R4-P17 on a budget...

[The14thDr]

Although I love R2-D2 (who doesn't, right?) I've always wanted a more obscure and unique droid from the movies. Whilst searching through images of the various astromechs from the movies, I fell in love with R4 straight away, with it's crimson dome and "reversed" colour scheme.

This is actually a build that I started way back at the beginning of last year, and sort of fell onto the back-burner whilst I worked on a few other projects. However, I've been inspired to begin working on the little fella again, and hopefully have it finished before the end of this year.

So far all I have is the dome, which I made using paper mache and craft foam for the radar eye, logic display surround and front PSI. I also made the dome slighted dented in places to recreate a more battle-damaged look.


Evidently, this isn't my best work and there are a lot of upgrades to be made to make this more screen-accurate. I'm going to start by removing some of the older pieces (such as the logic displays and radar eye lens) before repainting the entire dome with a darker crimson and making the silver paintwork less patchy.

After that I can move onto the legs and the rest of the body.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Kind regards, The14thDr

 

[PropReplicator2]

Oh 14th doctor, I love your taste my man[emoji38] . Pumped for this build!

 

[The14thDr]

Thanks Alex. There's a lot of work to be done on the dome, but after that I can't wait to start working on the rest of the droid. [emoji38]

 

[PropReplicator2]

I personally love the more inconspicuous type droids myself. I think they all have beautiful details that should be shown to the world.... that just came off the top of my head. Can you believe it? Wow. I'm good at this. Now! Back to the droid!

 

[The14thDr]

I personally love the more inconspicuous type droids myself. I think they all have beautiful details that should be shown to the world.... that just came off the top of my head. Can you believe it? Wow. I'm good at this. Now! Back to the droid!

I completely agree, I just love the uniqueness of Arfour. Everyone has an R2-D2, but not as many can say they own an R4-P17.

------ Update ------

Before I began work on repainting the droid's dome, I removed the old radar eye lens (made from a piece of cardboard with black duct tape across it), the logic displays (paper printouts glued onto cardboard) and the logic display frames (craft foam painted silver.) I then gave the dome a light sanding with some fine sandpaper.


I then applied the first coat of crimson paint, using this image as a reference:

 

[PropReplicator2]

I know I got a r4 eye piece somewhere around my house. I'll see if I can find it because if I do I'm starting my r4 instantly lol. Sweet job!

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[The14thDr]

I picked up the droid again to carry on working on her over the weekend, when I noticed that the paint job has gone significantly patchier than it was before.
And when I looked at the back of the dome, I noticed lots of greenish-yellow patches:

The exact same thing happened to the dome before, hence me having to repaint it. Any ideas on how to fix this?

I reckon it may be the ink from the newspaper (paper mache) seeping through the paint and affecting the paint job, but I'm not sure.

Help my RPF, you're my only hope......

 

[PropReplicator2]

I would spray paint it with plasti-dip or something of the sort. Then coat it in your desired type of paint.

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[The14thDr]

Thanks Alex, I'll give that a try and hopefully the paint won't turn yellow.

Also, did you manage to find your R4 eyepiece?

 

[PropReplicator2]

Thanks Alex, I'll give that a try and hopefully the paint won't turn yellow.

Also, did you manage to find your R4 eyepiece?

No I havnt found it yet but I found an old r2 one that just might do the job..

 

[The14thDr]

No I havnt found it yet but I found an old r2 one that just might do the job..

Awesome! Can't wait to see another R4 build.

 

[The14thDr]

I've finally solved the problem of the newspaper ink bleeding through the paint.

I began by sanding the dome down to remove as much of the paint as possible. I then coated it in PVA glue to seal the newsprint, before giving the whole thing an undercoat of white acrylic paint.

Finally, two coats of crimson red acrylic paint over the top and she's as good as new.

Hopefully now I can finally start working on the body.