Adam's R2-D2 Droid Pt4

Month 10 - December 2008
A section of 2.5" drainpipe gets heated to soften it, inside a 3" cardboard tube	A Pringles tube is the perfect size to make it stay inplace while it cools and hardens to the new shape	Once cooled I have 3" curved plastic	The original pipe, a cut 2.5" section and an 'adjusted' 3" section
Framework for the battery boxes	Curved sections added top and bottom of the frames	Access hole cut and the inside of the seam is re-enforced with fibreglass	Filler hiding the gaps and wood grain
Coat of primer, doesn't look too bad	Battery boxes fix to the feet by posts at the bottom and bolts at the top	Fixed together, the feet have been tidied up too	All three feet
I'm going to need a bigger bench	From the back	Much better with a few bits on
Month 11 - January 2009
Middle foot is a bit too long so its out with the saw....	Looks much better	Skirt is filled, sanded and primed. A very fiddly job that took ages to do	Frame parts are sanded to get in line ready to fit the inner skins
Strap holding the skin in place while I drill and screw it in position	Extra supports are found to be needed in some places	More supports added (arrowed)	Fixing the rear inner skin on
Inner skin fixed using screws into the frame	Shoulder holes are not quite round	Shoulder hubs dont fit in the holes anymore	I used an angle grinder to enlarge the holes for the shoulder hubs
Month 12 - February 2009
A small amount of silicon is put on the frame before the skin is finally fixed in place, this made it very solid.	Coin slots are one cast piece of resin that fit through the skins	A simple bracket is made up to hold them in place	Recess in large data port to go over the pivot bolt for the utility arms
Utility arms hit the pre-cut holes in the skins, as I intend the arms to move I need to rectify this...	....so clearance made for the arms	Mounts for the arms are made from nylon rod	Utility arms fitted - inside view
Arms open!	There is enough thickness to tap a thread in the back of the octagon port	Bracket holds the octagon port in place	From the outside
Tapping a thread in the back of the power coupler	Power coupler in place	Mounting brackets fixed to the rear of the coin return castings	Coin returns slip in one end and are fixed with a bolt the other
Pocket vents do not match the body profile	Body gets 'adjusted' to allow the casting to fit at the edges	Much better fit	Brackets fixed to the back of the pocket vents
Fixed in place from behind