Okay, let me start by saying the reason I enjoy being a part of the RPF boards so much is because I admire the talent of the people who post here and their skills to create amazing prop and model replicas. I am not that guy. I love this stuff but I'm not really that good at it. But I had an idea to try and build a full-scale Star Wars battle droid for my son. Now, my first criteria was not to spend any money (except for paint and a couple of bolts). I wanted to clear out my scrap wood pile, I'm more of a DIY-er than a prop builder, and create something my Star Wars fantastic kiddo would enjoy. I know the scale is off and the proportions aren't quite right and there are things missing but my kid is going to love this dude. And the main reason I'm even posting these pics of work in progress is because 1) I really enjoy the RPF boards when they show work-in-progess and 2) so that all those dads out there will be inspired to spend a couple hours in the garage next Saturday making something for their kid because they will love it no matter what. Enjoy. And ideas and feedback are appreciated:
Star Wars Battle Droid - Sort of...
- Thread starter dstreety
- Start date
Unresponsible
Member
I'm pretty new here too but I seriously doubt anyone is going to rip you for screen accuracy, especially on a complex first build like this.
It's coming along beautifully...your kid's going to flip
It's coming along beautifully...your kid's going to flip
I love these type of builds. Look around at my older threads, all built for my kids spending no money just using whatever I had laying around. Nice work so far, can not wait to see the rest. And be sure to take one of your son with it, I love seeing the smiling faces on the kids.
Smiling Demon
Sr Member
Looking pretty good so far!!!
Sincerely, thank you for the kind words.
The build continues; It's funny because I was literally using my own body as the template. I'd put the foot next to my foot, the arm next to my arm, to take the measurements but when I put the whole thing together for the first time, it's over 7 feet tall and I'm only 5' 11"! lol. I think it's all neck. I'm trying to figure out where to cut down, maybe the thigh area. And because I'm bootlegging everything with scrap wood, he's a little wobbling when I stood him up. Need to sure things up. Hopefully I'll be finishing the build this week and can start the paint over the weekend.
Thanks again for the kind words.
The build continues; It's funny because I was literally using my own body as the template. I'd put the foot next to my foot, the arm next to my arm, to take the measurements but when I put the whole thing together for the first time, it's over 7 feet tall and I'm only 5' 11"! lol. I think it's all neck. I'm trying to figure out where to cut down, maybe the thigh area. And because I'm bootlegging everything with scrap wood, he's a little wobbling when I stood him up. Need to sure things up. Hopefully I'll be finishing the build this week and can start the paint over the weekend.
Thanks again for the kind words.
tek2graphics
Sr Member
There's an old saying in the movie industry that a film is never done, it's released. Which basically means, most directors could keep tweaking a movie and never finish the film (just look at George Lucas!). Well, I could keep tweaking on this battle droid but I think I'm done. When last we left off, the basic build was complete. I ended up putting a lot of work into the head. I should have used bondo to coat the whole thing but in my quest to do it all on a $0 budget, I coated the whole thing in ceiling mud (plaster). I know not the smartest thing to do but I was actually hoping it would crack and break off to create a worn effect. The problem was the head because it had the most mud, big pieces started falling off. I went back and coated the whole head in carpenter's glue, mud and all. I know, again, not the smartest thing to do but it held. The eye were the thing I feel didn't come out right because I ended up having to use a default hole saw for the size and I think they're too big.
I spray painted the whole thing with silver paint so that when I sanded the edges, it would reveal the silver creating a metal effect. Next I did something that I'm probably most proud of, you know that generic interior house paint color, tan (or Navajo Sand to be exact)? I had just enough left over from painting the dining room to coat the whole droid. Then I taped off some lines to look like body seams, and dusted the whole thing with flat black paint, just enough to create an effect. Next I took stain and squished it into areas where grease would leak out of the droid to create the effect of oil leaking out of joints. And finally sanded to reveal the silver and create a weathered effect.
So I finished the droid and the plan was to go buy a generic blaster at Toys-R-Us. I was cleaning up the garage and I picked up a broom handle that I used for the pistons, the lobes on the back of the head and for fake bolt heads. It was about 14" long and I thought, maybe I could make a blaster out of it. I literally just picked up scraps off the floor of the garage and two days later, blaster!
It's not perfect but I love the way it turned out and now it stands guard at the end of my kid's bed. Hope you enjoy the journey as much as me.
I spray painted the whole thing with silver paint so that when I sanded the edges, it would reveal the silver creating a metal effect. Next I did something that I'm probably most proud of, you know that generic interior house paint color, tan (or Navajo Sand to be exact)? I had just enough left over from painting the dining room to coat the whole droid. Then I taped off some lines to look like body seams, and dusted the whole thing with flat black paint, just enough to create an effect. Next I took stain and squished it into areas where grease would leak out of the droid to create the effect of oil leaking out of joints. And finally sanded to reveal the silver and create a weathered effect.
So I finished the droid and the plan was to go buy a generic blaster at Toys-R-Us. I was cleaning up the garage and I picked up a broom handle that I used for the pistons, the lobes on the back of the head and for fake bolt heads. It was about 14" long and I thought, maybe I could make a blaster out of it. I literally just picked up scraps off the floor of the garage and two days later, blaster!
It's not perfect but I love the way it turned out and now it stands guard at the end of my kid's bed. Hope you enjoy the journey as much as me.
iansanders87
New Member
What a cool thing to do with your kid! It looks great!
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