R2-G4 will be at GMX in Nashville October 3-4

R2-G4 will be appearing at the Geek Media Expo (GMX) in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday and Sunday October 3-4.

Have you registered for GMX?

R2-G4 will be there with his steampunk brother Scrappington Hauley and the Apparition Abolishers as they promote their upcoming web comic.

Come say hello!

Motor controllers ordered

All three Vantec motor controllers have been ordered for the steampunk droid.

Steampunk droid power source

This is the "mysterious" power source that will glow and flash. It will be mounted vertically on the back of the droid platform.

Finished cow-catcher

Here's the assembled and sweat-soldered copper tubing cow-catcher for the steampunk droid.

Steampunk droid cow catcher

Started work on a copper tubing "cow catcher" for the front of his chassis, like you'd see on an old steam locomotive.

Steampunk droid chassis progress

Got most of the chassis solid, and got the body mounted. Also finished riveting the copper plates to the head.

Steampunk Droid Drive Platform 2

I have some scooter motor drive units from R2-G4's previous life (before the JAG NPC drives). It looks like I can use them to friction drive the wheelchair wheels. This will be interesting.

Steampunk Droid Drive Platform

I've decided that this guy will move around on large, piston-driven wheels, like a locomotive. I've cannibalized an old wheelchair for parts. The pistons have not been added yet, This was just a dry-fit to see how everything will go together.

Steampunk (fake) Power Generator

This "device" will be the (fake) source of power for the droid, which will then drive the (fake) steam boiler. It will be lit from inside the green tubes. Similar smaller units will be on our individual proton packs.

Steampunk Droid Drink Tray Reconfigure

I have the A&A drink tray with both sets of shoulder stands. I've taken it apart and added some brass and copper tubing to extend it and give it a different look. I'm using the spare set of shoulder stands to attach to the back of the legs pointing backward. These will cradle a large glowing "power source" cylindrical thingamajig that I'm making up from green tubes and brass lamp bases. The Ghostbuster proton packs that we will wear will have similar, smaller green power sources. The tray is on R2-G4 in the pics, with the R5 head before the steampunking started.

Steampunk Droid Lighting

I found these LED tea lights at Michael's. They have a great flickering amber flame look. I'm using them in the eyes on the head, and throughout the body to give the impression that there's a flame or furnace inside of him. They run individually on button batteries, so I'll have to eventually wire them all up together to run from the main batteries.

Steampunk Droid Head Details

I've put some hinges and detail metal pieces on the dome panels on top of the head. I plan on building in a mechanism to make them go up and down in groups, sort of like a calliope. Some of the brown color on the head and body will have laminated woodgrain over it for more variety of materials.

Steampunk Droid Skin Details

I'm using antique door and cabinet hardware from the Victorian era that I found at swap meets and flea markets. The doors are clad in copper sheet from Lowes, normally used for roof flashing and gutters. The guages are from an old temperature/barometer combo from a thrift store.

Steampunk Droid Project

The past couple of months I've made progress with my second droid. He's going to be done in the steampunk/Victorian/Jules Verne-style.

So far I have copper panels for the skins, some brass details on the head and skins, and I've reconfigured the drink tray.

He will be a part of a Steampunk Ghostbusters team for Dragon*Con 2009.