C1-10P Rebels Chopper scratch build

kczimmy · Aug 28, 2014

After a lot of research and combing the internet for pictures, drawings, video and anything else Chopper related, I felt confident enough to start building. Luckily, I was able to get a couple of key measurements from the Lucasfilm Chopper before I got too far along, so this build should be very close to accurate, as compared to the Chopper build that Michael McMaster did for Lucasfilm.

I will try to post updates every few days, as this is going to be a fairly quick build, hoping to get it finished before the Rebel show debuts in October.

Following the storyline from Star Wars Rebels, this build will utilize plenty of recycled parts, and will stray from the traditional R2 type of building.
Wish me luck and thanks for checking back every few days!

With bicycle fork in hand, the front caster seemed like the logical place to start-

Using a recycled Schwinn middleweight bicycle fork as a basis, the front caster was fabricated with the help of PC7 epoxy and a 2x5 ebay caster-

I hammered a bit of an offset into the fork so the wheel would follow the stem-

A lot of filing and sanding later-

The base is 1/2" plywood discs, with pine blocks in between-

After some testing, I relocated the originally planned center location for the fork to closer to the front of the base so I could get a more necessary vertical positioning of the wheel. I plan on putting some miles on this little guy, and the caster has to track correctly on hard surfaces.

More to come!

Kurt

kczimmy · Aug 28, 2014

More construction pictures

Caster base-

Sanding down the center disc, to match the top and bottom discs-

I'm supporting the dome with an arrangement of recycled roller blade wheels around the perimeter, with a Power Wheels motor and gearbox to do the rotating-

When I disassembled the casters, I marked them as 1,2,3,4 on the roller shaft and notched into the plywood, so I could match them back up after painting. This was a big time-saver, since the mounting holes on each shaft were slightly different on each roller assembly.

The frame is a straightforward set of 1/2" plywood discs, separated with 1/4" threaded rod, nuts and washers-

A set of wood tracks through the center of the frame will hold a nylon board to mount the electronics, and a couple of 1/4" plywood boxes will define the front body details. I removed the rim around the top of the frame, since it interfered with the dome skirt. I decided to just let the styrene I was using to cover the frame extend above the top of the frame without the wood backing it up. It proved to be very solid without the wood backing.

The details are being made out of scraps of wood, copper and pvc pipe, as shown here-

The top ring was a 2"x1-1/2" bushing, but was sanded into the shape I needed. The grooves around the pipe were cut in with a hacksaw-

Thanks for your comments- more to come!

Kurt

spoudastis · Aug 29, 2014

Wow this is going to be awesome, great work so far. Looks pretty heavy duty.

kev1969 · Aug 29, 2014

Great stuff :thumbsup keep the updates coming, love a droid build

kczimmy · Aug 29, 2014

A quick base coat before I start adding components-

Gluing a rim on the underside of the dome base. This is the surface that is going to ride on the roller blade wheels. The control wires will be running up through a piece of 1/2" copper pipe, which is 5/8" on the outside, just right to fit inside the radial bearing in the center of the dome base.

The feet are 1/2" plywood, glued and nailed at the corners. I used the same construction on my R2D2 feet and have had no issues after three years of hard use-

This is how I made the battery boxes. After doing all of the steps shown in the pictures and wrapping them in styrene, I discovered they were too tall to clear the body! So I tossed them out and remade them shorter. At that point, I was in no mood for more pictures, but you will notice that the battery boxes are shorter in the following photos. The boxes on the Lucasfilm droid are also shorter to clear the body when it is the three-leg position.

This is the beginning of the dome frame.

I tossed a layer of styrene on it to take it to the Detroit Maker Faire.

Everyone seemed to like him!

Thanks for checking back! More to come-

Kurt

The Schlitzie · Aug 30, 2014

That looks great!

kczimmy · Aug 30, 2014

Here's a few pictures of how the leg construction went. They are basically multiple layers of plywood, glued, sanded, filled and sanded some more. The left leg took about two hours on a table sander to get it down to the correct shape. The right leg was much easier.

The details on the sides are combinations of PVC and wood-

The bottom of the leg is supposed to look like a tube, so I grooved out a bit of the plywood and used the PC7 epoxy to shape it into a cylinder-

The two holes at the rear of the leg allow Chopper to stand on two or three legs by moving the locking pin into one or the other hole.

spacebob · Aug 31, 2014

Wow amazing work,
I'm starting a chopper soon this is making me want to get a move on

kczimmy · Aug 31, 2014

In keeping with the backstory on Chopper, being made out of spare parts, the front utility arm was made out of 1-1/4" PVC caps, PVC pipe, some wood, and an old golf club!

While that was gluing, I cut some styrene to wrap the frame. The first layer was laid out for the panels, which were cut from the styrene sheet and glued to the first layer, after being painted the correct color.

I used 2' PVC through the frame, and a piece of 1-1/2" epoxied deep into each leg. once slid together, two bolts with retaining pins hold them together. The pins can be pulled and the legs moved from three leg to two leg display. The center caster is removed from inside the frame.

Thanks for checking back and the comments. I appreciate them!

Kurt

kczimmy · Sep 1, 2014

Once the panels are on and painted, it starts looking like a droid!

I used some recycled aluminum to make the motor holders for the feet-

This makeshift metal brake worked for bending some aluminum for the back panel-

Three brackets should hold it on-

Blackluc · Sep 2, 2014

I am so amazed

kczimmy · Sep 2, 2014

The back panels have a few easy details-

Cut and glue. Easy, right?

Cutting out the hex detail. Some people like using an xacto knife, but a sharp utility knife can cut accurately, too-

I always try to use a straightedge I can see through. That way, I know where to stop cutting!

All glued up, or at least I thought it was-

The black buttons were carved out of automotive push fasteners that were pushed through a hole in the aluminum back to hold themselves on-

It took several tries to get the right glue for the job. Most of them would hold, but the plastic would spring back off the surface after an hour or two. 3M VHB tape finally did the trick-

Wiring switches to disconnect the feet motors and each battery separately-

You quickly run out of room inside a little droid!

Dome etching, done with a Plexiglas cutter

This is the side logic display. I used an LED light strip that is normally used for a Battlestar Galactica Cylon helmet. The VHB tape mounted the lens to the dome, and the red backing makes a great diffuser! After sticking the lens into the dome, the LED strip is mounted to a hardboard strip and screwed to the inside of the dome-

Here's the finished product-

More to come soon!

Kurt

NeoRutty · Sep 2, 2014

Awesome... I have had zero interest in watching "Rebels" , but since early art showed up online, I've loved the look of this droid.

Look forward to seeing it complete!

kczimmy · Sep 5, 2014

Here's some of the build details- The front cable interface box is shaped out of a pine block, with the details carved in. The wires are reclaimed telephone cable, and the larger one is a parallel printer cable-

The small ones get painted.

The front caster detail is made from two different sized dowels, sanded slightly flatter than round... kind of an oval, cut in half. The small one trails the larger on both sides of the caster.

The pivot I built for the front utility arm is also a block of pine with a radial bearing set into it. This will make a strong enough pivot so I don't need it supported on the top.

A 1/4" backer keeps the kids from looking in...

This was a fun part. I looked everywhere for the correct size and shape for the top antenna. I used an old repair antenna out of the 70's, a frypan, a large beveled faucet washer and a variety of PVC bushings to cut, grind and shape into...

... the perfect Chopper antenna!

Thanks for checking back... more coming soon!

Kurt

Broilermaker · Sep 6, 2014

Curt I would like to just say cool build dude! But that would be a great injustice, thank you for posting your hard work, you've given me some good ideas for a build I have planned in the near future

The Schlitzie · Sep 6, 2014

You're making the build look easy! lol

kczimmy · Sep 14, 2014

I found a tin cone the right angle in a doll house modeler's store, (this was the roof of a birdhouse) and ran an elevator bolt through the center to give it a flat bottom, and to mount it to the frame.

I made this tool from a bolt. With the threads cut off, a hole drilled down the middle, and the outer edge ground toward the center hole, I had a handy little punch to imprint some aluminum.

The front patch plate on Chopper has a pronounced circle punched in each corner, and tilted at an angle, I was able to use it for the ends of the diagonal slot that goes from corner to corner. A sharpened brick chisel put in the lines between the ends.

Here's Chopper before weathering- several sides-

Hello world!

More to come! Thanks for checking back!

Kurt

Paul6700 · Sep 21, 2014

He is coming out so well!

kczimmy · Oct 3, 2014

After a bit of weathering, this is how it turned out-

A transport container seemed appropriate, so I came up with this-

Still recycling parts, I used replacement toilet paper rollers and a recycled printer carriage to construct the dome arms. When finished, they will extend from the dome, and bend at the elbow.

Still finishing up the control system for the dome arms, but I hope to have everything operational soon!

Kurt

SteveStarkiller · Oct 3, 2014

great build!

C1-10P Rebels Chopper scratch build

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