Originally posted by Proximo@Dec 15 2005, 10:29 PM
Oh and that tracking bug, that "Neo" gets in his tummy, That looks pretty cool too, i remember seeing it here somewhere.
I would like some picture of that too if someone have some.
Hope any of my english make sense, Thanks in advance.
"Post recycled tutorials. It's good for the community and okay for you."
Nexus6's Matrix Agent Bug Tutorial
Using info gleaned from the Net, & careful/meticulous measurements taken from screencaps, I drew up this crude diagram (using MSPaint). The picture itself is not to scale, but the numbers are as accurate as I could get.
My parts consisted of:
3/8" Copper Tube Cap (which measures 9/16" outer diameter)
1/2" Copper Tubing
5/16" Round Brass Stock
18 gauge Floral Stem Wire (not pictured)
Using my initial diagram, I cut the '3/8" Copper Tube Cap' & the '1/2" Copper tubing' to the correct measurements & epoxied them together, to form the "head" of the bug. I cut the '18 gauge Floral Stem Wire' into the following shapes. I don't have any measurements for those, as they must be "eyeballed" to fit correctly into the "head".
Then I drilled a hole in the into the '1/2" Copper Tubing' to form the "eye", & primed/painted the "head" with 'Rustoleum Aluminum 7715' paint.
(A lot of the wire shapes I used, were done in a way that I felt would give the most strength/stability once the project was finished.)
The 4 outer wires, were installed/superglued in the "head" like so:
...After that dried, I installed/superglued in the "eye-guard" wire (see pic below).
I thought I had taken a pic of the coiled wire before installation, but I was either mistaken OR it was deleted accidentally. Basically, I had a dowel in the garage, which measured 1/8" in diameter. I wrapped the '18 gauge Floral Stem Wire' around the dowel 7 times, then removed the dowel, & cut the top end of the wire to length illustrated in the initial diagram. On the bottom end of the wire, I made a right-angle, & then twisted it into a small circle, to make a sort of "platform" for stability (then painted with 'Krylon Semi-flat Black #1613'). I think you can get the idea here:
Then I stuck a very small piece of aluminum foil to some blue quick-release masking tape & placed it over the "eye" hole. Then I mixed some red food coloring into some casting resin, & filled the "head" of the bug to a level just covering the "eye".
At this point, I took a piece of the '5/16" Round Brass Stock' (see diagram for measurements) & slid it over the coiled wire. Then I squirted some more casting resin (CLEAR this time) into the "head" until it was slightly below the top edge of the "head". Once dry, CAREFULLY remove the masking tape. Now, when a light source shines at the correct angle, the "eye" appears to be illuminated slightly.
Finally, I trimmed the 4 outer wires to the correct length. I hope I haven't forgotten anything...
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