The Droids Are Coming to Mos Eisley!!

HeloTrooper () · Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:17 pm Post subject:

Well... it has been 2+ years in the making, but we've finally gotten to the point where we could suit up completely for 3PO... it has been a long road, but we've FINALLY taken submission pics and submitted for approved status.

Special tanks to Brian for his assistance in the final push. There were - as always - some nitnoid details that remained to be completed before we could call it truly "ready," and Brian came through with flying colors to help get it across the finish line.

Just a couple teaser shots...

Now to get that overweight glob of grease done...
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Andy M
HeloTrooper

May 25th, 1977... our lives were changed forever.

GotWookiee (Matt Pfingsten) · Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:47 pm Post subject:

Outstanding. Threepio is a real achievement, and you've knocked it out of the ballpark. Well done.

If may ask, could you elaborate on how the linkages/pistons on the elbows work?
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HeloTrooper () · Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:21 pm Post subject:

Great question...

Range of motion is - as you might guess - severly limited due to the pistons.

In Chris's (TK-409's) kit as provided, the piston rods are thicker (I assume they are fiberglass).

In this particular configuration, those rods are a more slender metal rod. When we purchased the kit second-hand, this mod had already been accomplished (unless this is how Chris used to fit the kit) - you can see that here on the left arm, fully extended:

And again fully contracted:

I think the advantage of a slim rod in this design is more tolerance, while the disadvantage is potential distortion (bending).

Both ends of the piston assembly (rod and sleeve) are held in position with cotter keys on fixed mounting points. While some kits have an actual sliding mount, this kit does not.

It's a simple matter of each end being able to rotate around the piston as the arm is moved, which drives the rod into or out of the piston sleeve respectively. Each piston's range of motion prevents the arm from being moved into a position that would pull the opposing piston rod out of the housing.

Here are a couple more shots to show the assembly:

Add a little graphite dry lube for peace of mind, and voila!

The next challenge is finding a workable and suitable piston noise generator.

Hope that helps!
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Andy M
HeloTrooper

May 25th, 1977... our lives were changed forever.

hammsterdam1943 (Joel) · Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:37 pm Post subject:

Wow that is amazing!

Lauphen_Staar (Emma) · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 1:27 am Post subject:

Awesome!!!
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CaptSolo77 (Brian) · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 11:30 pm Post subject:

C-3PO is truly looking magnificent, and that presents the challenge of building R2...trying to build him at a level of quality and screen-accuracy that is on par with what is an exceptional 3PO. We want these two to really shine together!!

To that end, I felt it was really important that all the silver elements on R2--the parts that are supposed to be metal--actually be made of metal. Many builders use resin parts spray painted silver, but that just doesn't quite reach the level of quality we're going for with this build. Naturally, deciding to go with all machined aluminum parts raises both the cost and the time frame required for the build.

Here are some (but not all) of the aluminum bits and pieces for R2's body:

At the upper left is one of the two pocket vents. Below that on the left are the two octagon ports, the center vents the power couplers and the three coin returns on the right. I was extremely fortunate to find a couple of R2 Builders who were VERY helpful with supplying me the center vents and ports. Thanks gents!! Not pictured in the photo are the coin slots, side vents, the second pocket vent, utility arms and the large data port. We do have those parts, however, so let's see what they look like installed into the body.

Here's the front view:

His right side:

His left side:

And the back:

The very next time you see our little astromech friend, he will have the familiar blue and white paint scheme we've all come to know and love. R2 has A LOT of catching up to do though to get even with 3PO, so before that, we'll take a look at the legs and feet.

Stay tuned!! R2 D2

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"I may not be Han Solo, but I play him in real life."

CaptSolo77 (Brian) · Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 4:57 am Post subject:

Alright, hasn't been an update in a REALLY long time...so time to move on to the legs. I was able to purchase a set of CNC wood cut legs from an R2 builder who was replacing his with aluminum. They were in pretty rough shape when they arrived, but they can be worked with and were a good deal for all three legs and feet. Here's a pic:

As you can see, the legs are made by stacking several layers of wood on each other. That leaves visible seams between the layers, so the entire leg needed to be covered with Bondo:

After some heavy sanding, priming, re-sanding and painting, here is the near-finished result:

A similar process was used with the feet:

We're almost there now...

Stay tuned!!
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"I may not be Han Solo, but I play him in real life."

ThatGuysWithHat () · Joined: 09 Oct 2018 Posts: 5 Medals: None

Do not wait to see the end result already. You are great! Smile

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