Troy Shantz Mark Russell and Eric Duke have spent months sourcing parts to make a working replica of R2-D2, the loveable movie droid from the Star Wars films.
Troy Shantz
Mark Russell and Eric Duke have spent months sourcing parts to make a working replica of R2-D2, the loveable movie droid from the Star Wars films.
The Sarnia men are part of the official R2-D2 Builders Club, which boasts over 10,000 members worldwide and is represented by 1,100 finished, working droids.
Many of the parts for their droid will be 3D printed using industrial nylon and aluminum, and luckily that can be done locally, Russell said.
“All of the detail parts we’re putting on it we had 3D printed through BTAC – Bluewater Technology Access Centre, run through Lambton College.”
The finished replica will be about 200 pounds, three feet tall and just narrow enough to fit through a doorway. It will be fully mobile as well, powered by two electric scooter motors and controlled with a video game remote.
“We’re going to have the head move and we’re going to have the holo-projectors all around his head move around randomly as well,” Russell said.
Russell and Duke heard about the R2-D2 Builders Club at a Niagara Falls Comicon a little over a year ago. On a whim, they attended a demonstration put on by club members.
“We said, ‘We think we can do that!’” Duke recalled.
“And our wives also said, ‘You guys should do that!’”
They were soon attending meetings weekly, tracking down parts and going over blueprints for their very own droid.
R2-D2 club builders use only approved plans created meticulously by members who measured, scanned and digitized the official movie props of R2-D2. Though R2-D2 is the most popular, other droids are built as well – including the spherical BB-8 from the latest Star Wars installment.
The completed copies are registered with the club.
“We’ll be the local area’s R2-D2.” Russell said.
“So if Toys-R-Us is doing an opening or the movie theatre is doing an opening, they contact us.”
On their current schedule of weekly meet-ups in Russell’s kitchen and garage, they expect the project to take three years and about $3,000 in materials and tools.
That’s a small price to pay, according to Duke.
“I’m building up some handy and craft skills, and I really want to own an R2-D2!”
