ColeHorton
Well-Known Member
If you are a member of the R2 Builders Club, you might have seen the year-long build log posted there. Now that all three droids are done and have made their Star Wars Celebration debut, here is a thread to share with the RPF community.
In August 2011, myself, Daren Murrer, and Chris Reiff (Mr_Sparkle) began the 1 year process of building life-size Astromechs. Daren and I had already built droids once and were looking to improve on the first builds. We set out to make the most rugged and accurate droids possible - a goal that led us down an unexpected path of reworking many of the existing parts and dimensions based on screen and blueprint reference. By the time we were done, we had three highly accurate, incredibly rugged, and very dependable droids full of innovative approaches and designs.
Replicating Movie Droids
The droid props created for the Star Wars films are often identifiable based on their features. Rather than create a generic "R2-D2," we each set out to create a replica of a specific droid. Chris would make a A New Hope hero-style droid (specifically from the sandcrawler scenes). Daren would make a Empire Strikes Back hero-style (specifically from the Hoth scenes). I would replicate the Red R2 from The Phantom Menace named R2-M5.
This choice required some unique modification. For example, each of our droids used a different paint technique to achieve the look correct to each respective movie. Chris would have to heavily modify his feet in order to match the original 1976 profile and make use spacers; a feature that was removed in later droids. Each droid also had a unique center ankle design.
Body Innovation
There were two aspects of the new bodies we built that required some innovating. The first was an all-new welded body construction to make the droids rugged. The second was a new set of dimensions & blueprints we used to create the bodies.
The droids began as a single sheet of flat aluminum. The skins were milled on a Daren's CNC router, rolled into shape, and then welded together around some support rings and skirts.
The skins themselves were not made to builders club spec - using reference and original production blueprints, we determined that a number of items could be modified to better match the movie props. By the time we were done, Chris had created a full set of new prints for the skins and five different body parts. We've called these plans "R2.0" and shared with any R2 Builders Club member who is interested.
With the cans complete, Daren and Chris designed sub-frames that hold the droid together using 80/20 aluminum stock. This "industrial erector set" allows us to use a minimum amount of internal structure while making the droids more rugged than ever before. Daren had been using this system for years, including the full-size rebel troop carrier vehicle replica we built in 2010.
The internals of the droid were made using HDPE plastic. Designed around the large Optima gel cell batteries to allow the droids to run for days at a time, the rest of the electronics and even cigarette lighters were built in.
Feet Innovation
In order to make the droids more dependable on a wide variety of driving surfaces and over obstacles, each uses a 4 Wheel drive mount. Chris used a modified version of Mike Senna's design. Daren created an all-new 4 Wheel design based of Jerry Greene's mounts for his and my droids. The center feet have a single industrial caster to get over obstacles and avoid hangups common with dual-caster systems.
Some foot details were missing or inaccurate in the available prints, so custom made side plates were made and inner half moons used to better replicate screen-used droids.
Chris did the most work on his feet. His A New Hope droid required a new foot profile and the addition of spacers to match the original droids. While the profile was changed and spacers removed in later droids, Chris cut apart his existing feet to make the proper modifications. This design was visible for years in the original production blueprints, but had been dismissed by virtually every prop builder who came before.
Each droid also features a unique center ankle. Some droids (all of A New Hope vintage or derivative) had a squared off ankle design. Later droids had a rounded design. My Phantom Menace droid had a noticeably long ankle, so that was designed as well. All ankles were CNC milled from aluminum blocks to be as strong as possible.
Other Innovation
Getting all the small details right even went down to the smallest parts, including the restraining bolts. We had identified the found part used for the bolt previously and created replicas for Chris' droid. More detail can be found at http://www.therpf.com/f9/restraining-bolts-170802/
More
The full build log with a ton more detail is available over at Astromech.net. Member login required.
I'm really happy with how they turned out. While we made some great finds along the way, we're all dedicated to continuing to research and improve our droids. If you have been interested in building your own R2, I really encourage you to join the club over at Astromech.net. Low budget to unlimited resources, anyone can build a droid these days thanks to the great community and resources.
In August 2011, myself, Daren Murrer, and Chris Reiff (Mr_Sparkle) began the 1 year process of building life-size Astromechs. Daren and I had already built droids once and were looking to improve on the first builds. We set out to make the most rugged and accurate droids possible - a goal that led us down an unexpected path of reworking many of the existing parts and dimensions based on screen and blueprint reference. By the time we were done, we had three highly accurate, incredibly rugged, and very dependable droids full of innovative approaches and designs.
Replicating Movie Droids
The droid props created for the Star Wars films are often identifiable based on their features. Rather than create a generic "R2-D2," we each set out to create a replica of a specific droid. Chris would make a A New Hope hero-style droid (specifically from the sandcrawler scenes). Daren would make a Empire Strikes Back hero-style (specifically from the Hoth scenes). I would replicate the Red R2 from The Phantom Menace named R2-M5.
This choice required some unique modification. For example, each of our droids used a different paint technique to achieve the look correct to each respective movie. Chris would have to heavily modify his feet in order to match the original 1976 profile and make use spacers; a feature that was removed in later droids. Each droid also had a unique center ankle design.
Body Innovation
There were two aspects of the new bodies we built that required some innovating. The first was an all-new welded body construction to make the droids rugged. The second was a new set of dimensions & blueprints we used to create the bodies.
The droids began as a single sheet of flat aluminum. The skins were milled on a Daren's CNC router, rolled into shape, and then welded together around some support rings and skirts.
The skins themselves were not made to builders club spec - using reference and original production blueprints, we determined that a number of items could be modified to better match the movie props. By the time we were done, Chris had created a full set of new prints for the skins and five different body parts. We've called these plans "R2.0" and shared with any R2 Builders Club member who is interested.
With the cans complete, Daren and Chris designed sub-frames that hold the droid together using 80/20 aluminum stock. This "industrial erector set" allows us to use a minimum amount of internal structure while making the droids more rugged than ever before. Daren had been using this system for years, including the full-size rebel troop carrier vehicle replica we built in 2010.
The internals of the droid were made using HDPE plastic. Designed around the large Optima gel cell batteries to allow the droids to run for days at a time, the rest of the electronics and even cigarette lighters were built in.
Feet Innovation
In order to make the droids more dependable on a wide variety of driving surfaces and over obstacles, each uses a 4 Wheel drive mount. Chris used a modified version of Mike Senna's design. Daren created an all-new 4 Wheel design based of Jerry Greene's mounts for his and my droids. The center feet have a single industrial caster to get over obstacles and avoid hangups common with dual-caster systems.
Some foot details were missing or inaccurate in the available prints, so custom made side plates were made and inner half moons used to better replicate screen-used droids.
Chris did the most work on his feet. His A New Hope droid required a new foot profile and the addition of spacers to match the original droids. While the profile was changed and spacers removed in later droids, Chris cut apart his existing feet to make the proper modifications. This design was visible for years in the original production blueprints, but had been dismissed by virtually every prop builder who came before.
Each droid also features a unique center ankle. Some droids (all of A New Hope vintage or derivative) had a squared off ankle design. Later droids had a rounded design. My Phantom Menace droid had a noticeably long ankle, so that was designed as well. All ankles were CNC milled from aluminum blocks to be as strong as possible.
Other Innovation
Getting all the small details right even went down to the smallest parts, including the restraining bolts. We had identified the found part used for the bolt previously and created replicas for Chris' droid. More detail can be found at http://www.therpf.com/f9/restraining-bolts-170802/
More
The full build log with a ton more detail is available over at Astromech.net. Member login required.
I'm really happy with how they turned out. While we made some great finds along the way, we're all dedicated to continuing to research and improve our droids. If you have been interested in building your own R2, I really encourage you to join the club over at Astromech.net. Low budget to unlimited resources, anyone can build a droid these days thanks to the great community and resources.
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