Ode to Bender

First, the pictures (there you go, Arj), then the interesting story. Reverse chronological order.

Total Build Time: ~13 hours
Total Cost: ~100 dollars


So there you have it, I finally finished the costum about an hour before the Malpratice social on Saturday. I'd been up until 2am on Friday working on it and then spent another 4 hours Saturday afternoon after work.

Everything pretty much went as planned, although the drinking system was pretty much last minute and random. Pouring drinks into the funnel was pretty cool, although it did result in a rather stained shirt. People seemed to think it was neat, and started pouring in random alcohol, which probably wasn't so good for my liver.

The social was a blast though, I'm pretty sure that every person with a camera has their picture taken with me. The costume limited visiblity a fair bit though, so I really have very little idea of who I talked to all night long. Luckily I had Winter and Allison to lead me around all night and make sure I didn't fall on my back and not be able to get up:-p

At the end of the night I took the costum off and we were sitting on the stairs outside of University Center, with the costume just around a corner above us. When my brother arrived to pick us up we discovered that someone had SWIPED BENDER! Needless to say, it really sucks to lose something that I put so much work into. I suspect that the costume thief may be planning on wearing it to the Commerce Social tonight. So if you happen to be there an see a guy in my Bender costume, please feel free to punch him in the teeth (that being about the only area on the costume not covered with hard plastic). If the costume can be salvaged, so much the better.

At least it all makes a great story!

Benderific Progress

Spent a couple of minutes today cutting out his mouth. I abandoned the jigsaw I used for cutting the main holes in the cans for a small knife. It's way more precise and makes a much nicer cut. There was some concern that I might cut some number of my finger off, but I avoided that handily. I've also sealed the top of the head can with some caulking, it seems to be holding nicely.

Initially, I wasn't certain I'd cut the head short enough. However, after cutting the mouth and consulting a bunch of pictures I think it's just the right size. I'm going to have to kick it into high gear to get this thing done and still squeeze in that 'course work' that my professors keep mentioning.

Next step...arm holes!

"That's no way to get 'ahead' in life."

I've sealed up the top part of the paper trash bin with some caulking, hopefully it'll provide enough hold to keep it in place. I'm struggling a bit with how exactly I should attach the head. I'm thinking of using some sort of button clasps on the inside what would allow me to take it off in case my hair catches on fire or something...

I tested out the little fan I pulled out of the old computer, it ran for 4 hours on a crappy Zellers 9volt battery. I figure it should run for at least 5 on a decent battery. That puppy is going to be installed on the inside of the head to provide some circulation. I'll probably install a little switch so I can turn it off if it's too annoying. As well, I'll be rigging a red LED into the antenna so it can light up, with the aid of another switch of some kind.

Of course, the biggest problem...how am I going to DRINK in this thing?! That clearly has to be worked out soon, or the whole deal is off:-p

"We have the technology"

I've been perusing various hardware and craft stores for a while now in an attempt to find everything I need for my Bender costume. So far it's going quite well; I'm only missing one major part. That being a large plastic garbage can for the body. There are a few bobbles I'll need to scrounge up (like some red LEDs for the antenna light) but I'm mostly good to go, as you can see:


Contrary to what you might think, I'm *not* going to put a computer in the costume. Instead, I'm considering extracting the CPU fan and running it on a 9volt battery to keep my head cool. I fear it's going to be quite hot in this thing... As well, I'm considering changing the arm pieces to that black plastic drainage pipe that people use to extend there gutter downspouts. The stuff I have right now is duct piping. It looks nice, but the flexibility factor isn't as great as some nice plastic would be.

I grabbed a nice profile image of Bender off the web and did a few quick things in 3ds Max and Photoshop to get some general dimensions. Basically, these are the measurments that bender would have if he stepped out of my TV and into my living room. However, I'll likely have to scale it up a bit so I can actually fit.