NOT MUCH OF AN UPDATE...BUT AN UPDATE

Just trying to keep ya informed...been down sick for two weekends in a row. Hit the whole family hard. Last weekend, the wife and I both were hit with a nasty Stomach Flu, and she got a severe head cold on top of it. We both recovered and went back to work, only to have me contract the head cold this Friday, which has turned into a sinus infection and pretty much kept me out of action this whole weekend as well. Sucks, but I'm hoping to get back to R2 after Memorial Day Weekend.

Can't do anything over Memorial Day Weekend because I'll be out of town with the whole family...near Morro Bay, CA and also meeting up with a few fellow 501st members to pull my Clone Armor and Helmet somewhere in Modesto. So, it'll be a busy weekend!

Still waiting on my resin dome details from AZ (not Arizona) and haven't received my Center Ankle from JAG yet either...both pending. I did recieve the Styrene Skins from Chani last weekend though. Kind of two fold reason for getting Styrene when I already have Aluminum Skins...

1) In case something goes wrong, I've got another set to fall back on
2) I can already see a second droid in the making sometime in the future...THIS IS FUN!

...oh, and 3) A buddy of mine has expressed interest in building a static droid, so I ordered a set of Styrene for him as well.

Okay, well, gotta get some rest...back to work in the morning. Still feeling like crap...but gotta go to work!

PREP OF RESIN PARTS

So, while I'm in between finances for the legs, I decided to start preparing all the Resin Parts I already have for painting. In reviewing Keith's instructions, they all need to be thoroughly cleaned, prior to painting, due to the Mold Release used on them. This consists of cotton balls, Rubbing Alcohol, Paper towels, Dish Soap and some good ol' fashioned elbow grease. Saturday night,the 8th of May, I spent about two and a half hours cleaning all the body detail parts up. I'm now confident they are ready for paint.

Still waiting on my Resin Dome Details, which will have to be prepared in the same manner before painting.

To prep the Resin, you wipe the part down with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball, scrub it with a toothbrush in warm soapy water, then dry it off. Ensuring you are using a clean cotton ball for each part and a clean paper towel for each part. Tedious, but necessary from what I'm reading and understanding. Without this prep, you're risking the paint not drying at all, or paint defects of one variety or another.

A GREAT FRIDAY NIGHT

So, took the family to see Iron Man 2 tonight!

I'm not going to get into any debates over it being good or not. I'll just say that MY family thought it was a fantastic sequel and we enjoyed it VERY much! After it was over, a bite to eat and back home. Since it was already getting late, I decided against doing any loud work in the garage tonight. Hungry to make some progress, I snapped this slightly out of focus picture using my iPhone. It's just some of the Resin Parts sitting on the frame in some approximate locations.

Not sure if I'll get much done on R2 this weekend, so this shot will help motivate me a little bit!

Anyway, gotta run! GO SEE IRON MAN 2!!!

MY HOW FAR WE'VE COME

Check this out...was going through some old photos and found this shot, Circa 1992 of me in an early version of Vader! Who knew I'd end up with a suit like I own today!!

NO LAUGHING!!!!

DOME DETAIL PARTS STATUS

Heard from my supplier for the Resin Detail Parts for the dome. All is well, mine aren't ready to be shipped yet, but no big deal. At least I'm on the radar. I'm in no hurry...I've got so much to do, it'll all sit in a box until it's time anyway. Right now, I've been researching how to build my own legs. Trying to wrap my brain around all the different information out there. I'm getting there as far as understanding. Getting pretty close to the time where I'll be needing to buy some more wood and make some templates from MDF. PENDING PENDING PENDING!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, FOLSOM, CA

Saturday morning, May 1st, 2010, I made another appearance with the Central California Garrison of the 501st Legion at Gamer's Circle (Comic Book Shop) in Folsom, CA. The national Free Comic Book Day event was the reason and Andy Wood, owner of Gamer's Circle invited the Dark Side to make its presence known. The Empire seized control of the business and maintained a presence throughout the day...leaving the area only AFTER Lord Vader found the missing plans to the Death Star in a Comic Book (of all places).

ADDED ADDITIONAL SIDE SUPPORTS

In talking with Matt McCormick, I think I'm going to try his method of leg attachment by bolting straight to the frame. I'm not doing the 2-3-2, so bolting the legs straight to the frame shouldn't be a problem. When Matt did this, he shored up his side uprights with another piece of 3/4" ply on each side. So, I've done the same.






After Matt's R2 made his debut appearance at the Sci-Fi Horror Convention here in Sacramento last year, there was a bit of sway in Matt's frame. After adding the additional support, that sway went away, so this should work out pretty well. I've seen Matt's droid multiple times and have noticed nothing unusual performance wise. Stay TOONED!!!!!