ROBO -COP PHASE-I AND PHASE-II

The Sarge's Efforts to Take a Bite out of Crime !!

Over time, Sarge Oberon has acquired two Robo-Cop outfits. The first was produced by Bruce Hansing in England and represents the first "blued-steel" toned "Phase-I" armor set worn by "Robo" in his first movie. The mostly fiberglass outfit was very handsome and nicely finished, but proved to be somewhat fragile and very difficult to get into and wear. And after a lot of time and effort spent trying to modify and cutting various portions of the outfit to properly fit him, he was never able to successfully put all the pieces of the outfit on and wear it in public. The lower-leg "greaves", foot "sabatons" and the "Achilles Tendon" piston-rods at the rear of the sabatons were particularly troublesome and many sections of the armor were joined together with screw and wing-nut connections, which were quite difficult or impossible to secure without help from a "Squire" assistant. In reality, the Sarge, at 6 feet tall and 180 pounds was probably a little too big to effectively fit into the "RoboCop Phase-I" outfit and he has retired it to be eventually displayed on a mannequin stand.

A second Robo-Cop outfit was obtained and it has been extensively modified and improved, but still requires a "Squire's" assistance to get into. It represents the "steel-gray" "Phase-II" armor set that was worn by RoboCop for his appearance in the second "Robo" movie. Enhancements included the initial attachment of most of the armor components to Velcro patches sewn onto the body-suit. However, as the body-suit or "glove" proved to be too tight fitting and very hot to wear, it was replaced with an ordinary black cotton shirt and pants. Some of the armor section connections were re-engineered for strength and more freedom of movement and others were retro-fitted with hinged or removable segments secured with magnet closures to make it easier to put-on and take-off the various armor components.

The photos below show the Robo-II enhancements, similarities and differences from the older Robo-I outfit.

ABOVE and BELOW - Partial test wearing of the RoboCop-II outfit using the original full body-glove under-garment, which proved to very tight-fitting, difficult to get into and quite hot to wear. Simple black cotton under-garments were later substituted, as shown further below. The chest armor section, the left-arm shoulder "pauldron" and elbow "couter" and the left-leg "cuisse", "greave" and foot "sabaton" segments are being worn, along with the helm. The lower right-leg "greave" is shown to the left and the upper right-leg "cuisse" segment is displayed to the right. robocop-001,002 June-2007 800 high

Side view of the RoboCop-II being worn with the original body-suit. robocop-003 June-2007 800 high

Due to the original body-suit being so tight-fitting and difficult to put-on, and especially very hot to wear, a black cotton "turtle-neck" exercise shirt and "long-johns" were substituted as undergarments. This required an alternate method of securing the shoulder pauldrons in place (shown below) and holding up the upper-leg "cuisse" armor sections. ** ABOVE - A "garrison" military uniform type belt with downward extending tabs was fabricated to support the leg sections. Velcro was attached to the tabs to engage the Velcro patches mounted inside the upper end of the "cuisse" sections. A wide and sturdy belt is required to support the weight of the leg sections. Here the black under-trousers have been pulled-down to more clearly show the supporting belt and tabs. robocop-024,025 600

View of a full stride being made with RoboCop Phase-II outfit, showing the "Achilles Tendon" piston-rods near the limits of their range of travel. Although the "tendon" rods may seem long when standing normally, this view shows that the apparent extra length is needed to keep the rods from disengaging from the piston castings during a full stride. The tendon-rods on the Phase-I Robocop outfit were too short and did not extend completely through the pistons, limiting the length of stride and making walking difficult, in addition to placing great stress on the piston and rod attachments when the rod topped-out inside the piston casting. robocop-026 600

Replacing the tight-fitting and hot to wear body-suit with a simple black cotton "turtle-neck" shirt required an alternate method of holding the shoulder pauldrons in place. A leather strap with Velcro attached to the ends was made-up to reach between the Velcro tabs on the shoulder pauldrons, which originally were intended to attach to Velcro patches sewn to the body-suit. The black shirt has been omitted here to show the support strap and how it fits behind the neck and is attached to the pauldrons. The elbow segments were remounted about an inch lower to allow for a greater range of lower-arm movement, as illustrated by the right arm being bent to a full 90o angle. The remount of the elbow can be seen on the left arm. ** BELOW - The waist belt with tabs for supporting the upper-leg "Cuisse" armor sections is shown. robocop-020,021,022 350

Comparison view of the "Robo-I" right-arm pauldron and elbow couter (left) and the "Robo-II" left-arm pauldron and couter (right), with the Robo-II heavy black latex gloves in the middle. Note the wing-nut "couter" fastening of the Robo-I elbow segment and its tighter connection to the upper-arm section, which could put stress on this somewhat fragile connection when the lower arm was bent to sharply. The Robo-II elbow, on the right, was remounted about an inch lower to allow the elbow to rotate further and thus provide more freedom of movement and relieve potential stress at this vulnerable pivot point. Also note the difference in detailing and coloration between the two arm-sets. robocop-012 600h

LEFT to RIGHT - The "blued-steel" hued "Robo-I" left-leg armor and foot protecting "sabaton" with the right foot "sabaton" to the right. The Robo-I sabaton and its piston rod were clumsy to install and the piston and rod attachments were very prone to breakage, as shown on the right-foot sabaton, to the right, with its missing piston rod. ** The "steel-gray" Robo-II upper-leg "cuisse" section standing in the middle. ** Rear view of Robo-II left-leg "greave" and "sabaton", showing the hinge on a segment that can be opened permitting the greave to be more easily emplaced on the calf. The attachments of the piston and its rod to the sabaton and greave were made more sturdy, along with a new machined piston element. ** Frontal view of the Robo-II right leg greave and sabaton. Note the thicker sole of the Robo-II sabatons giving more room for your shoe and yielding a better appearance. robocop-010 680h

View showing the enhancements made to the leg portions of the RoboCop Phase-II outfit. At LEFT is shown the hinged section that opens at the back side of the greave to make it easier to insert your leg and foot into the greave component. The door is held closed by the circular magnets mounted on the white patch inside the door and on the black tab visible at the right edge of the greave opening. On the RIGHT, the hinge for the greave-door is seen, along with the stronger and more robust "Achilles Tendon" piston and rod attachment. The tight fit of the greave and the fragile and damage prone "tendon" piston and rod connections were a major problem with the earlier Robo-I outfit. CENTER - The back and inside of the upper-leg "cuisse" armor is displayed showing the velcro tabs used to connect it to matching velcro patches sewn to the body suit. robocop-011 480 x 660

Comparison views of the Robo-I (left) and Robo-II (right) front breast plates and torso sections. Note the slightly different designs of the torso plates and that the Robocop-II "torso" was cut into two sections allowing more freedom of body movement and a better ability to bend-over, as well as tending to "duties of nature". robocop-013 600 x 646

Comparison shot of the Robo-I (left) and Robo-II (right) back-plates and butt-plates. As with the front torso sections, the rear butt-plate of the Robo-II armor is in two sections making "bending-over" and sitting easier. robocop-015 600 x 594

A line-up of RoboCop Phase-II body parts - Left-arm "pauldron" and elbow "couter" - Front of the right-leg "greave" and "sabaton" - Rear of the left-leg "greave" and "sabaton" - Upper right-leg "cuisse" section. robocop-013 380h x 464w

Comparisons of the Robo-II helm (left) and the Robo-I helm (right). The Robo-II is in three pieces - the hard helm, rubber chin piece and the separate hard "bulls-eye / ridged" plate on the rear of the chin section. The Robo-I has two pieces - the hard helm and the rubber chin portion. robocop-016,017 225h

The impressive looking leg greave and foot protecting sabaton on the RoboCop Phase-II armor outfit robocop-008 600 x 646

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on the Sarge's and the "OCP's" List of the Usual Suspects!