Click on the links below to see some pictures of the bots and the parts that went into them. If you're interested in trading parts, info on the bots I built or want to get a fully built bot, feel free to email me at tapes@mst3kguy.com
| Sir Thomas Serveaux | |
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Well,
here he is. The one and only Tom Servo. Big, Tall, Sassy & Brassy. |
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The arms are from a Cmore Bunz novelty doll. When an air bulb is squeezed, he drops his pants.
I kept the air bladders in Tom's arms, just like he had during seasons 2 - 4. The springs are
homemade from stainless steel spring stock on a lathe. The hands are cast resin copies. I made my own mold to make additional copies. I've been looking for the original doll that these hands come from. I don't have any info on this doll, but it may be a ventriloquist dummy. |
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| I have yet to hear
of anybody that has found the original toy engine block that
is used on Tom's chest. I have been diligently searching for
this item for 3 years and haven't found anything close. The one
I used was originally a scratch-built one from Ed Miarecki, but
Ed didn't get some of the proportions and details quite right.
I cut and sanded the details off of his block and meticulously
added new details, then molded and cast a new block. I searched thrift shops all over and couldn't find a "Money Lover Barrel" bank any place. Finally I ran classified ads in several national toy magazines, and after a few months I got my first one. Then, about every three months, I would hear from someone with another barrel. All together I have six of them now. Go ahead, call me a "Barrel Hog". I can take it. |
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| Tom's hoverskirt
was originally a Halloween "Boo Bowl". I haven't found one of
those yet. But I did find a salad bowl made by Decor that is
exactly the right size. The black details on the hoverskirt are vac-u-formed from a Tyco Turbo Train engine. I got lucky and found a whole Turbo Train Race set. I put it together and it actually still worked. I've built my own vac-u-form machine for making these skirt details and Tom's shoulders. The control rod for my servo is a little shorter so that he can sit easily on a flat surface. The pull string is 20lb test fishing line with a chrome ring on the end of it. The squeeze bulb is for the air bladders that extend Tom's arms. MST only used the bladders in seasons 2 - 4, but I decided to include them with my Servo. |
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| TOP | GYPSY | CROW | | |
| HOME | TAPE VAULT | CAMBOT | LINKS | |
| GYPSY | |
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The fair and lovely Gypsy.
The cycloptic matriarch of the SOL, she works behind the scenes
running the higher functions of the ship. The parts for Gypsy are fairly easy to acquire, but building her requires some skill. The Official Bot Building Guide from BBI is helpful, but some of the measurement don't seem right. I studied many picture and episodes to get her dimensions as correct as possible. Gypsy's cranium is made from a Century Infant Love Seat. They aren't made any longer, but they must have been popular in their day because they are quite easy to find. They were once an accessory available on some GM cars. I found three seat in local thrift shops. The others I traded or bought from other bot builders. The inner liner of the seat is removed and trimmed to make the lower lip, which is hinged on a painted 3/4 inch PVC pipe. A 3 inch spring keeps her mouth closed and fishing line attached to a short piece of pipe is use to control mouth movement. |
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| Another easy to find part is the Eveready Floating Lantern used for Gypsy's eye. These were really popular a while back, but aren't made any longer. You could buy them brand new up until last year when they changed the style. The plastic cover around the lens in removed and used to vac-u-form the shoulders for Tom Servo. | |
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| On Gypsy's back is a
control knob made by vac-u-forming polystyrene over a water faucet knob
and some 1/2 inch balls. I made a cast resin copy of this to made it
easier to attach to her. The body is made from 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe and fittings covered with 4 inch plastic drain tubing. This is connected to her head by a 4 inch closet flange (toilet drain) with an adapter. At the bottom are handles made from 3/4 pipe and fittings attached to the 1 1/2 pipe. I've added an AC adapter port to power Gypsy's eye. A three-way toggle switch is used to change from AC power to OFF or to battery power for portability. |
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| TOP | SERVO | CROW | | |
| HOME | TAPE VAULT | CAMBOT | LINKS | |
| CROW T. ROBOT | |
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What can I say about Crow? He's a very complicated robot. He
has some of the most difficult parts to find. But I have been able to get
all original parts for him . He is also more time consuming and complicated to build. I've begun some work on my Crow and hope to have him finished sometime in the near future. The eye socket is made from a Schwartz Bros. Plastics soap dish. These usually are part of a bathroom accessories set that included a tray, hairbrush, toothbrush holder, powder box and tissue dispenser cover. These are still kind of hard to find, but I do see a lot of them for sale on Ebay. |
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| Crow's torso is made from two Tupperware "Floralier" flower vases. These are pretty easy to find. I got 3 or 4 of these sets from local stores, and 3 or 4 others through trades. You can't swing a dead lemur on Ebay with out hitting one of these. | |
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| The thing that seems to define
Crow's "Crow-ness" the most is the Cooper Hockey mask used for
his "nest." These are the elusive model XL7-FG face guards. I bought
one a few years ago from a trader, and just recently got two more
from someone in Canada replying an ad I placed. Crow's hands are made from two grabber toys. I thought these would be easy to find, but they're not. The ones I see now are made in the shape of various animal heads. |
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| Yet another difficult part to
find are these Empire plastic bowling pins used for Crow's beak.
They are the older style with an "e" stamped on the top of them.
The newer "Crown" style are pretty easy to find. I have a whole
set of those. I did manage to trade for two "e" style pins. I was finally able to acquire one Wallace Leisure Product desk lamp that make up his shoulders. They are from the model WL81 "Alpha" or "Genie" fluorescent lamps. Mine says "Genesis" near the switch. I also have two cast resin copies that are very good. I just need one more lamp for my "real" Crow. |
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| TOP | SERVO | GYPSY | | |
| HOME | TAPE VAULT | CAMBOT | LINKS | |
| PARTS |
| Due to a recent change in location, I do not currently have the space to make any more Bot parts. I may try to get back in operation sometime in the near future. I may be interested in trading or purchasing some of the harder to find parts like the Boo Bowl or engine for Servo or the desk lamp for Crow. If yo have any of these email me at tapes@mst3kguy.com |
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