Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Leg Attachment

I had a friend request close-up images of my R2's leg attachment. I thought it would be easier to post the images here than send them via email. (Click on an image for a larger view.)


R2's legs have an upright board on either side of his body with 4 holes drilled in them, 3 holes are for bolts and one is for foot motor wiring (in my photos, it's just an orange "stand in" wire because I haven't done anything RC yet). There is a 5th, larger, hole drilled into the center between the 4 smaller holes. A length of gas pipe runs from left leg to right leg, connecting them for stability (the gas pipe also makes an excellent "handle" when transporting R2!)



Here is what R2's left leg looks like from outside his body. The shoulder hub has been covered with faux metallic shelf liner to resemble aluminum. The shoulder hub is actually made out of wood.




Looking down from the top at the outside and inside of R2's left leg at the same time:




The inside view of R2's left leg. You can see the three bolts that hold his leg onto the board which is part of his body framework. The gas pipe that connects the two legs together is running through the center of the holes:




Another angle of the interior:




Here is a shot looking straight into R2's body. You can see the ends of the bolts that hold his legs to the boards with the gas pipe in the center.




I also had some older pictures of when I was painting R2's skins.

This image shows the shoulder hub. It has 5 holes drilled into it, 3 of which I use for the bolts, 1 I use for the wiring, and the larger center hole is where the gas pipe flange is attached (on the inside).




This image shows what it looks like without the shoulder hub in place. You can see the 4 holes that have been drilled for the bolts & wire and also the gas pipe.




Here is a very old progress picture of R2 without his skins. It shows how the gas pipe is connected to the shoulder hubs and how the shoulder hubs are attached to the legs. (When this picture was taken we had shorter bolts that didn't go through the boards in his frame, but have since changed them for longer ones.)

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas

With hopes for a Wondrous New Year in 2010!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Star Wars Celebration V!


Finally, Star Wars Celebration V has been announced, and plans are being made! R2-D2 and I, along with my family, plan to be there!!

This year it will be in Orlando Florida August 12-15, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Grand Rapids Griffin's Star Wars Night

March 21st was the Star Wars night for my local hockey team the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Michigan chapters of the 501st and Rebel Legion participated in a charity event to raise money for the Grand Rapids Griffins Youth Foundation (we ended up raising nearly $8,000...a record so far!) As part of the charity photo booth, I brought my R2-D2.

Here are some pictures from the event:



My R2-D2 positioned for duty at the photo booth.


Ready to be admired and adored by children of all ages.



R2 with a...friend?



Group photo of the costumers.




Me (on the left) as Episode 3 Padme (the baby bump is real) next to Padme from Episode 2...I guess I'm beside myself!?


Foot Cable Progress

I had a Rebel Legion event on March 21st that I wanted to take my R2-D2 to. I desperately wanted to get the foot strips made and put on my R2's feet before the event, but we kept running into problems. So, I decided I'd at least like to put the cables on, temporarily, for the event without the foot strips. I glued the cables into the knurled fittings coming from the battery boxes but the part of the cable that belongs in the feet would be temporarily stuck into the knurled fittings (which I will remove later when I'm ready to permanently attach the foot strips). With my husband's help, I got the holes drilled into R2's outer feet.