Imperial Probe Droid from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

In addition to the parts list below, you'll need five 2L lengths of black rigid 3mm LEGO hose.  I used a Sword of Exact Zero to cut these from a longer length of LEGO hose.  Actually, it's better that these are a little longer than 2L.  Cut just one, at first, and refer to the coming instructions for its use in the model, before cutting the rest. 

Here's a comma separated values listing of the model's parts list:

Name,Part Number,Color code,Quantity
BRICK 1X2,3004,any color,2
BRICK 2X2,3003,any color,2
ROUND BRICK 1X1,3062,26 - Black,4
CURVED BRICK,3063,1 - White,4
BRICK Ø16 W. CROSS,6143,1 - White,1
BRICK Ø16 W. CROSS,6143,26 - Black,2
BRICK Ø16 W. CROSS,6143,any color,1
FINAL BRICK 2X2,30367,26 - Black,2
PROFILE BRICK Ø15.83 W. CROSS,92947,26 - Black,2
BRICK 4X4 ROUND W. Ø4.9 W. KL.,87081,1 - White,1
ARCH BRICK 3X3X2,88293,26 - Black,4
BRICK 1X1 W. 1 STUD,87087,26 - Black,4
BRICK 1X1 W. 4 STUDS,4733,26 - Black,8
BRICK 1X2 W. 2 STUDS,11211,26 - Black,4
"ROOF TILE 1X1X2/3, PC",50746,26 - Black,34
PLATE 1X1,3024,26 - Black,7
RADIATOR GRILLE 1X2,2412,26 - Black,2
FLAT TILE 1X2,3069,26 - Black,2
PLATE 1X2,3023,26 - Black,10
PLATE 1X2,3023,any color,2
CORNER PLATE 1X2X2,2420,any color,4
PLATE 2X2,3022,any color,1
PLATE 1X4 W. 2 STUDS,92593,26 - Black,1
PLATE 2X4,3020,1 - White,2
PLATE 2X4,3020,any color,1
PLATE 6X12 W. 22 STUDS,6178,1 - White,2
PLATE 1X1 ROUND,6141,26 - Black,12
SLIDE SHOE ROUND 2X2,2654,26 - Black,2
PLATE 2X2 ROUND,4032,26 - Black,6
SATELLITE DISH Ø16,4740,26 - Black,10
PLATE 3X4 W/ANGLE,48183,26 - Black,1
PLATE 4X4 ROUND W. SNAP,60474,26 - Black,1
CORNER PLATE 3X6,2419,26 - Black,4
PARABOLA 6X6,44375,26 - Black,1
DISC Ø80,50990,40 - Transparent,1
PLATE 1X1 W. HOLDER,4085,26 - Black,5
PLATE 1X1 W/HOLDER VERTICAL,61252,26 - Black,8
LAMP HOLDER,4081,26 - Black,24
PLATE 1X2 W/SHAFT Ø3.2,60478,26 - Black,2
PLATE 1X2 W. STICK,2540,26 - Black,2
PLATE 1X2 W. STICK 3.18,48336,26 - Black,8
"PLATE 1X2 W/HOLDER, VERTICAL",60470,26 - Black,8
PLATE 1X2 W. VERTICAL SCHAFT,88072,26 - Black,5
PLATE 2X2X2/3 W. 2. HOR. STUD,99206,26 - Black,6
PLATE 2X2 ANGLE,3956,26 - Black,2
TECHNIC 6M HALF BEAM,32063,26 - Black,5
CROSS AXLE 7M,44294,any color,1
CROSS AXLE 12M,3708,1 - White,1
T-PIECE,4697,26 - Black,2
ROOF TILE W. LATTICE 1x2x2/3,61409,26 - Black,4
STICK 6M W/FLANGE,63965,26 - Black,2
STICK/AERIAL,3957,26 - Black,2
ANTENNA 1X1X8,2569,26 - Black,2
BAD ROBOT ARM,53989,26 - Black,4

The top part of the body of this model of the Imperial Probe Droid is made with LEGO part number 50990, a 10 x 10 dish or disc.  It's not widely available in black, but it can be found "in the wild" in transparent-clear.  To make a black piece out of it, we paint the concave underside of the piece with black, NOT the top.  

Here, I've just painted it with black acrylic paint, readily available from an arts or crafts store.  You don't have to be neat about it, and hide brush strokes;  Just cover the underside in one or two coats of black, and when you flip it over, the side we want to see will be very close in looking like a black LEGO piece.

Avoid painting the connection area.  LEGO pieces are manufactured to high-quality tight tolerances, and a coating of paint can hinder the clutch connection.

Here's the prototype built with real-world genuine LEGO elements and pieces:

It is about 28 cm tall (11 inches).  It is more of a desktop display or stop-motion model, rather than a toy;  The legs are pose-able, but not play-able.  The dish that is the top of the lower body is currently a trans-clear piece (It's never been made by LEGO in black, as far as I know).  I plan to paint the concave underside of it, and hopefully it will look like shiny black LEGO on the convex top side of the dish.

To make this model, the only other modification to readily available LEGO elements is the cutting of rigid 3mm LEGO hose, which can be done easily with a Sword of Exact Zero.

Thanks for your support, and check back for more updates, which will include part lists and build instructions!