Crow T Robot. Assembly Notes

Transcription

1 Crow T Robot Assembly Notes Thank you for purchasing one of my MST3K Crow T Robot Kits. These notes and pictures will help you complete the construction. Feel free to assemble Crow in your own way if you have to make some alterations or deviate from the notes. Building Crow can be challenging but hopefully these notes will help. About the Parts This Crow T Robot kit has 165 individual pieces. 26 of these parts have to be made by hand casting them with plastic resin. It s a difficult and time consuming process which makes organizing and assembling these kits very laborious. The resin pieces are made as well as I can make them in the amount of time I have. There may be a couple of air bubbles or a slight defect here or there but nothing serious enough to detract from the finish model. That being said, in the past I have sold parts and kits to a few people that were obsessed with having absolutely 100% perfect flawless pieces for their bots. I can't do that. It is not possible or practical for me to make every piece perfect without defects. If I take the time and effort to make flawless parts for every kit I would never be able to get enough pieces finish to offer these kits to anyone. If you need for every one of Crow's parts to be perfect you can repair the pieces I've supplied. Fill in the air bubble with spackle or sand down any imperfections. Or replace the replica pieces with the original parts. There are ways to make them perfect if you want, but I can't swap out parts for flawless pieces for you to make your "perfect" Crow. But think about it, when was the real Crow ever in perfect condition? You should embrace his imperfections. Those air bubbles: That s from when Crow was melted down and turned in a gold ingot in episode 510. That scratch: Got it in episodes 920 when he and Servo were fighting in the escape pods. That paint drip: Sliding down the Umbilicus in 603. That ripple: Happened during the head swap with Servo in 404. The parts you have now and the way you assemble them will make your Crow very unique. There will not be another Crow like anywhere else. You should take comfort in that. Bob Bukoski - 1 -

2 Table of Contents Tools Painting Torso Pieces Outer Control Rod Assembly Head Assembly Eye Socket Eye Control Rod The Net Arm Assemblies

3 Tools Most of the Crow assembly can be done with a few basic tools, but here are a few essential tools you will need: Phillips Screwdriver Electric Drill with a variety of small bits Fine Grit Sand Paper or Scuff Pads Super Glue Hot Glue Gun Spray Paint and Primer X-acto Knife, Box Cutter or Razor Blade The hot glue gun isn t essential but it is nice for a couple of applications. If you don t have hot glue you can use epoxy or super glue instead. Another useful tool for your Crow build is a Dremel rotary tool with a variety of bits. I use one extensively on Crow but I will try to offer alternative methods for those who don t own a Dremel. Painting You will first need to scuff, clean and then prime any parts you intend to paint. This is particularly important on the Tupperware panels, which don t hold paint very well. Thoroughly scuff all areas of the Tupperware before priming. After scuffing but before priming you should clean all surfaces with glass cleaner on a lint free rag and if possible follow with a painter s tack rag which removes any additional particles. The paint you will need is as follows: Grey Primer for all surfaces Flat Black for underside of Tupperware pieces Testors Lime Gold Metal Flake #1642 for Crow s exterior (about 6 cans) Bright or Fluorescent Yellow for eyes The parts that are already black like the e pin, eye socket and hands do not need to have their insides painted flat black. If you don t have a lot of experience with spray painting you may want take some time to practice before you paint your Crow. Maybe find some household object you want to paint or an empty soda bottle to practice on. If you have never spray painted anything before, you could also take a few moments to review some YouTube videos or web pages with information on painting techniques. Be sure to do all of your painting outdoors or in a well ventilated area. Always wear a particle mask when painting. Thoroughly cover work surfaces with paper or cardboard to protect them from the paint overspray

4 The full assembly of Crow should take place after all the parts are painted. However, you may want to perform a dry-fitting of most the parts before painting if you are unsure of how they will be assembled. This may help keep you from damaging the painted pieces when you do your final assembly. These notes mostly show unpainted pieces being assembled. Torso Pieces Start by getting the torso pieces assembled. The torso is made up of the tall Tupperware flower vase piece with screen, the short vase with screen, the two longer vase panels, the 4 drain tubing and the lamp block for the shoulders. The Tupperware vase pieces can be painted flat black on the inside and Testors Lime Gold Metal Flake on the exterior. It generally takes 3 coats of the gold paint to get a good finish. The mesh screens should be painted flat or semi-gloss black. The 4 drainage tubing should be painted flat black to match the flat black inside of the Tupperware panels. Drill or cut a 7/8 hole in the exact center of each Tupperware piece. This is to accommodate the PVC control rod and neck pieces. If you have a 7/8 hole saw that works best. If you don t, you can use the largest drill bit available then use a piece of PVC to trace a 7/8 hole then trim and cut out the hole with a razor blade. Next an access hole needs to be drilled in what will be the back of the tall vase and the back of the short vase pieces. The holes should be about 5/16 or slightly bigger than 1/4" which it the size of the screw head that needs to fit through the hole. On the tall vase measure down 7/8 from the top edge and drill the access hole. On the short vase measure down 1 3/8 and drill. When the vase pieces are snapped back together these two holes should line up so that you can get the set-screw through them and screw it into the control rod

5 On the two flat Tupperware panel you will need to drill the holes for the black lamp blocks that separate the two panels. This can be a little tricky but use the holes in the lamp block as a guide

6 Use the measurements in the figure above and drill two 11/64 holes on each end of both panels. If you don t have the exact size drill bit you can use something close. The holes in the panels and in the lamp blocks are a little bigger than the bolts that will go in them. This is so there is a little wiggle room to adjust the lamp blocks during the final assembly. Take the mesh screen for the taller vase piece and cut out the center 9 squares of the mesh. Place the mesh screens on the vase pieces then insert the tall vase into short vase and snap into place. Look through the screw access hole in the back of the short vase and rotate the tall vase until the holes lines up evenly

7 Next set the bottom Tupperware panel upside-down on the top vase pieces. Use one of the pieces of PVC pipe to line up their center holes. Drill two 1/8 holes about ¼ from the center ring of the panel. This is to ensure that the two #8 x 1 ¼ Phillips screws provided go through all three pieces. The 4 drain tubing can now be attached. Position it in the center of the panel. Using a ruler can help get it centered. Then carefully fit your hot glue gun inside the tube in such a way that you can put four large dabs of hot glue across from each other to secure it. If you re not using hot glue you put super glue or epoxy on the bottom of the tubing then carefully place it in the center of the panel

8 Now place the top Tupperware panel on drain tubing. Use a piece of the PVC pipe to center the holes in the panels. Use the long brass bolts in each of the black shoulder pieces to attach the lamp blocks. Only tighten the bolt slightly snug on each shoulder then push the shoulders in until the upper panel is touching the edge of the blocks rim. Then tighten the bolts only enough to make the shoulders immovable if gentle pressure is put on them. If you over tighten these bolts it will begin to flatten the Tupperware panel too much and may damage the paint. Outer Control Rod Assembly With the torso finished when can move on to the outer control rod that will support the torso and head. First the 12 PVC lower control rod piece needs to be cut and drilled for the eye control paddle and mouth pull string. A slots 1 x1/2 need to be even cut on front and back of the pipe 3 ½ from the bottom. This slot allows the eye control paddle to move the eyes up-and-down and side-to-side

9 One of the best ways to cut the slot is with a Dremel rotary tool and a small circular cutting wheel as pictured in the photo below. If you don t possess a Dremel tool you can drill small holes around the outline of the slots then cut out and trim with a razor blade then sand the edges flat. On the right side of the lower control rod, exactly midway between the two paddle slots, drill a 5/16 hole. This is an access hole that will allow you to insert a screw that mounts the eye control paddle to the inner control rod. It can help to drill a small pilot hole approximately 1/8 first to make sure the larger hole is centered. 3/4 above the front paddle slot, drill a 1/8 hole at a 45 o angle. This where the mouth control string will exit the control rod. After drilling, try to smooth the edges so there are no rough parts that will fray the string

10 Mount the PVC coupling on the top of the lower control rod. Use PVC pipe glue or superglue to glue the coupling in place on the pipe. Drill a 7/64 hole 3/8 down from the top edge of the coupling at the center of the back of the rod. This is for the set-screw that will hold the top neck PVC inside the lower control rod. Do not install the set-screw now that will be done after the control rod is installed. The 9 ¾ PVC pipe will be Crow s neck and connects with the lower control rod. The 1 PVC pipe need to be cut down the middle to make the collar of the neck. Slide the piece onto the neck pipe and position it so that the bottom edge is 5 7/8 from the bottom as seen in the figure on the left. The collar is generally quite hard to slide but it doesn t hurt to put a drop or two of superglue on the bottom edge of it so that it can t be easily moved out of place. Drill an 11/64 in the center of the gap of the neck collar. This is where the mouth string will enter the neck and run down the control rod to the exit hole near the control paddle. After the neck is painted semi-gloss black you can attach the silver rivet hole cover as seen on later versions of Crow or leave it bare. If you choose not to use the neck rivet drill the neck hole at a 45 o downward angle and smooth the edges so the mouth string will have a smooth surface to move along. The neck rivet is a purely decorative piece and it is still unclear why it was used on the real Crow. To prepare the neck rivet, cut off the back and remove the inner metal rod. File or sand off the rough edges where it was cut then use a metal rod to smooth the edges for the string run along

11 Connect the neck piece to the lower control rod. Look down the length of the control rod and twist the neck piece until the hole for the mouth string lines up straight with the lower mouth string exit hole. Next drill a 7/64 hole into the neck pipe through the hole in the pipe coupling that you drilled earlier. This is for the small set-screw which will hold the two pipes together. We can now insert the control rod into the torso pieces. Start by placing the torso on to the lower piece of the control rod. If you have a stand for your Crow you can insert the pcv pipe into it or just lay the torso down on a soft surface like a towel while you continue the assembly. Large pieces of thick wood make nice stable bases. I use 15 round wooden base. I ve also seen people use inverted trash cans and large bottles for bases. Insert the neck pipe down through the top panel until it meets with the couple in the lower pipe piece. Try to make the front of the neck in line with the front of the lower pipe. With the neck in the lower piece either visually or with a pointed object line up the set-screw holes in each piece. Then with either a magnetic tipped screwdriver or a small piece of tape, carefully insert the screwdriver with 1/4 set screw through the access holes in the vase pieces and into the hole in the lower PVC pipe. You should be able to feel the screw when it is correctly insert and then tighten it. The neck piece should now be firmly attached to the lower piece and not move or twist

12 Head Assembly First we need to cut the mouth and rear half of the bowling pin for Crows mouth. If you are using the cast resin replica of the e bowling pin from my kit there are curved cut-lines molded into the pin. The back resin used to make the pins and other parts can be very brittle which makes it tricky to drill and cut. Take your time, go VERY slowly and don't force anything. You ll only have one shot at this. I like to cut the pins with a small Dremel cutting wheel. If you don t have a Dremel you can use a copping or hacksaw. The copping saw will work better on the curved areas. The area near the ends may be too thick for the Dremel wheel so you'll have to cut through with a saw

13 The top hole is cut to 7/8 diameter for the piece of PVC pipe that will be glued to the eye socket and fit into the PVC coupling inside the pin. If you have access to holes saws it s best to drill a 1/4 pilot hole through the top to the bottom first. There is a small indentation in the pin to help you drill the pilot hole. Then you can use it as a guide for the hole saw bits. Again the pin is quite brittle so don t press too hard or force anything or it will crack. Drill the larger 1 1/16 bottom hole first then the top 7/8 hole. After the pieces are cut away you can smooth the curves with a Dremel or sandpaper. If there is extra resin material on the inside of the pin you can grind it out with the Dremel or drill and cut it away. Next we will drill the holes for the neck PVC pipe pieces. The bottom hole is cut to 1 1/16 diameter to accommodate a 3/4 PVC coupling that will connect the head Crow s neck PVC pipe

14 Insert the short 2 1/4 PVC pipe piece into the PVC couple. Do not glue it in place. We will need to remove it later to mount inside the eye socket. Insert the pipe and coupling into the bottom hole of the pin until the mid-point line on the coupling is flush with the pin surface. On the inside of the pin use superglue to carefully glue the area where the coupling meets the pin. When the glue has dried, drill a 7/64 hole in the back of the coupling midway down the bottom half of the coupling. This is for the 1/4 setscrew that will hold the pin to the neck pipe. At this point you can either choose to paint the two halves of the mouth separately or assemble them together then paint them. I generally prefer to paint them separately then when the paint had completely dried for a day or two attach the lower mouth. Either way the operation is the same. On the main head piece, spread superglue in the middle of the scuffed area then carefully position the elastic hinge halfway onto the superglue. Try to get the elastic as straight as possible then press firmly into the glue. After the glue has dried, spread superglue on the scuffed area of the lower mouth piece. Carefully match the lower mouth to the upper piece so that the sides and front are flush. The mouth assembly is somewhat difficult. You can choose to do it the way I ve show below or try your own method. First scuff an area just inside the mouth in front of the PVC coupling then scuff a similar area at the back of the inside of the lower mouth piece. This is the area on both pieces where the 1 elastic mouth hinge piece will be glued. You can use a Dremel with a sanding bit or some rough sand paper

15 Hold the mouth in place but gently open the front a small distance so that you can insert a long rod or screwdriver to press down on the elastic and secure it to the superglue. If the hinge feels secure, open the mouth wide and reach in and press down on the elastic so that all of it is set firmly into the superglue. Optionally this can also be done with hot glue for a stronger hold. To increase the strength of the elastic s bond with the lower mouth you can use a very small drill bit and carefully make small indentations in the scuffed area where the elastic is to be glued. Do not to drill too deeply, just about half the thickness of the resin. The elastic hinge can make Crow s mouth appear too floppy when moving it with the pull string. This can be fixed by stiffening the elastic with hot glue as seen in the left photo. Coat the elastic with hot glue and allow it to dry while the mouth is closed. Only spread the hot glue on one side at a time as the heat from the new glue could loosen the glue under the hinge and cause it to release. Next install the elastic that is used for closing the lower mouth when it is opened by the pull string. Drill two sets of 5/64 holes, in the upper and lower mouth pieces. On my cast resin pin, there are small indents showing where to drill

16 The elastic string can be tied on the outside of the lower jaw, preferable at the bottom, but for a cleaner look you can conceal the knot on the inside of the mouth, although this can be a little trickier to tie. Feed the elastic through the two holes in the lower and upper mouth pieces. It helps if you can mount the pin on a piece of PVC pipe in a stand to hold it while you install the string. Loop the line so the ends meet inside the mouth. Use one hand to hold the ends of the string while you use the other to gather up extra string and create tension in the line. You can stretch the elastic quite a bit to give you more tension and better mouth closing. When you have enough tension, hold the strings tight and have a second person tie knots in the line. Or pinch the line together with a pair of pliers or a hemostat while you tie the knots. Test the tension. If it s not enough to completely close the mouth you may have to retie it. If it closes you can reach inside the mouth and slide the string up or down to move the knot to the top of the mouth where it won t be seen as easily. When you are ready for your final assembly remember to slip the longer piece of rubber neck decoration on to the neck first then place the pin on to the neck. Center the pin on top of the neck making sure it is lined up with the hole for the mouth string. Drill a 7/64 hole through the set screw hole in the PVC coupling on the pin and into the neck pipe. Install the set screw so that the pin is now secure. Run the mouth pull string through the neck rivet hole and down the outer control rod. You may have to drop something through the top of the control rod to force the string to the bottom. Once you have it down there you ll need to fish it through the small angled hole drilled just above the control rod slot. The line is very stiff and if you put a bend in the end of it you can get it to feed through that hole. Securely tie the pull ring to the bottom end of the line. Loop the top end of the string through the same two holes in the lower mouth used for the elastic string. Tie it securely to the mouth. Give the string a couple of test pulls to see how well the mouth operates

17 Eye Socket The vacuformed eye socket piece is made from polystyrene and can sometimes rip or chip if you bend it too far or are too forceful with it. So take your time cutting and trimming eye socket to avoid any costly mistakes. The center of the socket should be trimmed to within 1/8 of the edge. To help guide you while cutting you can use a circle compass to trace a pencil line around the inner edge of the dish as shown in the photo on the right. You can also use this same marking technique when you prepare to trim the vacuformed polystyrene back cover for the eye socket a little later on. Before removing the center of the socket, trim and sand the back edge so that it is straight and flat. This is easier to do with the center still in place. A sanding block works nicely, but you could also use a sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface. To remove the center area of the eye socket I like to use a Dremel tool with the same small cutting wheel that I used earlier on the bowling pin. If you don t have a Dremel you can use scissors or a razor. If using a razor go slowly. One slip and the socket will be ruined. Carefully remove the center. If you have a Dremel you can change to a sanding wheel and clean up the rough edges and make sure the curves are nice and even. If you don t have a Dremel an emery board or nail file is a good alternative. Or fold up a piece of sandpaper and run it along the edges

18 Next we ll cut the hole in the bottom of the socket where the 2 1/4 PVC pipe will be attached. First it s a good idea to paint the top 1 to 3/4" of the PVC pipe flat black. This is the portion that will be visible inside the dish and will be less noticeable if it is painted black. Choose which side of the dish will be the bottom of the eye socket and find the exact center near the back edge and mark it with a pencil. You can use a flexible tape and measure between the points on the edge of the socket. Use the circle compass from earlier or a piece of PVC pipe to carefully trace a 7/8 circle where the pipe will go. Try to make the circle about 1/8 from the back edge of the socket. This will help give the eyes the maximum amount of space available to move inside the socket. Too far forward and they will rub against the front edge. If using a Dremel, a pointed cutting bit is nice for this job. If you don t have a Dremel carefully use a razor blade or small scissors. DO NOT try to drill this out with a large hole saw. You risk tearing or mangling the plastic if you do. You could also drill many small holes on the inside edge of the circle to remove it

19 Try to cut the hole a little smaller than the circle you have drawn. It s better to have a nice tight fit for the PVC pipe than a loose one. Once removed, compare the hole to the PVC pipe to see where to sand and trim to make it fit. If it doesn t fit at the top and bottom it s best to remove material from the back edge to get the pipe closer to the back of the socket. Once the pipe fits, check to see that it is vertically even. You can check the vertical by laying the socket on a flat surface and inserting the pipe. If the pipe isn t even with the surface do some trimming until it is. Mark a pencil line in the black end of the 2 1/4 PVC 3/4" from the edge. Insert it into the soap dish until the line is even with the inside bottom edge of the socket. Adjust the pipe until it appears to be perfectly perpendicular to the socket. Place a small drop of hot glue or super glue on either side of the pipe to tack it in place. You may have to make some adjustments, so it s not a good idea to completely glue it now. When the glue has dried, stand the socket up on the pipe to see if both side are at an even height and perfectly horizontal. If not, cut or break the glue on only one side of the pipe, adjust it to the correct height, and then glue it again. Repeat until it is even. Recheck the vertical position of the pipe by again laying it on a flat surface. Adjust if necessary and tack in place

20 Its critical getting the pipe perfectly centered in the eye socket, otherwise when it is mounted on the pin is will look crooked as will the eyes and eye movement when installed. If you have the lower portion of Crow pieced together you can test the eye by carefully mounting it in the pin temporarily to check its position. When satisfied with the position you can completely glue the pipe in place. If using hot glue try to put a nice even ring around the pipe inside the socket. Only do about half at one time so as not to re-melt the glue tacking the pipe in place. If using epoxy, mix a small batch and use a toothpick or nail to place the glue around the pipe. I don t recommend superglue to permanently mount the pipe. Superglue does work as well in big globs. It won t have the strength to keep from breaking if the eye socket is severely jarred. When the glue is thoroughly dry, insert the eye socket piece into the top of the bowling pin mouth piece. Don t insert it all the way until you have carefully lined it up with the mouth piece. It helps to look down on the head from the top and gently twist the eyesocket into position. When you are satisfied that it is straight push it completely into the pin piece. If the socket seems quite snug you don t really need to glue it in place, but if it is loose you can drop a couple of dabs of super down the back of the pipe were it enters the coupling. This should only be done during the final assembly. An optional thing you can do to further strengthen the pin is to fill the neck area where the PVC is inserted into the pin with hot glue or epoxy. This should only be done AFTER the pieces are painted but before final assembly. If you do this before painting you ll have to paint the pin and eye socket together which can make it difficult to paint the tight areas where they meet

21 The back cover for the eye socket is designed to fit inside socket and be tacked in place with four dabs of glue at each of the points around the edges. The original Crow had a flat piece of plastic cut to the exact shape of the socket and superglued to the back. My cover is vacuformed to fit inside which makes trimming and mounting the cover much easier. Also it makes future access to the eye socket easier and with less potential for damage to your finished Crow if you have to do any eye repairs later. Trim the cover with a pair of scissors or a razor blade to within 3/16 to 1/4 from the edge. Any wider and the cover may stick out of the socket too far. Find the exact middle of the bottom of the cover and cut out an arc approximately 3/4 to 1 wide. This space is for the PVC pipe mounting in the socket. Sand any rough edges and now the cover is ready to paint

22 Eye Control Rod With the main body of Crow now finished when can tackle the eye control rod. First make sure your ping-pong ball eyes are painted. Generally they are florescent yellow or any bright yellow will do. If you can, it helps to prime the eyes with white primer instead of gray. When dry, use a razor or knife to scrape away a tiny area of paint around the hole where the toothpick will go. This helps the super glue adhere better. The eye pulley on which the ping pong eyes will be mounted needs to have two holes drilled in it. There are two indentations, one in the center of the pulley and one at the end of the tab showing where to drill. The hole in the center of the pulley needs to be 11/64 and the one on the tab needs to be 3/32. Scuff the end of the tab around the hole to help the superglue hold the eyes to the tab. Also if there are rough edges on the back of the pulley you may have to run it along a flat piece of sand paper or sanding block to give it a nice flat surface. Leave the toothpick in one of the eyes and cut it off so about 3/4" of it is sticking out. This part will go into the other eye and help to mount them both to the pulley. Put a ring of superglue around the hole on the pulley side of the eye tab. Insert the eye with the toothpick through the hole in the tab. Twist the eye a little to spread the superglue around. Quickly line the eye up so that the seam perpendicular to the tab on the eye pulley. The back edge of the eye should touch the edge of the pulley. This will be the correct final position for this eye. When dry, slip the other eye onto the toothpick on the other side of the tab. Carefully line it up and also make sure it is level with the other eye. Glue it in the same manner as the other eye

23 If the eyes end up being misaligned, carefully bend them into the right positions and then apply a drop of super glue and hold until dry. If the eyes are set correctly then you can add another small drop of super glue behind each eye to reinforce them. Now we can prepare the eye control rod on which the eye pulley will be mounted. On one end of the pipe draw a line 1 down one side and another 1 line down the exact opposite side. Use something flexible to connect the bottom of the lines on one side of the pipe. This is the area we will be removing from the end of the pipe. Use a Dremel with a small cutting wheel or a hacksaw or coping saw. Clean and smooth the flat edges with sand paper or an emery board. On each side, at the bottom inside edge of the flat cuts use a Dremel or a file to smooth the edges. You don t need to the whole edge just about 1/4" near each edge. The string that will control the eyes up and down movement will be rubbing against this area so it needs to be a smooth as possible to keep the string from fraying and breaking

24 Next we ll prepare the support collar that holds the eye control rod at the correct height. At the other end of the PVC pipe cut off approximately 5/16 piece of the pipe. After cutting, sand the edge of the cut on the main pipe so it is more rounded. This will make it easier to slide down the outer control rod later on. On the 5/16 piece you just cut. Sand both sides so they are flat. In the center of one side drill a 7/64 hole. Directly opposite from the hole, cut or saw across the PVC to make a split in it. Insert the 1/4" set screw a turn or two. Slide the collar on the eye control rod about 3/4 below the notch you cut out. Next, on the backside of the top notch, find the exact center between the flat edges and measure down 3/8. Mark this spot and drill an 11/64 hole. Insert the 1 #8x32 bolt through the hole and attach the small nut. Hand-tighten the nut until the bolt is stiff and won t move

25 Carefully fill in the area around the nut with hot glue or epoxy. Try not to get too much on the treads of the bolt since we will need to remove it again later. Superglue is not strong enough to hold the nut in place. If there is excess glue above the flat edges trim it away with a razor blade. Attach the eye pulley to the eye control rod. The bolt for the pulley has a washer and a locking nut. The washer should go between the pulley and the nut. Use a wrench and a Phillips screwdriver. Don t over tighten the nut. Just make it tight enough to hold the pulley against the slot in the pipe and still move freely. Position the eyes so they are pointing straight out. Use the line in the side of the eye as a guide and make them parallel to the control rod. Back the bolt out a few turns without holding the nut to make the pulley stays in place. You can use another tool with a smooth flat end to press the felt on to the pipe. Press hard and rub it across the surface of the felt dot to get it to stick well as possible to the inside of the pipe. Repeat this process on the lower part of the control rod just under the front slot cut out for the eye control paddle. You may have to stick the toothpick or knife in to the front side of the felt dot to place it correctly. Included in the kit are two 3/8 felt dots with adhesive backing. These are spacers that go in-between the inner control rod and outer control rod to help the inner rod move more smoothly and to keep it from rubbing against the mouth pull string. Peel off a dot and stick the edge of the adhesive side on to a toothpick or X-acto knife to hold it. Position the first dot inside the top edge of the control rod inside the eye socket

26 Now we ll insert the inner control rod into the outer control rod. Gently tilt the eye socket slightly forward just enough to get the pipe past it. Be careful not to knock the felt pads off as you insert the pipe. Stop when the pipe reaches the support collar on the inner pipe and then rotate the pipe until the eyes are facing forward. Face the front of Crow and look straight into his eye socket. Carefully pull or push down on the inner control, sliding the support collar up, until the eyes are perfectly centered in the eye socket. Double check it from the sides and the back. It is crucial to have the eyes as centered as possible otherwise they will hit the insides of the eye socket. You can further check this by using a ruler and measuring from the center of the pulley or eye tab to the edges of the socket. Remove the set screw in the support collar and drill a 7/64 hole into the control rod. Re-install the set screw through the collar and into the control rod. Optionally you can remove the eyes from the control rod and paint the visible area of the PVC black to make it less noticeable inside the socket. We have now set the correct height for Crow s eyes. Next we will set the left and right positions and prepare the inner control rod for the eye control paddle

27 Rotate the control rod so that Crows eyes are again pointing forward straight out of the eye socket. Go to the bottom of the outer control rod and use a pencil to make outlines of the rectangular notches cut out of each side of the PVC on the inner control rod. Also make an outline of the set screw hole on the side of the control rod. Crouch down and look up at Crow s mouth so you can just see the eyes above it. Rotate the inner control until the right eye is exactly centered over the end mouth. Make a pencil mark along the right edge (inside the outline of the notches) on both the front and back of the inner control rod. Now rotate the control rod the opposite way until the left eye is centered over the mouth. Make a pencil mark on the left side of the control rod. These lines are where you will be cutting to install the eye control paddle. Rotate the eyes to the back of the socket and carefully remove the inner control rod out the top. Next we ll prepare the eye control paddle for use. First if the back edge of the casting is rough sand it flat with a sanding block or by laying a piece of sand paper on flat surface and rubbing the paddle against it. Sand and smooth the edges also if necessary. On one side of the paddle are 5 indentations were you need to drill a 7/64 hole in each. The 4 holes along the top are for the eye movement string and the 5 th hole in the middle is for the beveled 5/8 screw that mounts it to the inner control rod

28 After drilling the mount hole you can run the screw in and out of it once to create some threads in the paddle which will make it easier to mount later on. Using the pencil lines you traced as a guide, make a Y shaped outline in the center of each side. The bottom of the Y should be as wide as the thickness of your control paddle and about half way up from the bottom. For the top part of the Y draw a diagonal line from the middle to the top edge of each side of the rectangle you traced. This is another situation where the Dremel with a small cutting wheel can come in handy. Carefully use the Dremel cut out the Y shape you have made on both sides of the control rod. If you don t have a Dremel you can drill several small holes along the outline of the Y the cut and trim the inside with a razor blade. Try to insert the control paddle to test the fit. Trim away more of the bottom part of the Y if you need to until the paddle fits through the slot. On the inside top edge of the Y, use a Dremel to sand the inside edge until it is rounded and smooth. The control string for the eyes will rub against this area so it needs to be as smooth as possible so the string won t fray or break. If you don t have a Dremel use a file or sand paper. Use an emery board or sandpaper to clean and smooth the other edges of the Y

29 On the right side of the inner control rod, (the same side as the outer control rod that has the set screw hole), use a flexible tape measure to find the exact center between the two Y slots. If you don t have a flexible tape you can also use a piece of string or adhesive tape. Next insert the eye control paddle into the slot and position it so that it is exactly centered and the mounting hole is sticking out just enough to see it. Make a pencil mark on the control rod lined up with the exact center of the mounting hole. Remove the paddle and drill a 7/64 hole in your marks. Re-insert the paddle and position the drill bit through the control rod hole then through the center eye paddle hole until the drill bit is touching the other side of the pipe. Look through the end of the pipe to see if the bit is perfectly centered. Then look at the side of the control rod and see if you have the drill bit perpendicular to the control rod. When you re satisfied with the position, drill through the opposite side of the pipe. The hole on the right side of the inner control rod needs to be beveled so that the paddle mounting screw will be flush with the pipe and the control rod can turn smoothly. If you have a countersink drill bit amongst your tools you can use that or a 1/4 drill bit. If using a 1/4" drill bit I would suggest turning it manually by hand to make the bevel cut. If you accidently drill all the way through the mounting screw won t work and you ll have to get a new piece of 1/2" PVC and start over

30 You can insert the paddle and mount it with the screw just to do a test fitting. Move the paddle up and down to see if it is mounted relatively centered and that the paddle moves about the same distance each way. The length of the Y slot and how far the paddle moves up and down determines how far the eyes will move up and down. If the slot is too big the eyes will be hitting the inside of the socket. Too small, and they won t move very far up and down. After mounting the eyes during final assemble if you feel they are not moving up and down far enough you can cut away some extra PVC from the top and the bottom of each Y slot to make them travel further. Now feed the heavy white string provided in the kit over the top of the pulley and down in to the inside of the inner control rod. Push the string down until you can see it near the slots at the bottom of the control rod. Pull it out through the front slots in both pipes about 16 inches. If you have all your parts painted and you are ready for final assembly, remove the paddle and check that the eye pulley bolt has been loosened so the eye pulley can move freely up and down. Insert the inner control rod into the outer control rod as you did earlier. Be careful not to knock the felt pads off of the PVC. Position the eyes forward in the socket. The Y slots you cut should be lined up with the center of the holes on the outer control rod

31 Loop the remainder of string around the pulley twice. Looping it once is not enough and will cause the eyes to slip when moved by the control rod. More than twice and the eye pulley can t be slipped up or down to make final adjustments on the eyes position. Now feed the remaining string down the inner control rod and pull it through the slits in the back of the lower control rod. If there is more string on one side or the other try pulling on the shorter end to even them out. You can now pull tightly on either side of the string and test the eyes by moving the string up and down. Next insert the eye control paddle from the front and take the front piece of string and run it through the top right center hole as shown in the picture on the left

32 Now push the control paddle through to the other side until you can see the center holes. Run the back piece of string through the left center hole. Return the control paddle to the middle of the pipe and insert the beveled control paddle screw. After the screw has gone through the paddle make sure it has entered the hole on the opposite side of the control rod. Tighten the screw only until there is a little bit of resistance in the paddle so it stays in place. Loop the front string trough the forward hole then pull on both ends of the string to create enough tension in the line to move the eyes. Move the paddle up to see how far the eyes move up in the socket. If the eyes are not in the position you would like them then release the tension on the back string and carefully reach into the eye socket and lift the eyes up or down to reposition them on the string. When you are satisfied with the eye position, wrap the front string around the control paddle 3-4 times then loop the string through the wraps and tie it off. Leave about 4-5 inches of extra string then cut off the excess. Repeat the same procedure with the back string until you are satisfied with the eye movement

33 The extra string is for future use in case the eyes ever have to be re-adjusted or if you have to disassemble your Crow for some reason. Optionally, after both ends of the string are tied off you can take some white electric or medical tape and wrap it around the paddle and string to protect it when Crow is in use. With the eyes correctly adjusted we can now add the pupils to the eyes. It is better to do this step when the eye control paddle is completely installed. That way you can position them correctly. Us a razor blade or scissors to cut two 5/8 square pieces of black electrical tape from the tape provided in the kit. Look straight at Crow s eye socket and use the control paddle to position the eyes so that they are in the middle of the socket staring straight ahead. Take one of the pupils and stick it to the end of a toothpick or knife tip. Carefully position it in the center of one of the eyes. Let the pupil stick there but don t fully press it down just yet. Now position the other pupil on the other eye. Move the eyes up and down and determine if this is the correct placement for the pupils. If it is, then gently press the tape down on all edges until it is fully stuck on each eye. If not, carefully peel them off and start over. Double-check all of the eye movements and if everything appears fine you can attach the back cover to the eye socket

34 Lay Crow face down on a towel or soft surface. It s best to use hot glue to attach the back cover but epoxy would also work. I don t recommend superglue but it could also be used. If using hot glue put a dab in the 4 pointed corners of the eye socket. Quickly put the back cover in place with the semi-circle cut out for the PVC pipe at the bottom. From the opening on the underside you can reach into the eye cavity and pinch the back cover between your middle finger and thumb. Move the cover around side-to-side and up and down to spread the glue around then hold it in its final position until the glue stiffens. If you plan to use epoxy you can mount the cover first then drip the epoxy with toothpick into the seam between the cover and the socket. It s not a good idea to use too much of any glue on the socket cover just in case you have to remove it someday to do repairs. The Net If you are using the cast resin replica of the Cooper XL7 hockey mask from my kit, you will need to trim and assemble it to prepare it for painting and then mount it on to your Crow. If you happen to be using a real Cooper XL7 mask, you just need to remove the foam chin pad and drill two mounting holes, scuff, prime and then paint the mask before you install it. In the middle of the lower part of the mask, under where the foam chin pad was, is a calendar grid with dates of manufacture. Drill an 11/64 hole at the top and bottom of the grid between the letters J and M. On the resin mask, start with the mesh grid. During casting a thin membrane is created in all the cavities and has to be trimmed away. Sometimes, if the casting molds are slightly out of alignment there can be a small ridge on some of the surfaces that will have to be trimmed and sanded also. Start by using an X-acto knife or box cutter and trim any excess resin from each cavity

35 Next use an emery board or a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a small piece of wood. Sand the inside of each cavity until smooth and even. Sand any high spots around the outside edge of the grid. Gently scuff top and bottom of the grid surfaces with sandpaper or a scuff pad to help the paint and primer stick better. The grid panel is now done. The two side panels may need to have any excess resin trimmed off then sand the edges. Scuff all the flat surfaces. Insert the metal support rod into the holes. The pin may be too long to connect the panels. Just cut off a little bit of the pin until the panels can touch. If the panels connect at too wide an angle, you can put a very slight bend in the center of the metal pin to angle them down. Where the two halves of the mask meet on the middle there should be a small indentation showing where to drill a deep 3/64 hole in the end of each panel. This hole is for the metal support pin that will help connect both panels. Look down the long end of the panel and drill a straight hole into the panel about 3/4" deep keeping it parallel to the edge. Repeat this for the other panel. Place a drop of superglue into the hole on one of the panels and insert the pin. Let this dry until you are ready to assemble the rest of the mask. Take the bottom curved panel and trim and sand the excess resin around its edges. Also clean the inside of the long slots one each side. Lightly scuff the surface of both sides of the panel. In the middle of the inside of the panel is a calendar grid with dates of manufacture. Between the letters J and M are two small indentations for drilling two 11/64 holes that will mount the mask to the back of the e pin

36 There are two more indentations near the top edges. A 1/8 hole needs to be drill in both places. These holes are for the rivets that will secure the loop clamps that hold the bottom edge of the mask grid. Slip the loop clamps on to the smallest triangular holes at the bottom of each side of the grid panel. Hook the bottom edge of the grid panel on to the three rectangular slots in the lower curved panel. The holes in the loop clamps should line up with the 1/8 holes on each side of the panel. The next step requires a rivet gun to compress the rivets that hold the loop clamps to the panel. If you don t have a rivet gun you can substitute the rivets for small bolts of your own or try to borrow a rivet gun from a friend or relative

37 Insert a rivet into the rivet gun then push it through the loop clamp and then into the hole in the panel. Place the small 3/8 washer on the end of the rivet. His helps keep the rivet from pulling through the resin. Push the rivet as far down though the hole as you can and pinch all the pieces as tightly together as possible. Begin squeezing the rivet gun handle and pulling the rivet tight. Keep squeezing until the metal post in the rivet breaks off. Repeat for the other side. The side panels mount in the bottom set of slotted grooves on the inside of each side of the lower panel. Start with the right panel. There are 3 grooves on the bottom of the side panels that fit into the row of grooves on the inside of the lower panel and are held in place with the short aluminum binding screws and a washer. Try to position the panel so that the top and side edges of the grid panel lines up evenly with the contours of the side panel. Insert the back part of the binding post through the back of the side and bottom panels. Insert the flat washer and screw through the front of the panel and hand tighten just enough so the panel can t move out of place. It needs to be a little bit flexible to install the other panel. Repeat the above steps for the left panel. Then test the fit of all the panels. Put a drop of superglue into the hole on the opposite of the side panel with rod. Join them together

38 When the glue has dried, put a couple of drops of superglue in the two long slots in the top of the joined side panels. Quickly place the top middle of the grid panel into the two and press and hold it in the glue until it dries. To help strengthen the connection at the top of the mask you can add some additional superglue to any points where the grid panel meets the two side panels. You can now tighten the binding screws in the lower panel. The mask is now finished and can be primed and painted. Because of all the small nooks and cracks its best to prime and paint the mask with two coats on each side and try to spray the hard to reach areas from different angles. The mask can be tricky to balance while painting. You can use a spry paint can with the cap on to balance the mask on one side. Then use the paint cap or any circular shape to balance it on the other side. Mounting the net to the e pin can be a little difficult to get straight so proceed cautiously. First position yourself so you can stand slightly above Crow s head looking down. Set the net on the back of the pin and try to center it as best you can. Leave about a 1/8 gap between the base of the net and the back of the eye socket. When you are satisfied with the position, make a mark with a marker or pen only through the first mounting hole closest to the eye socket. Set the net aside and look at the mark from a position directly behind the pin and see if it appears to be centered on the very top of the pin. If not, try marking them again

39 Drill only the front hole with an 11/64 drill bit. You can drill a smaller pilot hole first to help keep the hole centered on the pin. When done, put the net on the pin and secure it with the short brass bolt and wing nut provided. Do not over tighten. Just tighten enough to hold the net in place

40 Check the position of the net. If it is straight and centered, drill the second hole while the net is in position with an 11/46 drill bit. Clean the drill shavings from the net and insert the second brass bolt and secure it with the wing nut. If you had trouble drilling the holes straight and net is tilted badly to one side you can try to use a drill to slot out the hole in the pin or net a little further to one side or the other until it is where you want it. To protect the paint on your finished Crow you can place a small piece of foam or felt pad between the net and pin where they connect. Arm Assemblies It s really best to drill, cut and sand all the arm pieces, dry-fit them together and then prime and paint them. If you paint the arms while they are fully assembled, when the arms are moved they are going to show unpainted areas that were covered by other pieces during painting. Also the arm joints really only need to be painted on one side. The difficult to see areas on the inside can remain black. Same for the inside part of the hand pieces. The panels that make up the wrist joints are not symmetrical. They have a protruding area where the hands are attached. Look the wrist panels over and choose the sides with the best looking faces to face outward and any faces with imperfects to face inward where they won t be seen

41 All of the joints have indentations where a 5/32 hole needs to be drilled for the small bolts that will connect the joints to the arm rods. The black resin used to make the hands and arm joints can be quite brittle so go slowing when drilling or cutting the pieces. When finished drilling, the rough edges can be sanded with a sanding block or Dremel tool to remove the extra resin. The center area inside of the elbow joints can be removed and then sanded with an emery board or Dremel tool with a small sanding wheel. Lightly scuff the surfaces of all the joints to prepare them from priming and painting. Each arm has four wooden dowels for arm rods. One rod on each side is 1/2" longer than the other three rods. This rod will be the back-most tricep rod. The reason this rod is longer is so that the arms can fold up completely and be stored in an upright position. A 5/32 hole needs to be drilled 3/16 from the end of each rod in the very center of the dowel. Go slowly and try not to press too hard otherwise you may split the wood. Before drilling try to select the best looking faces of the dowels to drill into. These sides will be facing out of the arms. The sides with rougher cut that are hard to sand will be facing the inside and will be less visible. Lightly sand all the surfaces of each dowel. If a side is very rough use some heavier sandpaper to smooth it. To get a nice smooth finish on the dowels, spray each side with a heavy coat of primer and allow the rods to dry thoroughly for 1-2 days. When the wood absorbs the primer it raises fibers in the wood and gives it a rough feel even though you sanded them nicely before priming. Lightly scuff each face of the dowels with a scuff pad or light sandpaper. Don t scuff too hard, just enough to knock the fibers down but not remove the primer

42 For an extra smooth finish, you can prime all the rods a second time, scuff them again, and then paint them gold. Next the upper and lower hand pieces can be drilled then lightly scuffed. Generally the lower hand pieces are predrilled for the kits. This is because the thin tabs that connect to the upper hands are easy to break when drilling. The best way to make these holes is to use a Dremel tool with a small pointed 1/8 cutting bit. Drill an 11/64 hole at the bottom of each hand were there are two center indentations. This is where the hands connect to the wrist plates The upper part of the hands need a 1/8 hole drilled through each side. There are indentations on each side indicating where to drill. These holes are for the small 1/4" plastic rivets that will hold the upper part to the lower part and form the hinge for the hands to open. It s best to paint all the hand pieces before assembling them. The rivets can be painted by poking some small holes in a piece of cardboard and pushing the rivets into it. Only the head of each rivet needs to be painted gold, the rest can be left black since it will be on the inside of the hands. There is a right and left to Crows arms. The heads of the small bolts should be pointing toward the outside of the arms away from the body. The nuts to the bolts should be on the inside. The bolts don t need to be painted but you can if you really want to

43 If you plan to move Crows arms quite a bit you can tighten the bolts in all the arm joints just a little so that the arms can move back and forth freely. If you make them too tight you risk breaking the resin arm joints. If you want to display your Crow with his arms folded up, fold the arm up as far as it would go then tighten all the bolts just enough to keep the arms in place. Later you can loosen the bolts if you want to move the arms back and forth. When all the pieces are painted and completely dry, attach the wooden dowels to the joints with the small nuts and bolts provided. Don t tighten them too much just yet. Keep them loose so the arms are easy to move. It s best to start by first attaching all four dowels to the four-sided elbow joint. After attaching the painted dowels to the elbow joints slip the foam covers over the front most and back most arm rods. Then attach the wrist and shoulder joints and finally the hands. Another way you can keep the arms up is to put a small patch of Velcro at the top of each inner arm rod. This will hold them until you re ready to move them around. You can also use a twist-tie around the inner rods to keep the arms in place. On the show you would often see electrical tape used to keep Crows arms in place when they were not needed. When both arms are completed you can attach them to Crow. First slip the two short rubber coverings on to the shoulder joints on the torso of Crow. Then use the 1 bolt and wing nut to attach the arms to the shoulders. Now your Crow should be complete and ready to enjoy! If you have any questions feel free to me at info@mst3kbots.com. Hikeeba! Bob Bukoski

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