Author Topic: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff  (Read 19330 times)

Offline kobun37

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Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« on: September 01, 2015, 08:37:10 AM »
Sorry for the delay, been busy working on another kind of restoration project for the past three months that's almost finished and I'm in the final push...

« Last Edit: November 02, 2016, 11:05:07 PM by erik1925 »

Offline erik1925

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2015, 01:30:12 PM »
Kobun, is that animatronic?

The restore job looks great so far. What kind of condition was it in, when you first started?



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Offline Neo

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2015, 03:02:07 PM »
Nice work.  cool1

Which generation Chuckie is that?  Did he originally have the cigar?

Offline kobun37

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2015, 09:08:19 PM »
Yes, he is an animatronic. This is probably what you would call a "Fourth Generation" bot, but it is the generation used from the late '70s through most of the '80s. They went through three generations at the first two stores within about a year and a half and there was only one bot per character for each generation before the 4th. He had the cigar up until late 1979, and there were about half a dozen stores using this type of bot by then so they may have had a cigar.

This is what he looked like when I got him:





No nose, no right forearm, trashed eyes, eyelids didn't work, a plastic tab for teeth and a half-assed reproduction for a jaw. This was actually an improvement over what he looked like when found back in the early 2000s:





His previous owner cleaned him up, replaced the fabric on his snout and made a jaw. Then the owner lost interest and didn't do anything with him for 7 years before deciding to sell him on eBay to raise funds for another project. The first two pics are from the listing. It was a BIN listing with a best offer, so I sent an offer and he accepted. There are only about a dozen 1/2 body Chuck bots known to exist and most are incomplete and in need of restoration. It's been a really fun and rewarding experience. I met a lot of really cool people who have helped me out. And yes, I got him working again. He's one of two known to be in working condition. I bought an animatronics controller so I can program him for new material. Still getting the hang of it, but here he is singing a song from a promotional LP released in 1985. It was probably a local production and the bots were never programmed to perform it, until now. thumbsup.gif
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/GiM_RAcd_ZM" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/GiM_RAcd_ZM</a>
« Last Edit: September 01, 2015, 09:25:50 PM by kobun37 »

Offline erik1925

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2015, 09:33:22 PM »
kobun, those pics and the history behind the piece are incredible!  happy1



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Offline Ari

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2015, 09:47:33 PM »
Holy WTF?
haha,
whats most amazing is before your resto he looks sad, and then.......

well done
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Offline kobun37

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2015, 10:57:14 PM »
Holy WTF?
haha,
whats most amazing is before your resto he looks sad, and then.......

well done

I know! Animatronics seem to have an attitude about them that directly relates to how well they're taken care of. He looks so much happier now.





Here's an older video I made before I redid his jaw. I programmed him to sing a birthday song for my niece's fourth birthday about a month ago. This one was done by his normal voice actor at the time.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/U5E-L_oJOTc" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/U5E-L_oJOTc</a>

The last thing left is to make his vest and a cover for the table he sits on. A former employee who worked in the costume department sent me the vest materials, and I'm learning to use a sewing machine.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2015, 10:58:10 PM by kobun37 »

Offline DekeThornton

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2015, 11:05:09 PM »
It was probably a local production and the bots were never programmed to perform it, until now. thumbsup.gif

 sm1 Wow! That is amazing! How long did it take you to program that song?

Offline CSM

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #8 on: September 01, 2015, 11:20:01 PM »
Terrifying.  The stuff of robopocalypse nightmares!
Chris

Offline kobun37

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #9 on: September 01, 2015, 11:33:15 PM »
sm1 Wow! That is amazing! How long did it take you to program that song?

The first song took about six hours and I did it all in one straight shot. I was having some electrical problems with interference between the valves and controller, so the controller kept freezing on me. Fixing that was one of the behind-the-scenes part of the project. This song I did over the weekend, but not all at once. I'd estimate it probably took about four hours total. Syncing the mouth movements to the audio is 9/10ths of the job. I'm probably more anal than most people would be, though. I hate it when an animatronic's mouth movements don't match the audio and it looks like they're just randomly flapping their jaw while the audio plays. It just ruins the illusion IMHO.

Terrifying.  The stuff of robopocalypse nightmares!

He sits in my living room facing the door. I'll never have to worry about burglars or uninvited guests again! thumbup

Offline CSM

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #10 on: September 01, 2015, 11:38:29 PM »

He sits in my living room facing the door. I'll never have to worry about burglars or uninvited guests again! thumbup

 notworthy.gif
Chris

Offline 50s

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #11 on: September 01, 2015, 11:39:37 PM »
He sits in my living room facing the door. I'll never have to worry about burglars or uninvited guests again! thumbup

Or women!  :P


Offline CSM

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #12 on: September 01, 2015, 11:42:12 PM »
Chris

Offline kobun37

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #13 on: September 02, 2015, 12:16:07 AM »
Or women!  :P



Hey, I've got that covered. I'm female and my friends are mostly guys who think he's awesome. ;)

Offline Ari

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #14 on: September 02, 2015, 12:31:39 AM »
Hey, I've got that covered. I'm female and my friends are mostly guys who think he's awesome. ;)

touché
 thumbsup.gif
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Offline 50s

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2015, 12:35:21 AM »
Haha, very good  :D


Offline CSM

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #16 on: September 02, 2015, 12:37:43 AM »
Chris

Offline 50s

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2015, 02:52:44 AM »


You've turned??? Wrong thread here for discussing your sexual orientation

 :P


Offline CSM

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #18 on: September 02, 2015, 11:28:24 AM »
You've turned??? Wrong thread here for discussing your sexual orientation

 :P



Oh you misinterpreted Steve - these are Ikea instructions  :-*
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Offline erik1925

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #19 on: September 02, 2015, 12:16:45 PM »
Oh you misinterpreted Steve - these are Ikea instructions  :-*

And those instructions are helpful indeed.  ;D


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Offline Neo

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #20 on: September 02, 2015, 01:41:47 PM »
I know! Animatronics seem to have an attitude about them that directly relates to how well they're taken care of. He looks so much happier now.





Here's an older video I made before I redid his jaw. I programmed him to sing a birthday song for my niece's fourth birthday about a month ago. This one was done by his normal voice actor at the time.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/U5E-L_oJOTc" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/U5E-L_oJOTc</a>

The last thing left is to make his vest and a cover for the table he sits on. A former employee who worked in the costume department sent me the vest materials, and I'm learning to use a sewing machine.

Excellent.

clap
« Last Edit: September 02, 2015, 01:42:41 PM by Neo »

Mirosae

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #21 on: September 02, 2015, 03:45:40 PM »
What he ^ says!

Offline brude

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #22 on: September 04, 2015, 01:56:16 AM »
Your dedication to the Chuck E. Cheese cause is impressive, young Cheesewalker.
You have earned your place in the great pantheon of rodent mythology.

Just love the work that you've done.
 clap clap clap

Offline kobun37

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #23 on: September 07, 2015, 08:00:36 AM »
Thanks everyone. I feel really lucky to have him. It's been a long project and a lot of work, but totally worth it. My goal is to have him looking just like he would have back in the '80s. Except with the cigar. Because a snarky, cigar-smoking Jersey rat is awesome.

I even managed to work out an agreement with the poster seller. I will be keeping the mashed poster, and he is sending me a reprint of a different vintage poster made for a convention a few years back. I didn't get to attend the convention, so even though it's not an original it's still worthwhile to have. I also picked up a store sign on eBay recently.

« Last Edit: September 07, 2015, 08:03:05 AM by kobun37 »

Offline kobun37

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Re: Kobun37's Pizza Rat Stuff
« Reply #24 on: October 02, 2015, 03:12:14 PM »
After about a month of delays, I finally got that sign I posted a picture of. In a flattened cardboard box, no less. Luckily it was rigid enough to resist bending and arrived undamaged. Ever had a stretch where you just couldn't escape lousy shipping?

Anyway, I finally finished my Chuck bot's clothes. All that's left is to make him a proper bow tie since this one looks small on him.