BB-8 want-to-build thread (apparently I'm calling him BB-8)

[kresty]

Well, here's Hatch 3... Probably decent enough.  Red bits will need extra work (access panel buttons and funny hash marks), but position's should be OK.



Still feeling pretty mixed about this.  The structure's going to be tough.  Then animating has a lot of additional challenges (duh).  I guess the fallback plan can be static, but that doesn't seem like much fun.

You'll see that I'm having trouble with the detail at this resolution.  L3-G0 had lots of funny shapes, so I could use different techniques in different places.  The closest here is probably Artoo's dome, but Artoo's dome is way less complicated.  (And my version wouldn't do well rolling around on the ground).

If you have a sharp eye, you'll note that I used tiles (flat spots) to indicate where some of the other details are, and also to mark the door on the access panel.  I'm wondering about edging those bricks (think like a sharpie around the edge to bring out detail), or maybe trying decals or something.

[kresty]

Oh, and you might notice the interesting shape up above. My build will basically have one of these for each face, covering an orange hatch and 1/3 of the 4 adjacent access panels. It's kinda cool that 6 of these snap together to make a sphere.

[kresty]

Well, I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But obviously the inside's gonna have to be "smooth" too, and my previous model just had bricks willy-nilly as long as the outside looked OK.

So now I'm rejiggering my template so that it'll be smooth on the inside and outside... and that's just the template, I'll still have to transcribe the pattern for the one hatch side (3) I've already done

Bad thing because it's more work. Good thing? because it means, I guess, that I was happy enough with the progress to try to make it more "real".

[kresty]

Hmm, my tools indicate the sphere alone could maybe weight 9kg.  Wonder if that's too much?  I'm afraid a heavy sphere will need a heavy hamster.

[kresty]

I'm a bit concerned about the sphere. I had to redo the bloody model 3x because I messed up the inner surface. I finally have something that the parts tool says'll be about 6.3 kilos, BEFORE adding the weight of glue. Also I'm considering an inner ABS printed surface for further rigidity/smooth surface for the hamster, which I imagine must be another kg or two. In other words around 15lbs.

I'm concerned because the thin walls cause several small bricks in the construction, and places where it's "only" 3 plates thick. I know it's a sphere, but 15lbs seems like a lot to put on that frame.

So, I chatted with a local Lego Master Builder (former, Lego charges artists to use the title). He's done spheres before and thinks it should work, even without glue. I sure hope so. The 2nd opinion helps a bit....

Another problem is that a 15lb ball means that I need a significant hamster weight to move it. Given that it needs batteries and motors and speakers & stuff I was probably already looking at 7-10lb there, so I guess that's OK. 22-25lb total for the sphere & hamster then.

Also thought about the hamster/head a bit more. I have too much Lego, so I'm thinking that the magnet approach is unrealistic. That means that what I probably need is both a hamster and balancing head. Weight is again a huge factor here. Lego head is also not going to be "light". It's way smaller than the sphere, but probably still a few lb of lego. And of course a couple lb of motors/controllers.

It's be nice if I can keep it to 5lb or so, but that's about what one of L3-G0's feet weighs, so that might not be possible. The biggest problem with a heavy head is that it'll move the CG of the entire system when it runs around, causing the ball to move. Not enough to roll like the UK builder, but enough to wobble. 5lb head and 25lb body should be OK for the "peering" effect, but if it ends up being a 10lb head, the body may want to move too much.

Of course I could mitigate that somewhat by having the hamster move opposite the head to keep the sphere balanced, but they probably won't talk to each other, so that may be tricky. Hmm, maybe BOTH need gyros? Though then they'd want to fight each other. Should be interesting anyway.

[kresty]

Finally got Hatch 3 reworked. Whew. Caught up to where I was last week

[kresty]

I guess I'll just call her BB-8.  Yea, crazy I know.  

I put circles on lots of my photos and decided her head is ~287mm and that the top is a hemisphere.  The remainder of the bottom is a cylinder (until the skirt part that goes in).  I started playing with a LDD model and this is going to be pretty tricky, however when I put my dome on a real dome in photoshop, the fit's pretty good

Currently  I've been looking at having it studs-up about where the orange line starts, then studs-forward in the front, and then on each side studs-out.  The bottom ring isn't fitting very well though, so I may need to turn it so that bit's studs-up (or down).  That'd be like L3-G0's dome.  I'm able to have more "detail" in the direction of the plates, since the studs are 2.5x bigger.

[kresty]

(Bits hanging down are just where I didn't clean that up yet. This was a much rougher model, it's a bit cleaner now.)

[savagecreature]

that's all pretty darn cool looking. I'm starting to think you might actually make this work.  

[kresty]

To be clear, the picture is a Lego dome (white) on a photo at 1/2 transparency. It does show some of the challenges because the changes in color don't align neatly to the studs.