MST3K Crow Replica WIP

[MrSinistar]

I remember my parents watching MST3K back when it was on Comedy Central in the early-mid 90s and when I rediscovered it several years ago online, I realized what an awesome show it was and became a fan.

A couple of years ago, I discovered Bot-building and how all these people have made their own Crows, Tom Servos and Gypsies replicas, which I thought was really cool. After waiting forever, I finally decided to make my own Crow.

I got a vacuformed soap dish for Crow's eyesocket and a Cooper XL7 faceguard for his antenna-thingy. The thing is that the faceguard actually had it's tabs broken off and someone glued in cut-out plastic pieces to create the same look. Honestly, I think it looks good and no one will really notice when it's all painted and finished. I'm also waiting on some Floralier vase/trays for the torso and the bowling pin for his mouth.

I'll post pics of the progress soon.

 

[MisterScrub]

Yes, keep us updated. I've been a Mystie for a long time and I have GOT to have my own Servo and Crow one day. A Ned the Nanite would be cool too.

 

[Pickenprod]

Hooray for bot-building! I was introduced to the show just last year, shortly after Rifftrax. Great stuff, Mike Nelson and the others do. Definitely please post progress pics!

 

[MrSinistar]

Got the torso and mouth parts today! Here's some pics of the parts:

 

[Prydonian]

Ah, it's nice to see bot-building alive and well. Best of luck!

Ooh, a Ned the Nanite... I never even thought of that!

 

[MisterScrub]

I think the nanites were vhs tapes for the body and audio cassettes for the head. I forget exactly what the legs were. something simple anyway.


sinistar, if I may ask, where are you getting the vac formed parts and for how much?

 

[MrSinistar]

I think the nanites were vhs tapes for the body and audio cassettes for the head. I forget exactly what the legs were. something simple anyway.


sinistar, if I may ask, where are you getting the vac formed parts and for how much?

I got them from Gerrit R., who's friends with the guy that runs JoeCrow.com. He makes parts for Crow, Tom and Gypsy. He's a really nice guy and he's fast too.

The soapdish was $10. Here's Crow's part list (with pricing):

Crow

PM me for Gerrit's email.

 

[MisterScrub]

Excellent, thank you.

 

[MrSinistar]

Today was the first time in a while that I had a lot of free time so I decided to devote it to working on Crow.

I went over to Home Depot and got some PVC pipe and couplings for the neck/backbone/handle assembly. I also cut out the vac formed soap dish (which was much easier than I thought).

After I did that I had the wonderful job of drilling everything without a 5/8" drill bit. The vases of the Tuppercraft thingy were easy to drill through and carve out with an X-ACTO, but the trays were not. I actually cracked one of the trays while trying to make the hole larger. Fortunately, the crack is not dangerously big or noticeable. Still, I'm a bit annoyed I did that.

The bowling pin beak was poorly cut by the previous owner, so I decided to use it as a practice piece for drilling. Man, I really need like a drill press or something. LOL.

I found another bowling pin on eBay, so I'm going to use that one for the project.

I got the Tuppercraft vase and trays from the same owner of the pin and they were poorly painted. As a result, I got gold paint flakes all over the house.

Pics of the torso will be up soon. Anyone got advice drilling bowling pins? XD

 

[micdavis]

Here's some inspiration. I did these about 5 years ago. Then had to sell them.

And his buddy.

 

[MrSinistar]

Wow, awesome bots, micdavis!! Sorry you had to sell them. Both are them are really epic. I hope I can match your quality. Did you use any clear coat for the bots?

 

[micdavis]

I used the same paint the originals were painted with. Testor's spray paint. I'll have to look up the exact color name. Gold Flake Leaf and some red.

 

[MrSinistar]

Crow is Testors #1642 Lime Gold Metal Flake, if the resources are right. Eyes are Krylon #R00439 OSHA Safety Yellow or Daisy Yellow.

 

[micdavis]

That's it alright. Tom is also a Testor's paint.

No clear coat.

USE SUPER THIN COATS of that Lime Gold Flake. Goes on way better and brighter SUPER THIN.

 

[MrSinistar]

That's really good to know, thanks dude. Do you remember how many cans you went through with the gold paint?

Also, did you use a gold primer or a black/gray primer or no primer at all?

 

[micdavis]

I did a semi-gloss black on all parts first for Crow.

 

[MrSinistar]

Good to know too. Thanks again.

 

[micdavis]

Do you remember how many cans you went through with the gold paint?

I think four, but I messed it up a couple time with thick coats. That's how I remember THIN COATS.

I am very impatient when painting so LOTS (like 8) thin coats drives me nuts.

But I can't stress how well that worked. Really gave it the right look.

 

[Too_Many_Cars]

Crow's paint job is the hardest part of the whole thing (except possibly making the eyes move and snap back to center). I ended up repainting mine several times during the course of a fan film back in 2000 and my best results were with an undercoat of bright gold followed by 2-3 extremely thin coats of the metal flake. Kept the final product nice and bright to match the film prop look without flooding it with light.

Servo was the same way, a bright metallic red followed by two or three light coats of metal flake looked the show correct red color instead of a dark burgundy.

--Brian

 

[MrSinistar]

Thanks a lot for the painting tips guys. I really appreciate it.

Do you guys have any advice for the eye mechanism? BTW, I'm using JoeCrow's instructions for this build. He uses a wooden dowel and a piece of string to control the eyes.