UK Cheapo Spot Light Gigameter build (in progress)

[Coz_UK]

Hi all!

In the spirit of my ‘Lint Brush’ PKE build, and with thanks to AZspidey for his blueprints, I have embarked on a totally inaccurate, not-to-scale but pretty cheap Gigameter, with lights and possibly movement if I can figure something out!

Hopefully I won’t run out of steam!

Okay, first up - suitable parts!

For the main body & handle, I got this spotlight torch / flashlight for £5UKP (8 LED runs on 4 D-cells).


Removed the battery holder, reflector, head & switch (will be replacing the switch later).


Marked out the cut line, and went at it with the Dremel & a cutting disc.


Here I’ve added a balsa block after cutting one end at an angle to mount the dome. Also blocked the slots along the handle, and glueda couple of thin strips of balsa to filler over later.


For the dome, I found a fake CCTV camera at mylocal Poundland (yeah, £1UKP).


Out of the box:


Dissassembled:


The dome alone - this may be good for more accurate Gigas too - it measures approx. 98mm outer Diameter & 55mm tall(not including the ‘collar’ :


Mock assembly (body is just resting on a sanding block).


Oh- and for the dome lighting, at another pound shop, I grabbed one of these handheld fans:


One blade of the has a line of flat LEDs that flash in a sequence - again, inaccurate, but what the hey: - looky:


Still to come - Silver hairbrush for the ‘ears’, and the red display screen section.

Please post your questions & comments!

Later,

Coz.

[UltimateGBfan]

Genius,your PKE was amazing,and this will be too.Can’t wait to see more progress.

[Coz_UK]

Thanks UGB! I aim to please.

Got a little more done today - added a couple of balsa strips to butt up against the CCTV body with hot glue, then drilled & screwed into place.


… These are the voyages…

The balsa there gives a good idea of the final shape of the body under the switch.

Here’s a pic of the bottom, showing the battery pack placement.:


You can see the wire feeding into the dome there, (the red wire extends into the switch hole). Gotta find a dome for inside.

Top view:


The back of the CCTV camera has a battery cover, which I’ve left in place after gutting the gubbins inside, and cutting away the battery holder itself. Should be a fair amount of room.

Finally, in hand to show scale:


Excuse my pudgy mitts.

More as it happens.

C.

[UltimateGBfan]

I am following this very closely,one of my team members has been wanting a Giga for a while but we haven’t be able to get our hands on the correct scrubber,but this is a great alternative!

[goosebuster]

Coz you are the man.

Cant wait to see this finished.

Looks like a scaled down version of the real thing

[Coz_UK]

Cheers Goose!

The idea for a hairbrush part for the ears didn’twork out, so I grabbed up a few disperate bits & bobs:


Ballpoint pens, buttons and hair curlers! May have to call this the ‘Hilda’ method.

Mockup - some refinements yet!


Inner dome will probably be the cap from a deodorant spray.


More later!

C.

[Back_In_Black]

You sir are a genius! golf clap

[Coz_UK]

Thanks BIB! Got a little more done.

Dissassembled the LED fan (no picsof this part- sorry!). Cut it back to just the ‘head’ with my Dremel, and stripped the ‘blades’ down to just the board (not in pic).

Drilled a hole in the back of the head, and a correspoding one in the battery door of the CCTV cam base - just eyeballed this, but I think it’s there!



Also, cut down one of the curlers (stop that laughing at the back!), used a scalpel to remove the ‘combs’ (?), and here’s a pic of it test fitted onto the pen body. It’s ok for sanding, which is good!

Will be base-coating it with Krylon black, so the pink won’t be a problem, with any luck.


Will fill the end slots to more resemble the Mic head. The red plastic pen means I can add a couple of flashing white LEDs I have laying around - I can just hook them up to the switch.


The button is just jammed in there, but I’ll be shaving it down a tad. Got lucky there - the pattern resembles the Realistic mic tip (a bit, if you squint). Should also let light through pretty well.

Please feel free to jump in with comments & ideas!

Cheers,

C.

[Back_In_Black]

Your welcome Do they sell those kind of fake camera over here in the US?

[Coz_UK]

I think this one is pretty much the same: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95154

Probably find 'em at dollar store type places, etc too. C’mon guys, chime in!

C.

[UltimateGBfan]

That would be the correct one,and you sir are the master at great looking props on a budget.

[Zack]

This is awesome. I love inspirational stuff like this. Like the Globoscope someone made out of a jug and a torch handle.

[AZspidey]

Any updates on this?

[Coz_UK]

Bit of a slowdown at the moment - need to get a few bits & pieces for the ‘boxes’ bottom section and the removable displaysection for the ears (plasticard, extra balsa, etc). Gonna hit up the craft shop Monday, then get back to work on it.

Also working out the spinning inner dome. The deodorant cap was too small and the motor sat too far back, so gotta build that out (looks like the motor will be inside the inner dome).

Still working on the ears - need to find a way to loose the ‘squishiness’ of the curlers, and make the whole thing solid.

Don’t want to start on the filler work until I have the motor sorted, tho I may as well do the handle for now.

Thanks for remaining interested! More to come before I start assembling my pack! Woo!

C.

[Coz_UK]

Aha! Giga continues!

Made thebottom plateand ‘boxes’ section in a spare half-hour, after getting a couple of balsa bits.


Balsa block, with plasticard to form the boxes around it. Still to make the ‘comb’ section.

Lot of filling to do now! Hope to use magnets to attatch the bottom, to allow access to the batteries.


Later,

C.

[UltimateGBfan]

Amazing man,I can’t wait to see this done.

[GB_Ty]

Have to say, this is the coolest ‘on a budget’ project I’ve ever seen. I’m really looking forward to it being finished.

[RPMs]

Did this project ever get finished?

[Nicholszz]

Lol a year ago…

Looks good though. I am also curious if it got done.

It seems like a brilliant idea!

[brassgoggles]

I walked in to poundland last week and saw that camera, wondered if the plastic dome came off, wondered if those LED fans would fit inside, came home and found this thread

great minds think alike i suppose, currently making one of these with a dustbuster in place of the torch