BB-8 - Static non-3D printed budget build

Howlrunner

Howlrunner

Sr Member
I love droids of all kinds, and BB-8 is awesome. I needs me one for my collection. :p


That said:


1) I don't have a 3D printer.
2) I can't afford to have all the parts 3D printed for me.


So.... It's time to get a little crafty....


After much searching, I scored a 30cm diameter ex-store display Christmas Bauble from eBay:


z98TWLR.jpg



But it needed cut in half and the glitter removed. Cue dremel, a LOT of sanding, a LOT of filler primer and a LOT more sanding.... :mad:


I then used the free program 3D Tool to take measures from the Club STL files and used a flexible ruler, masking tape, pencil, eraser and pair of compasses to mark up the dome.


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Then I got my smallest dremel head:


UhU6gTF.jpg



Took a deep breath, steadied my hand and away I went:


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Stopping every so often to left my hand un-cramp! Until finally I got to here:


bQpPRVV.jpg

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The holoprojector and the eye pieces were 3D printed (yes, I cheated :p) - they were the only parts I could afford and thought would be too difficult to reproduce accurately any other way.


And that's were I'm up to at the moment...
 
trymypatience said:
If you're after doing the body also, maybe check this website out. http://www.ballkit.co.uk/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=363375
Not sure if they have the exact sizes but worth a look!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks. The body should be 50cm diameter and the closest they sell is 58cm diameter - and it costs 158 Euros....

I've got this on the way for the body:

s-l1600.jpg


Which is only £38. Obviously there's gonna be a hole it in, but as this is a static display piece, I'm not bothered by that as it will be hidden.
 
GEEK1138 said:
Hey man, can u post a link for the 50cm ball...I wanna make a torture droid
Click to expand...

This is the one I ordered: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Spherical-E27-Garden-Lamp-Outdoor-Lighting-Ball-Sphere-Diameter-50-cm-PMMA-/222194861412?hash=item33bbd88564:g:nSsAAOSw-YVXlW0-

Not a lot more done yesterday/today. Glued in the radar eye. I know this is usually kept seperate, painted and THEN installed, but my dremel work didn't cut a PERFECT circle for it, so I needed to fill a few gaps around it that would have driven me crazy....

Then filler primer, sanding dremelled lines, more filler primer, and more sanding..... :facepalm

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Great work FrightMaker - I want to try to make the head turn, so will have a look a bit more at what you did. :thumbsup

Decided I couldn't live with some of the dremelled lines - most are OK, but the small, tight circles looked, well, I just didn't like them. So dremmelled them out and dremmled new pieces from styrene sheet to fit in place. MUCH nicer now!

YhfjZAd.jpg


Started work on the top half of the dome skirt (not got a concrete plan for the angled underside yet, but will probably involve plastic plates...). I found a cheap plastic clock with a diameter of 30cm (spot on for my head) and started dremmelling the outer plastic casing to the correct widths:

1sN68J4.jpg


And since today was FINALLY dry and wind-free (well, at least for an hour!) I got some painting started. Also glued in the holoprojector, new PSI part I made (I cut those circles out too) and added some foil insulating tape to the dome skirt.

Oh, and my garden light ball arrived today! :cool

epeP0Ve.jpg
 

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Love your work!

I'd love to see what drawings or other you're using for your reference - I'm looking at doing a similar project but also am deficient to the tune of one 3D printer!

Cheers,
Les.
 
erikdeth said:
Love your work!

I'd love to see what drawings or other you're using for your reference - I'm looking at doing a similar project but also am deficient to the tune of one 3D printer!

Cheers,
Les.
Click to expand...

I joined http://bb8builders.club/forum/ where you can then access all of the STL files for 3D printing. Instead of printing them, I downloaded "3D Tool" (which is a free STL reader) and then used the measuring tool to take measurements of each panel line height, circle radius, etc.
 
Bit more work done on the dome. Orange painted and light weathering added, and frosted acrylic added to behind the cut outs. Still needs the holoprojector lens, main radar eye lens tinted and installed properly, antennae, lights, and the dome skirt lower half constructed.


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