how to build your own BB-8

For the past few months I've been building my own BB-8.  Now it's finished this particular BB-8 has started his own classified mission and has gone off to my local Picturehouse cinema to help them to celebrate the release of The Force Awakens.  Here's how I built him, in case any of you fancy giving it a go.


Stage 1: Getting started



To build BB-8 you'll need a plastic baking bowl (I got this one from Wilko's) the top of a Bisto gravy pot and a milk bottle top to create the head.  For the body you'll need something spherical.  I used a blow up beach ball.


Stage 2: Paper Mache 

Next you'll need to Paper Mache the bowl and the ball.  I used water downed PVA glue and newspaper.  Make sure you apply a good number of layers and that you leave enough time between to allow each layer to fully dry.  This was the longest stage to do.  Make sure that you leave a hole in the top of your ball so you can attach the head to the body.



Stage 3: Attaching the head to the body 

To attach the head to the body I used the following items (Pictured above).

• 1 wooden broom handle
• A nail
• Some plaster of Paris
• Screw and washers

Cut the wooden handle down to size and place it inside the ball.  Use a nail to secure it into place.  Next mix up the plaster and use it to fill the ball to about one thirds full.  Once set the plaster will help keep the pole in place and it will also make sure that your BB-8 will stay upright once completed.

Once the plaster is fully dried you can attach the head to the ball.  I used a screw to do this  

Stage 4: Painting

I used a white gloss car spray paint to base coat my BB-8.  You'll probably need to apply a few coats so make sure that the paint is dry before applying any additional coats. 

Once the basecoat is fully dry I then went on to paint the eye and holo-projector.  I used oil based paints (The type you would use to paint an Airfix model) to do this.

Next thing I painted was the hathes on the head (Use cardbaotd to create them) and the gray areas.


Stage 5: Detailing the body

For the final stage of the build I went on to add detailing to the head and mark out the circles on the body I used a Sharpe to create the lines but before doing that I pencilled them out first as a guide.  To create the circles on the body I used a set of composes.  

Finally all you need to do is paint the remaining details, leave it to dry and you've got your very own BB-8.

And here he is helping us out in the movie quiz.