Will Vale Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hi folks, I've been a bit low on mojo lately - nothing done this last month owing to an upcoming move - so this GB is well-timed to hopefully help me do something about it! I saw Moon in the cinema when it came out - a great low-budget British sci-fi film with perhaps the best Kubrickian set design since, well, 2001. One of the key characters is a "robotic "assist" called Gerty - sort of a mobile, non-psychotic HAL - voiced by Kevin Spacey. Gerty (and most of the rest of the film) was designed by Gavin Rothery and the full-size prop was built by Steve Howarth. Steve also made a 1/6 version to cast and offer as a kit, and when I found out it existed I had to get one. http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=60917 A hundred quid (plus P&P) later and I had a box jam-packed with heavy resin. So not a cheap kit, but for what it is (a short run garage kit) it's really good value - lots of big, nicely-cast resin, pre-wired PCBs with LEDs for lighting the screen and worklights, metal pipes, transparencies for the screen, decals, post-it notes, etc. etc. The tricky bit is that Gerty runs through Sarang moonbase in a ceiling track system, so there's no way to stand him up. I'll either need to build a gibbet to suspend him from, or more likely a chunk of the base. I did some sketches for the latter and worked out sizes, and it's going to be, well, huge! Still, that makes more space for wacky ideas like OLED screens, audio, servos, etc. etc. Not sure how many (if any) of these will actually happen but you never know - the GB time is quite long and there's scope to do some cool stuff. If only we weren't moving in the middle of it! Cheers, Will 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knikki Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 When this came up in the previous GB Thread I had to go google Gertie and was suprised to see what it was like, should be interesting to watch this being built and might have to see if I can find the film as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 The film is really good - simple, stylish and effective. Definitely watch it if you get the chance. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestar12chris Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Loved the film, it was refreshingly well thought out, will follow this build with interest. All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I liked the film a lot as well. As a project this is something a bit different and should make for entertaining viewing especially in your skilled hands Will. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philp Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Does the kit come with the mug and which smiley face are you going to use? Definitely will be following this one. Really liked the movie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Thanks folks! It does come with the mug and a little shelf to put it on. I'll set out the small bits and take a picture later - there are some lovely detail inserts for the wurky bitz at the back. I'm not sure about the face, I've been looking into small OLED panels for the display. There's not much room in the housing but it looks like a 128x64 black and white OLED on a 27mm breakout board will just fit. It's not quite tall enough for the supplied bezel but it's not far off. Obviously it's only black and white, but I was thinking I could print a new gel with the yellow circle for Gerty's face and the blue background, and display the eyes and mouth in black on an all-pixels-turned-on white panel? Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philp Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Me and electronics don't get along but I did find this. http://www.gavinrothery.com/garty-robotic-assist/single-gallery/10895859 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 wow what an awesome model and resin as well! I had to look it up as well. Will follow with great interest, especially to see what gizmo's you add! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Here are the remaining bits, including the faces and the mug I suppose I should give the resin a bath, but I might wait until I've sanded the pour stubs down. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Interesting. I liked the film. Is it me or did the rover outdoor scenes look very "Anderson"? I did guess the ending surprise. Then the same idea turned up again in Oblivion. Tsk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Look forward to seeing this, really enjoyed the movie, a proper SF movie with excellent model work instead of loads of CGI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 I agree, the outdoor stuff did look Anderson-esque, or maybe British sci-fi-esque since they also remind me of the wonderful Star Cops. I sat down with the big bits of resin today and sanded off the larger pour stubs and vents, working very wet starting with 150 grit paper. I'd rather they'd been left full-length so I could've taken them off with a razor saw - the 1mm depth left on wasn't enough to guide the cut, so sanding was the only option but I find it very hard to hand-sand large parts square, even with a block (or the table edge). The weird shapes don't help either. So Gerty is a little bit wobbly in places, some of which is my doing and some looks like the parts started a little tiny bit off. I've also been sanding down the surfaces with 400 grit since there were plenty of scratches. Thankfully the prop is quite weathered (especially coffee stains) so I don't need to achieve anything like perfection Fit is decent, but there are lots of bubbles to deal with on the edges of things. I've just given all the big bits a wash so I can prime them and figure out what needs to happen next. I think this is a rattle-can job since it's so big! Cheers, Will 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Here's some rough primer and a dry fit: (click for bigger) as you can see the surfaces are a bit rough, there are burrs and sanding scars and lots of bubbles: I think I'm going to be filling, sanding and generally resurfacing the whole thing for the next week or so Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 "A hundred quid (plus P&P) later " - that's an awful lot of money for that many resin bubbles! One or two - sure - it happens - but that many?! QC isn't one of their strong points by the looks of it. Which is a shame because it's quite a cool subject. Howvere, I am sure a man of your skill will take care of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Yeah I don't think the casting I got is as good as the one built as a demo. Although some of the flaws appear to be from the master. On the plus side, no mould lines to speak of! I think that the price would have been too low for a really top quality casting of something this big, especially given the extra stuff (decals, transparencies, electronics) included. So while it's frustrating to have all this stuff to deal with I don't feel like I've been done Compare $70 for Rich's (admittedly perfectly-cast) mini-Viper. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 I did lots of wet sanding, sufficient for my fingers to go wrinkly like I'd been in the bath! I removed the four cartridge-shaped bits to give me more convex shapes to work with, applied Tamiya putty to the faces with medium bubbles, and Tamiya LSP to the faces which were just rough or had only tiny pinholes. After that lot dried I wet-sanded with 400 grit paper on a ceramic tile (as far as possible) or glued to a lolly stick for a block. It all feels much better, most of the rough edges have squared up nicely and it looks like I've also flattened the faces which were curved by (nearly imperceptible) resin shrinkage. I also re-cut some of the grooves with a razor saw. Still got a fair bit to do but I think that's enough for today. All the really big bubbles need to be filled with something like Miliput, as well as the ones on details. I suspect the medium ones will need a re-skim since the putty does shrink. As far as I know, I haven't opened *too* many new bubbles, but I'm sure I'll find some when this gets re-primed. I'll edit some pics into this post later when the camera has charged. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knikki Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Looks like your making good progress there Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 It's coming along. The sanding can be quite fun, although there are some bits around details which scare me rather. Here's the missing photo of where I've got to: (click for bigger) Most of the grey pinholes now feel smooth to the touch, one or two are dimpled and need a touch-up, and there are others still to fill in. Cheers, Will 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamo11 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Moon is one of my favourite films, I love freaky sci-fi thrillers so it's right up there with Alien for me. Anyway nice progress here, look forward to seeing it finished 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Probably a bit too late but would a smear of car body filler (such as Isopon) have helped with the filling of the evident porosity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Probably but I don't have any. I used Tamiya putty and LSP. It's looking better after a round of priming but there's still a long way to go. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Spent another hour or so applying filler, and then four hours sanding it back off again. I'm getting there! At least I think I am, I won't know until I re-prime. Also I've started filling the pinholes which were either too big or on sharp features with CA and talc. Only done a couple of parts so far but it's working OK. I'm tempted to count them but that way madness lies... Note to self - drill out the mis-moulded fasteners ready to make some new ones. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 what's the deal with CA and talc? Does the talc make it set faster? Do you sprinkle it over the top or add it before hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 I mix it to a slurry (depending on how thick I want it) and apply like a filler. The talc adds body (so thin CA fills gaps better) and more importantly makes it easier to sand since it can't set as hard as it usually does. I've heard of people using doing it the other way, and using talc as a setting agent, but I spray it with accelerant if I really want a fast set. It's tricksy stuff but it's great for impatient people like me - I *hate* waiting for filler to dry. HTH, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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