RC Cybermat - The Silver Rat Devouring my Soul

[Linkara]

WARNING: My ramblings and psychosis to follow. TL;DR: I'm obsessed with building a remote-control cybermat and am encountering difficulties. Little help?

Sooo, I'm a complete and utter madman, primarily because of an obsession that I've had since I was 5 years old and watching old episides of Doctor Who on VHS tapes. I've always wanted a cybermat toy. I don't know what the hell it is about the stupid thing that I love so much, but I just adore it. So of course when the new series came out and they eventually brought a new version of the cybermat out, there was of course a toy.

And despite the fact that the episode it premiered in actually HAD the Doctor with a remote control with the cybermat... of course the toy wasn't RC. And it was a few inches smaller than scale. And it didn't have lights or make noise or anything. That's okay, though. It's still adorable and I'm happy to have it.

Unfortunately, it has not abated my obsession. I of course gutted one of them and inserted a tiny RC car and that works nicely... on my kitchen floor. See, the problem with me is that I live in an apartment with, you know, carpet. Tiny RC cars, especially when they're carrying a big shell on top of them, don't tend to work very well on carpeting. "Well, screw it," thought I - "If Character Options won't recognize the money it would make with this thing, I'll just make it my own damn self." I am by no means an expert prop maker. I make stuff out of cardboard and flashlights and acryllic paints and etc. I see things and I try to make them match other things.

And really, how simple an idea is this, right? Find RC car that works on carpet, make shell, put RC car inside of cybermat shell, and done. Oh, but this was simply the beginning of my quest.

Figuring that I was not the only person out there insane enough to want this, I did some searches online to see if others had done this before and attempt to replicate their success. Really the only one at the time was Kevin D's scartchbuild cybermat he had based off of the few still shots that had existed before the season had aired... and I honestly rather like it. You can see it in action here: Doctor Who New Cybermat Replica - YouTube

It's got lights, it's RC, and it's adorable. What's not to love? Of course, he did not leave instructions on what the hell he did save for a few bits of text on another forum along with some in-production pics. That got me going on SEVERAL ideas and eventually presented my Mark 1 cybermat, which I even made into a video tutorial, since of course being that my job is making an online web-series about comic books, a video about my obsession with cybermats means that all the supplies are tax write-offs. Watch SPECIAL: Cybermat Tutorial | Atop the Fourth Wall Episodes | Blip

And people liked it and that's great. Of course, it's got its flaws. Since it uses an IR receiver, the remote has to be held at a certain level and distance for it to pick it up. The tail does not sway back and forth, and the front could use a better transition for the mouth to the head. On a whim, I did another google search and came across another tutorial! Paul Bradford, who's actually a professional at this stuff, made a tutorial on an ingenious, inexpensive Tomb of the Cybermen-style cybermat: My Untempered Schism: 1967 Tomb Cybermat build...

This stuff was brilliant to me and I was kicking myself for not thinking of it myself - a scoop for the head? Bolts so that the sections can actually MOVE? INGENIOUS. I contacted him and we've exchanged some e-mails and it's great, but of course I ran into my own problems with it. See, I don't really want a Tomb cybermat, I've been going for something either original or closer to the adorable "Closing Time"-style cybermat. And I revised more and more for my Mark 2 cybermat and I would have been happy with it, since I had located a small RC car that would have done the job if I hadn't started running into problems. The first was weight issues (my own fault due to how back-heavy it was). I added more weight to the front. It seemed fine. Then I took it out for a test drive at a comics convention and... for some reason the RC never quite worked right again. I would need to get within five feet for it to work despite it working fine previously in my home and it's never quite worked right since.

So, I figured, it was time to go back to the drawing board, which is kind of where I'm at now. The continuing problem I've had with the damn thing is the RC car. Most RC cars are either too big or too expensive to be what I want them to be. The problem I seem to keep running into in between is the infrared receiver. Standard radio control seems to be a dying art, but IR receivers end up getting blocked by the shell, making it almost impossible for it to be, you know, controlled. I was ready to throw myself into learning how to build an RC car from scratch... but apparently remote control vehicles are some kind of elite club that nobody wants to TEACH anybody, because I haven't found any "Beginner's Guide to RC car building" or the like. The closest was a book that I haven't purchased yet from Amazon that some fans of mine pointed my way, but I don't know if it's worth it depending on what direction I ultimately want to go.

Realizing that I have a HUGE supply of LEGOs from my childhood AND that LEGO puts out RC material, it seemed like my problems were solved - I would just build an RC car that was the right size. HA. I did get the PowerForce RC stuff and I understand how it works. However, designs for an RC car or tank have run into problems. Either I don't have that one tiny little obscure technic piece that's only available in sets $50 and up or the things are too damn big or, in my latest build, the damn thing is doing poppa-wheelies. Still, I started work on another shell to try to incorporate what I had learned previously - the overall design of the Mark 1 but with the lighter materials of the Mark 2 AND moveable sections, but it's still big and bulky in order to accomodate one of the Lego tanks I had built.

So, here I am. I am throwing myself on the mercy of the forum. Am I insane to want a remote-controlled cybermat that is no longer than 12 inches and can work on friggin' CARPET? Or am I chasing some mad dream here for someone whose most major experience in prop construction involves hot glue and junk from a hardware store?

 

[division 6]

RC on carpet I would suggest a tank or vehicle with treads.
I used one for my small 18" Treadwell Droid.

 

[Harry Bardwell]

Hey Linkara, I'm actually a professional prop builder myself, and a huge fan of your show. Now RC stuff is sadly not my specialty though. I know radio shack use to sell small RC cars, but I'm afraid they may be to small (zip zaps I believe they were called). I want to think I've seen fisher price type RC cars that would be about the right size though yet again could be wrong, I've seen both the who episodes and yours that feature the cybermats, but don't know exactly how big they are, what are the dimensions you are working with for the head? I'll see if I can't find something around where I live and let you know about it. Short of that finding a smallish RC car and replacing the wheels and modding the frame is my thought on it.

 

[zipatronic]

Do you want to go the converting a exsisting rc/infra red model or do you want to scratch build something?
I know that you can buy micro servos and receivers and there are gear boxes you can use like these

Tamiya 70167 Single Gearbox (4-Speed) Kit (POL118) | Proto-PIC.co.uk

Tamiya 72004 Worm Gearbox Kit (POL73) | Proto-PIC.co.uk

you only need to mount it to something like a mdf base or even thicker grade styrene sheet.

there used to be a small rc mini with simple piano wire steering straight off the servo ( i had 1 and cant remember who made it now )
it had foam tyres that will grip carpet and even hard floor with no problem, you should be able to source them from any decent model shop that carries rc cars.

May be easier to build a basic chassis and make your model over the top??

 

[zipatronic]

found a pic of the mini chassis:

Mardave Racing V12 RS Mini Stox 2011 R/C Kit [V12RS] - £58.29 : Mardave Racing Spare Parts And Kits - www.mardavespares.com - Mardave Spares

pic at bottom

chassis is made of GRP.

 

[Linkara]

RC on carpet I would suggest a tank or vehicle with treads.
I used one for my small 18" Treadwell Droid.

Pretty much what I decided at a certain point, too, but I'm exploring every option since there ARE wheels that work on carpet.

Do you want to go the converting a exsisting rc/infra red model or do you want to scratch build something?
I know that you can buy micro servos and receivers and there are gear boxes you can use like these

Honestly, at this point I'm willing to try anything. I'm still open to Lego being an option, too. The closest I've gotten to a really good RC car was the one used in the Mark 1 cybermat, but the damn thing has special screws that require some kind of triangle-head screwdriver so taking it apart to move the IR receiver is not exactly the best option at the moment for that one.

Scratch-building a car would be fine, but I'd like to understand the basic principles of what I'm doing. Like I said, there doesn't seem to be a "So You Want to Build RC Cars?" guide anywhere, so throwing out acronyms like "MDF" and "GRP" actually mean absolutely nothing to me, especially since my skill set for building ANYTHING is still pretty basic. The fact that I know what styrene is is pretty impressive for me.

I've seen both the who episodes and yours that feature the cybermats, but don't know exactly how big they are, what are the dimensions you are working with for the head? I'll see if I can't find something around where I live and let you know about it. Short of that finding a smallish RC car and replacing the wheels and modding the frame is my thought on it.

There's what I'm ACTUALLY working with and then there's IDEAL dimensions. In an ideal world, the cybermat would be no wider than 4 inches, no taller than 3 inches, and no longer than 11 inches, with the head taking up no more than 6 inches of that, less if possible.

Because this is not an ideal world, the one I've been working on (the latest lego tank build for the RC tank) would require a width of 5 inches, a head of 6 inches, a height of 4 inches, and an overall length of 12 inches. Before I pared down the tank design I was using, it was 6 inches wide, 17 long, with the head taking up 8 of that. and a height of 5.

I'm limited by the supplies and knowledge I possess to make this stuff work - I use plastic scoops, plastic buckets, long strips of balsa wood, hot glue, and posterboard. I know nothing of clay or foam or how difficult it is to manipulate them.

 

[zipatronic]

you can buy the screwdriver bits easy enough i have a set. dig about on ebay and you can pick them up. look for security screwdrivers.

mdf medium density fibre board used in furniture and cabinet making etc available in most diy stores and grp is glass reinforced plastic bit like what circuit boards are made from.

 

[Linkara]

Alrighty, thanks for the info, zipatronic! ^_^

 

[zipatronic]

No worries i used to race rc cars so if i can help u with the rc part give me a shout.
Bare in mind thou that a direct motor to gear drive will be was to fast for your needs and will def need a gearbox of some sort.

 

[Linkara]

Unfortunately, the original post I made of this got eaten since I tried to make it in the middle of the last security update for the forum, sooo this might not be as good as the original. XD

So, the last week or two has seen me try to get back onboard with getting a working RC cybermat done. While a fan has generously designed and sent off a version to a 3-D printer that he has access to, I still wanted to try to get this thing done.

Looking back on my initial work on the Mark 3 Cybermat shown above... it's big. TOO big, and that's why I decided to scrap it. I mean, at the point it was at, I might as well have just tried to make a "Revenge of the Cybermen" style Cybermat, and while that design is cool, it wasn't really what I was going for. I went back to square one and looked at some additional RC cars I had purchased and found a toy car that had a genuine, honest-to-goodness ANTENNAE instead of the IR receivers I had been saddled with that had caused so much pain in this project.

And so I began work on the Mark 4 cybermat utilizing a larger scoop I had purchased at a thrift store and modeling it more after the original Kevin D cybermat with the large round "mouth." The RC car was still a bit long, so the tail would end up being shorter than I originally wanted, but frankly I feel it just adds to the charm of it. However, utilizing all I had learned up to this point, I created my Mark 4 Cybermat:

The first problem I had with it was, of course, the RC car. While the car ran fine on carpet on its own, when the shell was added it barely moved at all. It wasn't dragging or anything, it just had difficulty moving, most likely due to the tires being too small. It was back to the drawing board, but not for too long. Among my RC car purchases was a larger truck-based RC car that also had blinking red and blue lights on it! So it added a new factor to the cybermat that I had always wanted anyway (but figured wasn't skilled enough to incorporate). Was it exactly what I wanted? No, but it was still cool. The best part was that this one ALSO used a standard radio antennae so that part still worked great. However...

Well, the main problem is it's too slow. While not UNGODLY slow, it does tend to move at a sluggish (no pun intended) pace. And the wheels are larger and have rubber studs in them that work really well on the carpet, so once again, it's most likely a weight issue, but not really one I could reduce, sadly, considering how bare-bones it is already. It still works, and that's still great, and it's adorable and all, but I still wanted something faster that could work on carpet.

So I went back to the original Mark 1 cybermat. The RC car it used is actually really damn good on carpet, with a very basic, flat design to it. The problem was always the IR receiver - it had a red plastic cover over its IR receiver, and while that worked just fine when the car was on its own, it was a bit of a pain when a shell was put on top of it and you'd need to fiddle with the angles you were holding the controller to get it right, and even then it didn't really go all that far before the signal was lost. You couldn't GET to the receiver or the inside of the car, though, because the damn thing has screws WITH A TRIANGLE-SHAPED SCREWDRIVER NEEDED (who USES triangle-screws?!?!).

Frustrated by my earlier efforts, I ripped off the tail of the Mark 1 with the intention of upgrading said tail and then bit the bullet and bought some triangle-shaped screwdrivers off of Amazon, since my efforts to find triangle-shaped screwdrivers at hardware stores and a hobby store proved fruitless. I finally got the screws out and took of the stupid plastic coverings, adjusting the IR receivers to make them a little more exposed. Lo and behold, THE THING WORKS REALLY WELL NOW EVEN WITH THE SHELL OVER IT. You still need to aim it at the cybermat, but you can do it from more of a distance and be standing while you do it. And so after building a new tail, we have the Mark 1 Refit!

I incorporated the tail design from Paul Bradford's Tomb cybermat. The one difference in mine is that since this was a larger beast than that, the tail segments were going to be larger, as well, and thus more fragile if I stuck to the placemats used for those. As such, I added a strip of 0.8mm (0.03") Plastruct styrene to the top and sides of the tail segments, giving it some much-needed stability. This particular size worked well since while it was thick enough to be durable, it was also thin enough that it's easy to bend and shape into angles. For example, one problem the original Mark 1 had was that the back wheels showed. I added two strips of styrene to the sides to better cover the wheels.

After a fresh coat of paint and varnish, the refit Mark 1 works GREAT! It goes as fast as I want, it turns on a dime, and it's not TOO big. Heck, I think the redesigned tail actually made it a bit smaller than before. For size comparison, here are the Marks 1, 2 (shown earlier), and 4 next to the official Bump-And-Go cybermat toy.

Sooo, any downsides? Well, yes, there IS one. Since the RC car for the Mark 1 needs to be charged via the controller, it doesn't hold much of a charge. I got about 2-3 minutes of play out of the thing before it couldn't handle the carpet anymore. However, I think that's an acceptable sacrifice to FINALLY have a remote-control Cybermat! HUZZAH! Sooo, where do I go from here?

Well, the only thing that still bugs me about the Mark 1 is the "mouth." I have another of the scoops that I used for the Mark 4 and I'm thinking of cutting the front of it off and putting it on this one, which should merge the mouth and head a little bit better, but that's a project for another day, since I'm just damn satisfied that the silver rat is pretty much DONE.

So, thoughts?

 

[Harry Bardwell]

You know I saw a rc yoshi car the other day and thought of this thread and boom here it is again . I love the tail on it, and can't wait to see with the new mouth but, I really like it :thumbsup

 

[Linkara]

So managed to snag a new RC car that, while not as fast as the previous one I had used for the Mark 1 Refit, does work on carpet, is standard radio control, AND uses its own batteries for power. As such, took the opportunity to also replace the mouth of the Mark 1 Refit and thus we have this!

I figure based on the lack of views and responses that not many people are following this, but hey, I shall still ask for opinions from people. ^_^

 

[Straker]

I still really like that rounded one with the black bumpers but I can see that having a lack of space in it.