At long last, the weather has warmed up and I can go outside and sand, cut, etc. and work on my R2 again!
Here's what I've gotten done so far, some with the help of my husband. :)
You can't really tell, but this is the utility arm box that my husband & I created. We made our own frame (before there were plans for such) and have had to alter and change it several times to fit detail parts in the skins. So, it's mostly a "trial and error" sort of system, but we finally got it right!`
Here's the box we devised for my R2's center vents. It will also house the sound system. I have two speakers (one is a box from Radio Shack that has a volume control) so I mounted those behind each vent. I have since painted the parts of the box that will show through the vents flat black . I still need to file the inserts for the vents so that they fit inside the surrounds better. Once I get that done, I'll attach them permanently to the surrounds and then attach them to the box and the box to R2's frame.
One step at a time, he's getting there!