BD-1 Droid Recreation

I have been working on a recreation of BD-1, the droid companion from the Star Wars: Jedi video game series, since 2022.  Originally designed and built as a wire operated puppet, its movements are now fully motorized.  The head is able to look in all directions.  It has lights in both eyes, one of which is always on to create a sense of life in the face.  A speaker connects to a soundboard that contains sound effects taken directly from the game.  Sounds and motion can either be controlled manually or set on a random loop to give it the appearance of operating autonomously.  I’ve also designed and made a custom bracket and harness system so that it easily can sit on my shoulder or be taken off quickly.  From the radio controller, I can adjust the head’s position, zero any positions, zero the position depending on which shoulder it’s mounted on, engage or disengage the randomization loops, or manually play a sound.  Every piece was 3D modeled from scratch by me using reference photos taken in-game.  The mechanism for movement within the head is fully designed by me.  The paint job was custom designed and applied by me and weathered to mimic the distinct style of Star Wars and to add a lived-in realism to the build. 

Photos