Animated Full-Scale Infection Form (Vacuform and 3D Print)

[Redshirt]

For quite a while I've been brooding on making a robotic Infection Form. This is a collaboration project with fellow member, Alpha. Anyone that follows me knows I have a compulsion to build full scale. We've seen plenty of human costumes with lifts and stilts. I decided that the seven-inch tall HEXBUG Spider XL would be the perfect platform. It just needs to end up much taller. The HEXBUG is not particularly strong so my mods can't be very heavy either. My end solution was to build a cosplay costume for the HEXBUG. The legs will be 3D printed with thin walls and very little infill to keep them light. They'll snap on over the existing legs to make it much taller and, hopefully, faster. The body is going to be vacuformed in translucent plastic sheeting. This will keep the weight down and give me a creepy-crawlie with sort of see-through 'skin'. Anyway, here goes!

I started with the only-available Infection Form file from right here on the 405th in The Armory. Thanks Art! Unfortunately, there is a WIDE gap between this Halo CE game model and the Halo CE Anniversary/Halo 3 version I wanted to build.


This was the vision.

But this was the starting point: Halo CE game file

I got busy and started cleaning up this file and modifying it to look accurate and organic. I'm using ViaCAD Pro 10 as my main design software (I'm set up to mill metal rather than print plastic) and used 3D Builder that came with Windows to do some of the smoothing.

This is my first rendition of the cleaned and smoothed body.

It looks better than it actually is. It doesn't fit over the HEXBUG and doesn't look menacing with the bulging 'forehead' and droopy tail. By the time I scaled it up so the base would clear the HEXBUG mechanism, it was grossly over scale. So, I'm back to the drawing board, working to give it a 'skirt' like the vision rendering above. Thanks for looking in.

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[Wayward Flood]

I approve of this message.

 

[Redshirt]

I approve of this message.

LoL. Thanks. I think this will be a cool prop, especially being slightly see through and a lot squishy.

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[PlanetAlexander]

POPCORN!
Looking forward to the build!

 

[Hein B287]

I can already imagine a whole swarm of these running around on a con floor XD

 

[Redshirt]

POPCORN!
Looking forward to the build!

It is funny you mention popcorn. I'm planning on vacuforming an extra body to destroy in a video. I plan to fill it with some green chalk powder and shred it with my airsoft Spartan Laser.

I can already imagine a whole swarm of these running around on a con floor XD

I would love to see that! I'd need to find a different robot base. There are only two channels for the HEXBUG. Right now I'm limited to a 'swarm' of two.

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[Hein B287]

Just looked them up. they look like a fun challenge to take apart. i imagine that one could extend the legs. those things then probably walk a bit slower. and the rotating head can be connected in some way to make the "fronds" (tentacles) wiggle around. might have to get one to toy around with now

 

[Redshirt]

Just looked them up. they look like a fun challenge to take apart. i imagine that one could extend the legs. those things then probably walk a bit slower. and the rotating head can be connected in some way to make the "fronds" (tentacles) wiggle around. might have to get one to toy around with now

They show up on e-Bay pretty regularly. The leg extensions should speed them up a bit by effectively lengthening the stride. I hope. I had the same idea to see if I could work in some cam or other action to 'wiggle' the tentacles.

Not everyone is familiar with the HEXBUG Spider XL. Here is one of mine. If you think it looks small, the laptop its on is a giant 17-inch model. The HEXBUG stands about seven inches tall.

So I did more work on the model and ended up with this:

This isn't a winner either. By the time I scaled it up to fit over the legs it was stupid huge and looked like a tick ready to pop. The legs looked too small and the result was going to be a meter tall. Back to the drawing board (CAD). I effectively started over on the body and streamlined the upper part of the legs. I think you'll agree that this one checks all the boxes. Accurate, correctly scaled and fits over the robot.

With that work done, I'm focusing on slicing it up and getting Alpha to start printing it.

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[Redshirt]

Well it's been a while since I posted an update, but I've been busy making progress as you'll see. My friends at Alpha to Zeta Industries did a beautiful job printing my parts. The legs are direct parts, meaning that they will end up in the final prop. The body and tentacle parts are intended as vacuform mold parts.

Here's a look at some of the body parts:

For an overall idea of where this is going, I placed a body half and all the appendages into position. This thing is a monster, about a half-meter in correct dimensions:

The other problem I have resolved is that of what I need to make the ends of the tentacles. I searched all the big hobby and craft stores but hit paydirt in PETCO with this aquarium plant. Even in the wrong color this is such an obvious choice for the feathery feelers:

I've also put together a video for my channel that really brings things together. Enjoy!

I'll be back next with some test vacuforming.

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[Benton188]

Nice find on the feelers, I would've never thought to look for aquarium bits lol. Does the Hex bug move on it's own or is it remote controlled? I haven't seen one of those things in a long time.

 

[Redshirt]

Nice find on the feelers, I would've never thought to look for aquarium bits lol. Does the Hex bug move on it's own or is it remote controlled? I haven't seen one of those things in a long time.

Thank you. The Hexbug Spider XL is remote controlled. They made two sizes. The XLs are fairly rare but do pop up on eBay from time to time. When I'm all done, I'll release the files so anyone that wants a static replica can print the parts. Anyone that wants to follow the same path I did can print their own legs, get their own Spider XL and talk to me about vacuum formed bodies and tentacles. I don't expect that they will be to hard to produce in quantity once my molds are done. I expect to produce extra bodies for myself as airsoft targets

Redshirt

 

[Redshirt]

I've got a really cool update this week. I'm fortunate enough (though my wife would not agree!) to have a commercial vacuform machine at the Redshirt workshop. Today we do a test pull of the body molds and some of the tentacles. The result is a really creepy translucent body. I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed body and tentacles get mounted on the robotic leg section.

Enjoy!

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[Redshirt]

For those following, welcome back. It has been a while. I hate when threads trail off into unfinished projects and this is not one! I'll catch up through a few posts here, but many of you have seen Timmy, or just recently Timmy and Jimmy, my development mules working hard at CONs to be our animatronic ambassadors. They are still not finished yet, and won't be until they can truly walk under their own power.

Following on to the vacuform demonstration video, we completed the molds, including the tentacles. Here is the video of the completed molds:

From these molds we pulled several complete sets and assembled three popcorn bodies using E600, vinyl caulk and superglue. None can really be commended as the best for bonding the polyethylene sheeting, but I did get shapes I was happy with.

Here are the two bodies that will be completed into Timmy and Jimmy curing in the Arizona sun.

Already they look creepy like molted snake skins.

Here are the complete sets of tentacles awaiting attachment to the bodies and the addition of the feelers. These did not like to go together. By the time I was happy with them and had the seems hidden, there was more caulk than polyethylene involved.

Earlier, I showed the PETCO aquarium plant I selected. I pulled it apart and set out to paint the feelers red. I used the heat gun to warp them into pairs that had the right look.

To keep the bodies semi-rigid, yet squishy, I needed some 'organs' in the form of shipping air bags. As I planned for the bodies to be translucent, I frosted some color onto the 'organs' for effect. These were then cut into smaller sealed sections and stuffed into the bodies. A vacuformed polyethylene bulkhead was then glued in to shape the lower skirt and hold in the 'organs'.

Finally, a heat-formed acrylic piece was glued to the bulkhead to form the structure for attaching the body to the robot base and with coat hanger wires as skeleton pieces to support the tentacles. Here you can see the organs and the wire-supported tentacles.

Finally, here are the bodies curing once again, this time with the feelers added. Check out the shadow profiles. Just creepy.

Next time: Painting and legs!

Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Current Project: Needler Multimedia Arduino-Driven Animated Airsoft Prop (Everything the Neca Needler Could Have Been)
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[SalLyrisse]

Detail looking superb on these, can't wait until they're terrifying folks (and us) at cons!

 

[Redshirt]

Detail looking superb on these, can't wait until they're terrifying folks (and us) at cons!

Thank you. They are terrifying. The dream is to get them to run around at CONs for just that purpose.
Redshirt
Guess who's not coming back from the Slayer match--the guy in the Red Shirt
Current Project: Needler Multimedia Arduino-Driven Animated Airsoft Prop (Everything the Neca Needler Could Have Been)
Signature Project: Halo 3 Working Airsoft Spartan Laser in Metal & Fiberglass

 

[Metro]

Timmy is already terrifying people at cons. Will need to make a cam drone next to show you all.