Trooper_trent's R2-D2 build

Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

Here's a full write-up on repainting him with the layout fluid. He looks SO much better.
Trent's R2-D2 Build
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Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

so far the UV protectant is holding up. There was some concern about fading as the test pieces left in the sun turned a bluish black color. I have him sitting next to a window with the sun shining on him mostly all day and don't see any noticeable difference.
 
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

Finally got around to stripping off the blue paint from the utility arms and the piece around the front vents. The utility arms were permanently attached to the inside of the frame so I thought I'd just mask off the arms, strip them down, then respray with the dykem fluid. However some of the masking tape wasn't tight enough and the dye leaked onto the white body skin in a few places. needless to say I was a tad upset. The skin has an automotive paint job on it so acetone wont rub the paint off, BUT dykem absorbs deep into the paint and can't be removed with acetone. I first tried just covering the spill spots with extra weathering but it looked really bad so I stripped that off and just lightly sanded the messed up areas until it was gone, but not so much that it wore away the paint. The end result is that there are now a couple of spots where the gloss finish is a bit worn off, but with the weathering it's not even noticeable. Whew!

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Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

I only have a small update this time as I'm in "waiting for parts" mode.
I got around to stripping off the remainder of the blue paint and replacing with Dykem. Yes the resin parts don't look the same as aluminum when dyed with layout fluid, but at least now they're the same color and don't stick out like a sore thumb.
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I also finished making the coin returns out of sheet aluminum. I got to the third one before realizing that instead of carefully scoring it over and over and over with a razor to get a clean cut, that a pair of regular old scissors will cut through that stuff like butter. sheesh.
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Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

I always love seeing R2 builds!
You're makin really great progress! It looks absolutely fantastic!
 
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

Made some progress on one of the feet last night. Still needs lots of cleanup and work but it's coming along.
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Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

styrene shells over a thick pvc support. I will bondo and smooth out the feet prior to sending them off for an automotive paint job.
 
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

i love seeing the progression on artoos i cant wait till finished you are doing a great job!!
 
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

I received all the electronics to build the dome lighting. Looks like i have my work cut out for me this weekend.
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Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

I was so excited to get my Teeces/JoyMonkey dome lighting kit in the mail yesterday. That thing is so professionally put together I couldn't be happier with it. I have never soldered or done anything electrical in my entire life so I was a bit intimidated by all the parts. I went to radio shack today and got a soldering iron, helping hands, and some tools, and got to work on it right away today after work. After about 6 hours (half of it spent troubleshooting a problem or two) I have the main board done and the two Front Logics Displays! I must have watched Paul's tutorial video 5-6 times before even trying, but once I did my first test solder, I was like "Hey, I can do this."
I had to email Paul a couple of times to ask questions that ended up being answered by the PDFs (I must have just missed them and been too focused on following the videos) as a few things are different from the video because of the new arduino pro micro.

Then I had another huge set back after I put in all the LEDs for the second Front Logics Display. Everything had been working fine up until then, but this time I plugged it in and NOTHING HAPPENED!! I immediately got up from my bench for a few minutes and then came back with a cool head. I started troubleshooting different combinations and finally realized it was a weak solder on the screw terminal of the main board. At first I thought I either fried my arduino or my voltage regulator, but finally figured it out.
I replaced the screw terminal with a two prong pin header and all was right with the world.
I decided to pull an all nighter and completely finished the Teeces v3 lighting in one night!
Here it is exactly 12 hours after I started.

Completed teeces v3 kit - YouTube
 
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build

He's looking FANTASTIC ! (y)thumbsup:thumbsup

Love your attention to detail :)

You should post more pics of each stage, I would love to have seen, for example, exactly how you made the feet :thumbsup

If you do have more pics, please do post them :)
 
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