As a long time fan I know many fans have tried building their own MST3K bots of Tom and Crow over the years and I know some people have even sold unofficial bot kits. I would think Joel would have made official bot kits at some point. And with the advent of 3d printing technology I would think it would be easy to create all the parts fans would need to make their own bot buddy’s. Please Joel could you consider making official bot kits that all your fans could buy.
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I would buy one so fast!
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I would certainly consider saving up to purchases a kit.
Especially a kit that helps support the Gizmoplex and the show. That would feel right on lots of levels.
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geez, that would be a sad day if official bot kits were made, because that would go against the do-it-yourself aesthetic…
not to mention the fact that when a builder can’t find an exact piece they have to use their own creativity to find a solution, and end up creating a unique piece (not a mass-produced piece of crap).
don’t be a clone (unless it is a Man Or Astroman? clone)
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Oh my god so much this. I get why they do the “Screen Used Tom and Crow” for fundraisers, but for those of us without thousands to blow on a screen-used one, a full scale Bot Model Kit would be so nice for display or those who just want to build the puppets.
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This is such a great idea, to use it as a fundraiser for more shows. I would definitely be interested!
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Eh, I think you’re a little bit overblowing it. People want to have a replica of the characters they love, it’s why some people were selling build it yourself kits and replicas for years online. They already have sold off official “Screen Used” Servos and Crows for the previous 3 fundraisers, and a model kit version of the bots would be a good alternative for those who can’t spend a couple thousand dollars but want an “official” replica of the bots.
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Full scale or small-scale or (ideally) both. I really don’t have room for full-size Bot replicas, but something smaller would be nice. Obviously, moulding dies are expensive to get made, but we can dream…
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All we gotta do is dig up the original manufacturers of all the parts and go through their warehouses for the dies and start up a plastics manufacturing concern.
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Yeah! And Old Timer Billy Slater can get the kids to put on a junior rodeo!
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Making an official kit wouldn’t stop others from wanting to do it themselves though…
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I mean, whatever process they currently have in place to get parts for the modern Crows and Servos seem to be working.
And I also don’t have room for full-size bots… but that doesn’t mean I won’t make room for full sized bots.
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My guess is that they’re 3D printing parts for those bots. And I don’t think 3D printing is cost-effective for large-scale production, such as affordable bot kits.
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Heh. My place is so small and overcrowded that I don’t even have a spot to display my robot pal pins from the old Fan Club days. I’m still comforted knowing they’re around, though.
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Not going to happen. Way too many factors around part availability, perceived interest converting to actual sales, shipping cost, quality control and more.
And let’s stop with the 3D printing garbage. 3D printed parts are so inaccurate and costly (and look crap 90% of the time) that it’s not worth the discussion.
The way that folks have been doing this for over 30 years is getting harder certainly, but for accuracy to the original era bots, it’s the only way to do it. Like I’ve said in the parts posts, if this is something you want to do, building your own, do it soon.
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I would LOVE actual bot kits to build. I have no friends to riff movies with so I would love to build my own.
I would even be happy to buy STL files to 3D print parts to build some bots. While I can find some on the web I’d rather send money to the Gizmoplex folks to keep new content coming.
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Well the “Bob Kits” are the closest to official we will have for some time I’m sure… If Monkeyboys Productions came up with a way to mass produce the bot parts though, I think having them make kits to sell could be an option in the future perhaps. Who knows.
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From what I understand, they’re printing a few and ah, it shows…
Best is still going to be to get original parts, mold and cast.
But the one and done parts could be brutal.
For a shop as opposed to a hobbyist, a way to manufacture Servo’s dome is almost the only tricky part. Even the other largely one and done (pin, mask, gpc car seat, others) could be offered as high end castings. Polycarbonates that more closely match the original TS would be tough.
Then there’s the paint issue. Sure, you could have a kit, but…
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Well that would be the advantage of a one-stop-shop for bot supplies, they could have access to the paints to sell that too. Since those are officially extinct in the wild.
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