Thanks for the compliments all. This was a put-up-or-shut-up build for me. Learned a lot, mostly that I won’t limit myself as much to found parts in the future. I think like a modifier to a fault. Some of the threads on the RPF have really taken the fear out of the building process for new parts. Not that I’ll stop loving a good lego-ing.
So, some have asked what parts went into the HSIBJ-EA. 95% found stuff. The design was inspired by three things:
I had to upscale the Bison body for the glass ammo. Like I said, I never even thought of trying to make the part. The solution: two tapered ABS toilet brush holders with an MDF ring in the middle. The forward cowling is the front of a vintage Sunbeam mixer.
The rear is from another mixer, not sure of the brand. The bolt handle is a doorstop. The wood is the handle off my hobby saw. I put that on last, like I was retiring it.
The frame for the ammo holder is made from two Lazer Tag pistols.
The edging is window screen spline. There’s some n-gauge railroad track in there for texture. The green and chrome inside the ammo are clear acrylic handles from a weird set of '70s silverware, wrapped in copper. Inside the utility springs are clear pens.
The ammo-advance gear assembly is a vintage telephone crank mounted in a sewing machine shuttle receiver. You know that feeling when two parts from completely different machines/decades fit like a glove? Eureka moment. The chrome guard is from an alarm clock. The black things are pen caps.
The front firing emitter is a track lighting fixture turned backwards. The up-scaled sensor doodad on top is a ‘70s curling iron and two sink strainers. The gauges are printouts in clock facings, the fittings that hold them are made from a Flintstones vitamin bottle. The guard on the bottom of the center band is a bracelet. The tubing is ¼’’ sprinkler fittings. The selector is from one of the mixers.
The windowed part inserted in the grip was shaped from an overly complicated bottle opener. The dial on the handle is a sewing machine tensioner.
Inside is a mess of desperate scaffolding and it’s all dressed up with styrene, wire, hot glue, and of course parts from the Bison. Because I outright replaced so much it’s definitely an “inspired by” that tries to echo the Bison elements. Between MDF, metal, and glass the thing weighs 15 pounds and it’s top-heavy. I spent more time sourcing and modifying parts than I would have building them from scratch.
Oh, and you do NOT want to know what kind of funk lives inside 40 year old mixers. :sick
So, some have asked what parts went into the HSIBJ-EA. 95% found stuff. The design was inspired by three things:
- Tamiya “British Green” paint: I was obsessed with that colour. No idea why.
- Glass tube planters with metal links: I don’t know how you’d use these awkward things for planting, but they screamed “glass ammo belt” to me.
- The main body accelerators, secondary emitter, barrel: Two vintage Bag Boy golf carriers. Love the styling. I think they were 7 bucks each, which is less than the raw tubing I would have needed.
I had to upscale the Bison body for the glass ammo. Like I said, I never even thought of trying to make the part. The solution: two tapered ABS toilet brush holders with an MDF ring in the middle. The forward cowling is the front of a vintage Sunbeam mixer.
The rear is from another mixer, not sure of the brand. The bolt handle is a doorstop. The wood is the handle off my hobby saw. I put that on last, like I was retiring it.
The frame for the ammo holder is made from two Lazer Tag pistols.
The edging is window screen spline. There’s some n-gauge railroad track in there for texture. The green and chrome inside the ammo are clear acrylic handles from a weird set of '70s silverware, wrapped in copper. Inside the utility springs are clear pens.
The ammo-advance gear assembly is a vintage telephone crank mounted in a sewing machine shuttle receiver. You know that feeling when two parts from completely different machines/decades fit like a glove? Eureka moment. The chrome guard is from an alarm clock. The black things are pen caps.
The front firing emitter is a track lighting fixture turned backwards. The up-scaled sensor doodad on top is a ‘70s curling iron and two sink strainers. The gauges are printouts in clock facings, the fittings that hold them are made from a Flintstones vitamin bottle. The guard on the bottom of the center band is a bracelet. The tubing is ¼’’ sprinkler fittings. The selector is from one of the mixers.
The windowed part inserted in the grip was shaped from an overly complicated bottle opener. The dial on the handle is a sewing machine tensioner.
Inside is a mess of desperate scaffolding and it’s all dressed up with styrene, wire, hot glue, and of course parts from the Bison. Because I outright replaced so much it’s definitely an “inspired by” that tries to echo the Bison elements. Between MDF, metal, and glass the thing weighs 15 pounds and it’s top-heavy. I spent more time sourcing and modifying parts than I would have building them from scratch.
Oh, and you do NOT want to know what kind of funk lives inside 40 year old mixers. :sick
