Just checking in and showing off the progress

[OOZ662]

There are even kits available to build everything from Blasters to Lightsabers to full Stormtrooper/Clonetrooper armor.. 

[Shuffler]

HAHA very nice.

[Swager]

Most impressive!

Nice job, that thing is sweeeeeeet!

[Die Hard]

I will say, I often bought normal games with Star Wars mods before I spent the same amount of money on a Lucas Arts game. The fan-made Mods were just better products and held true to the cannon specifications of the galaxy more than Lucas' own work.

That may be true, but you have to understand that he doesn't want his "fans" cutting in on his profit margin. I think he is remarkably generous (considering the entertainment industry in general) to allow his intellectual property to be used freely for non-profit purposes, and I fully understand and agree with stopping those that are costing him money. Star Wars is not public property, open source or freeware, it's the property of George Lucas.

[LePaul]

Thanks for the comments!

No, not a kit...no such thing!

I found the R2 Builders Club on Yahoo Groups back in 2003.  LucasFilm has been very good to them, helping them refine their R2 blueprints while in return, when LucasFilm needs a favor....like an R2-D2 appearance somewhere, one of our builders can fill the void.  Last week, for the NBC Today show, one of the guys from New York made his R2 available for them.

Its hard to explain...I wanted mine to be made out of aluminum.  Several of the builders are able to get superb, high quality metal shops to quote prices for various pieces.  Like classic car clubs and so forth, if a certain piece has enough people interested, someone will get it quoted and if the interested parties are interested, make payment.  In a few weeks, the piece is completed and the part run organizer quotes the buyers shipping and off they go. 

The blueprints are all standardized, so pieces will fit together so long as they stick to the prints.

Some people opt to build with wood.  Some plastics, some a little of everything.  The wooden ones are very light and very impressive.

My R2 is powered by two wheelchair motors (NPC 2212's, 1/4 hp each).  The center foot/ankle is bolted into place.  I had a lift mechanism so R2 could transition from 2 legs to 3 leg/driving mode.  However, I needed the space it occupied for the two 12 volt/18amp batteries (run parallel) needed.  Those two batteries weigh 15 pounds each.

The front light that blinks red to blue is called the PSI (Processor Status Indicator)....learning the labels to this thing has been funny.  The color fades from red to blue much like the pattern from Empire Strikes Back.

The lighting, all LEDs, is very bright for daylight settings.  Indoors, it can be hard to photograph.  I am working on added fiberoptic (LG 64) jacketed fibers to help lighten/diffuse the lights a bit.

Here's a video clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQYnr-ZLrow

There are several in there.

I'm not sure which are my favorite...the reactions from adults or the kids.  Its like someone meeting a movie star for the first time  LOL

[Denholm]

I figured they might be LEDs, thanks for the information.