A cheap and quick K-9 build (maybe)

[darth_baldrick]

Thanks, I hadn't really thought about what the tail looked like, it was just a case of trying to find something with the round hole in the end. 

Maybe if The Doctor had shopped in the pound store when he built the original, he'd have been forced to use something similar. 

[darth_baldrick]

Only a very quick update today, thought I'd do something to make the lettering stand out on the side ready for when it gets painted.

So a quick search and a font called Westminster (which appeared to be freely available) is a pretty good match for the old Palitoy lettering.  

Printed on a sheet of A4 in Word, at 220 size (just in case anyone else is wondering) its about the right scale for the large K-9 toy I'm making.
I then cut those out with a pair of scissors and using an old scrap of foam board I had laying around, I was able to draw around them and cut with a Stanley knife.  



Sticking these to the side with a bit of copydex seems to do the trick and when everything is painted grey it should merge in a bit and look like part of the unit. Probably.  



So there we go, a break for a couple of weeks and hoping for a hot summer so I can get this finished by the end of June!

[darth_baldrick]

Back from hols and back to the painting, I think my little helper had missed K-9!

So this was actually Thursday 12th all this happened.

First thing was to try and smooth the head a bit where the ply was scored and folded


Nowhere near perfect but then nothing I do ever is as I tend to drift off on a tangent as I start doing one thing into the next. 



Then the same for the other joins here and there



Took the red Perspex for the eye out so I didn't end up with filler (or later paint) all over it! 

By the time I'd gone all the way around with the filler the first bits were dry as it was so hot today.
So a quick rub down with sandpaper and my helper was straight into slapping the paint on!



I was only originally going to get him to paint the head and see what it looked like, but when you're still only 4 with a whopping tin of paint and a brush in hand the temptation is too much!





You'll notice in the background bits of Tardis appearing as he was on a painting mission, so anything that could have paint was going to get it!



So eventually even rear of K-9 was going to get a coat of paint today



I had to cover the tail piece with a bit of plastic bag as I couldn't actually get it back out, lucky though as it got a good coat as well. 

It didn't take long to dry so a couple of photos from the end, 3 of the 4 sides had been painted in one day.



I slipped the plastic back in to the face for effect (not fixed though)



And finally one with the toy to see how it's comparing



Another update or two over the weekend, so bye for now!

[superrichi1a]

Looking great in grey! The transformation when it's all one colour and a k9-ish colour is quite considerable, and I'm very excited to see more of this
Aren't you finishing that painting on your drive like that you get paint everywhere? Caught my eye because it looks very neat, but when I paint it goes everywhere!

[darth_baldrick]

Thanks, now it's dried properly I think it's a little too dull in grey compared to the plastic of the Palitoy, so will be having a look in the cheapo stores this weekend to see if I can get either some metallic grey or otherwise, I will just mix a bit more black into the tin to tone it down slightly.

You'll see what I mean when I post the next lot of pics up at some point.

As for the painting, it might not look like a lot on the floor, but our whole garden is actually gravel (we live next to the local park), so no grass and a lot of blue, white and now grey stones being hidden and raked around! ha ha

[darth_baldrick]

Time to paint the remaining side with a coat today  

But first up, I'd remember about the red box/window thing on one side of the toy. It's roughly 2.5cm x 3cm on there, so I've scaled it up to 15 x 20, mainly because that was about the right size and also that was the length of the foam board I had laying around.  

By cutting one piece as a full rectangle, I then cut the middle out of another so it could make the black border.



I had a red sample pot of paint which was plenty to paint that middle bit (and they only cost 99p)


The black I found a can of spray in the shed which I'd used last year when doing a Ghostbuster back pack from foam, so that was handy!

A bit of copydex to stick them together later in the day and it pretty much has the look I wanted.



As it's only foamboard, I'll probably glue it to K-9 at the end as well.

So, on with the side painting and straight to it with my helper.



Also a coat for the top of his back (the old PC came back out as a paint table for this bit!)  



So that was a coat all over finally.



We also stuck down the plastic pieces on the back box bit (more copydex).
I've given up on any plans of lighting that up for now, although it might change, so the box itself is only closed with 2 screws underneath.



So after my helped had turned in for the night, I thought I'd do something to add the nose bits.
First off a hole was needed, 10mm was the right size to wedge a piece of wood in there, another one of those "spares" you have left over after making flat pack furniture!


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Just needs to be painted black over the weekend.
I also put the lower hole in the face, not sure what that's bit is supposed to be, but it's on the Palitoy version!

For that I found a bit from a kitchen cabinet hinge (I really never throw anything away as you just never know....)



Fits perfectly in that hole!


And that was all for tonight, more over the weekend with any luck!

[darth_baldrick]

Just a small update from yesterday.

Went and bought a tin of metallic graphite grey paint while out as I thought it might be similar to the toy version to get that shiny look.



Apparently not, it's too dark, so I will pop back there and get a lighter metallic grey today.

While I was there though, I found a tartan dog collar for £3, adjustable size so it fits fine!
Along with a handle for the front in the bargain bin for 50p. 

Both of those were fitted and also painted the bit sticking out of his nose (I'll have to take them off or cover if I do repaint him silver/grey).

[superrichi1a]

It's getting to that exciting stage when things are starting to draw together, and I must say in a uniform grey colour he suddenly looks far closer to finished Great stuff, I like the way you've done the nose canon, too, captures that "toy" feel very nicely (I am too intrigued by that second one though )
Loving this, looking forward to more

[darth_baldrick]

Another brief update, weather was a bit ropey yesterday but managed to get a spray with the silver onto K-9.



superrichi1a this next one is for you, just to show I will have a very colourful set of stones to hide when I'm finished! 



Anyway, this was then taken with just the conservatory lights on and no flash, so come Halloween it should look ok in the dimmer light


And one after I put the collar & handle back on, but with the camera flash.



I think the colour has come out ok, as depending on the angle it does get darker when you look at it. 

Still got more bits to do, need to find some castors or furniture wheels to stick underneath for now, side bits, etc.
Maybe more later in the week, you just never know! 

[superrichi1a]

Oohhh I actually quire like that effect on the stones! Maybe silver driveways should be a thing
Looking fantastic in silver, better than I expected actually! And also may I say how neat all the joins look, especially considering that they're screwed in and without filler. Most impressive

[darth_baldrick]

Thanks for that.
There's a small amount of filler where the bits of wood didn't meet up, but I found rubbing the actual hardboard with sandpaper seem to cause it to fold together pretty well too.

I keep telling the missus, people would pay good money for coloured stones and she's getting them for free! 

Hopefully I'll get a bit more done this week. 

[darth_baldrick]

A totally lame update but I had loads to do this weekend, including a trip into the loft that has come up with an old remote control car, so I might try to fit that under him so i can make it move. 

Other than that, just stuck the red window bit on the side.

[superrichi1a]

Oh! I'd never really thought about it before, but that red screen sets everything off really nicely. A really nice touch, not just for your build but for the K9 design in general

[davidnagel]

Woo to maybe remoteage soon! Looking good

[darth_baldrick]

Thanks for the comments everyone. 

Just a small update, they've totally got the weather wrong this week as I had been hoping for some Tardis build time.
Seeing as that never happened, I bought some wheels online for K-9 (£2.49 for a set), which are furniture ones.

So lifting K-9 off his base, I was able to flip that upside down and fix the 4 wheels to the bottom.



I kept them near the edge so 2 of the screws went into the wood which is effectively holding K-9 in place when he's on the base, then just had to use a few off cuts to fix through the base and make the extra screws safe.



This isn't too high off the floor with those on



Just a case of sitting the body back on the base after and at least I can wheel him around to do any work now which is easier than keep lifting!



A bit more soon I hope!