A long time ago, back in the summer of1977, a little robot that rolled onto the silver screen and straight into our imaginations.
The very first version of R2 that was cemented in our young brains was the remote controlled unit with the 3rd leg drop mechanism. This unit instantly set the tone of the "used future" universe imagined by Ralph McQuarrie concept art, contrasting with the clean and antiseptic environments often seen in previous science fiction.
It's holoprojectors are chipped. Under its main eye is smashed in. Rivets are exposed on its body. Its white paint is filthy.
This particular unit had no actor inside. It was completely controlled by electronics. It was closest to a real robot that special effect supervisor John Stears would be able to manage in 1976.
This is the R2-D2 that has lived in my head since I saw the film in 1977 when I was 9 years old. This is the version of the prop that I would love to faithfully replicate.
The very first version of R2 that was cemented in our young brains was the remote controlled unit with the 3rd leg drop mechanism. This unit instantly set the tone of the "used future" universe imagined by Ralph McQuarrie concept art, contrasting with the clean and antiseptic environments often seen in previous science fiction.
It's holoprojectors are chipped. Under its main eye is smashed in. Rivets are exposed on its body. Its white paint is filthy.
This particular unit had no actor inside. It was completely controlled by electronics. It was closest to a real robot that special effect supervisor John Stears would be able to manage in 1976.
This is the R2-D2 that has lived in my head since I saw the film in 1977 when I was 9 years old. This is the version of the prop that I would love to faithfully replicate.
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