R2D2 Project

Updated Droid Status

2011-01-01T09:39:00.000-05:00

Holo Lense added to Dome

2009-12-30T19:42:00.001-05:00

Frame & Dome

2009-10-31T09:37:00.002-05:00

Here is a shot of the frame and dome together. The majority of the dome has been repainted by hand, without the use of painters tape because it leaked right through it. I am a bit dissapointed the dome is not to spec and it overlaps the frame a bit. Will need to find a work around, shouldn't be too bad.

New R2 Frame

2009-10-31T09:27:00.002-05:00

I just received my R2 Frame to replace the cardboard one I was using. Alayna and I put it together this morning.

Getting back into the project

2009-10-17T10:01:00.003-05:00

So, its been quite some time since I have worked on this project. Kid(s) will do that to you. I started all over painting the dome today, as the first time I was more concerned with getting to the finish line than the quality at the end. So I began removing a lot of the paint with paint thinner last night and started painting this morning. My daughter Alayna was there to help me paint.

The Legs Begin

2007-02-04T20:18:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a lot of help from several others, I have finally begun working on R2's legs. Here is the first shot showing both inner and outer parts of the leg.

Alayna & R2

2006-08-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't found the time to work on this project lately, I decided to post a new picture anyway. Here is a picture of Alayna hanging out inside R2.

R2D2 Encounter

2006-06-25T18:25:00.000-05:00

Although there hasn't been much progress as of late, I thought it was about time for another R2 Photo Opportunity. This time I had my daughter pose with the droid. Still a lot of work ahead but I have already accomplished much more than I ever imagined I would be able to.

More Dome Painting

2006-06-06T19:44:00.000-05:00

Once again I am taking a giant leap of faith as I go about painting the $100 dome. In my world this is a big investment and with my attention to detail, it all may go down the tubes quite quickly. However after saying this for a first stab at painting the dome, it doesn't look too terribly bad. I say this knowing I have a great deal of clean up work and multiple coats to come.

I have to say by my standards, this thing is finally starting to look like a droid.

Progress Continues

2006-06-05T17:26:00.000-05:00

After a much needed break from this project, I have begun to see some real progress for the first time. The body itself is now in place but of course still needes quite a bit of touch up. The dome painting is making good progress as well. Now comes the tedious portion of this process. The next couple of stages will be a lot of work showing little progress.

The rest of the work will require quite a bit of detail and percision, most of which I do not have. Then comes the dilema of what to do for the legs.

A Lot of Work and a Little Progress

2006-04-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

After quite a bit of work modifying the tube to fit the styrene skins properly, we are right back to where we need to be, even if the picture doesn't show much progress.

To modify the tube I had to cut a strip out and reattach the tube using Gorrilla Glue, we will see how it holds up.

I am in the process now of attaching the skins semi permanately and once complete I can go back to working on the dome.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

2006-04-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

I recently found a tube which can be used as the foundation for the body of the R2. The tube's diameter needs to be adjusted and will require quite a bit of effort before we will find out if it will work for this project.

The tubes structure will need to be cut apart and pieced back together to generate the proper diameter in order for the skins to fit properly.

First Coat

2006-01-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a look at the first coat put on the pie slices of the dome. I anticipate using several coats to get things to look just right. While it is not perfect, it is turning out to look much nicer than I expected.

Cut and Paint

2006-01-01T20:43:00.000-05:00

I am trying my own method of carving the sections out of the dome. Because I am afraid of screwing the dome up by using a dremel tool, I am starting to etch the dome just using an exacto knife. This will allow me the opportunity to go back and etch it further if needed, but will allow me to see some progress in the mean time.

I also have tried to paint the dome with a brush first to see how well it will come out. If need be, I can always go back and strip it to do over. This just allows me to keep the exact same color as I used on the body and allows me to be extra careful.

Tackling the Dome

2006-01-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today was my first attempt at working on the dome for my R2. I have taken a variety of advice on designing a template for it, and in the end I hope it will work out. The picture to the left shows the template design used to mark the pie shapes on the top of the zone.

Droid Update

2005-12-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

This is nothing more than a composite shot of the dome on the diaper champ box while the skins are loosly wrapped around the box. Thanks to a little Photoshop, this gives a reasonable look of where I am to date. Currently I am still looking for some sort of solution to wrap the skins around Once I find that, the progress pics should start to move.

The Diaper Champ Droid

2005-12-21T21:53:00.000-05:00

I am now starting the process of measuring all of the dremel locations. Before I waste $100 of my hard earned money, I am going to try to mock up a paper version of the locations on the dome. Little by little, I am starting to understand just how to mark these locations. Hopefully I will make all of my mistakes on the mockup and avoid the one's when I begin cutting the dome.

The Dome has Arrived

2005-12-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

My R2 Dome just arrived and I am starting to strategize on how to proceed. I have received a good deal of help from the R2 Builders Council and will start conceptualizing the process through the use of blue posterboard.

My First Real Purchase

2005-12-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

I finally broke down and purchased an aluminum dome for my R2 project. While the engraving may be over my head, I will soon find out. This seems to be the most sensable way to proceed and I was able to get a good deal on a dome that was not being used.
Cost on the custom made dome was $100.

Skin Progress Update

2005-12-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

The matting I purchased arrived this afternoon and early testing shows that it will work just fine to produce the aluminum parts. While this may not be an ideal solution, it is simple to work with. Here is an up to date photo of my progress so far.

Matting Metal Parts

2005-12-07T10:26:00.000-05:00

I recently ordered some metallic mat board which I am going to use to construct some metal parts out of. The cost of the board was $5 but shipping cost were high at $7 due to the size. I purchased the mat board here http://www.dickblick.com/zz130/07d/ and they have said that the thickness would be the equivalent of the .040 styrene I am using.

Cost and Time Update

2005-11-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

To date I have spent approximately $50 working on this project, with most of these funds coming in the form of supplies and not materials. I have only spent $17 on the materials so far but the rest has come from paint supplies and cutting supplies for the styrene.

Total hours put into working on the project has come to approximately eight hours to date. It would have been much less if I had not had so many problems painting the styrene.

Exploring Other Options

2005-11-30T11:25:00.000-05:00

After trying several different methods of painting the stryene, I am still not satisified with the quality of the work. I am now looking at possibly using a different pre-painted material for the painted areas on the droid.

The Pain...ting Continues

2005-11-28T09:55:00.000-05:00

After spending several days painting the skins, I still have a lot of work to do before they are even remotely presentable. This weeks option for a R2 Dome is this aluminum dome on Ebay for $125. While the aluminum dome is the ideal solution, the etching may be a little over my experience level.

Let the Painting Begin

2005-11-17T08:42:00.000-05:00

I have officially started painting my new droid. Granted this is just the first of what I am sure will be many coats of paint, but the body is starting to look more and more like a droid.

Up next on the agenda is a second coat for the skins, followed by trying to figure out a simple way to make the droid look semi used. I am not going for the "dirty" droid look, I would just prefer it not be crystal clean.

A Learning Experience

2005-11-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

As I went about slicing all of the skins for the body, I found that I made numerous mistakes. Mainly in the form of the thinner sections ripping through when I was removing the cutouts. The other thing I noticed is that I don't always cut as straight as I would like. With that behind me now, I am struggling to find a good/cheap way to paint the skins.

My first option was to purchase a model painting system and go from there. After spending time at Wally world, I decided to try their model paint spray in a can and see if it would work. It didn't. But hey for $3 it was worth a try. My next move will probably be to break down and buy the whole spray system and see if that has any potential.

Skin Slicing Complete

2005-11-15T07:59:00.000-05:00

After spending about six hours working on slicing and dicing my skins, I have finally finished. I am still working on getting some sort of Sonotube or wooden cylinder to adhere the skins to.

As far as I can tell my next step will be to paint the skins before moving forward. I still need to find a solution for the dome, which I am still looking into.

Let the Skin Cutting Begin

2005-11-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

I received the Styrene I ordered this weekend and layed the outline of the skins on top of it to begin cutting it out. The styrene itself was not very expensive, under $17 including shipping. (www.usplastic.com). The process of cutting it out is very grueling. I have been working on it over four hours now and I may be half way through. This is what I get for trying to accomplish this inexpensively.

I also spent approximately $25 in supplies to cut the sytrene. Other than that, my total cost to date is $42.

The Evaluation Phase

2005-11-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

I am currently in the process of researching the possibility of building my own R2-D2 Droid. In order to do this, I have to make sure it is affordable and feasible for me to accomplish. The current method I am exploring involves using a fiberglass dome, such as the one pictured, but I have not yet decided to use this method. At this point I will be scanning Ebay from time to time to see what is available.

I am also exploring the possibility of using a Sonotube for the body covered in Styrene. I have just printed out the blueprints for the body panels from astromech.net.

I will update this site further as the process progresses.