Brian.. Posted January 13, 2017 Author Share Posted January 13, 2017 Here's the kit form layout. It's not the most efficient method but it cuts down on plastic, time, and clean up. It also gives the best printing detail. It's easy to spray paint the separate bits and takes just 30 seconds to assemble. Works for me. Note the head is missing depth in the eyebrows - they sort of vanished during the print. You have to be very careful with the geometry to avoid these missing bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 As far as making the copies bigger or smaller, what's the difference, as far as fending off fakes? The seller's measurement was an estimate. It could be nine and a half inches. It could be ten and a quarter inches. Nobody knows exactly how big the original really is anyway... Oh, wait, I know. Even so, I must say a twelve inch robot might be even better, and better still with an electric motor and light-up eyes. I don't think Brian should migrate these posts. This is all a part of the wonderful and totally unexpected Erie story, and I'm certain we'll be getting back to the more important stuff as soon as this old argument is exhausted. I do hope that's soon. I, like Fineas, feel that this extremely fine and important robot never got its rightful place in the world. It should have been, and now should become a real toy for everybody who wants to own one. Hand builds and 3D printer builds will be swell, but a real molded plastic toy would be my hope for the future of this design. I've already inquired a little. Somebody would need something over 100K to make a couple of thousand units. So, maybe 50 to 70 each to manufacture, and then you've got to sell them all. Manufacturing and distributing toys is not a hope I have for my future, but I do feel it would be a fitting tribute to a great designer who didn't get to see his wonderful toy come to market. I hope somebody (I vote for Eric!) will want to manage it. And if this ever happens, there would be no worry of diminished authenticity or uniqueness of the original prototype. The one thing that Erie will always have that no other robot can ever copy is the fact that it has no arms. That should be plenty to keep the forgers at bay! And seriously, Eric would be the best person in the world to do this. Who has more enthusiasm? Who else has the cash and the energy? It wouldn't take a thing away from other robots, because there are no others. It's Erie's destiny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 A nice idea David but do you really think that 2000 units would sell? I don't think so myself,or it would take a long time. I would certainly buy one but will be just as happy with Brians version. Re the arms, as you said to me, they can just be broken off to make it a bit more like the original. Just looking through the photos of the base of the feet again. I think Eric himself said the writing was probably written on later, The feet bases are very worn and rough yet the writing has hardly a scratch on it, puzzling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Ranger, yes, that was a joke about the arms. As far as the writing, the feet weren't worn much, they were textured from the paint and the build and it was written at the end of that process for sure. There was other paint from the painting of the robot splashed over parts of it. It was smudged with dirt. It looked properly crappy to match. I can post more pictures of that. It didn't have the tiniest whiff of fakery about it. Even the hand it was written in looked a bit antique. The person who sold it to our final seller had no motivation to fake anything and our seller would have had to make some very inspired guesses to come up with that date. Anybody faking it would have added MARX if they had any sense. I have complete faith that was not something this seller would do anyway. He knew he'd picked up something special, put it up on eBay and hoped for the best. I'd maybe not put too much store in Eric's assessment before the auction. He wasn't bidding that much for folk art. You may be right about manufacture. 2000 units is a bunch of inventory. Of course if you built it right, you could make even more, amortize the tooling cost and they could sell for $50 or even less. Somebody else who had done it would be better at guessing the financial sense in that. They certainly are cranking robots out in China with no seeming difficulty. I still say this would not be a reproduction and I still vote for Eric to go into business. I'll help (how many here are qualified and willing to help? I'd say lots!) work through the design flaws and then I'll take a dozen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hi David, I wasn't thinking of it being fake, I certainly think it's the genuine article. What I was thinking and should have said, was it possible that it could maybe have had a written hanging tag originally and maybe the info off that was years later written on the toy as it looked so clear. Who knows. It was about 1:30 a.m when I posted that, half asleep! Yes, as I also said, if it were to be produced, I would buy one. For all we know there could already be a factory in China churning them out Or anywhere in the world. Technology now means anything can be made from a couple of photos and that's something that is not going to change. Sorry to hear your getting it in the neck Brian, it's a bit unnecessary. It's just a toy at the end of the day. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festival Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Brian, could you please include myself for one of your Erie robots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinplate6 Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 I'll take one too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunik Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 The shoulders and details could have been more edgy (edgy?), like the ears. --------- Anyway. Now that I know, the current owner does not agree with a close repro, I don't feel so easy about asking for a copy. Sorry Brian, thank you, but please remove me from the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 On 1/15/2017 at 8:43 AM, Lunik said: The shoulders and details could have been more edgy Are you referring to the repro or the arms, Klaus? I'm trying a variety of arms and I can offer a choice. The clockwork motor is the awkward bit. I've a supply of smaller units with a 12-15 second run. They're nowhere near as powerful as the Marx monsters but should be enough. A battery powered version with lighted eyes is much easier. Again, it's not difficult to offer different versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunik Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 8 hours ago, Lunik said: The shoulders and details could have been more edgy (edgy?), like the ears. These arms look nearly perfect to me, in style and dimension. Great idea, David! Only the massive spherical shoulder might have looked more like the prototype's ears. Also any little decorations on the arm might have had a different profile, more rectangular in a cross-section, again just like the ears or the eyes. This is just discussing design assumption. Re the copy of the repro, please remove me from the list. I prefer to cancel my request. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9tobor9 Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 On 14/01/2017 at 1:44 PM, festival said: Brian, could you please include myself for one of your Erie robots? That goes for me too , Brian, if I might ask. LMK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 No problem, Lunik. Cheers, Xris. I'll get this Mechanical Man sorted - I'm down to the last stages and will be sending eleven of them off shortly. Then I'll concentrate on this project. I've three sets of arms on the drawing board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Here's the Erie Robot copy with his head and arms. It took me much longer to fine tune the original files. I've adjusted the angle of the lower legs and the crotch detail. The paint is still tacky so I'll add the gold to the legs later today. The head has better proportions than my first attempt. Don't do CAD under the influence of single malt. This is a battery operated, pin foot walker. There'll be red lighted (easier on the battery) eyes and a light in the body. The body is painted with black enamel which gives an authentic look to it. The head colour is tricky to match. I've used copper, which was the closest I could find at short notice. Perhaps a red gel in that chest opening? I'll try out a couple more arm variations. The head could benefit from a filler undercoat to smooth it out a little. It's simpler to make than other ones I've done: legs, body chassis, front plate, back plate, head, cap, nose, arms, motor, leg struts, switch - about 12 parts in total so not too expensive. I could print it in bigger chunks but you lose the detail. If you're interested drop me a line. If anyone wants to design some box art contact me and I'll do you a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBODUDE Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 That looks really amazing Brian !!!! Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny Young Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Nice job matching the arm style and proportions to the body Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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