Dad builds own £20k Short Circuit robot Johnny 5 - and even takes him to the pub
- 9 months ago
A film-fanatic has spent six years building a fully-functioning replica of movie robot Johnny 5 from Short Circuit - which he even takes down the pub.
Ryan Howard, 34, has forked out over £20,000 recreating the android from the cult 1986 film in his garage at his home in Annesley, Notts.
He reckons his 200kg (31 stone) creation is "99 per cent true" to the original robot and is one of only two fully-working Johnny 5's in the world.
Ryan even moved into a house with an annex for Johnny after the project got too big for the family home, which needed patio doors removing to get him outdoors.
His hobby has involved 14-hour days and missing family holidays as he dedicated his time to building the robot out of more than 10,000 parts.
The incredible replica, made mainly from aluminium, now stands at 6ft tall and can be programmed to talk, sing, dance or do "pretty much anything" Ryan wants him to.
Dad-of-two Ryan and his family have toured conventions across the country and will be taking Johnny 5 to Texas, USA, in three weeks time.
The Open University engineering student says some people even burst into tears when they see their "childhoods brought to life."
He said: "The reactions are crazy. We've had people crying and tearing up as they walk by him.
"I've never done anything like it before and I'm very proud of him as it was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve.
"He lives with us and is part of the family now. I even talk to him. The kids love it and my wife’s done very well to put up with me, to be honest
"We had no intention of him being able to do all these amazing things. He was just going to be a model in the corner of my room.
"But now I can program him to do pretty much anything. It’s full-sized working replica with motors and everything and I can control it using my phone and laptop.
"Even when I was building him and he was standing in front of me for the first time and I was like ‘oh my god, it’s Johnny 5’.
“It brought the inner child out in me."
Ryan was inspired to build Johnny 5 as a life-long fan of the sci-fi comedy, which sees a military robot gain human-like intelligence after being struck by lightning.
He added: "I was always a massive fan of the movie as a child. I had it on VHS which I think I watched until the tape no longer worked.
"During school I didn't do too well but I knew I had a brain in there. I went on to be a mechanic and then a forklift engineer and I just began teaching myself engineering in more depth.
"I decided I'd have a go at building a replica model of Johnny 5's head in 2018 when I got a 3D printer.
"It was mainly out of plastic and he was struggling to support himself due to the weight, so I wanted to take it to the next level.
"I just thought 'I can't stop here, I've got to do the whole thing'.
"So I went the whole shebang, bought all the equipment and I’ve made every piece myself out of metal.
"It became a bit of obsession. I wanted to build the original Johnny 5 from the fi
Ryan Howard, 34, has forked out over £20,000 recreating the android from the cult 1986 film in his garage at his home in Annesley, Notts.
He reckons his 200kg (31 stone) creation is "99 per cent true" to the original robot and is one of only two fully-working Johnny 5's in the world.
Ryan even moved into a house with an annex for Johnny after the project got too big for the family home, which needed patio doors removing to get him outdoors.
His hobby has involved 14-hour days and missing family holidays as he dedicated his time to building the robot out of more than 10,000 parts.
The incredible replica, made mainly from aluminium, now stands at 6ft tall and can be programmed to talk, sing, dance or do "pretty much anything" Ryan wants him to.
Dad-of-two Ryan and his family have toured conventions across the country and will be taking Johnny 5 to Texas, USA, in three weeks time.
The Open University engineering student says some people even burst into tears when they see their "childhoods brought to life."
He said: "The reactions are crazy. We've had people crying and tearing up as they walk by him.
"I've never done anything like it before and I'm very proud of him as it was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve.
"He lives with us and is part of the family now. I even talk to him. The kids love it and my wife’s done very well to put up with me, to be honest
"We had no intention of him being able to do all these amazing things. He was just going to be a model in the corner of my room.
"But now I can program him to do pretty much anything. It’s full-sized working replica with motors and everything and I can control it using my phone and laptop.
"Even when I was building him and he was standing in front of me for the first time and I was like ‘oh my god, it’s Johnny 5’.
“It brought the inner child out in me."
Ryan was inspired to build Johnny 5 as a life-long fan of the sci-fi comedy, which sees a military robot gain human-like intelligence after being struck by lightning.
He added: "I was always a massive fan of the movie as a child. I had it on VHS which I think I watched until the tape no longer worked.
"During school I didn't do too well but I knew I had a brain in there. I went on to be a mechanic and then a forklift engineer and I just began teaching myself engineering in more depth.
"I decided I'd have a go at building a replica model of Johnny 5's head in 2018 when I got a 3D printer.
"It was mainly out of plastic and he was struggling to support himself due to the weight, so I wanted to take it to the next level.
"I just thought 'I can't stop here, I've got to do the whole thing'.
"So I went the whole shebang, bought all the equipment and I’ve made every piece myself out of metal.
"It became a bit of obsession. I wanted to build the original Johnny 5 from the fi