Artwork for RoboCon 2008

Below is the final artwork I completed last night for the Club T-Shirts for RoboCon 2008. There are 9 Robots depicted from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I wanted to have a large group of Robot's on the shirt because my original idea for RoboCon, while being mainly an event for the Lost in Space B9 Robot, was an event for any Robot builder to show off their work. My hope and goal is to get more Robot Builders like those building the Star Wars Droids and and other Movie and TV Robots to attend the event. The idea for this artwork was formed when I was looking at a poster in a sales magazine that showed all the Superheros in a group picture. Can you name all the Robots in the picture?

RoboCon08- April 18-20 2008 Denver Colorado

RoboCon 2008 is almost here and I know a couple of us are frantically preparing our Robots for the show. Only 33 days left!! I have been trying to get the powers at be to book some of the Lost in Space Cast members to no avail. I've spoken to Bob May and to Mark Goddard and they both want to come to the Denver but they haven't been asked. There will be three Lost in Space B9 Robots and hopefully some others Robots or Droids will make it as well. My Robot has a new stell treadsection ready to go, but because the legs and knees I made aren't a perfect match, I'll have to wait for this summer's Rubber Leg run to be completed and purchase a set. I still have a few minor systems to work on and he'll be ready.

Monday- Day 4 NASA Facility Tour

First, I'd like to thank MikeJ for making this incredible tour a reality. This is NASA's VIP Tour that offers just a peek inside the incredible world of NASA. We toured inside the following areas: The Orbiter Preparations Facility, here they prepare the orbiter for it's next mission. The Vehicle Assembly Building. This is where all the components of the shuttle are attached to each other. While here we learned that the "Shuttle" is not the spaceship but rather the entire package that launches. The Orbiter, the actual spaceship, the External Tank that provides fuel to the Orbiters three main engines, and the two Solid Rocket Boosters when all assembled is called the Shuttle. We toured the International Space Station Facility. Here all the many different pieces and modules are test and packaged in lager containers that are then loaded onto the Orbiter. See went to the landing area where the shuttle lands after a mission and we went out to Launch Pad 39A and saw the Shuttle waiting to launch at 2:38am est on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.


Under the Orbiter Atlantis Those are the famous Ceramic Tiles that protect the ship during re-entry.
This is where all the orbiters are taken after returning from space to get prepared for the next mission. You can't see but small patches of the Orbiter because of the cocoon of scaffolding that holds all the test and repair equipment. These are the only pictures of the many I took that you can see something resembling the spacecraft.




In Front of the nose of Atlantis





This is the Lab Module for the Japanese Section that is schedule for May delivery to the ISS. The storeroom was launched on Endeavour and will be parked until this module arrives then they will be attached to the station. They couldn't launch them together because there was no more room in the cargo bay because of Dextre the Robotic arm that needed to go up.




This piece is the window assembly that is scheduled to be launched in 2009 or 2010, one of the last pieces of the ISS the Shuttle will deliver before being decommissioned.



At 2:38am March 11 the Shuttle Endeavour roared into the early morning sky and the experience is indescribable. The light from the Solid Rocket Boosters is so bright the night was turned into day and roar of the engines vibrates your entire body. Very impressive. This will be the last night launch of a Shuttle before they are retired in 2010.

Sunday- Day 3 Disney World

What's a trip to Orlando Florida without going to Disney World?! We went to Epcot, the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The Mission to Mars, Intense, Ride at Epcot was absolutely fantastic! The best ride I've ever been on. At The Magic Kingdom we were chosen to be a participant in the "Main Street Parade" with Chip and Dale. That was a definite first for the both of us! Then at Hollywood Studios we just had to visit the Star Wars "Star Tours" ride and gift shop. The ride was a blast and I've been sworn to never divulge on how much we spent in the Gift Shop!














After all this fun we drove to Cocoa near Cape Canaveral to tour NASA and watch the Launch of the Shuttle Endeavour!!

Saturday- Day 2 MegaCon Convention

After talking Robots last night we were more than ready to get to MegaCon Sci-Fi Convention and check out the sights and sounds at MegaCon. The first stop was to the "Stars" autograph area. I wanted to meet Mark Goddard that actor that played Don West in Lost in Space TV Series from the 1960's and my favorite show as a kid. We talked with Mark and got his his picture and autograph for my "Robot Wall of Fame" . The we stopped in to see Gil Gerrard and Erin Gray both who starred in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" TV Show in the 70's. It was great to see and talk to these actors in person. I talked to Mark about coming to Denver and he is all for it. I've been trying to get him and other cast members out to StarFest in Denver for the last two years but those in charge of star booking are dragging their feet. We did meet up with a couple of Star Wars R2-Droid builders and had a lot of questions answered and took hundreds of pics.

Friday- Day 1 Visiting Another Robot Builder

To get to Jim's house, we had to fight through a nasty rain storm and numerous multi-vehicle accidents on the freeways. There were times we couldn't see the road because it was raining so hard the wipers couldn't keep up! We safely made it to the house and visited with Jim and his wife. It was good to see them again and to see all the progress Jim has made on his many Robot Projects. Jim's Living Room has sevral life-size Robots in it and it is so cool. There's Robby, from Forbidden Planet, The B9 Lost in Space Robot, Bender, C3PO, a Jawa, from Star Wars, Rosie from the Jetson's Cartoon Classic that is in the initial stages, and R2D2 which is also in the beginning stages of parts collecting. Jim is about 90% finished with the very cool animated Bus Stop Robots that will grace his entryway on the porch outside when completed. It's really cool to be able to talk to other people that share the same passion in full size functioning Robots from TV and Movies. We discussed the various Robots we've built and the many solutions to the problems encountered we all agreed that this hobby is a passion and we each have it bad. Another thing we've agreed on we have very understanding wives!

Florida Robot Vacation with a Shuttle Launch Thrown In

WOW! What a busy fun weekend last week I don't know where to start. Another Robot Builder from South Dakota, Greg, and I have been planning a trip to Florida to visit a robot builder in Tampa, then attend the MegaCon Sci-Fi Convention in Orlando and to stop into at NASA to the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. What really happened is something else. I'm going to make an entry for each day as we packed so much fun into the trip I can't cover it with just one entry.

Droid Parts I have as of today.......

I decided it was time to post some pictures showing the parts I have purchased todate.

The first picture is all the miscellaneous bits and pieces that go on the droid's different areas like the feet, dome, legs etc.

Next is the JAG's v5 Aluminum Frame:(Photo by JAG) This picture shows the frame partially built. There are still some pieces that will go on it.

Next is the un-cut dome I purchased last year. I recently decided to spend the $$$ and purchase the 300mm laser-cut Dome offered by Daren. I know I won't regret it!

The last picture are the two feet for my Droid from JAG.

First Mini-Vacation of 2008

My good friend and fellow Robot Builder, Greg L., and I have been planning a trip to Florida in March with two goals in mind, First to attend MegaCon Sci-Fi Convention and meet up with some friends I met last year. I met Bob May, the actor that was inside the Robot from the 1960's TV Show, Lost in Space. Second, to visit the Kennedy Space Center and see the Lost in Space B9 Robot Replica made by B9 Creations out of South Dakota. That was the whole trip, two days. Well it's now been stretched to 5 Day with side trip to Epcot Center at Disney World and will be topped off with a VIP NASA Tour all day Monday to see the NASA Facilities. This tour includes the visits to the Orbitor Processing Facilities, the Vehicle Assembly Building, The Shuttle Landing Facility, a trip out to the launch pad to view the shuttle as it sits ready to be launched. Then on Tuesday morning, at 2:31am, we get watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Mission STS-123 from the Shuttle Launch VIP Viewing Area at Banana Creek which is about two miles from the launch pad. Of course it all depends on if NASA doesn't have any problems and all systems stay green and the weather cooperates. Needles to say we are very pumped up for this trip. Last year my wife and I took our second trip to Australia and I got the honor to meet John Saxon who worked for NASA during the 1969 Moon Landing. He gave me a fantastic tour of the now defunct Honeysuckle Creek Station and consolidated Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex. It was mind boggling to say the least and it's a trip I shall forever remember. I'll be updating this blog in the near future with pictures and stories from the trip. Right now it's a mad scramble to get the Robot completed for RoboCon in just 49 days!!