First and Second Generation R2-D2 Differences

[3Dsf]

For those interested, I've written up a fairly detailed breakdown of specific areas in which the first generation (Star Wars) R2-D2 costumes/props differ from the second generation (Empire Strikes Back) droids.

First and Second Generation R2-D2s Differences - 3dsf.info

Enjoy!

 

[matty matt]

I read through this a couple days ago. Nice info. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Halliwax]

For those interested, I've written up a fairly detailed breakdown of specific areas in which the first generation (Star Wars) R2-D2 costumes/props differ from the second generation (Empire Strikes Back) droids.

First and Second Generation R2-D2s Differences - 3dsf.info

Enjoy!

Excellent freak’n read!!! You’ve done your home work!!

I’m curious if you have heard the same story I have as to why the octoport and boxes moved in ESB

I’ve read that the fiberglass mold shifted. And instead of starting all over from scratch he customized the mold, and in the end it moved some of the boxes and the octoport away

I have zero proof of this but read that on astromech

I never noticed the spacing on the foot shells too!! Good eyes! I knew of the mill lines in the half moon but never the relocation of the other aluminum shapes on there

Thanks for taking the time and writing this up, I really enjoyed it!

 

[thd9791]

good read, i learned a lot!

 

[3Dsf]

I’m curious if you have heard the same story I have as to why the octoport and boxes moved in ESB

I’ve read that the fiberglass mold shifted. And instead of starting all over from scratch he customized the mold, and in the end it moved some of the boxes and the octoport away

Thanks for the kind words! Glad it's of interest.

As for the mould theory, that sounds a little odd to me. Why would just a few details shift over a few millimetres if the mould itself shifted? Wouldn't the whole thing get messed up in that case?

 

[Halliwax]

Thanks for the kind words! Glad it's of interest.

As for the mould theory, that sounds a little odd to me. Why would just a few details shift over a few millimetres if the mould itself shifted? Wouldn't the whole thing get messed up in that case?

I guess in his haste the mold shifted, and didn’t cast the boxes and Octo’s correctly so he carved them by hand

This is a on going story on astromech

Him being on a budget, it was cheaper to hand carve them in rather then recast the entire thing

 

[3Dsf]

Hm. I'm no mould-makin' expert, but that just sounds way made up to me. Like the sort of thing I wouldn't believe unless the person involved said it, you know?

But hey - that's just me guessing. I have no way of knowing for sure either way...

 

[Halliwax]

Really love the site, I’m going to reference that to new members on astromech

I wish their wiki pages were updated like your blog, makes things easier to read

 

[Halliwax]

Just to clear things up, the fiberglass molds for ESB were 100% cast off a aluminum ANH Droid.

Something changed somewhere

 

[matty matt]

I had not seen this picture before. I’m doing this setup with my battery boxes and NPC motors, so this is helpful.

 

[3Dsf]

Just to clear things up, the fiberglass molds for ESB were 100% cast off a aluminum ANH Droid.

Something changed somewhere

Thanks again.

And yeah - I’d love to get more information on which some of these changes were made. They’d be fun trivia if nothing else!

Or stuff like why all the different colour combinations of the holoprojectors on the ANH R2s. Were they done deliberately to make it easier to distinguish one head from another? Was it a mistake? Did they just not care? Did they want to give future generations something to puzzle and obsess over?

 

[Halliwax]

View attachment 1053378

I had not seen this picture before. I’m doing this setup with my battery boxes and NPC motors, so this is helpful.

That is a rare one!! That’s a ANH Droid too! The blue dashes in the ankle and you can see the bent aluminum stock holding the Droid in 3 leg mode

 

[Richard Baker]

Thanks for the research- I will be looking at R2 differently now and trying to spot the changes

 

[Bradberry00]

I would love to have an R2 someday. Seems like a fun project....I just don't know where I would put it in my modest house

 

[3Dsf]

I would love to have an R2 someday. Seems like a fun project....I just don't know where I would put it in my modest house

That, and the cost of making a decent R2 replica, are why I got the small De Ago kit. Of course, it's so riddled with errors I'm now spending a stupid amount of my life fixing it up.

 

[eegah]

Thanks so much for doing this! It was a fun and educational read!
It confirmed some details on mine, I’m going for a ANH look, and made me double check some new details to make sure I got it right!
Nice work!

 

[Laspector]

Very nice read. Interesting stuff!

 

[Somerset]

Great research and thank you for compiling it in one place and sharing. Like others have said above I'm now going to be watching closely to spot the differences on screen!

 

[3Dsf]

That photo of the traction motor sticking out comes from that Electronics Tomorrow article on the droids from 1977.

That is a rare one!! That’s a ANH Droid too! The blue dashes in the ankle and you can see the bent aluminum stock holding the Droid in 3 leg mode

Yes. That's actually a good point - I've added a bit about the blue dots and dashes. Thing is, I can't find incontrovertible evidence as to what the ESB droids had. I think they actually had those recessed details, only they were painted white.

The Smithsonian one has recesses painted white but dirtied up, and a couple of promo shots seem to show the same thing. I would expect that the fibreglass moulded droids would have the recesses if the part was fibreglass. But I don’t know if the legs were aluminium what they’d haven me

 

[Treadwell]

fantastic!