Mr. Chronicle - Robo Derby #1 Pug conversion project

[RoboDerby]

A few months ago I shared with you all a Rocket USA R1 conversion that I was working on. In the end, I put that project on the back burner as i wasn’t sure how to make my original idea work.

 

As a result, I was hesitant to share my next project until I had made a fair bit of progress. I still have a fair amount of fabrication to do before paint and assembly. But with the amount of work that I have already put into this project and suddenly finding myself with plenty of time on my hands, I am determined to reach the end of it. So, I have decided to start sharing  my progress. 
 

I started with a HaHa Piston Action repro (AKA pug robot.) The first thing that I did was to build a custom bracket to allow the addition of a crown gear with a vertical axel. This will actually be rebuilt later to accommodate an updated design that omits the static threaded rod which I was originally planning to to mount the light bulb to. Instead, I decided to incorporate a design similar to the Mr. Robot with wipers and an insulated disc attached to the spinning vertical axel.
 

The purpose of this added axel is to allow me to add a spinning brain similar to that in the Cragstan Mr. Robot.
 

I also constructed a mount with 2 brass contacts that will allow me to add lights that flash when the contacts are struck by the existing turning cams that drove the pistons in the factory design.

 

The spinner I fabricated from metal and plastic that I cut from novelty bubble containers.

 

 

Unfortunately, I damaged the original yellow plastic dome that I had intended to add to the top of the spinner and also damaged the red dome that I was going to use as an alternate. So, I will need to source a replacement 22mm flanged lens or redesign the top cover of the spinner to accommodate a smaller lens as finding the right sized replacement is proving challenging. If anyone has this part on hand or can point me in the right direction, this would be most appreciated.

 

 

While I continue looking for a lens, I have started work on the outer dome that will go over the spinning brain. In the photos below, I have not attached the face pieces to the dome as the dome will require some cutting and drilling and I don’t want to attach anything yet in case the dome should break as I am modifying it. I have spares should this occur. 
 

As I have mentioned, I still have some other parts to complete before paint and assembly including a chest feature made from colored acrylic where the cam activated flashing lights will play and possibly a ray gun accessory as well. But I look forward to sharing more as I make progress. Below is a rough sketch of how the robot should look when complete. More to come friends.

 

 

[Brian..]

Good luck with that, Jeremy.  I know how hard it is to work with sheet metal. 

[Andyman]

Very cool, Jeremy. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[robothut]

You can buy screw in replacement LED lamps that work from 1.5 volts up to 6 volts on line. I mention this as old school lamps in toys are rated in hours and the life rating is very low depending on the current draw of the lamp 2 hours and long life lamps are less than 20 hours. If you think about it 2 hours would have been a $hit load of batteries being used in a motor driven toy before the lamp would burn out. But if it is hard to replace the lamp in a custom robot the LED screw base lamps that have the voltage inverter drivers built in are the way to go.

[RoboDerby]

11 minutes ago, robothut said:

But if it is hard to replace the lamp in a custom robot the LED screw base lamps that have the voltage inverter drivers built in are the way to go.

Thank you John. I have kept bulb replacement in mind in the design for this reason. The outer clear dome I plan to attach with a screw similar to the way that the Rosko Astronaut dome is fastened. The lid on the spinner will attach with 4 small tabs which should be easy enough to bend back ( a couple of times anyway) for access. So one screw and the 4 tabs is all that needs to be done for access. Though I haven’t designed how the chest panel will be accessed, I intend to keep in mind bulb replacement. Off the top of my head, perhaps I can build a metal frame that is open on top so that the acrylic panel can be slid in and out easily. A bulb like the one in the spinner will be too large for the chest feature, so I was planning to use small Christmas light type bulbs like what are used in the hands of the Thunder Robot repros. 

 

I see your point about the run time, especially since the incandescent bulbs that are available these days seem even less reliable based on what I have read in many of the Amazon reviews. 
 

The LED lamps that you mention sound like a good idea, I’ll look into them and possibly order them before I close up the spinner.

 

Thanks for the tip John.

[RoboDerby]

5 hours ago, Brian.. said:

Good luck with that, Jeremy.  I know how hard it is to work with sheet metal. 

 

4 hours ago, Andyman said:

Very cool, Jeremy. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks fellas!

[Roboto]

Fantastic!!

[RoboDerby]

On 3/27/2020 at 2:13 PM, Roboto said:

Fantastic!!

Thanks Roboto. So here is the completed face minus a bit of cleanup. There will be ear scanners as well. But I need to do some modifications to the clear dome and to the original “head” on the Pug before I do anything more with the face. Good news, I may have found on eBay the 20mm dome lens that I need to complete the spinner. I’ll know once it arrives. Fingers crossed.
 

 

[ROBODUDE]

AWESOME !!!!!!

[Ranger]

[MetalRobotHead]

Incredibly top workmanship  

[RoboDerby]

On 3/29/2020 at 1:23 PM, MetalRobotHead said:

Incredibly top workmanship  

 

On 3/29/2020 at 7:56 AM, Ranger said:

Thanks fellas. Today I built the base for the clear dome. All things considered, I’m happy with the result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is just a mock-up held together with tape. The dome that I have been using is only a place holder while I do the work. I have a shiny new one standing by for the final assembly. Next up I suppose is to begin work on a colored acrylic chest feature.

 

 

 

Again, the rest of the brown paper will be removed from the acrylic when I am ready to glue the parts of the face to the dome.

[Andyman]

Some nice tinsmithing there.

[Roboto]

Yes great metal work!!

[Morbius]

Wow that's great looking good!