This project is a very special project to me. I’ve spent more time on this little fellow than most of my other projects. I just enjoy working on him, making every little detail perfect and putting him together piece by piece. I have to say that I’m still not 100% done with him. He’s still missing a couple of shields and a couple of other details. But he will be finished one day, that’s a promise. It is possible to click on the thumbnails to have a closer look.
I got the drawings from a friend of a friend, Arild Wiro. He is an excellent 3D-artist and I found a picture of Bub on his website. I asked Arild if it was ok that I made a physical model of him, and Arild said yes and gave me some screen grabs I could work with.
This photo is the original 3D model of Bub.
I had to visually take him apart piece by piece to know which parts I would have to make and how they look. I had to use my imagination sometimes because not there were some parts I needed to make Bub stand up that was not originally drawn. But that was no problem, the model was originally very detailed so it was somewhat logic what the extra pieces would look like.
To mould Bub I used mostly styrofoam, a synthetic material that resembles wood. I used the screen grabs to get the shapes right, and I chose to make it in the same size as the prints. That made thing easier for me. During the process of finishing the pieces I needed I also put a coat of primer on, to protect the pieces and to prepair them for painting. It also made it easier to make the surface smooth.
After a while I started getting most of the pieces ready to be assembled. I had made up a core for Bub so I had something to attach the torso and the legs to. I used some steel wires for support. It worked very well.
It was a great moment for me when I could finally attach the legs and the torso to the core, and watch him stand on his own two feet.
I assume it was like watching your child take the first step. Maybe. As you can see in the photos I painted the pieces before I assembled him, because with so many pieces and details it would be very difficult to paint it afterwards.
This was the big moment. Sure, he has no arms and no head, but he’s standing up! The head and the arms was almost ready, and I attached them as soon as I finished them. And the result:
