Johnny 5

 Johnny 5 from “Short Circuit”

Etsy model

For whatever reason, “Short Circuit” is often lost in the sea of 1980s nostalgia.  Somewhere below “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, but above “Crocodile Dundee.”  Two movies and it’s still somewhat forgotten.  Well, not for me.  Seeing the fictional, miniature Johnny 5 toys in “Short Circuit 2” drove me bonkers as a kid.  How does that not exist?!  My dad helped me build a wood-and-garage-parts robot, which was great, but still didn’t scratch the itch.  30+ years later, and there are still no Johnny 5 toys to be had!  C’mon, Fisher Stevens is sorry for the problematic Indian thing.  No disassemble my fond memories!

Thank goodness for die-hard fans and 3D printing…Johnny 5 is alive!  There are actually a number of model kits available on Etsy.  This one was $18 for a non-moving, six inch scale figure.  It’s a pretty clean print, requiring little to no sanding.  DIY Paint was pretty minimal…just a couple coats of silver spray and some details here and there.

 

He fits in great with these Marvel Legends.  I figured Tony Stark wouldn’t mind having him as keeper of his armory.

 

The first model I ordered was damaged in shipping.  The seller sent another one out, easy peasy.  With some patience, glue, and a Dremel tool, I was able to repair “Number 4.”  I’m still trying to decide what to do with him.  He’s got a couple of cracks here and there, so might be a prime candidate for the damaged, punked-out Johnny 5.  A quick gold spray job, and he could be “US Citizen Johnny 5”.  Or, I could spend a little more time with the paint brush for a “Los Locos” variant.

The same Etsy seller (Ryan’s Print Shop) has this model in a smaller size.  I mean to get one to go with 3 3/4 inch Star Wars droids.  If you’re a fan of the movie and the character, I highly recommend picking this up.  And even if you don’t like the movies, he’s still a nicely detailed robot figure.   

More input!  May I have these, craphead?