![]() The included “HAL 9000″ logo is printed on metal and placed an inch below the lip. A small hole was then Dremeled to allow hanging with a small finishing nail. It is his “birthday” and when building started. The serial number reads “012307TUE”, which is the date and day HAL arrived. The CPU and circuitry on the back was cropped and edited to include the logo. A smart and modern looking addition which doesn’t detract from HAL’s usual handsome appearance. Realizing the existing lens fitted too small, fate seemed to invite the inclusion of a lens ring to fill out the eye. I came across an image of him with a lens ring. This was considered after scouring the net for pictures of HAL 9000 to see his various forms. It is printed on photo paper 25.1 cm by 2 cm wide and folded in half to keep the black appearance on both sides. The cardboard grill was laid in optionally to improve HAL’s appearance. This is due to over detailed holes in the grill. Several coats didn’t seem to bring out the depth desired. The speaker portion is carefully dry brushed to prevent the holes from filling with paint. His frame is painted Titanium Silver, with plain silver on the speaker and three reds in the eye to simulate depth. While a standard aluminum frame fit the era, I opted for something a little more snappy to keep HAL looking modern. The plastic lens cover renders reflection nicely. The entire eye graphic,if used, was obtained from the high quality wallpaper, and edited to remove the artificial light reflections. This seemed the only way to make the eye lens convincing without an LED bulb. The outer layered circle is painted a darker red in one coat to help some of the black bleed through. The inner circle is painted a bright red with glow paint on top, but left the rim bright red. Considered a single printed eye laid over the layers, but desired not to lose the detail. But the layers proved too difficult to cut out in precise dimensions. I tried very hard to layer the eye with the printed artwork. Up close it really gives a “smart”, yet old style impression. Used simple Elmers glue to hold it in place, but now see a spray on glue would have been better. In keeping with that motif the fabric texture is printed on quality matte paper. Speaker components of the day typically had cloth coverings. If the build doesn’t look smart, then all you have is a big ol’ red eye. After all, the HAL 9000 is an artificial intelligence computer. But the model would lack the surface texture seen in the printed artwork. ![]() Overall, a 9 out of 10 stars.Īt first I wanted to paint the main surface area my favorite “Robby the Robot” black. The detailing on the speaker grill is over done in my opinion. ![]() The mold is pretty clean but I did have to fill a chip and do some sanding. The included name plate is terrific but the plastic lens was cut too small. It measures exactly 12″ x 4-1/16″ and is made from nice hard black plastic resin. None of the artwork was included with the kit, but obtained from a wallpaper found on the web. It still is attached to the cabinet in my work office. A second was made from cardboard and the plastic bubble from a “DOT it” stick up LED light. I still don’t know if someone took it or if management took it down. It was there a few weeks before it walked. It was stuck up on a piece of equipment at work. My first HAL 9000 is actually made of cardboard and had striking realism. HAL 9000 is the super artificial intelligence computer aboard ship in, “2001: A Space Odyssey”, circa 1968.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |