Stop yer grinnin and drawp yer linen!....
....(I still dont get that aliens quote ... makes me larf though ...and its cleaner than the predator quotes I know ..)
..Yup I'm back with another installment of IG construction ... bit of a marathon post this one methinks
Well done if you stayed awake this far ....
..This build thread will jump around a bit in picture chronology as ,to bring things to a managable length Ive tried to go through sections of the droid ,legs, body etc as individual units when in reality a lot was on the go at the same time .
...How long did he take ?.
..Well the first bits and last bits were around 5 ish years apart ... but the build was on hold for a while as sourcing a derwent cast was a problem.Also life /reasearch and designing the structure took time .In all I didnt time it but quote it as taking about 2 /2.5 years of heavy tinkering ...what takes the time is being an icebreaker on a project ...if any one wants to use my IG info / measurements etc please feel free to do so , thats why the few templates I used got photographed with measurements on them .
Overall it takes a LOT of time reasearching ,designing and finalising what the build is going to be like , I really did get headaches spending hours with w magnifying glass comparing angle shots to guage heights of details from the surface ,and particularly in IG's case ,as there are so few shots , whether some details existed at all.
Some modification was made to IG as we know him as Ive already stated ,I wanted a figure that LOOKED mobile and also would have display versatility ..to this end I added the fake gaiters at the hip and ankle and extended the ones round the knee making them more obvious .
Why?
Well , if you read this far , youll know about the 'F PIN' in the hip with the fake gaiter attached .
This is the basic standing hip joint , IG ver.1.1......IG ver.1.2 has some additions,there will be a second 'F PIN ' for each hip .If you imagine a capital 'F' thats the first pin , now imagine an 'F' in italic style. This will be the second pin when the final angles are sorted and when I get around to building them , it will have a slightly expanded fake gaiter on it .
Now imagine a slightly bent joint for the knee block and ankle in the same way and hopefully , halfway through a gig , IG will suddenly be reposed !
Why not joint him?
Joints are difficult , on this scale we are fighting gravity and leverage principles , and I dont have a machine shop ,only a drill ,scalpel ,beltsander staple gun etc .Also the sheer weight of IG means I want to be in no doubt he's stable at gigs .Relatively he's not that heavy ,but for the potential strain on lower leg joints ....
Also ,when wrestling with this problem with the battledroid I realised ..."how much was he actually going to get reposed ?"...at the time of Roger ,I was just building for myself and wanted a cool ,unique floor ornament (instead I got Roger )so came up with a neutral ,stormtrooper ish leg pose (before TPM was out).Now ,IG stands around like a hat stand ...and I would like to push things and get a bit more 'life 'out of him .Its during the build that I really noticed Roger is interesting from all angles whereas IG is basically roadkill from the side ,... he needs all the help he can get!...
...hence the changes ....
..youve been good if youve stayed awake this far ....:cool
Time for more piccies!!!!...YEEEEHAH!
Arms next !
This is an overview of the arm construction, here you can see the bicep ,forearm ,elbow joint and claws..
First the bicep was constructed...
...and the detail on the back of it...
this is a pink plastic egg pod thing ... and yes I think I found that 'in the street'...:lol
(I think I'll get 'I found it in the street as a T shirt! )
I cast a hollow egg shape inside it in car filler as shown (times 2)...
Heres the finished arm thruster greebly thing..
it was built from a small section of pipe and circles of styrene cut with the BACKWARDS circle cutting method from earlier, the tube section was bonded to the egg with a piece of dowel so its nice and knock resistant .
This next one is the start of the shoulder joint , its the part that will go into the body...
...and more ..
Then we have the part that will attach to that ,its the top of the upper arm..
Notice the bonded in strip of aluminium , its there to strengthen where the bolt will pass through to pivot the arm.This unit becomes the top portion of the upper arm swivel.