Laurie's Astromech Droid R2-D2 Life size model

It is a period of civil war.
This is a full size R2-D2 fan made model. Talented Colin made him,
Laurie (me) has made a few special modifications myself, and I have motorised him. Motorised model weight
is 50.45Kg or 111 lbs (was 37.73kg or 83lbs when a static model), height 41 inches, width and depth 29 inches, head diameter 18.25 inches.
Page started and droid purchased 18th October 2010. R2 was finished 2nd February 2011. R2 is made to look like he was in the Star Wars attack on the Death Star.

GALLERY

The background he is on represents a (made up) power coupling bay for him to charge up. It also has a charging cable behind.

I have made a few special modifications myself since getting the Astromech Droid. These include painting the head a dull finish silver and moving the light arrangement around at the rear, painting the three eyes, adding a little detail to the top of the head, making some of the lights stay on as opposed to flicker, making one of the rear switches work in operating the head's own sound system, cleaning the English lettering off the front cables, painting tiny leg details, blocking the hole in the large data port, changing the weathering from sandy coloured to black, working on the insides, building a black card for Leia to use in the main eye, creating Death Star plans for inside, making the sound system radio control (R/C), widening the middle foot and adding detail, adding skirts to the underside of the body, painting the ankle bracelets silver, painting the body white, fixing in drive systems, making his radar eye rounder, making his dome spin, and fixing in the radio gear. The videos cover most of these processes.

He is made with a plastic skin as opposed to a metal one. This keeps the weight down. He also has resin components rather than metal,
again to keep the weight down but these are also better for making a weathered and worn looking R2 as the finish adds to the effect.
If you want a pristine one, then use metal parts but they will add much to his mass, and Ep4 reference pictures (SW Chronicles) show him not that well made.
He does have a metal dome for strength as the head. I have based him on Ep4, so he does not need a periscope, Lightsaber launcher, or retros for example.
He will look like one of the three-legged radio control Ep4 models used for filming. His weight is about 40kg less than a full metal one that has lots
of devices added, so plastic makes a difference, as he will perform faster, and have greater duration, plus he is easier for me to carry on my own.
He will be slightly above movie specification as he will make live noises that are under radio control but these could be removed so he is movie spec.

Me doing a Kenny Baker impression (I was actually behind it). Kenny has signed a metal plate for me and this droid. It will go inside. Kenny was the actor who played R2 in all six movies. Nov 2010.	Views of the head, with his metal holoprojectors. I have changed the colours of these. If you watch Ep4 you will see they vary, so do the horseshoe details, underskirt, weathering, and other things too as different props were used. Nov 2010.
When he was clean, before weathering. I did this several times. Nov 2010.	Carbon scoring removed. Nov 2010.
Dull painted head with 'permanently on' red light. Even the right hand side of the light is slightly darker, as it should be in Episode 4. Nov 2010.	Inside layout of the metal head. Made of aluminium. It can rotate many times as it is self contained. Nov 2010.
The correct arrangement of lights and dome panels too at the rear. Note the silver panel, subtle but there. Nov 2010.	This is how he started with a shiny dome and sandy weathering. Nice but the rear light arrangement was incorrect as you can see here. It took a lot of effort to correct but was worth it. Oct 2010.

Left side foot detail. Cables are computer cables. Resin parts are accurate enough, as close up Ep4 pictures show details were not as accurate as metal parts that are made today. Resin parts suit the weathered look more too in my opinion. Nov 2010.	Left side close up. Resin parts on a lightweight plastic body, and this will give him greater performance and longevity when moving under power. A choice compared to the heavier metal components. Note (the now) silver ankle bracelet. Dec 2010.
Insides showing the sound system added. Wooden frame gives great strength, and he will not twist when rotating as some fibreglass ones do. Nov 2010.	His feet fitted up. He has four castors in his middle foot, as I found four stopped his foot from tipping to one side. Meanwhile his outside feet have a drive wheel and one castor. He has higher ride height to get over rough surfaces. Jan 2011.
His new domed Radar eye. I used reference shots such as when Leia gives him information about 4 minutes into Ep4. The desert scene has some nice head close-ups too. Dec 2010.	His left foot with the drive system fitted, and inspection cover off. This was simply made from the end of an electric scooter. A bracket was fitted to the front with a castor added. A metal dowel forms the ankle joint, and that goes through wood secured to the scooter part. Dec 2010.
Left hand view. Some parts are wooden too, such as the legs. Feet are resin. Skin is plastic. Head metal. Resin details. Dec 2010.	Above view. Accurately painted by his two makers. The panel lines will stand up to close inspection too. Dec 2010.
Top of head detail. Nov 2010.	Underneath skirt. Prior to weathering. Nov 2010.
Finished insides. Feb 2011.	Dome drive system. Jan 2011.
Futaba Field Force 6 - 40 Meg set. Jan 2011.	Roboteq Speed Controller. Jan 2011.
The power lead wound up ready for plugging in to either the front or rear power coupling. It can also be wound into the hatch. This is the type found on Yavin 4 (invented by me). Dec 2010.	The power lead plugged in at the rear. This just sits in place resting gently. It is manually plugged in by a human, an old wall design before the Astromechs could plug themselves in. Dec 2010.
Laurie (me) with R2. Dec 2010, Jan 2011.	Laurie Jnr and Jonathan with R2. Dec 2010.
Laurie's UKRobotBuilders diary
Colin the original maker. 2009. (Note: I do not own copyright on this image).	My car with a small addition. Not permanent.
Colin's UKRobotBuilders diary
At Collectormania 28.5.11	At Collectormania 28.5.11 with the R2D2 Builder Club.
R2 and Laurie meeting Kenny at Collectormania May 28th 2011. He signed inside the dome. (Note: I do not own copyright on this image).	Kenny signing a metal plate to go inside R2 on Dec 23rd 2010. It says 'To Laurie Cheers! Kenny Baker R2-D2'. (Image used with permission)

My 1st R2 (now sold) next to the 2nd one. Nov 2010.

Snowman version. Took me 2 hours 15 minutes to make. I carved the compacted snow sections with a knife,
then pieced them together. I used ice as a skeleton in his legs for support and packed the snow over it.

The sound system I use. (Note: I do not own copyright on this image).

The Roboteq Speed Controller from Rylands Research (link below). (Note: I do not own copyright on this image).

VIDEOS

Video part 1 - 18th Oct 2010. 2 minutes 26 seconds.
When I first got him, and compared to other unit. Underneath of feet.

Video part 2 - 20th Oct 2010. 3 minutes 11 seconds.
Early sound system, lights in operation, inside of the (early) head.

Video part 3 - 24th Oct 2010. 2 minutes 39 seconds.
Cleaning off weathering and re-application, filling holes underneath, using reference shots.

Video part 4 - 3rd Nov 2010. 3 minutes 00 seconds.
Repositioning of the rear sections, the inside panels too.

Video part 5 - 20th Nov 2010. 2 minutes 04 seconds.
Padding central foot, underskirt, head paint, me 'inside', head lights, painting body white.

Video part 6 - 29th Dec 2010. 3 minutes 47 seconds.
Working on the feet brackets, doming the radar eye, the set, and threading wires through the legs.

Video part 7 - 2nd Feb 2011. 4 minutes 25 seconds.
Finishing the castors, Kenny's autograph, dome rotation, power test, and test run. Finished.

Video power test supplement (from pt7) - 2nd Jan 2011. 27 seconds.
The first time power was fed into him.

Video (castors &) dome spin test supplement (from pt7) - 14th Jan 2011. 55 seconds.
The first time he had power fed into his dome.

Video final test supplement (from pt7) - 2nd Feb 2011. 49 seconds.
The first time he moved when fully completed.

First major event for R2-D2 - 28th May 2011. 4 minutes 07 seconds.
Collectormania.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X30Pu0V5E_8

Various robots and costumes at Collectormania. 5 minsutes 21 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsPPwn3Ok3E

BUILD DIARY

2010

16th Oct - First saw R2.

18th-20th Oct - Picked up R2 and started weathering.

26th Oct - Started working on head parts.

28th Oct - Making his inside wooden layout components.

1st-3rd Nov - Painting the dome head.

4th-8th Nov - Sound system and other details.

29th Nov - Making up the feet.

4th Dec - Making the rear part of the display set.

12th Dec - Sold my first R2.

19th Dec - Made snowman R2.

23rd Dec - Kenny Baker signed a metal plate to go inside.

29th-31st Dec - Making up the metal brackets to hold the motors.

2011

2nd Jan - R2 moved under power for the first time in his legs.

5th Jan - Ordered a Roboteq speed controller.

10th Jan - Sorting out his legs again.

14th Jan - Dome rotates under power for first time.

16th Jan - Extended aerial.

18th Jan - Improved transmitter range.

29th Jan - Fitted Roboteq Speed Controller.

1st Feb - Fitted dome rotation systems but there are some small issues to be solved with the speed con.

2nd Feb - Finished. 260 hours. Testing complete. He looks great.

10th Feb - I weighed him and me together, then subtracted my weight. He weighs 7 stone 13 lbs, or 50.45Kgs.

12th Feb - Final test with strengthened ankles.

28th May - R2 met Kenny Baker, and he signed inside the dome.

USEFUL LINKS

Kenny Baker: http://www.kennybaker.co.uk/

UK Robot Builders: http://ukrobotbuilders.proboards.com/index.cgi

Conventions: http://www.collectormania.com/

Terminology (from Astromach.net): http://astromech.net/droidwiki/index.php?title=Terminology

Speed Controller Active Robots: http://www.active-robots.com/products/motorcon/roboteq.shtml
Ryland Research Ltd: http://www.securobot.co.uk

MISC/COSTS

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