R5 in Carbonite (RIC)

[greedo]

Here's the final product... If you'd like to see how we got there, read on

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr




Well.... Because why not


About an hour after I finished my last build, I got bored and started thinking about a new project. I'd like to do a Chopper, but we have a con coming up in September and I'd like to get this going for our display area: Tosche Traders.

TT by chris stephens, on Flickr





So, we've decided to extended the walls and add to the display. When I was thinking of astromech junk/filler we could add, I thought ... Man, how cool would it be if the Jawas had a droid in carbonite




So, I chose R5 for a couple reasons:


1.) it makes for a cool back story on what ever happened to our guy after he blew his motivator
2.) I can scratch build the dome ... It would cost a bunch more $$ to do an r2 dome




So the plan is to build the front half of R5-D4 in two leg mode and then attach him to a scaled down box just like the HIC's


Because this is a prop and not an actual functioning droid, it's WAY easier to scratch build. Plus, any blemishes will be easily hidden with the Carbonite texture




So let's get going....





Dome work:


Now for most of this build, you're going to cringe at some of the progress pics. I'm using up scrap wood, out of the norm construction and things look super ugly at first. I just keep in mind that the end result is going to be a Carbonite look... Not our usual quest for perfection. I will blend everything together and he'll look good , once we mount it to the box ... Trust me


Started off like this:

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr


Had to scrap together some material for the underside... It's horrible, I know. But nothing matters after bondo and sanding ( bondo pictured, but sanding will come later)

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr










Trust me... We'll get there

 

[russellsch]

Great build so far :thumbsup

 

[Fuzzual]

oh man, i am so pumped for this build. Awesome as always!

 

[Pwrsrce]

Ok...This is pretty cool!

Jason

 

[greedo]

Got a lot done today on this guy.


Got my skins drawn out, cut and mounted. You can see a few spots are still blank, but most of it is there. I left the utility arm cut outs off until I decide what route to go. I would like to have the arms partially extended for this, but I haven't been able to score any resin arms right now . If I don't get my hands on any, I will likely just make a set of false arms and mount them directly to the body, I figure I can carve out just the very top of the arms and apply them directly to the skins and it would look like they are there, The Carbonite blending should help achieve that look.


Anyhow, here's how he sits at the moment


**Missing Pics... **** YOU PHOTOBUCKET

 

[greedo]

worked on the horseshoes/legs this morning.


I've got to say this has been the coolest part yet right here... Buttons in the front AND back! So, ha!! You're all wrong... Or right..whichever








And it was fun while it lasted... Buttons in the front won.




So I ended up making just half of the shoe and leg. The cut off to where he disappears into the Carbonite will be somewhere around the bottom point of the shoe/leg.

From Old Photobucket by chris stephens, on Flickr




Added bondo to hide the wood, but I only sanded it most of the way. Figured this would add to the Carbonite look

 

[Warpcell]

Seriously??!!???? I can't wait to see how this turns out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[greedo]

This morning I made the skirt. I took pics in the beginning and at the end, but totally spaced it on the middle ( pausing for pics is such a momentum killer anyways)

I'll let the bondo and filler dry for a bit and then I'll sand it about 90% and leave some of the texture for a Carbonite look.


I also made a fake skirt opening to just show that it's there. I'll probably make a thin outline of a center foot shell in there too.

And a behind the scenes look at how nasty it looks from the backside. Since it's all hidden, who cares yeah? That's what makes this able to go as fast as it's going too

 

[hdtheater]

Loving this build!

What did you use for the dimensions on the dome? I have been piddling with another Astromech for the past year and want to make an R5 dome for it.

-Eric

 

[greedo]

Loving this build!

What did you use for the dimensions on the dome? I have been piddling with another Astromech for the past year and want to make an R5 dome for it.

-Eric

There are downloadable blueprints/plans, as well as a tutorial, on astromech. net

 

[greedo]

Back to work this morning...




Thanks to a very generous builder, I was able to get my hands on some utility arms and the rest of my body details I needed.


With the coin slots, I didn't want to mount them in the traditional way we usually do on our builds. For me, I saw this would be way easier to just mount the exposed parts from a solid outside and you'd achieve the same look. No need to cut slot openings in the skins, or make a way to secure it from the back.


So, I decided to use my chop saw. I mounted it to a block so that I would have a safe way to cut the exposed part of the slots off. To keep each piece from flying away and me having to hunt around for it, I just decided to tape them together from the face. You don't have to use your daughters pink zebra stripe tape, but I'm very comfortable in my skin so I went for it.

Then just used some glue and micro pin nails to secure it from the front.

And with the rest of the details in place. Dome is still loose and I gotta shim it up to create a gap from the body, but you get the picture

Lots of clean up to do on the body before paint, but I wanna get rollin on the box next

 

[Fuzzual]

this is just too cool. thats a serious amount of progress in a short time!

 

[Delta13]

Awsome! Will it have a grin on face like Han? :lol

 

[greedo]

It always amazed me that guys will pay hundreds of dollars for the MDF box kits for their HIC's. I know they are cnc'd, but they are super easy and cheap to build with anyone remotely comfortable with woodworking, Plus... MDF sucks for most things. It has no structural value at all and it's super heavy.


So for $29 at Home Depot, you can get a decent 1/2" plywood. It's not good enough to make R2 frames or legs, but it's good enough for this. It's straight, paintable and no air pockets.


Made templates so I could just flush trim all of my openings. The way this project scales to the real HIC, I only need 6 side panels. Was hoping to get away with 4, but it didn't look right at all.

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr




And even though I don't have the top on yet, I couldn't resist laying him down in there

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

 

[lordliquorbox]

Jaw droppingly cool! I can't wait to see this finished!

 

[hdtheater]

Made minimal progress over my weekend.


http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/...6-D1F3-4BA7-916B-CD463332B77C_zpsnzklr8sq.jpg

And I couldn't resist doing a test fit

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/...F-5C08-483F-AE61-97E1E1B6E0C2_zpse33rhygl.jpg

Dude! This is getting good!

 

[mortifactor]

What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me...

 

[Saranac]

That is looking pretty awesome.

 

[greedo]

Uh oh.... Look who has free time today


Got the top frame cut out and mounted






Got the plywood top mounted and then traced out the droid. I want to have the droid sit below the ply so I can have the right reveal I'm looking for




Then cut it out

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr


Added some supports at the height needed to have the droid rest where I want it

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr




And then mounted it in place. I will fill in the gaps next with liquid nails first.. Then bondo. Still need to scratch build the toes too, but you get the idea

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

RIC by chris stephens, on Flickr

 

[PropReplicator2]

Loving this build so much. Amazing as usual!!