cover that will be 

signed & #'d to accompany the robot

 

The first 3 are spoken for , #1 to the robothut , #2 to me & #3 to Tom 4, 5 & 6 will be the first offered priced at appx 799

give or take depending how extensive the painting etc.

& this mainly covers cost so it's  subject to slight change in either direction ( so it doesn't turn into a losing proposition , break even is OK ) 

& there is minimum 30 days lead time if not more so if interested send me a PM , time is also subject to both John's Schedule as well as my own

 

Being that the radicon had always been one of my favorite robots The goal of this project was to create his long lost spouse & eventually the radicon baby

along with being the first 2D to 3D pulp robot & another decidely female robot is always a plus . Hope you like 

 

Brian if you don't mind please let the thread linger here for a bit before migrating to 3D I'd appreciate !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[robothut]

Glad too see the working prototype made it to you in good shape ! Yes I have a bout 8 days of cad work and 24/7 printing of test parts in to that bot. The sound is from  Warner brothers . The video file I made to demo what I built for Ozzy can be seen as well.

 

[Ultrarobotman]

That is just awesome to create such a robot and I like the Christmas themed box as well. Makes me think that soon we will be able to create anything we desire. Hmmm, I have a photo of my wife from 25 years ago, do you think, oh never mind. Seriously, great robot all the hard work and time paid off.

[Ranger]

What a crazy looking robot!  Beautiful actions, nice work!  Crickey, what with John, Brian, Marco and now you producing robots........it's all fantastic but I need more £'s to keep up with it all!

It's starting to look like what chilli said a while back, soon everyone will be printing off their own robots. 

[roboz]

Thanks John none of this would have been possible without your efforts 

I'll try to add more pics as much as it allows 

 

 

[roboz]

Here are some shots of the initial 3D model so you can see how John enhanced much of it 

the 3D printed parts below were done by my son , tomorrow we will have the complete set 

to review the quality , John also modified many parts enabling it to function properly, move freely & not tip over

 

The box bottom will be chip board ilke the original radicon box , Did a template on corrugated , just crap to work with , at least the thick kind 

 

John included a junk bot to play around with paint schemes, 

one change I'll probably make is red insert in the mouth so she doesn't look too goth & perhaps red eye surround 

[DEEP SPACE-11]

I think the appropriate comment would be, Rad!

Nice work!

[roboz]

Thanks Marcy & ultrarobot 

for the few that may not know the original magazine 

on which this was based here is the original cover 

 

 

[roboz]

1 hour ago, Ranger said:

What a crazy looking robot!  Beautiful actions, nice work!  Crickey, what with John, Brian, Marco and now you producing robots........it's all fantastic but I need more £'s to keep up with it all!

It's starting to look like what chilli said a while back, soon everyone will be printing off their own robots. 

 

Thanks Ranger this is mainly John so it's still John & Marco with a quarter contribution from me on this particular robot

Oh & Ultra at my sons school they have a full body scanner tied into 3D software , tied into 3D printers so you never know !  

[ROBODUDE]

That is an incredible robot !!!  All the actions, sounds and lights are just fantastic!!   The box is incredible too !! Congratulations!!!!

[kennetzel]

What a wonderful piece. Very imaginative and it all works together. Fantastic.

[Morbius]

One of the most amazing pieces I've seen to date, magnificent all of you involved.  I can't believe the items I'm seeing here lately.

[Brian..]

I love that elegant movement.

[marco]

Hey Oz,

what a fantastic project and a great looking robot.
First thing that crossed my mind was.. " how could I have missed that robot on the cover of that magazine...."

all the attention goes to radicon but yes.. there is an other robot there as well... clever thinking ! 

Of course the gizmo`s and the actions... you can leave that part to John ;) ! Well done.
Put me on the list for one please ! 

Marco

[Andyman]

Beautiful.