DIY PotatOS

Oh, hi. So, how are you holding up? Because I'm a potato.

I like many others grew up with and loved the portal series, and wanted to bring the starchy sarcastic antagonist to life.

-access to a 3D printer (PLA and TPU)

-Black wire (30 gauge)

-Red alligator clips

-Rubber bands

-Small paperclips

-Drywall Nails

-White, yellow, red, black, and white acrylic paint

-Primer, black and white spray paint

-Sandpaper

-Needle-nose pliers

-Masking tape

-X-acto knife/box cutter

-Superglue

-A potato!

Using a reference found on the Villains Wiki, I've found the model would need 6 3D printed pieces. The main body, the potato "chip," the ribbon between the main body and chip, and 3 resistors(?) on the wires. Using Tinkercad, I drafted up these 6 objects and printed them out. Everything is printed in PLA besides the ribbon, which was printed in a semi-flexible TPU. This piece could most likely be substituted by any other flexible black material, but I had some on hand.

After a light sanding to provide better adhesion to the prints, the first step of the painting process was spray painting the main colors. All pieces were given a base coat of primer followed by white paint. once this dried, the main body was masked everywhere but the top. It was then given a few coats of black paint and the masking removed.

For the detailing, it was required to paint in the lights and the resistors After masking off the surrounding areas,the lights were painted on and the resistors were painted their respective colors, save the black resistor which was spray painted. After removing the masking tape, the white stripes were applied to the resistors and some cleanup was done to the main parts. The chip and main body were then attached and super-glued together via the ribbon cable and their respective slots.

There are 2 wires for the device, a shorter bottom wire consisting of a red alligator clip and the yellow and black resistor, and a longer top wire consisting of an alligator clip and the blue resistor.

Additionally, there are some wire guides and "staples" to make. These are made out of paperclips bent with needle nose pliers , with 6 being squared hooks to attach the main body using the modeled guide holes and 3 simple wire guides.

To begin assembly , wrap the rubber band around the part of the potato that the main body will attach to.

Using the paperclip hooks, attach the main body to the potato.

Next up, attach the chip to the potato. You may need to use a small knife to cut some pilot holes for the legs as they are pretty thin.

Next up, glue to the wires to the main body. the upper wire attaches to the pilot hole while the lower wire attaches to the bottom of the main body.

Finally, push in the nails and clip the wires in place. Attach the guides to the potato using a few drops of superglue to keep the wires in place.

And you're done! Give yourself a congratulatory slow clap.