Ever since I found the set of robot vermin on Etsy I have been fixated on creating my own robot vermin. They are to be small and have a specific purpose. Provided here are two components and additional materials to complete the unit. This drone, when completed, will be used mainly for surveillance purposes.
The inspiration for these robot vermin came from Head Bunny's 28mm robot vermin collection. Building these miniature robots allows me to use those small plastic bits I have collected.
Polystyrene round and square tubing, added micro rod. I used a kit part and a piece of a sprue on the top of the unit. I also used other bits of sprue for sensors. For the fins I used material from bread ties.
Polystyrene square tubing, styrene sheet and micro rod. The sensor on the top of the unit was created with a small bit of styrene that I carved into shape and then I added bits of micro-rod. The appendages were created from bits from a sprue. Lastly, I added a few greeblies that I either had on hand or I created purposely for this unit.
Neither of the RV units are larger than a US dime, nor built to any specific scale. Are you kidding? I haven't seen any scale drawing for these micro robot vermin.
I needed a break from my paperwork so I am started to paint my robot vermin.
Picture of my robot vermin being painted. When I grab a paint brush and a tin of paint this will be my sixth or seventh interation through these sculpts. I usually will use two new colors to paint or touch-up the miniatures at one time and perhaps a third to touch up the miniatures I have already painted.
Set of 5 UNPAINTED 28 or 32mm Sci-Fi robot vermin can be found at HeadBunny Games. HeadBunny Games is offering a 10% dicount when making a purchase from their website. Use the following discount code: " winter23 ". "Can be used as vermin, drones or swarms of technological pests."
Were the vermin come from and whether they are being created by humans or an AI? "No-one knows." In a post-apocalyptic world they fit in to the scenery. They seem to provide one or two services, one is surveillance and the other is sharing to resources with memebers of of their order. They mainly obtain energy from sunlight and from the air. THey also can share energy through a Bluetooth like apparatus. These robots are made from the readly available junk that perminates their environments around ruined industrial areas. They are self aware and are able to protect themselves if needed.
Updated on 12/13/23 @ 12:50 pm. Added label and edited second paragraph: background story.
Although the unit still needs some paint I have completed the fabrication of my first robot vermin and frees me up to start #2. The blue bead at the bottom of the unit was added to help stand the unit up. I am planing on creating up to five of these little beasties.
My forth robot vermin will become my fifth as my fifth bcomes number four. I had been working on these two simultaneously. When the former became too tedious I would switch over to number five.
This robot vermin stands about as tall as a US half dollar or approximently 34mm. The unit represents a intrusion detection sensor. It would, using a small hydrogen fuel cell, fly to it required location. Once there, it would land, the fins would be blown off by the means of a small charge, and using the built in cutting edges the unit would start to drill itself into the ground. Once at the required depth it would connect to the perimeter network and start to do its job in intrusion detection.
Materials for my next robot vermin unit. Most of the materials come from my plastic bits collections. The materials sit on top os a very thin sheet to styrene sheet, this will be used as material for shims.
I have started my second robot vermin unit and is being built from a drawing. That being said, the unit has already undergone a few unconscious changes during construction.
Upper rright hand corner and under orange tube are componets of a hover craft, to the right and center are a few pieces of fiddling bits in 1, 1.5, and 2mm, in which I am wittling materials as needed, bottom left and right showing off my glue curing weights, center -in orocess robot componets: Legs, proplosion tracks, and head unit.
In addition to my robot vermin units, I have built two robots from kits, and one from scratch. I will be using a few of my leftover robot parts for my second scratch built robot.
All that is needed is some paint.
I used material from a sprue like this for the robots appendages.
Stanley stands tall next to the little robot. That is American quarter between the two of thmm.
This minature robot vermin is propelled by a electromagnetic process. We assume, like the others, that this unit was designed by an AI to provide security and defense capabilities. It was fashioned from a piece of PVC pipe, polystyrene sheet, micro-tubing and strips, material from bread clips, a small piece from a pen pocket clip used for a sensor, a couple random bits from the junk box (two greyish greeblies on the front and back and the rectangular bit on the top of the drone, the propulsion unit was created using a cap from some sort of tube, and lastly I used two greeblies from my model train accessories collection, those typicaly used to detail diesel engines; also on the top of the unit.
Side view
Back View
Standing in front of a US half-dollar
Number 4 is in the works. See number RV1 and 2 here:
Several of my viewers susgested that several of "robot vermin" could have alternative uses. Such as, moving from left to right, 2, 3, and 5 might have used as space ships, probes or satellites. I see what you mean and have decided to build several more of these models with these ideas in mind.
Components for a luna lander. Mind you it may not be owe moon, but something interstellar.
I haven't got as far as I wanted on this build, but I do have this project thought through pretty much. This unit will be powered by a hydrogen drive, armed and set-up for doing surveillance.
I never get as much done as I had hoped, but at least, I did make some progress.
I am working on the propulsion system unit.
If I can stop adding bits of greegle I might have completed the unit by now.
My third robot vermin is under construction. The reason I haven't completed this unit is that I have become side-tracked on more than a few occasions while experimenting with differnt techniques and processes for creating bits of greeblies for my robots.
The odd bit of green plastic off to the left in the picture will be fitted and glued in the center of drone, two small rectangular fins need to be fitted to the bottem edges, two small pipes attached to the sides and a few pieces of trim here and there still need to be added.
Changes to... in Process...
I have decided to switch to 1 by 4's instead of the 2 by 4's I had been using. I didn't care for the way looked upon the cylinder core. I am also had a little difficulty with the placement of the strips with the tweezers that I have and have made some alterarions to my pair so that they may hold the very fine bits of strips.
A last minute thought: I wish I add alternated between the 1 by 4 and 2 by 4's. It would have created a nice effect.
Materials for...
I am pulling materials together for the robot vermin number four. What you see here is the unit under construction. I used a floss role for the body, wrapped a very this strip of styrene around the bottem, and I startd to add styrene strips to the top half. Below are a strip of 1mm round rod and a strip of HO guage 2 by 4 material. The piece of to the right is something I picked-up in my travels. Not pictered here are the are rivets I fachioned from a piece of 1mm round rod. They will be added to the white band at the bottum of the unit. I haven't decided on how this unit will be propelled yet.
A cake topper, if you will. Although I did create a sixth unit, displayed below, this is the last robot vermin in this series for a while. I have desinated this unit as a security drone. The drone started out as a plastic tube inside a floss container. The material in which it was manufactured was of some waxy type of plastic, which at first, I didn't believe regular model cement would adhere strips to the cylinder. So I started of using super glue which made the process too fiddly. Things went better when I started to use model cement. I glued scale 1/4 strips around the spools diameter. The bottom was wrapped with a band of very thin styrene and I added scratch built rivets. The topper is a mystry, a part from my greeble collection.
This unit is signal repeater which picks up signals from other devices, amplifies the signal and pushes it out to the corresponding device. There is also a small storage area of a terabyte or two. Operating systems and the small bit of data that might be found on each device are also stored here to help restore necessary files quickly.
