Bot Parts - What kind of demand is there?

[Mitchell]

Howdy, folks! I'm relatively new to the bot building scene, but a long time MST3K fan and prop builder. The Bots are some props I've wanted to do for a very long time. I knew the basics as far as what they were built out of and I had looked into it building them in the past but parts weren't easy to find at the time(but to be honest, I didn't look terribly hard, either) and I gave up not long after.

I've recently been bitten by the bug again and have researched the hell out of the parts over the last several months. I've not found any kits outside of what pops up on ebay occasionally and I'm not really sure what private sellers offer(I don't frequent the bot builders group at the moment). This time around, though, I personally want to do as much as I can myself without the help of kit parts.

I currently have the following real parts on the way to me to make molds from:

-Money Lover Barrel
-Eveready Floating Lantern Shroud
-Tyco Train Car
-Schwartz Bros. Soap Dish

I'm also gearing up to scratch build the engine block for Tom's torso and have my own sculpts of Tom's hands in the works.

I guess what I'm getting at is is there still a demand for castings of these parts and others? Or is all the demand for the real deals? I'm molding and casting all of these parts for my own personal builds but I absolutely would not mind offering up additional castings to the community if it helps out. I'm not out to make a profit(though admittedly it would be nice to recoup some of my expenses in materials), I just figure if I'm molding up the parts anyway, might as well see if there's anyone that would be interested in copies.

If there ARE any part castings that are in high demand, I'd love to know. I would love to see if I could offer up anything to give back to the community.

I know parts are out there, but how readily available they are I'm not too sure of. So if this is a moot point, please disregard this thread. LOL

[SynaMax]

Hi Mitchell!  Welcome to the forums!

The demand for casted parts, in my opinion, is bigger than the original parts, because sometimes the originals (despite how rare they are) just don't cut it.  I recently acquired a barrel myself and I was about to work on it before Ron stopped me, lol.  Think about it...the plastic is like 40 years old...it's best to make a mold and use the casts from that.

Also, you can't use original Turbo Trains on Servo because they were vacuumformed from an original.

The big problem is bot building isn't as popular as it used to be.  Even though I'm a young newcomer, it's apparent that the real demand for bot parts, whether it be real or cast, is small.  Hopefully this forum will bring back bot building into the spotlight.

While technically, you will eventually need like all of the parts to make bots, the most important and/or rare parts are - IMO - the most popular.  So, Money Barrels, Cooper XL7s, Wallace Lamps, Crow hands, Servo engines, Servo Hands, etc.  I feel Ron is better equipped to answer this question than me, lol.

Yes, the parts are out there, but you need to get to know people from the bot building community to help you out.  Randy (Lil Monsters) makes some of the best parts out there.  Bob (MST3KGuy) also makes some really good parts as well, but he does a lot more vacuumforming which is great for people on a budget like myself.

But yeah, I would be interested in some stuff if you offer it.  I already sent you a PM.