Finishing and Cutting the Body

I finally got to the place where the outside of the body is smooth and round. I marked where the round panels and the triangular panels will go. I also marked where the axel will mount on both sides of the body. With this all done I decided where I could remove some of the body to remove the polystyrene ball and later mount the internals through.

I drilled some holes so that I could get my jigsaw in to cut the body.

Here the one side is cut out and the polystyrene ball is visible.

All panels cut out and the polystyrene is gone.

Smoothing the body

After I put the final layer of glass fibre and resin on the body I needed to get the body smooth. I applied micro balloons and resin and sanded in between applications.

Here is the first smoothing layer going on - I thought it looked like a layer of icing running down a cake. I did realize that the mixture was too runny and I made it stiffer for the next few layers.

Here is my body after two complete layers of filler and sanding in between applications. I also did a few touch up applications of filler to get out some larger imperfections.

I still need to do some fine filling with auto-body filler and do some fine sanding as the body is rough but I needed to see BB-8 after such a lot of work so I added some pencil lines to give him some life.

Fibreglass and Resin

Next I covered my poystyrene ball with celophane wrap. This was not a necessary step as the resin would not react with the polystyrene but I thought it would stop the resin from flowing into the inperfections in the polystyrene ball.

I cut the fibreglass into shapes that would fit well onto the shape of the ball.

Here the first layer of glass fibre and resin is going on.

Here is my BB-8 body after a number of layers of fibreglass and resin. I used different markings on the fibreglass to keep track of where I needed to complete layers as I could only do half the body at a time.

Plan B

After not being successful with the beach balls I decided to make a ball out of polystyrene to use as a form for my BB-8 body. I had a few sheets of 50mm thick polystyrene that I decided to use. I started by calculating what the angle should be as well as the disc diameter of each disc so that I could cut the polystyrene.

I needed to cut 12 discs from the polystyrene sheets. After marking the disc sizes I rough cut the polystyrene sheets with a box cutter.

I then set my polystyrene cutter up to cut the different diameters and angles.

After a lot of cutting I stuck all of the discs together in the correct order and left everything to dry. After the glue was dry I used sandpaper (by hand) to smooth the shape to get a ball. This is what the ball looked like after sanding.

I did make up two sanding blocks with the correct curvature to make getting my ball round easier. I used corrugated cardboard, hot glue and sandpaper to make the sanding blocks. They did the job well and the cardboard held up well under the stress of the sanding.

BB-8 build begins

I have decided to get started on my BB-8 build. I figured I would use a beach ball as a template or mould and cast fibreglass over it as a shell. After the fibreglass has cured I can cut it in half and then remove the ball and have a nice sphere for BB-8's body.

I bought a beach ball that I thought would be the right size.

It did say ± 51cm but once inflated it only measured just over 36cm.

I then went and found a larger ball. This one said ±61cm and I thought it may work.

No joy here either. It only got to about 39cm. I did call the manufacturers and they could not undrestand it or give me any help.

On doing some research I found that beach balls are measured uninflated and so I gave up on that idea. Back to the drawing board.

Comic Con Africa R2D2 Video

Here is the video I put together after Comic Con Africa. We had a great time.

Battery Box Hoses

Comic Con Africa is drawing closer and I wanted to get some hoses on my battery boxes. I have no time to get the holders made and have not got the skills to turn and knurl them so I went with a makeshift alternative. I decided to turn some wooden holders.

I started with an old piece of broomstick I had.
I put it on the lathe and got it down to size and then added some details.

I needed to drill out the one end to fit the hose I was going to use and I found my plug cutter was just the right size for the job.

Here are the finished holders. I made one extra just in case.

I glued the hose into the holders and painted the holders.

Finally I fitted the hoses to the feet and battery boxes and they look quite good I think.

R2D2 at Icon 2018 - A fan video

This is a video that someone shot of my R2 at Icon 2018.

Shoulder Hubs

I finally plucked up enough courage to make the shoulder hubs. I was not sure how I would make them but once I got started I found it rather easy. I first turned the main hubs out of wood.

Then I made the side pieces and a falt disk for in the centre and glued everything together.

I still need to give the shoulder hubs a final coat of paint.

I decided to use some magnets that I have to attach the hubs to R2D2 so that if I need to get to the bolts that hold his legs on I can easily remove the hubs.

Running repairs

Icon was the biggest and longest event we have ever been to. I learnt a whole lot about where R2 is week and so we are doing some repairs, upgrades and mods today.