Are there any Tom Servo vendors left?

[Nos402]

Hey all! The most recent Tom Servo replica thread I could find was about a year ago, and sadly yielded not results for me.

I'm just wondering if anyone still makes or sells a Tom Servo replica or parts. I did find one guy on Etsy who makes a pretty stunning replica, BUT the head has changed and does not have the horizontal seam any more, but instead 2 vertical seams. I know that would really bug me as I'm a stickler for screen accuracy. His also doesn't have the second lid at the top of the neck, but I might be able to live with that since that didn't actually appear until season 4 any way.

I did stumble upon JoeCrow's site but got no response. I wrote Etsy guy a message but also got no response (and have seen several other reviews indicating the same non-responsiveness). I'm really surprised these are so impossible to find! MST3K should just make an official one cast off the originals and they could make a mint!

I've also searched for older style Carousel Executive Snack Dispensers for the head but had no luck there either.

 

[squidsicle]

We're a dying breed, my friend.
To the best of my knowledge Joe Crow passed away a few years ago. I'm not sure what happened to ebay seller "sledgeriprock"(?) but he doesnt seem to have any "active items."
Parts are becoming harder and harder to find.
I MAY create some molds of my parts before the end of the summer. If I find the time, i'll let you know.
My best advice is to keep an eye on ebay.
It may take a while...after 25 years i FINALLY have a gypsy car seat

 

[Nos402]

We're a dying breed, my friend.
To the best of my knowledge Joe Crow passed away a few years ago. I'm not sure what happened to ebay seller "sledgeriprock"(?) but he doesnt seem to have any "active items."
Parts are becoming harder and harder to find.
I MAY create some molds of my parts before the end of the summer. If I find the time, i'll let you know.
My best advice is to keep an eye on ebay.
It may take a while...after 25 years i FINALLY have a gypsy car seat

The rarity factor is really making me wonder if I jump on this replica even with it's few inaccuracies since the rest of it is awesome.

I've also been trying to think of ways to modify it myself to make it more accurate. Like maybe a thin piece of scotch tape or a thin line of clear paint around the clear globe to get the horizontal seam. It would still have the vertical seams as well but that's a step closer. And I could keep on the lookout for a vintage snack dispenser.

And I've seen a 3D print file for the cap so I could either have a friend print that or just paint the clear "neck" of the globe where it joins with the proper color of red metal flake.

 

[jchristman]

FYI, MST3Kbots on Etsy is Bob Bukoski aka sledgeriprock. He seems to be selling exclusively on Etsy now. He's basically non-responsive if you try to contact him, and his shipping is a little slow, but I bought a Servo kit from him back in March and received it in less than a month.

The kit itself is very nicely done, with quality castings - I'd say grab it while you can and keep an eye on e-bay for the correct style snack dispenser to pop-up. You can always build the kit up as-is and replace the head when you find an accurate one.

 

[Nos402]

FYI, MST3Kbots on Etsy is Bob Bukoski aka sledgeriprock. He seems to be selling exclusively on Etsy now. He's basically non-responsive if you try to contact him, and his shipping is a little slow, but I bought a Servo kit from him back in March and received it in less than a month.

The kit itself is very nicely done, with quality castings - I'd say grab it while you can and keep an eye on e-bay for the correct style snack dispenser to pop-up. You can always build the kit up as-is and replace the head when you find an accurate one.

Ah! Very interesting! So he IS the fabled sledgeriprock! And yeah, he never responded to any of my messages. Looks like he's pretty much the only game in town.

 

[AnubisGuard]

I wonder what the MST reboot is doing for their bot parts. They clearly have access to either real or replica snack dispenser domes (and Cooper XL cages for Crow).

 

[sjanish]

I wonder what the MST reboot is doing for their bot parts. They clearly have access to either real or replica snack dispenser domes (and Cooper XL cages for Crow).

Bob's parts are awesome if you can get them and I too heard Joe Crow passed.

If I remember correctly Bob Bukoski actually supplied castings for the reboot bots. Maybe even the car seat for Gypsy. Some of the parts are still possible to find for reasonable prices. They also asked fans to donate parts to help make the bots. Lots of this was on Ron's (never knew his last name) botbuilders.info forum. Sadly it looks like it no longer being maintained. The last time I visited was in December and when I tried in January it was no longer there. I would love to get in touch with Ron and anyone else who posted there. If you are reading this, PM me.

 

[Nos402]

Bob's parts are awesome if you can get them and I too heard Joe Crow passed.

If I remember correctly Bob Bukoski actually supplied castings for the bots. Maybe even the car seat for Gypsy. Some of the parts are still possible to find for reasonable prices. They also asked fans to donate parts to help make the bots. Lots of this was on Ron's (never knew his last name) botbuilders.info forum. Sadly it looks like it no longer being maintained. The last time I visited was in December and when I tried in January it was no longer there. I would love to get in touch with Ron and anyone else who posted there. If you are reading this, PM me.

I ordered a full Servo from Bob's Etsy store. The fact that he doesn't have screen accurate snack dispensers is a good indicator of how hard they must be to come by now! I did see that several have come through Ebay pretty recently so I'll keep an eye there for a future upgrade!

 

[AnubisGuard]

I have two of the old snack dispensers in storage out of state; unfortunately I have no way to get to them at the moment but if I ever go clean that thing out, I would be happy to supply the domes to whoever needs them.

 

[Nos402]

Interestingly I just bought a "Pinda Automaat Snack Dispenser" off Ebay. It looks like a exact knock-off of the carousel. The base is smooth and doesn't have the little lines, but I just need the globe so I'm giving it a shot, plus that will give me a second lid. The globe seems to have a little bit of blurring right at that equator seam which I've seen in pictures of some other Carousels but which, as far as I can tell, does not seem present on Servo himself, but that seems inconsequential and having that seam is a very prominent detail that I think needs to be there. I can find NO information about this specific snack dispenser but it looks like the globe will serve the purpose! We shall see.

However, sadly I'm having NO luck finding the Testors 1629 Ruby Red Metal Flake paint to paint that second lid!

 

[jchristman]

Yeah, the Testors spraypaints are out of stock everywhere. I had luckily stocked up on enough ruby red and lime gold for my builds, but I’ve been trying to find Testors silver for Tom’s beak and engine, and no one has it. I don’t know if it’s just supply chain issues or Rustoleum consolidated the Testors brand.

That dispenser sounds like a good find, but if it’s the same size as the old Carousel globes, your current lid might not fit. I have one of those new style gum ball machines, and the lid is a smaller diameter than the correct design.

 

[Nos402]

Yeah, the Testors spraypaints are out of stock everywhere. I had luckily stocked up on enough ruby red and lime gold for my builds, but I’ve been trying to find Testors silver for Tom’s beak and engine, and no one has it. I don’t know if it’s just supply chain issues or Rustoleum consolidated the Testors brand.

That dispenser sounds like a good find, but if it’s the same size as the old Carousel globes, your current lid might not fit. I have one of those new style gum ball machines, and the lid is a smaller diameter than the correct design.

Oh! Very interesting. I guess we will find out once it's all in my possession and figure out how to proceed from there!

 

[MisfitVortex]

You guys really can't find the paint? I just built Servo, and am currently in the middle of Crow, and I had no problems what-so-ever finding the right Testors colors. Maybe I bought the last ones! I should have a couple cans of the lime gold left over when I finish Crow, if anyone needs them...

 

[Nos402]

You guys really can't find the paint? I just built Servo, and am currently in the middle of Crow, and I had no problems what-so-ever finding the right Testors colors. Maybe I bought the last ones! I should have a couple cans of the lime gold left over when I finish Crow, if anyone needs them...

Where did you find them? Every single online store is out. Haven't checked any physical ones since that didn't bode well.

 

[MisfitVortex]

I was kidding at first but I think I really did buy out all the online stores. Between the 3 colors and all the cans I needed, I bought from 4 or 5 different sites and they are all sold out now. What do you need, the Servo red? This site still has it: Testors- 3 Oz. Spray Paint - Red Metal Flake

 

[Nos402]

I was kidding at first but I think I really did buy out all the online stores. Between the 3 colors and all the cans I needed, I bought from 4 or 5 different sites and they are all sold out now. What do you need, the Servo red? This site still has it: Testors- 3 Oz. Spray Paint - Red Metal Flake

Worth a shot though I'd be surprised if they ACTUALLY still have it. I had found one other site that did NOT say backordered but when I emailed them it turned out they were indeed out. Thanks!

 

[Nos402]

Does anyone here have an actual vintage Carousel Snack Dispenser head? I'm curious about something. I got my knock-off "Pinda Automaat" snack dispenser off ebay and it has a sort of "banding" around the seam which I have actually seen on other home-built servos that supposedly used the Carousel Snack Dispenser, but I don't think I see this banding on the original Servo. Just wondering is anyone here has a genuine Carousel like the original to compare it to. I tried to capture it as best I could in this photo. Thanks!

 

[jchristman]

There is a band like that on my vintage carousel dispensers, although it appears much less prominent (maybe your lighting is emphasizing it more than it is in person).

On the Carousels, it's really not noticeable, but you can make it out in this photo:

 

[AnubisGuard]

Does anyone here have an actual vintage Carousel Snack Dispenser head? I'm curious about something. I got my knock-off "Pinda Automaat" snack dispenser off ebay and it has a sort of "banding" around the seam which I have actually seen on other home-built servos that supposedly used the Carousel Snack Dispenser, but I don't think I see this banding on the original Servo. Just wondering is anyone here has a genuine Carousel like the original to compare it to. I tried to capture it as best I could in this photo. Thanks!

View attachment 1465338

Not on mine.

 

[jchristman]

Not on mine.

View attachment 1465343

Interesting...mine is really old (70s-80s) so Carousel might have changed the tooling slightly over the years.