K-9 Pisanki

Every Easter I make pisanki, Polish traditional Easter eggs. They are dyed in onion peals then an image is scratched into the egg using a sharp object like a pin. Usually images are of chickens, bunnies, ducks, bazie (pussy willow), wheat, and other imagery depicting new life and happiness.

This year I thought I would make one slightly different, but an object that does bring me lots of joy, K-9. Here is the result...

The beautiful bunny and bazie (on the dark egg) were done by Sarah.

K-9 in Dork Tower

A very good image from Dork Tower 19/4/11.  Very touching.

Source: http://www.dorktower.com/2011/04/19/

Dedication

With the most recent passing of Elisabeth Sladen, I have decided to dedicate my K-9 build to Elisabeth's memory.

Fairwell Sarah Jane Smith

I have just learned that Elisabeth Sladen has passed away after loosing her battle with cancer.  I must admit that this news has made me very sad, and even brought quite a few tears to my eyes.  I remembered watching her as a teenager on Dr.Who repeats on the ABC, enjoying how she was good friends with the Doctor as they traveled through time and space.  I also loved her recent role reprisal in the Sarah Jane Smith Adventures, her fine acting keeping me entertained.

Liz, I will miss you.

Here is what the media are saying on her passing...

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/20/3196291.htm

Doctor Who star Sladen dies

Updated 2 hours 48 minutes ago

 

Cult role: Elisabeth Sladen with Tom Baker as Dr Who (handmadelife.blogspot.com)

British actress Elisabeth Sladen, best known for her role in cult science fiction television series Doctor Who, has died after a battle with cancer.

Liverpool-born Sladen, who was 63, first appeared on the BBC show in 1973, playing the Doctor's assistant, Sarah Jane Smith.
Sladen went on to star in her own spin-off children's show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, the latest series of which was aired late last year.
She made several guest appearances in the revived Doctor Who series with David Tennant.
"I absolutely loved Lis," former Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies, who created The Sarah Jane Adventures, said.
"She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful."
Doctor Who's lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, has also paid tribute.
"'Never meet your heroes', wise people say. They weren't thinking of Lis Sladen," said Moffat.
"Sarah Jane Smith was everybody's hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories.
"She was exactly as any child would ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever; and a ferociously talented actress but in that perfectly English unassuming way."
Sladen leaves behind actor husband Brian Miller and daughter Sadie.
- AFP

Wheel Hubs

Trying to get a set of wheel hubs (Lynxmotion, HUB-02) has been a problem for me fot over three months now. If you go an try to do a direct purchase from the Lynxmotion website then for one tiny part they quote US$106.70 for shipping!!! Astronomical for a US$8.00 part! I tried to contact them directly not only to confirm if this shipping price is indeed correct, but also what the outer dimeter of the part as they did not list it any where on their site.

After several emails and no reply I tried looking for local distributors. After the third one I tried... I had success! And what service too! Not only did they have the item in stock, they could ship it right away, and at a reasonable AUD$6.50 postage. The hubs were AUD$10.40 (ex GST) a pair. Within days my parcel arrived. So if you are looking for Lynxmotion products or parts I seriously recommend going to the following chap:

Milan
Sedonia Technologies
34 Cyclamen Avenue,
Altona North, Vic, 3025
Phone: 04 1580 2157
info@sedoniatech.com.au
http://www.sedoniatech.com.au/

2 pirs of Lynxmotion HUB-02 hubs (one pair is for another bot)

There is only a 0.5mm difference in the inner dimeter of the wheel (scooter wheel) and the outer dimeter of the hubs, so a little sanding will mean a perfect fit.

Armageddon Expo Tasmania Cancelled for 2011

Very sad news!

Event update – Hobart Postponed, Melbourne initial Line-up announced
Friday 18 Mar 3:08 PM

After the success of the Sydney and Adelaide events, plans were well underway for the Hobart and Melbourne events planned for June and October.

Unfortunately Armageddon’s head office which is located in Christchurch NZ has been affected by the recent earthquake. This has forced us to postpone the planned Christchurch Event and we have had to make the painful decision to postpone the Hobart event as well.

This is due to logistical difficulties which have arisen from the natural disaster which has been hard on all concerned. This was not an easy decision, as we know that our fans in Hobart were looking forward to the event. However, unless we could provide the incredible expo that we were planning we did not want to bring something that was not up to expectations.

We will be working to re-confirm a date for 2012 and hope to have an announcement post Melbourne.

Changes to Armageddon Expo Tasmania

I have noticed that they changed the ticket sale dates, and also dropped a few of the guests. For Gold and Silver passes, this is the link that works:

For Gold & Silver Passes

Gold is $463.50 and Silver is $103.00. Ouch. Pricey for a small con.  I have yet to find out the regular ticket prices are.

Source: http://armageddonexpo.com/au/tasmania-general-info/

Tasmania General Info

June 11/12^th 2011

Doors open 10am to 6pm both days
Wrest Point, Hobart, Tasmania
General Tickets will be on sale through TICKETEK from March 18^th 2011

VIP tickets will be on sale through http://www.cultureshockevents.com

The event guest line-up is subject to change, so please check back for updates.

Animation guest – Signing free
Rachel Lillis - Pokémon

Comic guest – Signing free
Bill Sienkiewicz - Artist Legend of Electra Assassin

Celebrity guests
Fee applies for tv & movie star guests autographs and photos
Louise Jameson - Doctor Who

All guests attend work and health commitments pending
Fee applies for guest autographs and photos

More to be announced soon!

Armageddon Expo Tasmania

Yes, Armageddon Expo is coming to Tassi!  For all you Doctor Who fans, Louise Jameson is listed as one of the guests.  Can you guess where I will be that weekend?

Source: http://armageddonexpo.com/au/tasmania-general-info/

Tasmania General Info

Hobart expo general details
June 11/12^th 2011
Doors open 10am to 6pm both days
Wrest Point, Hobart, Tasmania
General Tickets will be on sale through TICKETEK from March 15^th 2011

VIP tickets will be on sale through http://www.cultureshockevents.com

The event guest line-up is subject to change, so please check back for updates.
As at 17^th December 2010, Event guests include:

Animation guest – Signing free
Rachel Lillis - Pokémon

Comic guest – Signing free
Bill Sienkiewicz - Artist Legend of Electra Assassin

Celebrity guests
Fee applies for TV & Movie star guests autographs and photos
Paul McGillion – Stargate Atlantis
Amber Benson – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Louise Jameson - Doctor Who

All guests attend work and health commitments pending
Fee applies for guest autographs and photos

More to be announced soon!

K-9 Head, take 3, days 10 & 11

As I wasn't quite happy with one side (It is just me being fussy and I know it is my fault for not reading the instructions properly!), I have put in a bit of car bog and started working to get the correct shape.  I have also filled in gaps etc (covering my sins!).  It looks a mess now, but I am sure it will come out ok.  After I get it right I will add the final neck pieces.

K-9 Head, take 3, day 9

Having had friends over I had not had a chance to work on K-9, instead I was taking photos like this:

However, I am back from the outdoors and my work place.  I have trimmed the upper piece, reinforced more of the joints with fibreglass and also cutout the top of the Inner Bezel support along the scored lines I made earlier.

 I trimmed the cut piece and placed inthe upper piece to reinforce it.  I also fibreglassed that area too.

K-9 Head, take 3, day 8

I have skinned the rest of the side. It has come out much better than the other one.  I would recommend that you do the bottom/back sinning first (as per instructions), then the top, then sides.

K-9 Head, take 3, day 7

It was the next day and I was set on the right track.  So the photo below now, it is looking a bit more like Dave's plans.  I marked the back and where the sides and top were., then cut it out as per instruction and glued it, but I had not glued the sides yet.

I used a clamp to hold it on the top part.  It was actually hard to get the curve, but bending the 1mm strene a few times it took the shape.

Once the glue had cured, it was ready for the next stage.  However, it was still very hard to finish off the side skin with the styrene.  When I glued it wasn't right.  I felt that a top part was required now for the sides to take the proper shape.  So that's what I was going to do so that the other side at least would be easier to do and also wouldn't have to be fixed up.

This is a view of the back with the back and side skins on.  The curve of the side skin doesn't look quite right to me.

Sigh. 

 

From the side view. I am not liking the crease the skin has. I hope I can get it out with a bit of bog and sanding...

To make the top piece I printed out the top panel from the Lespaceplie K-9 Plans. I then glued the printed paper pattern it to a 1mm styrene sheet and then cut it out.  I then measured it against the head I had and trimmed it down slightly to fit, then glue it into place.

With the top panel on, I could star gluing the other side skin.  It seemed to glue one much easier than the other side and tape the shape a lot better.

K-9 Head, take 3, day 6

Always worrying what kids can do to a prop when it is around them, I have decided to reinforce the head using fiberglass resin. I have used a plaster's tape, with has an open weave and a sticky side to do the initial reinforcement.  The plaster's tape provides more control than regular glass mat, especially in those tight places.

Below is a close up of the reinforced joints.

Now I am trying to skin the side of the head with 1mm styrene. WARNING: THIS IS NOT THE NEXT STEP YOU SHOULD DO!!!! I stuffed up, I admit it!  I accidentally got my instructions mixed up because they were not stapled together. So this is what I think the next bit should be:

1. Skin the bottom and back of the head, as per Page 8 of Dave Everett's instructions.
2. Add a top section that covers the Inner Bezels and glues to the top of the Back Support Bulkhead (this is a divergent bit from the instructions).
3. Skin the sides of the head, as per Page 11 of Dave Everett's instructions.

However, I am blogging what I did, so here it is in order...

I glued the front half of the head to the 1mm styrene sheet.

I used a LOT of masking tape and also clamps to keep the styrene to the edges of the head frame.

As one part of the clue cured I moved on further.  As the tape was rather tight it would unstick sometimes so I used smaller clamps on the other side to hole the tape under the correct tension.

There were one or two points that needed a bit more glue, but by the end of the day I had a gap at the back, but I didn't know how to attach it to the sides!  I needed that back piece that skinned the underside and the back for this to attach to. (Thanks Dave for showing me that I got things the wrong way round). :-)

K-9 Head, take 3, day 5

With the glue now cured on the Antenna Support pieces, I unbolted and removed the Aluminum Channel pieces.  That will be reinstalled again later.

I cut six pieces of 3mm styrene from scrap, each piece being be about 15mm x 30mm.  I glued three together to form a 9mm thick styrene piece, then turned the head frame over and glued the two assemblies into place up under the Head Gun Inner Face. These pieces will later be tapped to screw down the top part of the head.