Adam's R2-D2 Droid Pt1

First photos, March 2008
These are the parts that I have so far. You will see more of them later	Marking out the very first bit of 18mm plywood for the legs	First part of the leg is cut out	Two of these go together to make the center of one leg
Between the two main parts a thinner piece of ply is fixed to make the thickness up. A channel is left for wires	Recesses are cut out for fittings	Gluing the spacers in the legs	Both legs get the center bit glued in
Cutting circles out, these go between the legs and the body	To mount them I need to drill holes in exactly the same place so I have a drilling guide made	After drilling the first hole a nail keeps it from spinning around	Holes in the same place get drilled in the top of the legs
The holes are enlarged and T-nuts are fitted to the legs so that they can be bolted to the frame with hidden fixings	Top part of the center layer gets routered out to clear the T-nuts and then glued onto the leg.	The frame for the body is started. These parts will carry all the weight of the finished droid so I am using 18mm plywood for them	The body will be 'skinned' with layers of aluminium. These skins came from Elstree Props who made the first R2D2, for the first Star-Wars film
Month 2 - April 2008
To provide support for the body skins smaller struts of 12mm plywood are fitted to the frame (rear)	Extra suports at the front of the frame. These ar fitted to allow clear access to the openings in the body.	Test fitting the legs	From the front you can see the double thickness of the shoulder pivots that allow the legs to clear the body
This is the start of the 'skirt' that fits under the main body	The skirt will be fixed here underneath the body. (shown upside down)	Moving back to the legs for a while, I mark lots of bits of 3mm think MDF with a horseshoe shape	A 86mm hole is drilled for each one, before....
... they are all cut out on the bandsaw	A guide is made to keep the pieces straight and level	There are two slightly different sized pieces, which are used alternatively to make the detail on the inside edge	Each of the seven layers is glued to the next one.
Clamped, waiting for the glue to dry	The next day the glue has dried so the clamps come off. Just needs a sand on the outside edge.	Base of the frame has rebates cut for the various vents in the body to fit into	Center leg. This took far longer to make than expected.
A slot is cut in the bottom of the body	The center leg fits in the slot	With the skirt center in position	The holes for the bolts, that hold the legs on, get drilled at 38 degrees off vertical so that he sits at the correct angle.
All the frame gets glued together, then I start on the skirt under the body	After adding the straight sides I fit the curved front and back pieces	Small ribs are cut to fit the curved section.These are just glued and pinned into position	All the ribs added. Filler will hide any gaps later.
The legs are screwed together and the sides sanded to shape. Then a small groove is cut around the legs	Ankle joints get clad in plywood to the right dimensions	At this stage I'm still able to seperate the leg parts	Looking much more leg-like
Month 3 - May 2008
Curved plywood is screwed to a base	Thin strips of MDF get glued to the edge of the plywood	They are then tied up to keep the strips in position while the glue drys	Once the glue has dried they are removed from the base and the ends trimmed
The 'barrel' sections are cut in half and screwed to another backing board	The backing board keeps my hands away from the blade while making a 35 degree cut across the end	The end is sealed off with another piece of MDF, then two are glued each side of the center leg	The outer legs have a slot cut into the flat part, which is then blanked off from behind to leave a recess. These are then glued to the outside of the legs
All the curved ankle parts fixed to their legs. The center one now has a bit of filler to smooth the curve out	Two more pieces of plywood cut on the router.	Top profile	Bottom profile
Glued together they make the large data port that fits at the top of the body at the front	Test fitting in the inner skin	The top of the frame is cut to allow the large data port to fit	The horseshoes get some receses routered in them for the buttons and hydros to fit into.
Outside foot started	To make the curved section lots of thin strips are glued across the gap. The feet will eventually be made in fibreglass	Smoothing the curve with a bit of filler	Half-moon detail added in balsa wood
Smoothed off with filler	Center foot has a half-moon detail on each side	Just need to fill the gap	Getting there
Painted in G4 sealer ready to make the fibreglass moulds	Leg booster covers cut from solid 2x4 timber, planed down to this 'house' shape	Details and the center of the booster covers cut out	'Dog-house' detail added
More resin bits arrive from America. This should be the last lot as I think I can make everything else.