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Balcony Chuck restoration
Topic Started: May 30 2015, 07:28 AM (41,112 Views)
80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Since I plan on restoring Chuck, I figured it was time to make a thread. First post is more of a record of where I'm starting from.

Posted Image

The good:

He has all his body cosmetics.
They're in great shape.
Has all his cylinders and a valve bank.
Parts seem to be in good working order.

The bad:

Mech is missing the right forearm and hand.
Whites of the eyes are marked and discolored.
Irises are chipped, scratched and also mismatched.
No nose.
No lower lip.
No tongue.
Is that white thing supposed to be teeth?

The unknown:

Status of cylinders, valves and other mechanics. (No compressor or controller to test those yet.)

Working on either getting the old right forearm/hand from the previous owner or a replacement from another member.

Eyes are really important to a character, whether they're 2D or 3D. Here are Chuck's.

Posted Image

Now you know why I've taken most pics with his eyes closed. I think the iris on the left eye is newer, or at least intended for a different bot. It's a different size, and the lines are painted in white. The pupil is off center too. I'm hoping to find a replacement that matches the smaller one on the right eye. Lots of wear on both from the eyelids rubbing against the surface and taking the paint off. My plan is to fill the chipped areas with epoxy putty, then sand smooth and repaint.

Eyes I can keep shut, but the nose and teeth stick out all the time. Still waiting on most materials, but I got tired of looking at the pull tab hanging from his mouth and made him some new teeth from some imitation leather. I looked at pictures and guessed on the size and shape, but I think they turned out pretty good. Even though he still looks weird without a nose, the new teeth make him look much better already.

Posted Image

On figures of this age, they used French stretch terry fabric to cover his nose, snout, jaw and lower lip. The tongue was made from satin. The previous owner reupholstered his snout and jaw, but didn't use the same type of cloth.

Unfortunately, stretch terry is not easy to find except online. The pink fabric looks fine so I'll leave that for now until I can find the correct fabric. My plan is to give him a new nose and recreate the lower lip and tongue. I ordered black and red stretch terry from fabrics.com. Hopefully they should arrive next week. There should be plenty of fabric left over if I have to redo them if/when I find the correct pink cloth.

I hope to work on him a little each day.
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DerbyChuck
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heres a vest http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=57309316&utm_medium=Google_PLA&utm_source=CSE&utm_campaign=20582043&gclid=CjwKEAjwtr6sBRDv7uzB492H9XISJADj6aqbqDoctor
Edited by DerbyChuck, Jun 28 2015, 04:27 PM.
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HipsterChuckE
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Don't do much anymore
Chuck E. looks so happy and well being repair.Also he look huggable
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
JaydenT2005
Jun 28 2015, 04:23 PM


Thanks, but I'd prefer to stick with clothing that's used and/or cheap. Anything I put on him would have to be cut up the back, so no way to return it if it doesn't fit.

HipsterChuckE
Jun 28 2015, 08:50 PM
Chuck E. looks so happy and well being repair.Also he look huggable


He does look a lot happier now, doesn't he? In the older pics he looks just pitiful. He's even happier now that he has his cigar. :cec:

Posted Image
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BBarker34
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80sgirl
Jun 28 2015, 09:50 PM
JaydenT2005
Jun 28 2015, 04:23 PM


Thanks, but I'd prefer to stick with clothing that's used and/or cheap. Anything I put on him would have to be cut up the back, so no way to return it if it doesn't fit.

HipsterChuckE
Jun 28 2015, 08:50 PM
Chuck E. looks so happy and well being repair.Also he look huggable


He does look a lot happier now, doesn't he? In the older pics he looks just pitiful. He's even happier now that he has his cigar. :cec:

Posted Image
Nice touch. :cecwink:
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DerbyChuck
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you could maybe make a custom one. he looks cute with that mic and cigar
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Patrick Boots CEC

Maybe you can contact Jenn/J For help in creating repro cosmetics?
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Oh snap, time for an update. Got the compressor and hooked him up. After lots of wrangling air hoses...

https://instagram.com/p/4yR79Ugdzs/?taken-by=kobun37

He's missing a piece in his neck that engages his body turn, his eyelid cylinder is shot and I need to reapply the grease to his eyes so they center on their own, but he's coming together.

His new irises are done, but I'm going to wait until his eyes are fixed before applying them permanently.

Posted Image

Just look at him looking all happy and smug there...

Posted Image
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toycollector

He looks great! You did an excellent job restoring him. I didn't think you'd get him fixed up so quickly. He looks so happy and clean now. Great to see.

It's so cool to see him moving. This must have been the first times he's been moving in decades.
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AD Machine
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Eagle Scout
Any updates?
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Cleaned up his mech last night.

Waiting on a new eyelid cylinder. It should come tomorrow.

Kathy Hopp was kind enough to send me some material. I plan on making him a vest and replacing the gray fabric in his neck.

Also found out his lower jaw is too long. It's a reproduction and you can see how his teeth are sticking out in the picture with his mouth closed. He needs more of an overbite.

Found out the mech came from the big San Jose store on Fontaine. They still have their Chuck bot as a decoration. One of these days I should go see him. Then I could tell him...

"I have good news and bad news, Chuck. The good news is Helen is OK. The bad news is she stole your identity."

:cecwink:
Edited by 80sgirl, Jul 9 2015, 04:38 PM.
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jeffnov
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He's looking fantastic! If it's not too personal of a question, about how much is all of this restoration costing you not counting the price you got Chuck himself for on eBay? I'm just wondering since it's something I might consider trying to do one day years from now (that is, find a PTT/SPP animatronic somehow and purchase and restore it). The work definitely seems really involved but worth it in my mind.
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Vega-Three
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Helen's taking things to an all new level by assuming Chuck's identity, huh? :cecwink:

Seriously though, it's good to hear that you've got vest fabric coming in as well as a new cylinder. Also cool that you learned about its origins!
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
jeffnov
Jul 9 2015, 08:10 PM
He's looking fantastic! If it's not too personal of a question, about how much is all of this restoration costing you not counting the price you got Chuck himself for on eBay? I'm just wondering since it's something I might consider trying to do one day years from now (that is, find a PTT/SPP animatronic somehow and purchase and restore it). The work definitely seems really involved but worth it in my mind.


The replacements for his missing and broken parts and some of the materials have come from very nice people who donated them in the interest of getting him working again. For the rest, here's how it breaks down so far:

Fabric and materials: $60
Paint stripper: $20
Paint and supplies: $20

If my goal had just been to use him as a stationary decoration, the main investment would have been time. Since I actually want to get him running...

Compressor: $210
50 foot air hose + various fittings: $20
Hose reel: $20
Connector hose: $8
Controller + power supply: $200

Vega-Three
Jul 9 2015, 08:46 PM
Helen's taking things to an all new level by assuming Chuck's identity, huh? :cecwink:

Seriously though, it's good to hear that you've got vest fabric coming in as well as a new cylinder. Also cool that you learned about its origins!


Got the vest fabric already. Went into Boise and picked up some buttons and fabric for the bib. The vest is stressing me out because I've never sewed anything in my life and there's not enough material to make a major mistake...
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Vega-Three
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80sgirl
Jul 9 2015, 10:59 PM

Vega-Three
Jul 9 2015, 08:46 PM
Helen's taking things to an all new level by assuming Chuck's identity, huh? :cecwink:

Seriously though, it's good to hear that you've got vest fabric coming in as well as a new cylinder. Also cool that you learned about its origins!


Got the vest fabric already. Went into Boise and picked up some buttons and fabric for the bib. The vest is stressing me out because I've never sewed anything in my life and there's not enough material to make a major mistake...
You could always pick up some discounted scrap fabric at a local fabrics store and practice with that until you feel confident enough in doing it for real. Making a few mock-ups not only allows you to make mistakes, it also also lets you tailor the vest to your liking, especially if you're free-basing the pattern instead of going off of an official one or a Simplicity pattern or something similar. Choosing a fabric that's similar to the final product is not a bad idea, but cheap stuff like muslin is a sewer's best friend. If those options prove too costly, you could go out and buy dollar store sheet sets and use that, you could use worn out old shirts with holes in 'em, old blankets, really anything fabric lying around waiting to be re-purposed that's is big enough to cover Chuck's body with the least amount of piecing together.
Edited by Vega-Three, Jul 9 2015, 11:48 PM.
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Vega-Three
Jul 9 2015, 11:47 PM
You could always pick up some discounted scrap fabric at a local fabrics store and practice with that until you feel confident enough in doing it for real. Making a few mock-ups not only allows you to make mistakes, it also also lets you tailor the vest to your liking, especially if you're free-basing the pattern instead of going off of an official one or a Simplicity pattern or something similar. Choosing a fabric that's similar to the final product is not a bad idea, but cheap stuff like muslin is a sewer's best friend. If those options prove too costly, you could go out and buy dollar store sheet sets and use that, you could use worn out old shirts with holes in 'em, old blankets, really anything fabric lying around waiting to be re-purposed that's is big enough to cover Chuck's body with the least amount of piecing together.
Thanks for the suggestion on doing a test run. Now I regret donating all my old sheets and blankets when I moved. LOL

I see Dollar Tree sells 20" x 30" pillow cases, so a couple of those should provide enough test fabric.

Unfortunately, the pieces of the vest fabric are not large enough to do each side all as one piece like I assume they were originally. It will have a seam at the shoulder and under the arms (where they would be on a vest made for a person) and another one on each side in the back that no one will see.
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Patrick Boots CEC

Well if your bot was Helen on Tully Road, then we have video of it in Action! The 1992 compilation shows it.
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Patrick Boots CEC
Jul 10 2015, 09:36 AM
Well if your bot was Helen on Tully Road, then we have video of it in Action! The 1992 compilation shows it.
That's the one. The store is on the corner of Tully and Fontaine. The address is Fontaine, though.
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PaulKTF
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80sgirl
Jul 6 2015, 03:46 AM
Oh snap, time for an update. Got the compressor and hooked him up. After lots of wrangling air hoses...

https://instagram.com/p/4yR79Ugdzs/?taken-by=kobun37

He's missing a piece in his neck that engages his body turn, his eyelid cylinder is shot and I need to reapply the grease to his eyes so they center on their own, but he's coming together.

His new irises are done, but I'm going to wait until his eyes are fixed before applying them permanently.

Posted Image

Just look at him looking all happy and smug there...

Posted Image
Oooo! He's looking good! He's got Bette Davis eyes!
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Well, here he is folks... Everyone's favorite rat!

Posted Image

Click here for video!

All that's left is cosmetic fixes, tweaking the air pressure and clothes.

Edited by 80sgirl, Jul 17 2015, 03:29 AM.
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Patrick Boots CEC

Cool that you've got him moving. I referred to it as Tully as it is easier to remember. Fontaine sounds like a fancy hotel.
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