R2 Builders Club Mega RSS Feed

Children's Hospital Visit (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:56:00 +0100

Today R2 was privileged to visit Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC), to help make the day a little brighter for some of the patients.

A young man was being awarded Hero of the Month. Star Wars characters were there to present him with certificates and other goodies. R2 had a medal to deliver, which I wrapped onto one of his utility arms.

His mom signed a photo waiver, and we were able to take a group picture with the patient and the Star Wars characters.

R2 and the characters also made visits to other sick kids' rooms, but no photos were allowed.

I try to never take for granted the blessings of good health, and today really drove home that point.

Replaced Voltage Converter (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:45:00 +0100

Well, it was apparent that my 24-to-12 volt voltage converter would not arrive via UPS Ground in time for today's 3:00pm event, so I had to drive to Aircraft Spruce's West Coast office and pick another one up. :(

I snipped the cigarette lighter ends off (you know, the ones that contain the important fuse protection) for droid wire-up.

I installed it in the droid, and powered everything up.

Phew! The power came on on the adapter, and all my 12-volt devices are working again. R2 can beep once more.

When I came home from this afternoon's event, this was sitting on my doorstep.

R2-Orange (Rae's Artee Dootoo)

Mieal Deneb — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:57:00 +0100

R2-Orange!

For over 6 years I have been a part of the R2-D2 Builders' club. I met my husband shortly after I officially joined the Builders' club and I have slowly been "infecting" him with the R2-Building bug. He has expressed an interest (when time, money, and space afford) to build his own R2 unit. Based on his description, I've created an image of "R2-Orange":

Front Vent Panel Work, Rewired Solenoid (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:53:00 +0100

Today was 100% devoted to reworking recent errors I've made (and possibly staging new ones). The subtitle of this blog does say "misadventures," after all.

First, once again I filed the paint from the inner perimeter of the front vent panel, so that the paint won't chip when I slide this panel over the front vents. I've learned that from past experience.

I tried using the same 3M Very High Bond Tape to keep this panel in place that I use for the dome panels.

Unfortunately, the panel doesn't quite match the curve of the skins it sits on, so even with this tape, about half the points of contact are not even touching. :( This is a temporary solution for two events I have coming up Friday and Saturday. I'm not sure what I will use in the long term. Maybe silicone again, but I need something that can safely press down on the panel without damaging the finish.

I even managed to leave light thumbprints in the clearcoat as I was pressing and holding the corners of the panel for the tape to stick. Will I repaint again? I dunno, I don't really feel like it right about now.

Finally, I wired the solenoid back to the way it used to be before I put those connectors on for quick release. I think they ended up being more trouble than they were worth, and I'm not sure that the connectors have a high enough gauge wire to handle the task anyway.

I spoke with Aircraft Spruce, they claim I should see my replacement voltage adapter in the morning (I'm taking a planned vacation day), so I should have plenty of time before my 3:00pm event to install it and bring my 12-volt citizens (CFSound III, Keycoder, solenoid) back to life. I hope.

Highs and Lows (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:05:00 +0100

Well my replacement parts came today and guess what! They sent the wrong ones! The ones they sent are in the back. The ones I need are in the front.
I called them and left a message. I got an e-mail later with a refund saying they no longer have the part! What the Heck! What am I supposed to do with half a rim! I will call them again tomorrow. So much for R2 moving this weekend!

I also am thinking these wheels are going to make my ride height to high compared to my JAG center foot set up.

Here is a picture of what my R2 will look like with the new R2 coloring program. Well with not having the right parts I made some silly stuff for this weekends build get together.

Second Coat is on (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:58:00 +0100

Well I put the second coat on today, the weather was again in the 60s but less wind.

I'll have to go back and do the other side of the leg, but the white is slowly filling in.

I sanded smooth the drip lines from the previous coat. It looks like it happened again on the second coat. Part of the dribble is covered by the metal foot strips. The rest...well, who'd notice?

The detail pieces are getting better. In the next coating or so, the visibility of the mounting holes should vanish.

More of the feet. I'm seeing less primer shine through, but I definately have at least another coating to go.

Can you see the "spot" ? (Bottom hole, 3 o'clock position) Again, the additional coats will help. I also took a small flat head screwdriver and cleaned the tapped holes between coatings.

The recessed areas in the shoulder are finally starting to fill in.

Repainted Front Vent Panel, Pulled Out Voltage Adapter (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:29:00 +0100

So... I removed the bungee cords that I used to help secure the front vent panel in place while the silicone dried. Well, not only did the silicone not bind the panel to the skins, but to add insult to injury, the bungee cords marred the clearcoat (even after a week of drying). The panel now had a stripe running down the center, between the two vent openings.

Guess what I got to do tonight?

I guess I should buy some acetone futures while I invest in Rustoleum as well.

Another note of bad news, it looks like I fried my 24->12 volt adapter when I was working on my solenoid rewiring the other day. I must have damaged the circuitry with a brief short-circuit. The LED no longer lights up, and none of my 12-volt devices (Keycoder, CFSound III, solenoid) are receiving power from it anymore. I opened it up to look for a blown fuse.

No replaceable fuses in there, it must be using a solid state IC fuse (it claims to be fused for short-circuit protection, but I'm not sure what they really mean by that).

[EDIT: Mike informed me that the fuse was in the cigarette lighter adapter portion of the voltage adapter that gets removed for R2 usage. D'oh!]

So I've ordered a replacement that I desperately hope will arrive before a Friday afternoon event. It's supposed to arrive sometime on Friday, but I'm not sure exactly when...

Resin Periscope (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:57:00 +0100

I got my Resin Periscope today! Ya! Here are some pictures....

Now back to work I go :)

Morning Update: Back in the sun! (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:18:00 +0100

I have to leave for work at 11:30am so I wanted to take advantage of any sun I could put on the painted pieces. So at 8am, I lugged everything outside so it could "bake" for a few hours...

I'm hoping everything will be dry enough for a light sanding by weekend. Assuming no dribbles, this will be my last time around with the sandpaper and just adding 2 more coats of white. After that, a coat of gloss. Maybe more...I'll have to ask around and see how much gloss to go for.

More painting of the legs and detail pieces (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:07:00 +0100

This morning I lugged out the pieces I painted white yesterday. I wanted them to get as much time in the sun as possible. We managed to hit 67F today but the breeze was pretty gusty as well.

Here you can see yesterday's work catching some sun...

While that stuff was drying, I spray painted the outer legs, center ankle and outer foot "half moon" details. There's a "grain" to the center ankle material (alu) so that's going to take a coat or two to completely cover that. I gave the legs 2 hours to dry then flipped them over and painted the other side. Typical to my painting luck, I had a can of Satin White with a moody nozzle. It seeped paint all over the spray-gun handle I was using. Once it had accumulated a lot of seepage, it poured onto my pegs just as I was starting on them. Argh! Its not in a bad spot, I'm sure I could leave it and it would be covered up by future coats...but again, what a pain!

Great shot here of the lame foundation paint the previous homeowner picked...but regardless, a shot of the legs drying.

Here you can see where the paint seems to have gone a wee bit heavy. I haven't decided if this is even worth fussing over. If you click the image to see the high-resolution version, you will note the paint still has most of the texture of the metal. Again, future coats should fix this.

The outer ankles are just going to wind up loosing the paint near where they join the feet. My ankles and feet go in very, very tight...so I'm not expecting the paint to stay for long.

I won't be able to paint again for about a week, so hopefully the weather will cooperate next week!

Waiting for a Break in the Action (Cole's IU2 Blog)

Cole Horton — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:21:00 +0100

Progress on my droid has virtually ground to a halt. Last week, I graduated from college and moved out of Bloomington. This week, its off to Cincinnati to buy a house. After that, we have to move both my finance and I to Cincinnati before coming back to Evansville to get married. After the wedding in June, we are off to Jamaica for the honeymoon. Finally in July, its back to building.

By then, I should have my steel outer feet from JAG and can finally put this stuff together.

In the mean time, we still have plenty of R4 dome kits available. We really want to sell these because proceeds go to help astromech.net.

Primed the feet, ankles and battery boxes (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:43:00 +0100

Alas the time for priming and painting has come!

Sadly, the weather wasn't completely cooperative. The winds were gusting and we only hit the low 60's. But it was enough to get me started.

The pictures are sort of in a messed up order. I'm too tired to argue with Blogger to fix it again.

Below, the legs got primed and sanded with some 220 grit paper, then another coat of priming. I used some old coffee cups from a dish set I got a few years ago. They were tiny, who wants a TINY cup of coffee in the morning! So finally, they served a purpose.

The battery boxes, both my JAG set and new set from Ryan got primed. Initially I hung these up on the dog's cable run. I used an old wire clothes hangar to have them dangle there while I spray painted them. The wind quickly made that futile.

Below is my short attempt to use Duplicolor Etching primer. As you can see, its green in tint when applied. For whatever reason, ever Duplicolor paint I have ever tried to use spits from the nozzle. Using the lightest spray possible, it still wound up with a drippy run line. What a pain in the ass.

I broke out the 320 grit 3M sponge-clothe and quickly cleaned it up once it had dried.

Here's me, trying to catch my breath from inhaling all those lovely paint fumes. Mmmm.

I felt brave, so I use the Rustoleum plastic pistol grip accessory and slapped in a can of Satin White. I stuck the foot details in some cardboard and lined up the outer feet and sprayed away. Overall, it looks like the first coat went on really well. I avoided my desire to go a little heavy on the bottom part of the feet, making sure I got paint in the gaps. I figured I could get it in coats two and three.

Here's everything as I wrapped up for the day. On the side foot moons, I put the screws in so they would be elevated while I painted.

Tomorrow calls for the same stinking weather, high of 67 with winds 10-20 MPH. Wednesday has less wind and a bit warmer, but I work at noon. Ugh! I'll just have to do the best with what I have. I plan on putting the white pieces out in the sun for a few hours so they cure properly.

That's it for now.

R2 build - Mother's Day Weekend Edition (Dan's Got Astromech Blog)

Samurai — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:04:00 +0100

With this being Mother's Day Weekend, not much was done. On Friday I finished cleanup of the last of the panels on the rear skins. Each night I JB Welded 1 of the 3 panels.

This week the plans are to maybe cut the holes for the power couplers. Once these are done I can start putting the skins together. The main thing to get done this week though are the front panels, then I will be done with all the doors.

I hope to at least get the rest of the doors and maybe the rear door done this week. Next week maybe busy and build will stop again, until June, after that with our trip to Israel.

Mother's Day Show off (Army Scout's R2 Blog)

Army Scout — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:28:00 +0100

R2 made a vist at my Brother in laws for Mothers Day. So I finally got to show off a completed R2 to my famliy.

This young man thought he could push R2 around....

And he paid the price!

All the kids had a good time :)

Weathering Comparison (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:05:00 +0100

Here's a comparison of a weathered R2 and my R2. As you can see in the pics the detail panels show up much better than mine shows. I'm thinking more and more about this and I really like the dirty look. And with mine in the sunlight, You can't see the details at all.

Getting ready to prime shoulders, 2nd set of Battery Boxes arrive (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:34:00 +0100

Finally some time to get some stuff done! Since I work night shift Thursday thru Saturday (9pm-7am), sometimes its tough to wake up and hit the ground running with building.

Today I was debating which parts I want to prime this week. The legs, feet and ankles are on my to do list, as are the shoulders. However for the shoulders, I want the inner part of the horseshoe to remain unpainted. I like that shiney aluminum.

I spent some time looking to see what other builders had done. It looks like many have painted them. The ILM R2 and other screen used R2s seem to be painted as well. Well hmmph! I figure I'll try it...and if it sucks, paint em!

First up was user painter's tape...

...I just took it slow, doing about 3 or 4 inches at a time...

After I completed a stretch, I took the razor out and slowly moved along the edge, removing the tape that passed onto the other side. Sharp and slow are key here. It doesn't tame much pressure to bring up a strivel or aluminum.

There, one done...three more to go. I'm not going to sweat it if a wee bit makes it on the edge. As others have gently pointed out, R2 isn't exactly showroom fresh. Tomorrow's weather calls for mid 60s, so I'll give the shoulders a gentle wipe down of acetone, let dry for an hour in the sun, then use the etching primer. I'll have to use some compressed area to remove the dust from the cutouts that the details go into.

Finally, I forget to mention a few days ago that my aluminum battery boxes arrived from Ryan. This makes two sets now, with my previous from JAG. Ryan was nice enough to offer an option with the cutouts for the NPC motors. These guys are headed for priming soon!

The weather forecast if for mid 60's all week. Not perfect painting weather but I'll take it! I also have a local hardware store that can order the missing paint I need for Krider Blue. Alas, this droid can start looking closer to complete!

General Update Video (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:48:00 +0100

This video is just to show how my R2 is slowly coming together. I still have along way to go. But if I can get the skirt, feet and a few details finished then I can finally start wiring. And yes this is my Junk room. I know it looks terrible, But working on R2 you can make a mess easily.

A&A Leg Mount Upgrade (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:39:00 +0100

I didn't like the A&A mount for the legs.

It seemed weak and it was made for the 2-3-2

motion. So I took some aluminum plate and added some angle to the top where it bolts to the top frame ring.

This will give me a strong mount and also I have the holes set for 3 legs.

I've tested it on the other leg and it's much easier to mount the legs and it feels allot stronger.

Since I made my legs from wood, I had to adjust each leg for the correct tilt of the body.

Mounted Front Vent Panel, Utliity Arms, LDP, Another Coat of Paint for Skins, Mike Cut ...

Victor Franco — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:37:00 +0100

Lots of varied activities today. First, I mounted the remaining parts that I painted blue last weekend.

I needed to file the paint from the inner perimeter of the front vent panel, the fit is that tight around the front vents.

I globbed drops of silicone on the skins where the panel goes, and glued it down.

I used bungee cords to help secure the panel in place. Yes, I know this looks ridiculous.

I also reinstalled the utility arms and LDP. In the right light, the clearcoat on the utility arms looks a little wavy, I may give them a light going-over with some rubbing compound to smooth that out.

I gave the skins for droid #2 what I promise will be the last coats of Rustoleum Satin White. They aren't going to get any whiter than this.

Finally, I went to Mike's to drop off some stuff and pick up some other stuff. I asked Mike if I could borrow his leg and horseshoe templates, but he did me one better: He cloned a new set for me! Thanks Mike!

Local build on May17th (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:05:00 +0100

Well it is down pouring today so there is not much work to do so I am cleaning up the barn and the house some for a get together next weekend.

Next weekend the local chapter or the R2-D2 builders club called The R2-Central Builders Club which has members in Nebraska and Iowa are having a first annual group build day on May 17th so everyone can finally meet face to face and plan a bit more for our first public appearance at OsFest in July.

If you live near Omaha Nebraska and would like to come please let me know.

I also took a few pictures of my center foot insides when the rain let up a little.

Modified Solenoid Connection (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:49:00 +0100

Seeing as I was running low on compressed air in the installed canister, I decided to take this opportunity while swapping cans to redo how I connect the solenoid to the power supply.

I picked up a very inexpensive PC fan connector (the same as those that I use in the dome) and snipped it in half.

I soldered one of the halves to the solenoid, and the other to the droid's 12 volt side of the power supply.

I hooked it all up and tested it on the droid, and all was well. Now it's much easier to deal with unhooking the solenoid.

Bearing woes (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:34:00 +0100

Well I finally got hold of someone from partsforscooters.com and found out it takes a 22mm O.D. bearing for my hubs that they happen to carry. I ordered some and an extra hub or two just in case LOL

Here is the link to the bearing in case anyone is wondering...

http://www.partsforscooters.com/608zz_bearing_105-26

Photos from the Tuesday build (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:11:00 +0100

LDP installed...

Front skins could use a paint redo...

Everything except Metallic Purple!!

Satellite motors...with brakes...all installed.

Skin blocks installed....

Frame rod removed for door hinge access

Front skin trimmed out to allow the new Power Coupler face plate

More Door Work (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:04:00 +0100

These are the magnets I plan to use on the rear door.

They fit the aluminum channel, 1 will be on the inside of the channel and the other will be recessed into the door frame.

You can see in the pic how the aluminum channel adds a nice frame for the door opening. If I would have had 2 long channels I would have run it from top to bottom, But I only had some scraps and had to splice the bottom.

And the other pic shows the inside how the door and the channel comes together. This aligns the door every time it's put on the droid.

More progress: Skin mounts and more (Paul's R2 Blog)

Paul — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:28:00 +0100

Last Tuesday I drove down to hang out with fellow builder Kevin Helmig. We had talked about taking a day off and dedicate it to building. Our schedules finally matched and we did some work to my droid.

First off was eyeballing the T&J Frame and wondering how to best place the Skin Mounting Blocks that Daniel has offered for the newer JAG frames. I had debated whether or not to bolt the skins in the traditional spots, as they require the legs to be off to access them. After much thought, I figured it would be wise to mount them that way, then after the skins are complete, cut the rear panel into a door-type-access later on. Kevin being the master carpenter he is made quick work of it.

While he was doing that, I tackled some other tasks.

One of those was replacing the shoulder motors with ones that have the brakes still installed. A few years ago it was suggested that the motor brakes were not needed. Well, that proved to be false. One I had the old motors out, it was a matter of aligning them so as to not interfere with the third satellite motor, which does the 2-3-2 (Lambert system).

While I had the top ring off the frame, I decided it needed to look as good as the new frame does. I sanded the top ring much as I did my new frame, starting with 90 grit then going on to 120, 150, 180 then 220 grit. With all the aluminum branding removed, I put some Mother's polish on then used the orbital sander's buff pad to bring it out to a bright shine.

We then examined the old frame to see if anything else needed to be fixed. One thing that became very clear was the frame rods by the large vertical doors. Those would have to go if I intended to hinge the doors. Now the frame is a tad lighter with two large rods out!

The next task was to remove the top rail of the Utility Arm Carrier and match it up with a new one from the JAG v5 frame run. We wanted to align, measure and drill out the center hole so that Daniel's aluminum large data port could be bolted in. Kevin made quick work of that when we realized we didn't have any 10-32 screws to bolt it in. After a quick trip to the hardware store (not more than 5 minutes away), we had the parts we needed. A short 10-32 screw with a lockwasher and the LDP was in.

With the skin blocks mounted in, we had to change where the rockler bearing attaches. Another 10 minute job. After applying power to the dome drive, we had free and easy movement again.

The time really flew by so the one remaining thing we did before calling it a day was measure up the skin gap on the sides. Thanks to a tip from the guys on the Astromech Forums, I picked up some 5 " x 7" aluminum flashing material at the hardware store. This stuff is used to line a chimmey on the roof of a home. We trimmed up some pieces as 3M'd them together. The metal is very thin so we wanted it to be somewhat strong. Now I can easily drill and tap some holes into the frame and bolt this into the top then adhere it with epoxy at the bottom (its visible, otherwise I'd bolt that too).

At the end of the day, here's what it looked like...

Now that I have everything back home, I'm motivated to get more done.

Today was spent trying to round up some painting supplies. I have several cans of Rustoleum Satin White. I found a few more cans of Duplicolor Anodized Blue, half of the blue equation! So far Rustoleum Metallic Purple has eluded me but I am hunting a few last local sources before trying a special order. I also bought a can of Duplicolor Etching Primer for use on the metal parts.

I am debating whether to sand down the original skins or take some acetone to them and wipe everything out. I have several "globby" areas that are in the recessed/panel areas. I'm really not trying to be a perfectionist but I know I can paint that area better a second time around.

First on the list of paintjobs are the center feet. Both my new one and my old one.

My first "test" of the blue formula will be my old set of resin utility arms. If that goes well, then on to the detail pieces.

So that's my progress to date. HUGE thanks to Kevin for all the great fun we had.

Repaired Utility Arm Post (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:14:00 +0100

Tonight I made a minor repair to one of the utility arms.

The other day while painting, I inadvertently twisted the rod that supports the opening and closing of the utility arm, such that it came out of the resin arm.

After gouging out a very small amount of resin in the hole in the arm, I applied some JB Weld to a toothpick and globbed some in the hole. I then covered the end of the segment of rod with some additional JB Weld.

I jammed it in there, and cleaned up the excess JB Weld that oozed out, as best I could.

I'll let it cure for 24 hours and see how it goes. Should be good as new. If so, I'll start reinstalling the arms soon.

Back to work: More Skin Panels (Dan's Got Astromech Blog)

Samurai — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:00:00 +0100

Just got into town after being on vacation. I started taking off more skin panels and prepping them for JB Welding. I need to go to the store and get some supplies, so I should be able to get them together tomorrow night.

Wheel Work (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:00:00 +0100

Before I went to work I took the center foot brackets off the hanger and sprayed where the hanger was touching.
When I got done working I had two surprises waiting in the mail. My 2 inch omni balls and my scooter motors I got from Andy.
I was so happy that I went to the hardware store down the street and got some nuts, bolts, and some lock tight.My motor bolts need some sleeves so the shaft does not rub on the motor holders.Here is a picture of the sleeves I am using.I also got some threaded sleeves for my bracket stand offs. They did not have 1 & 1/4 so I had to get 1 inch ones and 1/4 inch ones. I staggered the two sizes to give added strength plus a little lock tight.When the sleeves where tightened up they were all level to each other.

I finish bolting everything together and added the omni balls which I forgot to take a picture of. LOL Here is the Center foot with the omni balls underneath. Nice ride height!
Next I installed the motors with the sleeves and the drive belt all at once.

I also put my two remaining omni balls in the back of the drive feet.
I still have not heard back from the scooter motor supplier about my hub problem.

If it was not for the bearing problem I could have my R2 on all his wheels by tomorrow night.

I could also attach the center leg permanently if my hubs were together. Oh well, there is plenty of other work I can do till then.

Rear Door (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:29:00 +0100

I started on the DREADED door!!!

I really don't like this door, But you have to have it to gain access to the electronics in R2.

The A&A frame comes with the door hinged by a threaded rod, But it doesn't work that good.

So I started framing the skins to allow the door to slide into place and I'll add magnets to the door frame and the new skin frame to hold it in place.

As you can see I ran out of aluminum near the bottom of the skin.

I'll have to buy some more and finish this later.

Maker Faire Interview (Steve's R2 Chronicles)

Steve Simmons — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:21:00 +0100

While at Maker Faire last weekend we did a lot of talking with people about how to build droids. It stands mentioning because usually at Con's people just love R2 for who he is, they get their pics and move on. They don't really consider what it takes to make him work, or anything.

While Chris was on break I did this interview in his place. Gerard didn't want to get in front of the camera, so he just pointed them to me (I guess he already has my personality nailed). I just thought I would share my moment in the sun with my readers (all 2 of you).

Here is another one from Education Day.

More Painting (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:01:00 +0100

Everything turned out pretty good except for the Horseshoe. It's not bad, But right around the edges of the silver area there is some rough showing.

I'll touch it up as soon as it dries.

Once all these parts dry, I'll put them back together and get R2 back on his feet.

Weathering (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:58:00 +0100

I'm not ready to make a decision, But I'm thinking more about weathering my R2.
It's not because I did a crappy job on the painting or on the assembly, It's just because
I had the skins out in the sunlight and even though the paint is a Satin finish it's just too bright.
You can't see the details on the skins and it kinda blinds you from the light.
If I do the weathering, It will be lightly done not a heavy coat.
I will have to learn more about the process and since my dome is shinny, I don't know how
I'll do the weathering to it.
So, Guys I really need help on this one.

Priming and breaking (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:47:00 +0100

When I got home I decided to prime my inner foot brackets while mowing the grass.
I cleaned off the parts and dried them while I had them attached to a coat hanger. My first two coats were in grey.
The last two coats I used some left over black primer from another project.
As soon as they were dry enough I hung them up in the barn for the night and finished mowing.

I then went back to my dilemma of the bearings being to tight and sanded and polished some more. I tried to press them in again and I was almost seated till the hub cracked.
Lumpy says it might take an off sized bearing that only the manufacture of the hub uses. So I sent PartsforScooters.com an E-mail and will see what they say. :(

R2 Flip Book (Chris - ARTOO-DETOO.NET)

Chris James — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:00:07 +0100

Even Artoo got in on the act at Maker Faire and made his very own flip book with the help from Eddie at lightmoves.net. Check out the video

2nd Holo Finished (Brenda's R3 Blog)

Brenda's blog — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:39:00 +0100

Here is my 2nd Holo 1 more to go!!! here is the pics of the steps. First I had to sand off the ridges on the edges, then Calvin did the Bondo. I did Glazing Putty, and then I primed and wet sanded, and stuffed the center with paper towels and Painted. It turned out rather nice ;o ).... Also I painted the Green pieces for my side vents.

Data Port Painted (Brenda's R3 Blog)

Brenda's blog — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:35:00 +0100

I painted the Black on the inner of my data port, WOW!!!!! what a pain!!!! trying to keep the black off the Green. But it turned out nice ;o )....

Inner Dome Ring Painted (Brenda's R3 Blog)

Brenda's blog — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:27:00 +0100

Got the inner flat part that my Dome sits on Painted, turned out Pretty good. And the 2nd Picture is showing it with the Dome on.

MY WORK BENCH (Russell's R2 Blog)

russellr2d2 — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:15:00 +0100

Here is my workbench in all it's glory-full MESS! It is made from a sheet of plywood cut down the middle to form the top and shelf. The metal corners are from Home Depot. There is a sheet of Masonite nailed on the back to keep the structure stiff. I have a 10" table saw, a 10" drill press and a belt sander round out all my big power tools.dremel and all sorts of things rest on the shelf below.

R2 Maker Faire News Coverage (Chris - ARTOO-DETOO.NET)

Chris James — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:29:37 +0100

I’ve been inundated with emails from people who saw us at Maker Faire. Here’s some of the reaction from the internet and media out there.

NY Times - their tagline “R2-D2 Was Everywhere!”
Official Star Wars Blog
Gizmodo - DIY R2-D2 Is Even Better than the Real Thing
News.com.au
Laughing Squid
Current_ [1][2]
Make:
Wired.com
IEEE
ComputerWorld.com/IDG

And if you Google on “Maker Faire R2D2” then you should get a sea of blog posts and videos

Attaching the Rockler Bearing (Steve's R2 Chronicles)

Steve Simmons — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:18:00 +0100

It was a good weekend at Maker Faire. We won 4 "Editor's Choice" awards, and they can't wait to have us back again next year. We also made it into the NY Times and the Official Star Wars Blog.

Monday was like Christmas. My Rockler Bearing and my center foot arrived. The center foot box had been cut open for inspection. I guess Homeland Security doesn't like small, heavy packages that contain large amounts of steel.

So, tonight I finally had time to head to the garage and work on mounting my bearing.

First, I removed all of the little rubber feet that are inserted into the rings. I tapped up the bearing with masking tape to prevent metal flakes from ruining it, and marked out the areas on the outer ring where the rubber feet had been removed.

The v4 Frame is tapped in 4 places for a 1/4" screw, so I marked off 4 of the 8 partial holes for drilling out. Once the holes were drilled and the tape CAREFULLY removed I checked the holes to be sure that everything fit well.

With that done, I added the 3 screws to the inner ring that will be used to hold the dome and dome plate in place.

All that was left after that was bolting the bearing into place with the 4 screws. I used a split lock washer and a lock nut on each one.

Now that I have that done, its back to the waiting game again. I am currently waiting on my PSI's and my 300mm Dome to arrive.

I'm also trying to find a way to get in on both of the current runs of aluminum legs and steel outer feet which is difficult when you are on a budget.

I think that budget and run timing will continue to be a problem for me. I was introduced to the group by Chris, who has built an impeccable droid, with all aluminum. After seeing such an amazing piece of work, I have a hard time compromising on other materials for parts.

Having said that, I will probably be using resin for any of the blue parts and also for the half moon foot details. That will save me some money (and weight) without compromising the look in any way.

CUTTING ACCESS PANELS (Russell's R2 Blog)

russellr2d2 — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:23:00 +0100

Using this Dremel tool I cut out the panels on the sides of the foot shells. Styrene is so soft
that it really doesn't 'cut' it melts with the blade. This leaves a trail of molten plastic after your cut. This is easy to remove after a minute to cool. It just snaps off and your cut is actually pretty clean. Just dress with a sanding block.

OUTER FOOT SHELL WORK_CONT. (Russell's R2 Blog)

russellr2d2 — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:19:00 +0100

These are my styrene outer foot shells. The basic build up of the structure is done (see early posts for how they were made up). Here I have used auto body spot putty to fill in gaps.
You can still see the black plastic pipe section that forms the curved area of the shell.
I have not cut out the top slot yet to keep the shell strong to make work easier.
The next step was to cut out the access doors on the sides of the shells.

Maker Faire - Dance Program (Chris - ARTOO-DETOO.NET)

Chris James — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:31:24 +0100

Short video compilation of Artoo dancing with the children at Maker Faire.

Foot parts (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:26:00 +0100

While I was out on a job in Omaha I stopped by Precision Industries to grab some bearings for my drive wheels. They said my wheels were a just shy of a bearing that would fit. I got them anyway as they are the only people around that had anything close to what I am looking for.

When I got home I took some fine sand paper and sanded the inside of one of the hubs till the chrome finish was gone and it was not so tight of a fit. It still needs some work but a storm is on the way so it will have to wait.

Also in the mail came my JAG center foot brackets. I will leave them in the bag till I get a chance to prime them.A few days ago I ordered five 2 inch omni balls for my center foot and the back of my outer feet. I also ordered a 4 inch omni that I will convert to fit under the center wheel at some future point. The 4 inch one came today but not the 2 inch ones I need. This bad boy is huge!

It is made in Italy and looks like they made it out of a botchie ball (I love that game) lol.

The Other Leg (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:57:00 +0100

I used Glazing Putty to cover any little cracks around the edges of the

Polystyrene on the leg. After this I sanded it down and gave it the 1st coat of primer. This will show me any bad spots I need to fix. Tomorrow, I'll be able to sand the leg and hopefully paint it Satin White.

Rear Skins Painted (Calvin's R2 Blog)

Calvin Thomas — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:47:00 +0100

I got the rear skin painted today and you can see I painted the inside like I did the front skin.

Now I know the inside doesn't look all that great, But I just wanted to cover all that bare aluminum. The camera makes the skins look shinny, But it's a Satin finish.

Outer Feet (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:11:00 +0100

I ordered my outer feet! Here is what they will look like.

Put Dome Back Together (Victor's R2 Blog)

Victor Franco — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:22:00 +0100

Tonight I attached the newly painted dome ring to the dome, and reassembled all the dome electronics. Hurray, the colors are starting to match!

I'll probably wait a few more days to reinstall the LDP, utility arms and front vent panel, in order to let the paint cure a bit more on those parts.

Drilling for wires (Darth Moose's Astromech Build)

DarthMoose74 — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:43:00 +0100

Today I drilled holes in the legs and frame to run the motor wires threw. I set up the legs to 18 degrees and marked the best location for the holes. I then took the legs off and set them on some cheap chairs that have cushions on them.

I drilled the holes in the legs were I marked them. The holes are bigger then the wires because I will be adding connectors to the wire ends later and want to be able to take the wire out later if need be.
I then fished the wires down into the legs and out the other end.
I also drilled the holes in the frame where I marked them. I drilled the same sized hole as I did in the legs.
I then put the legs and the frame back together and ran the wires into the body.
I then tucked the other end of the wires into the feet and put the legs at an extreme angle to make sure the wires do not pinch. Everything looks good so far.

Maker Faire Photos (Chris - ARTOO-DETOO.NET)

Chris James — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:24:50 +0100

Here’s some highlights from Maker Faire, the complete album can be found here.

Friday’s Education Day

Saturday

Sunday

Wall-E who?

Jedi or Jawa? You decide.

Danger R2-D2!!

Artoo at the Star Wars Button Making workshop with Bonnie Burton

Big thanks to Vern from Nuts and Volts Magazine for providing copies of Servo and Nuts and volts Magazines where the Builders Club was recent features.