It's All in the Eyes

The good news is that, after some time and patience and a little elbow grease...our Monkbot is complete.

The bad news is...somehow in the process of attaching the visor to him...I broke his inner workings and he no longer claps his cymbals. The Monkbot is fully operational...I guess the batteries were just low (which is weird since they are brand new and I've only turned the thing on three times).

Oh well...what cha gonna do?

So, for DIY addicts...here's how I made the visor.

Using silver Sculpey Premo Polymer Clay, I shaped the visor.



Next, I took the roughly shaped visor and put it on the Monkbot...to ensure a snug fit and to get accurate sizing.



To give a little depth to the visor, I made a rim for its outer edge.



Ben and I had talked about how best to affix the visor to the Monkbot, and Ben suggested making clips. This was a GREAT idea. However, I had trouble finding thin, flat stips of metal to create the clips. I had to improvise using needle threaders from the sewing section of the craft store. They measured about 2" long and I used jewelry pliers (from when I used to make jewelry) to bend them into shape. I then pushed the Monkbot's eyeballs back in his head (this is where I think I may have broken his mechanical parts). Next I tested the clips to see if they would brace into the sockets...which they did.



I then took the shaped clips and embedded them in the back of the visor.



Next I smoothed the entire visor as best as I could...getting rid of cracks, fingerprints, etc.



I then baked the visor in a 275-degree oven for an hour.



Using the same paint I used on the antenna...I painted the inside of the visor black.



After the black paint had dried, I used some yellow fabric paint I had to create the frequency readout...so the Monkbot can properly detect kick-ass music.



Actually attaching the visor took a little finagling...but once it popped into place, it sat securely on the Monkbot's face. I even opted to not use glue because the fit was so tight.

I also went back and used a little bit of the industrial strength craft glue to secure the antenna to the Monkbot's head. It still wiggles...but the antenna stands much straighter.

I stayed home from work today...taking a mental health day...and used this project as my catharsis. It was great to get absorbed in something so goofy and fun...thinking through problems and resolving them on my own. I started the visor at around 9 a.m. and finished at about 4 p.m.

Okay...the next step is to write instructions and get the Monkbot mailed out. This week has been a little crazy for me...so please be patient while I work up our Traveling Monkbot Plan. I will post it later this week...and when I do...we'll have lift off!

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