Farscape DRDs.

[jason1976]

I've been collecting reference for years now with the intention of making a DRD, I'm still a long ways off of being able to do one though. The original "fully functional" ones cost over $10,000 each and after seeing how they're put together I can see why. It's been a while since I looked at them but IIRC the body is made up of 14-18 panels, some overlapping in multiple areas. The chase lights along the base are tied in to the speed controller so they move at the same speed as the care making it look like they push it along and then go in to a blink sequence when at rest. There are 2 attachment points for peripherals with 7 variations, the claw, the projector arm, the "gatling gun", the injector, the "canon", the plow and the sprayer. One had the eyes move independent of each other though most had them slaved together. The single most functional one had full foward/reverse motion, speed regulated baselights, full motion projector arm, working claw, working "wings", slaved eye stalks and pop-up "siren" lights. The one thing most people get wrong is the size. These things were rather large. I'm still working on other projects in order to improve my construction skills before I tackle this project but I fully intend to do it one day. :rolleyes Some other pics for you:

If you want other general shots let me know. I haven't capped all the scenes they showed up in but I've got a lot of them.

"gatling gun", and "canon", arms HM. I haven't seen the show all the way through in so many years I forget a lot about the DRD's ,but I don't recall these attachment, but I really like the idea of these little fellows packing heat. :lol Do you have any pics of some of the more unusual attachments, like these?

I may have to make my attachments interchangeable.

 

[Great_Bizarro]

If I remember correctly he got beat up pretty bad and was taped back together by John. Yes the yellow are better looking, they just don't have all the lovely quirks 1812 did.

Hey, how about hacking a roomba robot vac with a drd shell, be useful and entertaining chasing the cat.

 

[jackdoud]

"gatling gun", and "canon", arms HM. I haven't seen the show all the way through in so many years I forget a lot about the DRD's ,but I don't recall these attachment, but I really like the idea of these little fellows packing heat. :lol Do you have any pics of some of the more unusual attachments, like these?

I may have to make my attachments interchangeable.

Cannon shown when trying to take out the padak beacon in episode 2:

Plow when cleaning up after the Drax in episode 3:

Sprayer when neutralizing the crew after Moya becomes pregnant:

And gatling gun in the pop-open side panel when John stumbles on the offspring chamber:

 

[Mechamaniac]

Has anyone ever ID'd the stuff they used for the skirting material to cover the wheels? Looks like rubber mat of some sort.

 

[jason1976]

Well I don't see what I got for $150. as "throwing my money away". I remember years ago (Like 5, or so) when someone here on the boards offered the first DRD kit I had seen, and I really, REALLY, wanted one, but at the time $150. seamed like a but load of money. I've put it off, and put it off, but this month, I finally told myself, that I've spent around that for many a prop over the years, and it's finally DRD time.

The one I got is about 13" long, witch I think is pretty close to the right size. I mean, when I see them next to Johns feet, and near his peoples heads. It looks about like mine does next to my feet, and head. (if that made any since.) The panels on mine are pretty darn good too. Really, my only issue with my kit, is that it is a little to "tall" (you know, like most that are out there, it's a little too domed, or what ever, and doesn't look quite at "streamlined" as the screen used ones IMO.) and the little wing looking panels on the sides of mine done look like they're quite right. (the shapy is really good, they just don't looked stepped correctly to me.) Oh, and that one panel I mentioned in a previous post, was off, but I'm working one that, and it's coming along nicely. (so far.)

Mostly it's stuff I can fix, or live with. I would have LOVED to have an accurate one, but I had a hard time afording this one, so a higher end one would be out for me. (especially since I still have the expense of adding all the extras on this one.) Plus, my girl friend digs this stuff, but she flips out, when I get fussy about the details, so if I had to tell her, "hunny, I sold my DRD, and bout one that costs a lot more, just because they finally got the panels 100% correct" she really might kill me. (she's kind of crassy. :lol)

All that said, as usual, even if I can't have one, I always like drooling over the high end stuff when the rest of you get it. So, by all means have at it, and show me lots of pics. (And as usual, I might git one in a few years when someone sells their finished one at a fraction of the price in the junkyard).

I take this back, the more I look at this kit, the more I find I have to fix. The rear panels, and a few of the front ones look really good, but there is a lot of stuff on the side, and the middle I'm going to have to work on. And I was really looking forward to a quick build. At first I figured they weren't that far off, and even if I fix them it's still not going to be 100%, but after further consideration, if I see something that I can fix, I hat not to fix it.

 

[Great_Bizarro]

I think the best way to make a shell would be the same as rc car bodies with thermoformed lexan. Use a 1/16" thick or so for a little better rigidity and make removable hatches

 

[jackdoud]

Has anyone ever ID'd the stuff they used for the skirting material to cover the wheels? Looks like rubber mat of some sort.

There are two styles of skirt, the standard edge only:

or the full bottom:

They both seem to be the same stuff an judging by the iregularity in the patern on the full base one my guess is it's a strip of some type. I've kept an eye out for what it might be but haven't found anything close yet.

 

[Great_Bizarro]

I was thinking it was a doormat of some sort or another.

 

[jason1976]

You know, I'm real tempted to put the gut from one of those interactive R2's in my DRD replics.

Pluses: He would take voice commands, he could get around on his own (kind of)and he would have his own quirky personality. etc. etc.

Draw backs. I WOULD HAVE TO ADDRESS HIS AS R2, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO TALK ABOUT STAR WARS A LOT! (plus if I don't un hook the speeker, he would bleep, an squock a lot. :lol) Plus, he would be like to run off, and miss behave. (though that kind of fights.)

 

[jason1976]

Just to keep this from falling off, I thought I would give a little update. Mine need a lot of work, and as I was working on it, I've got side tracked with other projects. I do really, really, hope to get it done buy the end of next month though. (fingers crossed.)

 

[jason1976]

What size do you all think the stokes are? I was going through my junk boxes, and cam across some flexible, metal, conduit lick stuff. (a lot like the stuff, in the links other folks posted earlier in this thread.) But, it's only 1/2" in diameter, so I'm not sure. It seems bit narrow to me, but what do you all think?

 

[Reactor drone]

What size do you all think the stokes are? I was going through my junk boxes, and cam across some flexible, metal, conduit lick stuff. (a lot like the stuff, in the links other folks posted earlier in this thread.) But, it's only 1/2" in diameter, so I'm not sure. It seems bit narrow to me, but what do you all think?

Looks more like 20mm to me,in the pics where Ben Browder is holding the DRD the conduit is slightly smaller than his fingers and 20mm is a standard size which makes the base width of the DRDs a little over a foot.

 

[Mxlplx]

Is there any new news on this front? I'm really wanting one of these little buggers!

 

[jason1976]

Um, not on my part. I've had my kit for almost a year now, and I have a ways to go. I had a real good start on it last summer, but the more I worked on the kit, the more glaring inaccuracies I found. On my kit there are a lot of places that are indented that either should be flush with the rest, with just have a groove around them, and other spots, that should have a flap, or a little door, are indented as well. I'm finding I have to almost rebuild the whole kit. (we that may be a slight exaggeration, but not much of one.)

I also, still don't know what I want to use for the skirt, and the eye stocks.

I would have really liked to have had this done by now. I had a goal to take a droid to this years indi prop party, but this one, and my Ep 1 scrubber Droid both have a ways to go, and the prop party is tomorrow. Oh well, maybe next year.

 

[SurferGeek]

Bump back to see if anyone has finished a kit or found anything new.

 

[jason1976]

Nope, and nope. It's been over a year and a half since I bout my kit, and it still just keeps getting pushed back. This has been my year of Farscape props though, so it might get done this years.

That said, I bout all the stuff to do 4 different Han Solo DL-44 blaster, back when I really got into this hobby 9 years ago, or so, and I have yet to finish one of them. (I just keep finding new info, and i can't in good conscious finish them, and then have to do them all over again, to include the new info.

This is often the case with my projects. It goes.

Me: "cut here?"
the Boards: "yeah"
Me: "Are you sure?"
The boards: "yeap"
Me: "Ok, here I go."
The boards: "Go head already."
Me: "I did it"
(six months later) the boards: "Dude you know that's all wrong, you should have never cut it there."

It's all made me a bit paranoid. :lol

Seriously though, in this care, it's just been laziness. I've known what I need to do to make my kit good enough for me, but I just keep putting it off.

 

[jackdoud]

Same here. I've had a kit for over a year and haven't gotten around to finishing it. I did manage to screencap and archive all the various incarnations of the DRD though.

 

[fat bloke]

does any one have the measurements of a 1/1 version
the ones i have seen for sale look a bit on the small side
but i might be wrong

 

[CB2001]

From what I read somewhere, the DRD was actually based on a hockey helmet (I don't know if that's true or not, but that's just what I read a long time ago).

 

[CinnamonB]

Someday I'm going to take a second hand roomba, give it a DRD body, go into the programming and teach it it's new footprint and unleash it on my house.

You know, when someday second hand roombas are actually a thing and not just crazy talk.