1/200 RX-78F00 GUNDAM FACTORY YOKOHAMA
This 1/200 Yokohama Gundam was a commemorative model gifted at the exhibition venue in early 2023. Its craftsmanship is quite exquisite, though its joint articulation is somewhat limited. In the same year, it was announced that the exhibition period for the 1:1 Yokohama Gundam would be extended until March 31, 2024. Therefore, I decided to create a dedicated project, referencing the 1:1 site, before the exhibition concludes. This project aims to create an immersive experience through "sound," "light," and "movement."
Following my personal crafting habits, sound and light effects have become standard. Incorporating movement is the primary goal for this project.
The production began with a focus on wire automata. However, due to size constraints and the demand for realistic movements, continuous iterative testing was required, making the entire process extremely challenging. The wires had to be started first and tightened last, and constantly untangling knots during the process was a significant test of emotional control. The entire production took 8 months, and the delay in updates was mainly due to the high risk of the project being abandoned.
Video Demo
Movement Design
This is a non-professional sharing; automata is a specialized field, and I have no prior experience, only referencing its methods. Therefore, some of the effects are indeed a bit different from what I imagined.
Overall Design
From the outset of the design, the goal was a continuous kneeling motion, with movements incorporated into the head, arms, fingers, and both legs throughout the process.
Fingers
Based on the construction of real robots, the tendons are made from strong, thin wires. These tendon wires are tightened to create movements. The general effect is demonstrated in the video.
Arms, Legs
The arms and legs fundamentally operate on the same principle, with the mechanical traction concentrated at the thigh muscles. Miniature pulleys were added to alter the point of force application.
Head, Waist
The head and waist primarily feature simple left-right or fixed front-back movements. Springs were used to achieve an automatic reset effect.
Sound and Light Design
In Cantonese, "sound and light" can have another interpretation, but this project describes the effects of sound and light achieved through electrical modification. LEDs primarily use 0201 and 0402 packages for monochrome parts, while WS2812-2020 is used for full-color sections. The head was particularly complex, utilizing a total of 6 LEDs.
The base also primarily used 0201 packaged LEDs, with WS2812-2020 used for the ground and the left-side lift display. Sound effects were implemented using DFPlayer as usual, including startup, shutdown, and Vulcan cannon sounds, along with several main opening theme songs.
Integration
The overall movement was fraught with difficulties. Ultimately, the finger movements of both hands and the head's activity were not very pronounced, and the legs could not achieve a fully upright position, which remains a slight regret. However, perhaps due to personal sentiment, the overall combined effect still feels very therapeutic, and I don't get tired of watching it for two hours.
Production
Leg Movement Effect
Hand Movement Effect
Build Process Video
Blog : https://kwluk717.blogspot.com/2023/12/1200-rx-78f00-gundam-factory-yokohama.html