Junk Heap Robot - Scratch Building

I am not sure how I got to the rabbit hole that is known as Scratch Building and Kit Bashing but sometime earlier this year, I dove deep.

I was watching people way more talented than me create vast worlds made of very common household stuff. Glue, paint, & time and you can make a bunch of cool figures. So, with that being said, here is my attempt in making my Junk Heap Robot.

NOTE: Once I realized I wanted to try this, I found out that you shouldn't use just any old consumables. I chose two specifics (both specifically pictured above):

1) Cyanoacrylate (Super) Glue (pic 1), and

2) Rust-oleum 2x matte spray primer (pic 2).

This is because stuff bonding to plastic proves difficult especially for #2 HDPE and #5 PE, which is what I used, almost exclusively.

Here are the other materials:

Junk, I used a bunch of reclaimed plastic pieces parts and wires (pic 3)

Styrene (I didn't use this but it is commonly used)

Glue, Medium flow super glue is what I used, specifically in the pics

Baking powder

Primer, I used Grey Flat spray primer, specifically in the pics

Acrylic paint, various colors

Paint Brushes

Paint pallet (pic 4)

Lint free rags

Latex gloves

Water

Various pieces for figures from the Dollar Tree; Final Faction parts to be specific (pic 5)

Sand paper of various grit

Cutting tools, like a shop knife/box cutter

Side cutters

Measuring device

An optional pro tip: I use leftover plastic materials but if you would like to use paper/cardboard pieces, add a few layers of mod podge and allow to dry before gluing. This helps minimize the paper products from turning "soggy."

I had a rough concept in mind: Make a robot that is inspired by P-33 from NIER, aka Beepy (pic 1).

I collected a bin of materials (pic 2) and just like all the tutorials I watched said, "Try and visualize where stuff makes sense and do a dry run."

I saved and cleaned some containers and pieces by sticking them in a colander on the top shelf of my dishwasher (namely the following):

Tops of squeezy yogurts/fruit pouches (even the spout you eat out of)

Screw top lids from hand soap dispensers

Pill / Gum bottles

Old wires from cut-rate phone chargers or other electrical cords of various sizes that bit the dust

Lids from other containers like glue, pens, toothpastes, etc.

Those stretchy pop tube toys at the dollar tree could also be cool for robot legs (pic 6).

Anything that looked cool like something a robot or Star Wars speeder would have

Speaking of Star Wars, I collected stuff that is also known as Greeblies (pic 2).

Afterwards, I re/placed things in spots I felt they should live.

Here is a video of my process although I have to admit that in this trial run, once the glued pieces started to resemble a robot, that is when the camera started rolling. However, the process is rinse and repeat as you will see below :)

A quick outline of what I did here is getting random pieces/parts in place. I knew the pill bottle belly and the yogurt cap feet were going to stay but connecting them was through trial and error. I found that using tubing from the pumps of soap, shampoo, and sanitizer bottles worked the best. These were dissected and used for the arms and the legs, actually. The head is a spray paint cap with the neck being a severed piece of a toothpaste cap.

When you have a good idea of what parts go where, but before you start gluing stuff together, you want to prepare those surfaces. Take a little time to scuff up the surfaces (especially the smoother/shiny plastic) to accept your glue. This helps quite a bit by creating more surface area for your parts/glue to adhere to. Also, if you intend to prime and paint these surfaces, scuffing will help the primer stick better later, as well. Prep for painting I did 80 grit by mistake (too deep) and I would say a 220 grit or a small emery board would suffice.

Trust me, doing this with the individual pieces prior to gluing will help a ton in the long run.

The next thing to think about during your dry run is how the thing will stand by itself. Whether you are doing scenery, a building, a robot, once the stuff is glued, you will have to take it apart and risk damage to get a warrior to stand without a brace. I made this mistake and had one of the robot legs sticking out to the side after glue up. I corrected it by gluing it to a base of wood but, ideally, I would not have had to do that with a little bit of better planning.

I didn't think this part would have such a learning curve, but it did for me.

You CAN superglue plastic parts to other plastic parts, however, KEEPING those parts together is difficult.

CA or superglue and baking soda together definitely helps but namely getting the right superglue. All superglues are not created equal, I came to find out. I used the brand I found at Hobby Lobby specifically. You could also use the activator spray that comes in CA glue kits online but I chose the baking soda route for a couple of reasons:

1) it is cheaper /readily available, and

2) it can help add some depth on transition areas you build upon, like joints, shoulder, knees, bends, etc.

What do I mean? First off, baking soda reacts with the CA [super] glue to harden it waaaay more quickly. Don't risk the hand cramps. Secondly, the baking soda as it helps dry the glue in place will physically add substance to your pieces to make for better joints / add-ons. For example, if you placed a shoulder joint on the collar of a figure, the superglue/baking soda combo will help add that depth to the transition from collar to shoulder as opposed to stick to box butt up against each other.

With all that being said, I keep a hefty amount of baking soda next to me during construction. Add a dab of CA glue, sprinkle on the baking soda, give it 10 seconds and move on or repeat. I try and remove any excess baking soda as I tend to lay it on thick.

One thing I thought was cool was making a hand from a paperclip and an empty pen ink tube (i.e. no more ink left inside, pic 6). I cut 8 pieces of equal length and cut a paperclip into 4 equal pieces.

Pro tip: bend the paperclip first while it is long and cut your pieces because unless you have tiny hands, it is a pain with a smaller piece. A vise helps, too. Next, slide the pen pieces onto the paperclip to make the fingers and thumb. I glued the edges of the plastic-paperclip and used some baking soda. This especially helps "round over the fingertips (pic 7)." The hand was a piece of a plastic spoon and all the fingers were glued to this.

Another cool technique for adding depth is using "rivets," aka tiny circles that are hole punched. You can get a 1mm or 2mm hole punch and go to town on any thin walled container. I think this would have given my robot better dimension but next time.

Warning: You can get really lost in the amount of doo dads, Greeblies, tchotchkes, etc. you can start placing. I used different caps, pieces of old zip ties, heck, even the chest is part of a deodorant stick (pic 3). The possibilities are quite endless, but with the "raw" parts on there, it doesn't look like much. In fact, when the parts were glued I thought to myself, "Self, this looks weird. <Contemplating decision with robot and life>"

Let's prime it and hopefully it'll look more like a robot and less like a junk heap.

This part is easy enough to perform in a "big picture" kind of way. The hard part is the rabbit hole/money pit you can find yourself contemplating in terms of color, detail, effect, depth, etc.

I saw several videos on not only what type, brand, etc. of paint they used but what color, consistency, do you want matte, flat, satin, gloss, metallic, glitter, yeeks...The possibilities can get expensive quickly, but a couple of bottles of acrylic paint and primer don't cost too much. I chose cheap dollar store brushes, too, and they come in a variety pack!

But I digress (sort of). Once all of your pieces are attached and scuffed from the earlier step, mask off any pieces you don't want painted (see pic 3 for the "eye"), apply a coat or two of primer and allow time to dry completely. After it sets, you can apply your color and weathering.

What I did after priming is I scratched anything that would be considered tattered, worn, attacked, etc. (pic 4). Then, I colored some areas a dark green to give it some pop of color but I also went in with a dry brush of orange to add some "rust (pics 5-8)."

Dry brushing is unloading as much paint as you can from the brush but it still holds the color. I did this by wiping it against the side of my paint pallet until I was happy. Then I went through in various places I thought seemed susceptible to rusting. You can add a spot, a streak, whatever you feel looks real. Even if you aren't doing anything "metallic," maybe like a slobbering monster, you can dry brush some slime/acid/slobber.

Weathering is exactly like it sounds, you will add some age to your creation. I performed this by taking my black acrylic paint and water in a 50:50 mix (pics 9-11). You just want to thin it out to have it flow better and not turn everything black. I painted on the weathering paint and wiped it off after a 5-10 seconds. You will get a good depth of color especially in cracks, pits, divots, bullet holes, etc. (pic 12).

I stuck my new creation on a base of wood. I had a scrap piece of oak that I burned with a torch and scrubbed the ash away with a bristle brush. I then glued my robot to the base and called it good.

There are other possibilities to add more detail to the base like:

Adding sand to PVA [Elmer's] glue and painting over that after it dries for a sandy desert

Add gravel/pebbles for a cobblestone sidewalk

Add moss/grass

I have even seen folks add foam with LEDs inside to give the appearance of smoke/fire which looks really neat!

I saw a whole war scene with sandbags, dirt/gravel, footsteps in mud...It was really detailed and outstanding!

I hope you found this useful in the pursuit of scratch building / recycle plastic waste.

I apologize for those who look into this as a hobby because the cost can add up with consumables in your level of detail. But then you can use the empties to make new creations..?!

See you on the next one!