R2-D2 foam build. Pictures of R2's trip to school.

[lharles]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

I'm reasonably sure I've commented in this thread previously, but this is really inspiring. An R2 build seemed so far out of reach for me & my meager capabilities that I've never even considered putting it on my list of things to make.

The further you get in your progress the more I think that I might give your method a try.

VERY impressive.

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Thanks man, you should go for it. and if you have any questions just ask.

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Did some work on the eye and dome today I am really not happy with the crap dome. I want to melt the darn thing and throw it away. If I had $20 I would go buy more foam and redo it, but I don;t so I can't. The dome really looks crap. I know the whole R2 isn't perfect but it deserves a better dome then the piece of $%^ I have made for it.

Anyway here are the pics.
I bought one of these little night light things I figured the dome would be great for the eye.

I sprayed it black.

Built a new eye piece.

I painted the dome (that was where everything started to go wrong).

 

[ShackMan]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

I know YOU don't like the dome, but I'd say it's VERY impressive for the material used. Besides, don't waste time or money making another; this one looks fine until the one you mentioned previously arrives. Personally, I'd focus on completing the rest of R2. I think you'll be more than happy when it all comes together ... I know I will be if/when mine ever does.

Good luck,


ATM
ShackMan

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Thanks man, you are right, just sometimes I get annoyed with my limitations and the limits of material i can afford. I always feel I could do and should do better. I am giving the head a rest now and working on the booster covers and the wooden plates for the feet.

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Messed up with the first booster so I decided to take a break for the rest of the day. However I am unable to take a break from all foam work (I started to get the shakes) So I did this instead. I will be starting a full WIP thread after the R2 is finished.
Here is a sneak peek of my next project.

 

[ob1al]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Wall-e?

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Yup
you got it.

 

[Trooper_trent]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Dude, you are the foam master! Can't wait to see what you do with Wall-E

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Thanks man, that means a lot.
I am busy collecting reference pics and drawings and going through my junk boxes to see what i have that I can use. But I have promised myself and my son and my wife that i will finished R2 before I get too involved in the Wall-e build. Its just nice sometimes to step away from one build and do work on something else.
I have already worked out a way to get the eyes to raise and lower to give this guy some character. It wont have much movement proberly just tracks and the eyes. just need to find two small servos.

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Ok so I got the lamp dome in the mail today A BIG THANK YOU!.. The overall diameter is a little smaller then R2's diameter but I think with a little bit of tweeking I can make this work. Here are some pics of the things I have been upto.
I was going to paint the ouside of the legs, but figured skinning the same way I did the edges would work better and I am glad I did. I have also started work on the booster covers and leg struts. In the photo the booster covers look a little big but that is because they started to fall out. I have not glued them in yet. The dome is a little small and rings make the head look even smaller, but I think that is mainly because the rings are the colour of the body and not the head. So i drew over the outline and it does make the dome look much better. I will work on the dome and rings tomorrow. Enjoy.

 

[lharles]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Okay, I'm gonna' start asking questions now. :cool Especially seeing your starting point on Wall-E.

You referenced some plans you utilized to start/create your R2 build from earlier in the thread, {"going form the plans on the astromech site and the yahoo builders group", <there's a reference from another forum member to 'astromech.net' too>, so I'm guessing that there's some sort of template(s) or plans ready made...?}. Could you point me in the right direction to find said plans?

I'm thinking that this might be something I could get some preliminary work going on while waiting for thick layers of glue to dry on my current project, (going on 3 days for the current pour).

Thanks!

Thanks man, you should go for it. and if you have any questions just ask.

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

The club you need to join to get the plans is r2builders : R2-D2 Builders Club and for support and help you can join :: Astromech.net :: R2 Builders Club Official Website :: also pm me if you need anything or better yet ask here in my thread that way I can answer here and others can get the help if they need it aswell.

Here is some more on the dome build. As you know the lamp dome is a little smaller then round then R2 so I needed to try and figure out a way to blend the difference in sizes. I think I might of figured it out.
First I cut two different thickness's of foam and at two different heights, then glued them together so there was a lip on the top.

I then slipped the glued pieces of foam inside the rings with the lip at the top.

And then slipped the dome on top and over the lip on the foam.

Doing this has really helped hide the differences in the dome compared to the body.

It still isn't perfect, I mean the rings are a little smaller them my R2's body, but I am already thinking of a way to mask that tiny difference.

I am really happy with the way this dome is looking.

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Awesome way to blend the two together! This is really coming along nicely :thumbsup

 

[Idaho Jones]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

That's awesome, once you paint them it will blend right in.

 

[ShackMan]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Very impressive work. I'm still amazed at the ingenuity you show in tackling minor problems in this process. Keep it going!


ATM
ShackMan

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Ok so another hicup tonight. I had the legs reinforced and they were holding up greta but now with this newer heavier dome the foam legs were bending a little. So I need to reinforce them more. Now how am I going to reinforce foam legs that are practicly complete.
I went in to the basement to have alook in my boxes of stuff to find something/anything that might work. I found some metal shelf things, not sure what they are called. They screw into the wall and then you change the height of the shelfs.
So I took two of the that were the same length and went back up stairs. Now how am I going to use these to suport the legs.
I figured maybe making groove in the legs and glueing the metal pieces inside.

Here I am laying the metal bars inside the legs. I ended up laying them the other way.

Here both legs done.

I layed them groove side up, I used hot glue in the foam groove and then pushed the metal bar into the groove and then applied even more glue so the glue is encompasing the bar then I glued a strip of foam inside the groove of the metal bars.

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Update.

 

[Fuzzual]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

so cool man!!!

 

[familyman]

Re: R2-D2 foam build. All front and side body panels finished.

Thanks.
Did a bit more to the lges this morning..
I made the leg struts with pieces of dowel and some small plastic till receipt tubes.