R2D2 Guidence needed

K

kantgetnun

Member
I want to build an R2D2. I would like to do it right first time around. I've done a little poking around , but was hoping for some guidence from everyone here. what parts to look for, waht parts to stay away from. good sites and forums to use, good sources to buy parts from. I eventually plan to make it a complete function radio controlled droid.
so fire away and let me know your opinions and such.
thanks in advance for any help.
 
I've been a member for over a year and a half. It is a great site with a ton of useful information and helpful members. When you get in remember to read ( FAQ and previous threads ). You'll also have to decide what materials you want to use ( aluminum, wood, styrene, resin). The materials will have a big impact on the cost. One last thing, Stay away from eBay for parts. They are usually overpriced, inferior quality and do not meet the club specs.

Enjoy
 
Echoing everything regarding astromech.net...

This is a great time to get involved, as there are new things coming all the time.

I will say this though...Don't buy into the hype about having to build an expensive all aluminum droid. It is simply overkill. Even with the dome, there is now a very nice fiberglass option available...It looks just like the aluminum ones, is actually stronger, and costs $200 cheaper.

I have it on good authority that more quality fiberglass parts will also be surfacing before the end of the year as well. They will all be considerably cheaper than their metal counterparts.

Of course you could also go the budget route and do wood and/or stryrene for your build...with resin details.

Whatever route you take, just understand that building a droid is a journey...It takes time and patience. But it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. :)

Jason
 
Since everyone has mentioned the best place to start for research.
I'll just say that for a r/c r2 the price range can vary from about $3000-$15,000

Yea, a full metal r2, after spending years and years and years collecting parts will probably run you that much...

Just prepare yourself for a whole new, ridiculously wallet draining world. :thumbsup
 
It took me over two years to collect all my parts but you can not beat Astromech.net for the job. It is an amazing and very knowledgeable group.

Once you get registered start at the DroidWiki :)

One tip, try not to miss too many parts runs. Some of them pop up and then do not get run again for a long time if at all :( .
 
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thanks guys, i registerd over at astromech, lots of info over there. Lets keep this going. If you dont mind post pictures of what you have built, what parts and materials you used and why you decided to use them. I understand this will be a long journey and I want to make the right choices on what i decide to use. thanks again!
 
If you've got a lot of free time on your hands, read my build blog!! !:)

R2-D2 Building Blog

I would also highly recommend Victor Franco's blog.

As someone who has been there, I agree against doing an all metal droid. To my knowledge, there is ZERO benefit to it, and a ton of drawbacks. The only thing that is interesting about it is that you get to say "I have an all metal R2." Other than that, it's a losing proposition in every way.

I'm making a second one, and going a totally different route.

Best of luck with your build, and keep us posted!
 
MattMunson said:
If you've got a lot of free time on your hands, read my build blog!! !:)

R2-D2 Building Blog

I would also highly recommend Victor Franco's blog.

As someone who has been there, I agree against doing an all metal droid. To my knowledge, there is ZERO benefit to it, and a ton of drawbacks. The only thing that is interesting about it is that you get to say "I have an all metal R2." Other than that, it's a losing proposition in every way.

I'm making a second one, and going a totally different route.

Best of luck with your build, and keep us posted!
Click to expand...


but... but... it would be ALL metal.
Matt's right - the heavier materials is tough on the wheels and gears. Servos are harder to install too for moving the utility arms and stuff. However, lately people have been making "diet" aluminum pieces. A lot of superfluous aluminum has been removed, cored out, to make the pieces much lighter and easier to work with.

... .and... it would be ALL metal... :love
It's really a personal choice. I'm upgrading to all metal parts because I like tinkering with my props. In the end, it makes very little difference, lookwise, because you paint them all with white or blue paint.
 
Question for the experienced R2 builders.

The main thing that has put me off even starting an R2 is the parts runs being so far apart for some of the parts.

If I used the plans on the yahoo R2 forum, which I think is where the Astromech parts are from would I be able to build an R2 from scratch other than skins and internal electronics?
Or would I still be reliant on part runs which could take a long time to come?

Craig

(would be using a lathe and milling machine for building the parts)
 
Yes, the plans are posted for every part. So in theory, you can do it all yourself. No need to wait for part runs.

That said, I've seen people lose steam as they struggle to build or complete the simplest parts. So while you may have to wait a few months for a part to become available, it may very well take you the same amount of time to build one from scratch.

Resin parts are much easier to acquire. It's usually the metal parts that have a wait time.

Honestly, for a first time R2 builder, I think the AA flatpacks are a great solution. It's all styrene, it's all precut, and it goes together nicely. It's also very well thought out, very well debugged, and a lot of folks have done builds off them. Price is very nice too.
 
And as for metal parts, I think the ONLY parts that should be metal on the outside of your droid are parts that look like metal. Buying a metal part only to paint it white is just a total waste, if you ask me. I can see no compelling reason to do it.
 
Pwrsrce said:
Echoing everything regarding astromech.net...

I will say this though...Don't buy into the hype about having to build an expensive all aluminum droid. It is simply overkill. Even with the dome, there is now a very nice fiberglass option available...It looks just like the aluminum ones, is actually stronger, and costs $200 cheaper.

Whatever route you take, just understand that building a droid is a journey...It takes time and patience. But it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. :)
Click to expand...

I second this whole-heartedly, having all but finished my first droid (and probably last :lol) I learned a lot in the process. Join astromech.net and the yahoo builders group (although astromech tends to have more pertinent information). RESEARCH everything before you start, have a gameplan on how you want to build it, what parts you want to build/buy, what materials those parts will be made of, etc.

I learned the hard way that not researching can get you in a bind when trying to figure out what you're doing. And also start a blog...and keep a binder with all your info on the build in it. Mine is a mixture of all sorts of materials...metal(aluminum), wood, plastic, resin, fiberglass. Just whatever you've got a budget for!
 
MattMunson said:
And as for metal parts, I think the ONLY parts that should be metal on the outside of your droid are parts that look like metal. Buying a metal part only to paint it white is just a total waste, if you ask me. I can see no compelling reason to do it.
Click to expand...

The dome for me was a must for metal! The 300mm is a thing of beauty :)
 
Ah, but there are materials that are so close to the appearance of aluminum that even trained eyes cannot tell the difference, not to mention the fact that there were many parts in the movies that were resin or fiberglass but looked just like aluminum, like the dome.

The new fiberglass R&J dome looks more like aluminum than the aluminum original that it was molded from. A resin parts supplier started it a few years back and the option of having something that is plastic that looks like aluminum is a much cheaper, lighter, and quieter way to go.

Keep in mind that I am biased. :)
 
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