Noggin work

I got the basic shape of the eye made, now I am just bondoing the seams

I made a huge 8 foot circle jig to make the last curve pieces but the jig was so big I needed an extra pair of hands to use it, so Brad came over and lent a hand. With two people the jig took no time to use.
Once everything was marked I free handed the cuts.
Thanks for the help Brad :D

Here is a dry fit of the pieces. With just a bit of trimming they should fit like a glove.

Gift for Patches

R2-CM got another R2 present, an R2 PEZ Despencer from my friend James.
Patches has always wanted one. Thanks James!

T3's Guts

Today I had some time so I started prepping T3 for his new innards. I also started finishing up his front eye. I had to redesign it 3 times till it looked right.

Some R3 progress

Not much to report about R3 as of late but I did get the dome and the bottom ring glued together a few weeks ago and today Jen and I got the rear yellow/green PSI light installed.

Up and downs

I finally saved up enough money to buy this big bad boy.
If I install it right it should help do a T3-M4 version of 2-3-2.
I will find out next week when it gets here.

No Pictures but progress

On Steve's frame we cut out the bottom of the frame for the center leg.
Then we welded up some angle iron and drilled the mounting holes.
Steve's frame is ready to stand up once he gets the muffler clamps.

This and That

Steve taped his skins on so we could find the center of his leg holes. Once we marked them we drilled the holes. Now his droid can stand on two legs.
Next Steve, Brad, and me continued to work on the new run of motor holders. Brad cut out all the motor holes and we all three bent the ankle brackets. (No pictures of that)
Today I ordered 5 sets of wheels and motors for everyone. They should be here for the next build day.

Also an order of limit switches finally came in today so I can start working on Patches "other" gadgets.

Bondo world

I got the first layer of bondo on and sanded on some T3 parts. Now to do the small imperfections.

Rounding the corners

I sanded all the outer corners of the mouse droid on the belt sander taking my time not to sand to much off in any one area.

I also filled a few gaps and divots with some left over bondo.

Basics are done

The basic shape it now built and the drive train is in working order and mounted. Now it is down to details like rounding all the inner and outer corners, making the two side PC boards, and the two top antennas.

Wally World

The 501st invited us to an event at an Iowa Walmart to help sell some Star Wars toys and raise some money for the children's hospital.

Patches loved the long smooth floors of the store. Here he is checking out the new DROID phone.
The Biker scout was in heaven with all the bikes.
R2 and Patches having fun together.
Group shot of everyone that came.
We even did the Thriller pose.
Making the rounds.
Plotting my next droid army maybe......?
On the way to the event at my friends comic shop, I found a bust of a famous Ithorian for Patches. LOL
After the event and we were unloading my friend Denny surprised me with a printed version of R2-CM's back story. It is so different to read it on paper instead of a PC screen :) Thanks Denny!

Mouse House

Got my glue today so I started to glue my mouse droid up. I shall call him ZIPPY!
I need to widen the front wheel wells 1/8 of an inch but otherwise everything is a perfect fit :)
I hope to have him up and running but not painted for the next event.

T3 sanding

Started sanding all the pieces of T3's legs and getting them ready for paint.
This looks all wrong, some people have to much fun with the camera LOL.

Helping with LC's 2-3-2 frame

LC cut a piece of 3/4" plastic down to 5 1/2" x 12" to use as the sliding plate and then dry fit it to make sure he had enough room for it to move between the side supports of the frame.

He then cut to two 5 1/2" boards to sandwich the plastic and act as top and bottom anchors for the four sliding rods.

LC and I then lined up the sides of all the boards and clamped them so we could drill holes through all three boards. That way they would all match and we wouldn't have to worry about the center plate binding when the center foot raises and lowers.

The top plate will be slightly below the center outer leg pipe and the bottom plate will rest base of the frame. We temporarily screwed the bottom board into the frame base plate and dry fit the remaining boards. The hole size is perfect for the top and bottom plates, but he will have to make the holes in the plastic plate a little larger to allow it to slide easier. As with framing a door, the center of the bottom board will be cut out once the sides are permanently attached.

The four rods were not cut and the top board was not permanently attached because LC wants to get the skirt installed and the center leg assembled to determine the exact location everything needs to be.

Post copied from R2-NU.com

Mouse Mockup

Had some free time at Jen's today so I did some mock up on the mouse droid. I taped everything in place to make sure it fit right, then made some adjustments.

Mouse for a Moose

The last two evenings I have worked on my mouse droid shell at my GF house.
In two evenings I cut all the pieces out and beveled them.
Lots of trim pieces to clean up. Now I just got to get some glue :)

NEBRASKON VIDEO

A few of Denny's photos

Us with Yuri Lowenthal, the voice of Ben 10 who is trying to get a guest voice spot on Clone Wars.
He is a big Star Wars fan.
Syrena can't figure out it is me in the lion suit of Snap's
Our friend Tony
Rebels taking over!
The 501st panel
A few of the R2-Central builders at the closing ceremonies.
Big turn out for the con!
Brad and me having fun even though we are worn out after a long weekend :)
Everyone was calling R2 Brad by the end of the week with the name tag LOL
Star Trek vs Star Wars

Videos of Nebraskon with the 501st

Here are two improve vids that Jen took of Brad and I with the droids and a few of our friend from the 501st. As usual the 501st rocks. More to come later :)

A few pics of the first two days at NEBRASKON

Not many pictures to show yet because Denny took most of them but here are a few tht we took for now.

Setting up the droid area.

For an Anime convention there were a few Furries running around.
Dawmer posing with two.
One keep trying to touch my R2 like he knew him. I wonder who it could be?
Had quite a few people fooled for a while but it was me in the white suit that I borowed from my friend Snap.
R2 and Patches taking a break after a stage show.
Jen and Patches with some 501st friends :)
More pics and vid to come in a day or two.