Building My R2D2 Droid
Intro
After building two full-size Daleks I decided to build a full-size R2-D2 droid, the star of the the
Star Wars films. I intended my R2 to be fully remote controlled, something that I knew
very little about at the start of the build, however after talking to a lot of people I
managed to get him operatable, my thanks go to the builders of large scale model tanks for
their invaluble advice on controlling large, heavy models.
I had wanted to have a go at building an R2-D2 ever since I saw the
original film way back in 1977, but always felt that I wouldn't be able to. Then, 30 years
later, I took my Dalek along to a meeting of the UK Robot Builders in 2007, where I saw
three R2-D2 droids, all in various stages of being built. I decided that I was finally
going to build one for myself.
The following pages are a pictorial record of my R2-D2 build over the
18 months that it took to complete.
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This is R2-D2 from the films
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March to May 2008
Cutting the first pieces of wood. There was a lot of woodwork done in these three
months, making the internal framework for the body, all three of the basic legs as well as
the shoulder horseshoes, body skirt and the booster covers. I also make the large data
port at the top of the body and make up some wooden plugs of the feet ready to make molds
from.
June to August 2008
The large bearing gets fitted to the top of body for the dome to turn on. The molds
for the feet get made, quickly followed by the actuall fibreglass feet shells from those
molds. A lot of metalwork on the lathe for all the metal parts on the legs.
September to November 2008
Much detailing of the legs gets done in this installment. Many of the parts I scratch
build, including the ankle cylinders, to save money. I attach many of the parts to the
legs and end up with the legs looking almost complete.
December 2008 to February 2009
Scratch-building the battery boxes. Attaching the inner body skins. Making the
shoulder hubs fit. Attaching many of the resin vents and grills to the body. Fitting of
the utility arms.
March to May 2009
More fitting of the resin castings into the body including the important front vents.
More lathe work to make the hose fitting for the feet.The second layer of metal gets added
to the body and all the non-opening doors get fixed back on the body. The ring under the
dome is made in fibreglass, starting with a wood plug, taking a mold and making the final
part. Fitting the dome ring onto the bearing.
June to August 2009
Dome work, etching the panels and fixing all the resin castings onto it. Fitting
wheels in the middle foot. Fitting the electric scooter motors and wheels in the outer
feet. making an electrics panel and adding the radio control onto it. Adding the dome
turning motor. Painting of all the droid. Adding sounds via a ThinkGeek T-shirt MP3
player. Installing BIG batteries. Fixing LEDs into the PSI lights in the dome. Making the
top utility arm operate via a servo. Adding a small radio receiver to operate the
Holo-Projector lights.
September 2009
Final part - installing the logic displays into the dome.
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