How to make an Optimus Prime Blaster Prop | I Like To Make Stuff

I made the Optimus Prime Blaster from my childhood! It's awesome!
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ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
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ARDUINO CODE
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TOOLS & SUPPLIES (affiliate links):
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If you know anything about me, it's that I am a huge fan of 80's toys and movies. I geek out the hardest over my favorite cartoon and toy collection, Transformers. In the past I've made the Transformer's Matrix of Leadership and rigged up my Land Cruiser to play sounds form the show, but I've always wanted to recreate Optimus Prime's blaster. But I didn't want to just remake the tiny toy version, I wanted to make an ion cannon fit for Optimus Prime himself!
I began this project by using my G-1 (Generation-1) toys as reference. I researched how tall Optimus would be in real life and tried to scale the blaster to fit his real-world size. As it turns out, the ion cannon would have to be 8 foot long...so...it'll be scaled 1:2 and should end up about 4 foot long.
I had some scrap 4 inch PVC pipe left over and decided to use it for the barrel pieces that are just basic cylinders. I initially decided to cover the PVC in EVA foam sheets so that I could carve out the transitions and the detail insets. I fashioned up a wooden pistol grip and magazine that I would also wrap in foam and carve. After all those pieces were assembled and I began to notch out the details, I realized that the scale was off and I wasn't very happy with the project. I was already a few hours into the blaster and I wanted to muscle through to get it as close as I could to the actual toy. I stepped back and decided that my initial plan wasn't going to produce the beloved prop from my childhood, it was heading toward a wonky-looking cannon that wouldn't be immediately recognizable as Optimus Prime's blaster. So, I changed plans.
I still had some 4 inch PVC left over, so I decided to restart the project using those pieces (without any EVA foam) and 3d printing the rest of the intricate structure. I've had a lot of modeling practice in Fusion 360 lately, and I was confident that I could use reference photos of my old toys and recreated the blaster as a 3d model. I recently received a Lulzbot Taz 6 with a MOARstruder from Matterhackers and it really shined while printing these large parts. The MOARstruder is a custom filament extruder that pumps out 3 times as much plastic as a conventional extruder in a single pass, and it worked great!
After a lot of time modeling and printing the individual components I had to assemble the pieces. The barrel was scaled perfectly using the PVC and 3d printed accents and the rest of the bulky pieces were printed without much infill because the 1.2mm extruder made some pretty strong walls. Some of the pieces were too big to fit on the Taz 6's print bed, so they had to printed in pieces and glued together using CA glue and Bondo to fill in the seams. Then I sanded, a lot.
I wanted the blaster to play sounds and have lights come out of the barrel so I rigged up an Arduino Nano with an Adafruit sound board and amp that would cycle blaster sounds and lights when a button was pressed. And because there's always more than meets the eye, I had a separate button that played just Transformers sound clips. To defuse the LED strip when the lights fired, I printed a semi-translucent disc that would stand-off from the sides so that sound could still escape, but the light would be diffused. I decided to mount all of the audio components in the barrel so that the cannon could be taken apart to charge the battery back. If you want to get the code to use for you own projects, it's on my GitHub.
If you enjoyed this nostalgic project, you can check out more of my prop builds!
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About I Like To Make Stuff:
We have lots of projects including woodworking, metalworking, electronics, 3D printing, prop making and more!
These videos are our attempt inspire and empower others to make the stuff that they want to have. Hopefully you'll see something here that will inspire you to make something that you're passionate about!

[@Alex138bhp]

Brilliant. The transformers / ILTMS logo was a stroke of pure Genius!

[@nosrepsuomynona7192]

I can't stop smiling when I saw it completed. This is awesome!

[@pixelman6193]

Maybe make a 50% scale optimus hand and partial arm to hold it then attach it to a wall and add a decal to make it look like he is coming out of the wall

[@DanzoSrife]

Yes! He could use foam to create stone wall broken "debris" where the arm is coming out.. haha omg XD . Btw, I like to make stuff this was totally cool! I'm very thrilled how it turned out :D

[@HelloKitty-sd9vs]

Ya

[@thecondiffs]

How bout a whole tower with his arm on it like the G1 episode "city of steel"

[@Rusty-Doggo]

@@thecondiffs aww man I loved that episode

[@theguyintheworks8838]

@@thecondiffs then for part 2 they make an alligator

[@TitanOne1337]

"The eight-year-old in me is really excited right now." Understatement of the darn Century, like, we can hear and see your excitement. That's how it's done, nice work!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

:)

[@Thefarquharfamily]

You know as soon as he put the camera down he played with that thing for about two hours ha ha

[@jasonking7570]

Just two?

[@gonpawomp]

are you sure it was just two?

[@AnthonyRose]

Awesome build, Bob! I can see it in your face that you were genuinely excited about this one.

[@dave14647]

I love it when you nerd out and make stuff that is related to your childhood or something your passionate about. It ad some personality to your channel more.great Vid as usual Bob

[@AndyBirkeyMaker]

The 8 year old me is completely approving this awesomeness. But, then again, so is the middle aged me....

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

Looks awesome, Bob. I love these prop builds and it really shows off the power of Fusion...and your skill too! :)

[@marcsimonsen1578]

While not a fan of transformers, seeing the methods used to create this item give me a lot of ideas for other, scaled components (think patterns for casting model railroad components)

[@KikiAelita]

I love the genuine glee you can see in his face at the end when he pushes the buttons and holds it. Transformers & Optimus Prime for the win!

[@mitchspano]

Bob - you are a true Autobot. Optimus would be proud.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Ha! Thanks Mitch 👍🏼

[@PandaJPG]

I love all the videos you make and I've noticed it for awhile but I just wanted to say I love that you put a little countdown timer on your ads. It makes them feel a lot nicer to watch, I also love the fact that it helps support an awesome creator!

[@Marianososa32]

LOVED the ILTMS transition Transformer style hahahaha. I spitted my drink. Great project!

[@chrisswallow6949]

Thanks Bob! That's my 3 year-old converted to an ILTMS fan too! He loved watching this, but says you should do Bumblebee's gun next :)

[@SWBaek117]

I like how he introduces the ads between the processes. It's super smooth and not annoying like other channels', but interesting and some of them really sounds good.

[@MultimediaByChris]

Any Autobot would dig this!!! I absolutely LOVE how this project is beyond just 3D printing something as one piece. Sanding filling, glueing segments together, foam, electronics, and paint -- now that's a prop. Really transformed this video into something inspiring. So fun and a really cool project!

[@JayBates]

Your projects are so much fun :)

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks dude!

[@sukumarbarai346]

Yes bro

[@furthernorthfab]

This video is more than meets the eye... 🤖

[@ScrapwoodCity]

Awesome project! It must have been a 3D printing marathon! But Optimus is worth it!

[@3DPrintingNerd]

It's crazy how you keep getting more awesome. Just when I think you've hit a peak awesome, you surpass. Amazing work my friend!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Ha! Thanks dude :)

[@Brick_Science]

This is super cool. Thanks for working so hard and getting these videos to your viewers each week. We really appreciate that.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thank you!!

[@jackstraughan]

think you should make a 50% scale of Optimus Prime to go with it, nice garden feature?

[@nedbulken4790]

Awesome build Bobtimus Prime!! Glad you showed the prototype and your decision to restart. P.S. build with whatever works... you don’t need to apologize or explain alternatives. Your core audience gets it... and we appreciate however you build. Just my 2c. You’re sharing how you did it, not telling Us how We should do it.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Gotta say a sincere thank you, Ned. I really appreciate you saying that, it's more encouraging than you know and you're spot on. Cheers man!!

[@nedbulken4790]

Bob, you’re most welcome! Keep on making, we’ll keep watching! Thanks for the inspiration !

[@alexgreene9967]

That smile on your face at 14:35 shows the inner child in you coming out! Great work again!

[@huddysdad]

Love the Transformers inspired ILTMS logo!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks! We've got stickers of it on the website, in case you want one. 👍🏼

[@huddysdad]

It's also in the Big Ol Bundle! You will sell out of that bundle soon I bet.

[@SteveCarmichael]

That's really cool Bob! Lots of 3D modeling and printing in that. Looking forward to the 50% Optimus Prime!!! :)

[@Col_guy13]

Everything about this video was awesome but that logo transition from your first effort to your second was perfection.

[@CIE504]

This is the greatest thing since sliced bread! My inner 8 year old wants the 40 year to figure this out! Lol Great Job! This video needs to be shared in the Transformers community!

[@DanGamble]

I don't own a 3D printer and I don't even care. That is so awesome! I had a childish grin on my face the whole time. Hope you keep making our childhood dreams come true like this.

[@WinstonMakes]

Hah, looks like your CAD-fu has gotten stronger. Looks like the 3D printing worked out really well for this too!

[@GameTavern2224]

I LOVE that you added the firing sound in the beginning... i just love that

[@amateurhobbyist]

1) Blaster is perfect. Always love the 80s nostalgia in your builds. 2) Dollar Shave Club is the bomb.

[@quigonkenny]

You got the right sound effect. The "jugga-jugga" blast effect from the G1 cartoon, not the generic laser noise from the Bayformer movies. That alone makes it a win.

[@DrewLytle]

That dorky smile at the end haha! Love the prop stuff!

[@lbhurley3138]

The smile on your face when you finished it was heart warming

[@FabianVilersBe]

Love the transformers jingle with your logo!

[@blue4lifeblue]

Fabian Vilers it stands for Megatron 😆😆😆

[@maccawoodworking2722]

Hay bob love your work you inspired me to do IT (Industrial technology) at school for my elective and I just want to say thxs for making me fall in love with woodworking

[@MakerMaddox]

Also I just picked up some bondo for a lightsaber case I was working on and was dreading the mixing and then the heavy sanding so seeing that spot putty just gave me the greatest alternative with regards to dry time and sanding... thanks!!!!

[@BenedictTanShanWen]

That grin at the end :D Just a thing I've been doing when printing adapters to join two similarly sized cylinders; I print a smaller diameter tube with a slot in one side. I stick the tube in and shim the slot until it fits then proceed to glue. For non-permanent friction fits I print a full tube smaller by about a millimeter then add duct tape to it until it's a good tight fit. It's a lot faster than sanding/filing to fit either way.

[@drwhoweigs]

Love this build. I'm partial to Decepticons though as Megatron was my first toy. I wouldn't mind seeing a build like this with one of Soundwave's cassettes.

[@iamjimgroth]

Dave Weigand how cool would it be to make it able to play music?

[@timbohoho]

That little grin at 14:02, Bob's Childhood Dream Achieved!

[@russdixon614]

Oh man your creativity and skill are inspiring. I love seeing the mistakes and work arounds, Best channel on KZbin by far.

[@joshwiley881]

Every time you said primer or prime I was waiting to hear the transform sound effect. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

[@RowdyPenguin]

Its obvious the amount of time and effort put into these projects Bob. Well done and WOW, the end result is pretty cool. I saw it mentioned elsewhere, but you should keep the ILTMS/Transformers transition for all your vids from now on. Get the announcer from Justice League - "Meanwhile. . . . "

[@a7even08]

Would been better if he actually made part instead just 3d print This is just a large air fix toy

[@elnino4398]

Watching in Study Period. School can’t stop the creativity. 🙏🏽

[@BuildiTDIYIsrael]

dude! this was pure AWESOME. pure, sweet, un-cut AWESOME. loved it! sooo coool! I loved the original series in the early 80`s, as a small kid. this is one of the coolest things I have seen. thank you for this, this vid made my day!

[@leinadyllek2150]

I love the videos where you do 3d printing, so cool. I also love the huge size of your shop!

[@cjnesi]

Great build! I really appreciate the thought that you put into this and everything you make!

[@fingerscoil]

Hi Bob, you took me back to my youth!! (I am born in 1977). The sound is from the original series!! Ofer Nahari Israel

[@maharishikashyap8995]

God, it's like a dream coming true! And love your videos. I'm always like: "When's Thursday coming?".

[@jenniferstaley3851]

Transformers were my favorite ❤️. You had me at Optimus Prime!

[@oliverhoekstra2072]

Just finiched watching all of the Transformer movies and now my vavorite KZbinr has created his gun...

[@James-sm1lh]

I'm laughing out loud with nostalgia when you push the buttons at the end!!

[@chaoticlogic588]

Everyone's 8 year old self thinks this is awesome Bob. I could tell you were excited about this project in the podcast, now I understand why.

[@aydinkilic8104]

The look on your face was priceless. Great build!

[@John_Malecki]

the modelling was sick bob. good stuff

[@Atlantismonkey40]

Hi Bob, the truthfulness in your face while doing this build, PRICELESS. The Transformers for me, as a child. Was the first example of good and evil that I understood the difference. Still, Megatron is was a misunderstood character. Really enjoyed this video!

[@BrenoLuna]

Bob, you keep outdoing yourself with every new project. AWESOME STUFF, buddy!!!

[@TheTranq]

Bob. That was so awesome and it came out great. 3D printing adds an awesome element to creating nowadays

[@jaytomes2856]

Not even all the way through and I LOVE IT!!!!! Not even a video person and the transition was awesome!

[@rml015]

You and the gang on Making It talk a lot about how you worry that viewers will perhaps be turned off by your use of digital fabrication tools because of the lack of accessibility. I just want you to know that I have never even seen a 3D printer, CNC, or laser cutter, and I would never make something like this, but I still LOVE these videos. Awesome job, as always!!

[@sins2610]

Used to watch the original show, 8 year old me would be proud. Awesome Project Bob! :)

[@LeafsNut96]

The 8 year old and the late 30’s me is uber jealous of your abilities to build something so damn awesome and yes I also approve this video!! 👍🏻

[@CKTDanny]

Yess I love these projects that involve electronics!

[@nabicht]

My 5 yr old starts every Saturday morning with “do we have a new Bob video?” This was his favorite yet.

[@Bicketybam68]

Great way to incorporate your new 3D Printer workstation area into a new project. As always, cheers for the content.

[@D2Kprime]

This by far is the coolest project you've ever done!

[@beans-vg9ni]

This is the coolest channel I can't believe I never found it before

[@ecrusch]

Definitely one of your coolest projects yet !!! That came out unbelievably awesome ! Coolest Blaster on the block !

[@WayWoodworking]

That thing is huge! Impressed as always!

[@SatansLtlBaby]

holy hannah this is great. you HAVE to keep that transition for ALL PROJECTS!

[@TheJay6621]

So much Efforts and Hardwork.. very Well Done.. Thanks for sharing.

[@FredMcIntyre]

Really cool Bob! 👍👊..... Optimus Prime is my favorite too!

[@scooppralines6428]

The transformer inspired transition early in the video killed me; so funny. Thank you for sharing I love your videos.

[@ecrusch]

Bob, that was freakin awesome! And to those who moan & groan about you using 3D and other higher end assist techniques, just be quiet and be thankful that Bob and guys like him are willing to share their talent with the rest of us. For me, I want to just say "Thank you" (and keep it up!)

[@RonWaller]

Bob you are such a big kid and I love it. Was really cool seeing your model go from thought , to design, to reality.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks Ron!!

[@themaninthesuitcase]

Right in the childhood! Transformers (and Thundercats) was about all I watched from ages 4-8!

[@TheQuiptastic]

You did not just insert a transition from the original cartoon...Yeah you did! Awesome! Brings back too much childhood! From listening to the podcast, I'm glad you decided to change methods...such a better result! Great vid!

[@pbhalfbaked8243]

so cool! really neat to see something you've talked about on the podcast. thanks for making stuff and sharing your work on YT.

[@Mr.pink84]

This is my childhood dream toy! I can just see it now... I show up to the playground with my best buds and just start laser blasting all the bully's!! Haha great build man, you made my inner child hella jazzed... like I used to feel on Saturday morning watching cartoons and eating cereal! Thanks

[@naturesfinest4871]

Man, you are a GENIUS! Kudos on the badass Optimus Prime rifle.

[@delvis7842]

Thank you so much for sharing these videos with us! The kid in me is so excited to see this, and know it can be done! Not by me, but, still it can be done! Thanks again! You're awesome!

[@iamjimgroth]

Awesome transition!

[@og9520]

Bobtimus Prime

[@thebigadam7574]

Oliver Geist hahahhah

[@brianking81]

Does that make us all the Bobtobots?

[@C3DPropShop]

If Bill gets PROP-tarts, Bob should definitely get bob-tobots!!

[@HelloKitty-sd9vs]

Haha ye! YEET!!!!!! (Ye is how I say yes, yeet is just yeet)

[@garythree]

Your projects never cease to amaze me Bob! Great work as always! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@Sonal_Mobile]

EXCELLENT JOB!! There is nothing about this project that isn't awesome!

[@cassia_cries]

nice to see the 3d printers make it to video.. presumably people complain they don't have one.. as if that mattered.. personally I don't have a garage or a variety of powered saws but a 3d printer would be very attainable

[@adawnicusautocon]

Optimus Prime would be most pleased with your Ion Rifle. Hell all kid transformers fans would scream for joy if your work gets manufactured. Nice job buddy 😊👍👍👍

[@bjpalm1994]

WOW! Thats too cool! I would love to have a prop like that in the man cave. Well done sir!!

[@Hiroak]

Loading a pic into fusion 360 was the most helpful tip. I just got into 3d printing and was trying to model stuff from scrach, learning as I go.

[@LiatachMakes]

That's Rad! I salute your patience with sanding.

[@noahbeckers1745]

Bob is the kind of guy to chill with when you've met him 2 minutes earlier

[@ethanwigginton6421]

Awesome! Loving the projects Bob!

[@bukatasv]

Great work!

[@PJGalati]

Many roads to the mastery of translating vision to reality. Came out great! I still have my original Optimus Prime in it's box, in the attic I think.

[@jmakes3745]

Really enjoyed this one Bob - I loved the watching the learning process & seeing all the different components come together - that 3d printing table definitely looks like its coming in handy!

[@petroleumconsumer3460]

This is really cool Bob, this has to be one of the best projects you’ve done. Keep up the good work

[@christopherpoulin1969]

Awesome work!!! Nice details!!!

[@diegobasterrica6311]

I don't like props videos, I don't usually watch them, but I do like optimus prime so thumbs up for you