1:1 Chopper Star Wars Live Action Version

[floki]

So maybe I've gone crazy, I've started building a 1:1 scale Chopper from Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka. I'll be building the live action version seen in Ahsoka.
This is going to be 3d printed on my BambuLab P1S printer with some of the small details printed on my Elegoo Saturn 1 resin printer.
Files are made by Mr. Baddeley and can be had by joining his patreon www.patreon.com/mrbaddeley
He also has files for building a fully robotic R2 unit, BB-8, BD-1 and Mouse Droid too

The great thing about the BambuLab P1S is its speed and the incredible detail that it prints straight out of the box. If you are wanting a great printer then check out the P1S or X1C printers from BambuLab
I'm printing Chopper in PETG since it has greater heat resistance and durability compared to PLA. I'm using both PETG from BambuLab and Sunalu, Technically they are the same filament, Sunalu produces filament for Bambulab.

Again the detail is so good on the P1S cleanup of the layer lines is a fast job, well a lot faster compared to the cleanup needed on my older Ender printers.
I've been sitting down in front of the TV leaned over a water bucket and giving the parts a quick wet sand with 120 followed by 220
After that they get a coat of UV printer resin and sat under the UV light to cure for about 10 minutes.
They then get wiped down with a paper towel and 91% rubbing alcohol to remove and uncured resin.
Then another quick wet sand with 400 followed by 600 and that's it.
Still have some seam filling to do between parts, been throwing around the idea of either using miliput or bondo spot putty for that job.

I started on Chopper by first assembling the bottom ring section

Followed by the midsection


Chopper fits together with a mix of 2 part epoxy and weld-on4, the only glue to chemically weld PETG. But most of Chopper is held together with 3mm bolts and nuts

Tonight I got his dome assembled and sat on his body just to see what it would look like


I'm going to start seam filling before I jump over to building the legs since I will have to build them around the feet motors, they are 24V electric scooter motors.
I've also got his center arm assembled.

This is what Chopper looks like for anyone not into Star Wars


That's all I got to share for now.
Thanks for looking in!
Skol!

[tcoat]

Oh this is the coolest build ever!!

[lyle]

Well, boy, howdy...this is pretty neat.

[406 Silverado]

This is going to be a lot of sun to watch come together Clint. And nope……you haven’t gone crazy btw. This is COOL!!

Thanks for the info on the 3D printer too. I’ll be checking that out.

[brandonk]

That's ambitious and super COOL. I look forward to seeing more.

[kyledehart5]

Incredible Clint!! I absolutely love Chop and his war crimes. This is one of the coolest projects I've seen.

[handiabled]

Absolutely following this!

[Leon]

This looks cool! I'll be following along.

[floki]

Thanks everyone for showing interest in this, I know technically it's not a model kit. I didn't work on seam filing last night but instead focused on the mechanical parts for his retractable saw blade.

[floki]

Jun 2, 2024 2:45:05 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Incredible Clint!! I absolutely love Chop and his war crimes. This is one of the coolest projects I've seen.

Thanks Kyle! The murderbot knows as chopper is one of my favorites too. I'm planning on taking him to the next club meeting just for the hell of it, he won't be done by then but hope to get some feedback from the sci-fi guys there

[Steve Zuleski]

Wow, fine build. Very impressive work, I love it!

[Medicman71]

That's awesome!! Can't wait to see more.

[armornutii]

   That just might be the droid I'm looking for.

[kyledehart5]

Jun 2, 2024 9:52:14 GMT -5 floki said:

Jun 2, 2024 2:45:05 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Incredible Clint!! I absolutely love Chop and his war crimes. This is one of the coolest projects I've seen.

Thanks Kyle! The murderbot knows as chopper is one of my favorites too. I'm planning on taking him to the next club meeting just for the hell of it, he won't be done by then but hope to get some feedback from the sci-fi guys there

I hope I’m back in town and able to make it!!

[deafpanzer]

Way too cool! Sorry I couldn't make it to the club meeting cause I was feeling under weather. You definitely have my attention!

[floki]

Jun 22, 2024 7:40:33 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Way too cool! Sorry I couldn't make it to the club meeting cause I was feeling under weather. You definitely have my attention!

Glad to have you along for the build.
I didn't make it to the meeting either, had been a long hot week at work and I didn't feel like making the trip from Muncie.

[floki]

I got some work done on Chooper. Got the 1st round of seam filling done on his dome and body using miliput. 


Was able to get a coat of filler primer on the dome this morning before it rained, I stuck him in the upstairs bathroom to dry with the windows open after rattle canning the primer outside. Luckily the wife was at work and never walked in on Chopper today. I was looking over the primed dome before work tonight and happy to say only a few inches of seams need addressing. For the second round of seam filling I'm going to use bondo spot putty.

Next up I worked on assembling the drive units. Chopper is propelled by two 24v razor scooter motors. The drive unit is a mix of 3d printed parts in petg. Drive wheels printed in flexible TPU, 3mm and 5mm bolts and nuts, different sized bearings and a vex pro omni wheel in  each so he can easily turn in any direction. The gears are also made from PETG with 6 walls and 25%infill.


Last thing to share is I have done the 1st round of wet sanding for Choppers right leg, here is the major parts dry fitted to see what it will end up looking like.


That's all I got for now.
Thanks for looking in!
Skol!

[406 Silverado]

That's all you've got for now??!! I'd say that's a pretty fair bit of progress and it's a good thing you were able to get a good coat of primer on it before the rain. It's been raining just enough around here every day to mess up or deter any painting session outside. 

[Leon]

WOW...You're making really good progress on this!

[tcoat]

[floki]

Jun 26, 2024 4:10:38 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

That's all you've got for now??!! I'd say that's a pretty fair bit of progress and it's a good thing you were able to get a good coat of primer on it before the rain. It's been raining just enough around here every day to mess up or deter any painting session outside. 

Thank you! I feel like I've been dragging my feet a bit on this. We've had just the opposite around here, this was the first rain in two weeks. It was hot and miserable all last week. This week has been cooler. Yesterday after work I came home, cleaned up and went back outside with the dog, nice slight breeze, overcast and could just start to smell that a rain storm was coming in. It was perfect. Decided to grab choppers dome and get a coat on before the rain got to me. Had about 5 minutes to spare lol

[handiabled]

Wow what an update! This is coming together in grand fashion!

[kyledehart5]

This is so good. Every update. Great stuff.

[406 Silverado]

Jun 26, 2024 7:21:54 GMT -5 floki said:

Jun 26, 2024 4:10:38 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

That's all you've got for now??!! I'd say that's a pretty fair bit of progress and it's a good thing you were able to get a good coat of primer on it before the rain. It's been raining just enough around here every day to mess up or deter any painting session outside. 

Thank you! I feel like I've been dragging my feet a bit on this. We've had just the opposite around here, this was the first rain in two weeks. It was hot and miserable all last week. This week has been cooler. Yesterday after work I came home, cleaned up and went back outside with the dog, nice slight breeze, overcast and could just start to smell that a rain storm was coming in. It was perfect. Decided to grab choppers dome and get a coat on before the rain got to me. Had about 5 minutes to spare lol

   Kind of makes you feel like you've "won" when you can beat stuff like that don't it? 

[BattleScale Collectica Show]

you've got a lot done, that's a big project!

[floki]

Been meaning to update this for the last week or so.
I had go a coat of filler primer on the body and dome. Once that was dry I filled any problems with bondo spot putty. Then once that set up I wet sanded both with 320 grit.


I've also built up the lift and pan mechanism for Choppers periscope. This is put together with some 3mm bolts, a bearing and two servos. One lifts up the pan servo that also lifts the periscope out of the dome.


I also finished 1st round sanding on the left leg and all remaining greebles. Goal for this weekend is to get the legs ready for paint.

Thanks for looking in!
Skol!

[kyledehart5]

I cannot wait to see the next step of this build, my friend. It is just too cool.

[tcoat]

Looking forward to the 1/1 Ghost to put Chopper in.

[handiabled]

The periscope looks great! It really shows the size of this build with your chair in the background! Looking forward to seeing some colors painted

[floki]

Jul 10, 2024 6:21:34 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Looking forward to the 1/1 Ghost to put Chopper in.

If only I can hit the lottery!