DeAgostini R2-D2 Build Blog

[daltman1967]

I decided I'd go ahead and order this kit. I don't have the budget (or the space) to put the equipment necessary to build a full-scale astromech, nor do I have the know-how of how to use those tools. And, building the full-scale R2 is at least a $5,000 project.

Anyway, I ordered the kit - and the first four magazines came all at once today. So as I build this, I will post pictures and my comments. So, here are the pictures from Week #1:



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Now, here are the pictures from Week #2:



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And Week #3:



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And Week #4:

 

[daltman1967]

My first goal is to simply build the model, according to directions. I will NOT be gluing ANYTHING into place at the present time. Once I'm finished assembling EVERYTHING, and have a working Astromech, I'm going to take it completely apart. Any badly-fitting parts (such as the support on the upper leg) I will add washers to to help make the items more stable; I will also be painting EVERYTHING, not only to weather the unit, but I'm also changing the base color from basic white to a kind of burnt orange color. I'm also planning to replace the dome-shaped head with a different shape; I'll be posting my artist's view of my astromech in a few days.

 

[Lear60man]

The supplied dome is metal correct?

 

[daltman1967]

Yes, the supplied dome is metal. I'm planning to 3D print my "dome." Here's a picture of how I envision my droid.





I know it's not exact, but at least it gives an idea. My actual color palette is this:

 

[Jaitea]

This should be in the General Modelling section.....it's not Studio Scale

J

 

[daltman1967]

Sorry about that. Perhaps the mods can move it.

 

[Lear60man]

Sorry about that. Perhaps the mods can move it.

Don't sweat it. Keep posting your progress.

 

[daltman1967]

Thanks. As I posted, I really want to modify my R2 unit; I'm calling him RT-D7 ("Artie" for short).


These two droids are my inspiration; I've always liked the flatter head (I'm not sure why, but ...); and I really liked the red-orange color of the R2 on the right. I've updated my image to reflect the fact that the top of his head won't be flat, but a low dome. Once I have the paint scheme the way I want it, I plan to "weather" him and make him look "used" - scuffs, scratches, dirt, oil, etc., etc.

Shiny new R2 units are cool, but... there's something attractive about a "lived-in" looking R2, that makes it feel, IMHO, more "real."

 

[daltman1967]

I've really updated my "mind's-eye view" on my working drawings...



Let me know what you think! I've also made significant progress on crafting the Front Logic display frames. On the original, you have a curved part, to fit with the curve of the dome:


On MY model, there won't BE a curve, because my dome isn't curved, but flat. Here's my current drawings for the display covers:




I can't print them yet, but I'm getting closer! The face needs to be flat, plus the display section itself. I'm not certain if it needs any kind of angle on it or not -- that might have to wait until I'm actually ready to build the dang thing. And I also saw that there's a plastic structure underneath R2's dome - so I'll have to recreate that, as well.

Ok, I know it would be much easier to just to with the build out of the box... but I'm stubborn, and REALLY want my "own" version of this iconic astromech droid. Comments and questions are always welcome!

 

[Lear60man]

Im looking for a cheep lighting solution for my 1:1 R2 and was thinking........A person could order the issues with the electronics and adapt as necessary.

 

[daltman1967]

Yes, indeed. I ordered a copy of issue # 22, with the front logic display, so that I could have 2 of them. I'm placing one to the upper-right of the front "eye," positioned vertically (as normal), and the second on the lower row to the left of the eye, positioned horizontally. My original idea was to have the whole shape be the logic display - but the display itself has a gap in it, so I'll just have to put something over the gap. I'm going to do something DIFFERENT from the original piece, though.

 

[daltman1967]

Ok, I have received issues 5-8, and here are the results.

Two of the issues built up the dome, which looks like this:


This is the upper-most portion of the dome. I'm not sure if any of this support structure will be helpful with my project or not, so I'm just assembling it anyway. For the main part of my dome, if I end up needing any kind of similar support structure, it'll have to be completely different - seeing as how my dome is a different shape. The issues also created part of the metal framework for the dome:



One of the issues came with the rear logic display (awesomely cool) which turns out like this:


There's also a cool binder for storing your build issues:


I also purchased a plastic bin from the dollar store to put all my little screws and stuff in so I won't lose anything:


Finally, I've started doing the custom paint job on this droid. I started off with the base color of the lighter orange (which is going for the entire body) and the darker orange for the accent parts, then did some "weathering," based on a video I found on YouTube. Now, while my weathering job isn't as good as what the guy on YouTube did (he's obviously had much more experience), I'm really happy with how it came out. Let me know what you think!

 

[daltman1967]

And here's the entire right leg:



The contrast between the light and dark orange sections is hard to see here (it's MUCH clearer in person), but you can get a better overall idea of what I'm intending my entire unit to look like. Now, I had a lot of fun painting and weathering this leg - but MOST of the body work will have to be done at the same time, to ensure evenness of color and weathering. There's some weathering I did that won't even show up, because I ended up weathering sections that are actually hidden.

This picture's contrast is a LITTLE better, especially if you view it close up.

 

[daltman1967]

Here's a 3D mockup of the new faceplate. I created the actual pieces in Fusion 360, and then manipulated them for the picture in Maya. You can get a good idea of what the finished product will look like. Notice that the back of the faceplate has NO CURVES. It will be resting on a completely flat surface.

 

[Galactican]

Very nice progress and interesting dome. I might do something like that with a Hasbro Interactive R2.

Could someone verify if the DeAgostini R2 is indeed 1/2 scale, please? I seriously doubt it and am really curious.

 

[daltman1967]

It absolutely is. The life-size picture of R2 that comes with the model almost completely fills a 16 x 22 sheet (4 8 1/2 x 11's). The leg is about 8-10 inches long, without the foot. The dome is about 9" across, and about 6" high. The build is VERY slow going (it'll be about a year before I start work on the body, issue 67), but it's very, very cool. If you can afford the $65 a month, I highly recommend it.

 

[teslabe]

I'm up to issue 56 and I'm glad I took the plunge, I'm just building it stock but I like what you're doing, look forward to more progress pics....

 

[3Dsf]

(I posted this in the general modeling section since it's not a studio scale model - didn't think to look here!)

Here’s my insanely detailed review of the De Agostini R2-D2 kit:

https://sites.google.com/site/millenniumfalconnotes/r2-d2

 

[3Dsf]

Could someone verify if the DeAgostini R2 is indeed 1/2 scale, please? I seriously doubt it and am really curious.

Oh - I posted to this thread, and didn't answer your question. The answer is, no. It's not.

It's advertised as 1:2, but it's correctly 1:2.3 scale based on the R2 builders specs. In other words, its size is 87% of the advertised size.

 

[Galactican]

nkg : THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your verfication. There were indeed several people who did not believe me when I told them that the scale was not correct. They even claimed that the height deviation was caused by the "walking" position (center leg down).