Wish Fulfillment (slightly delayed)
In the previous post, I stated that, despite my supposed adulthood, I still wanted my very own R2 unit, straight outta Star Wars (you know, to calculate my hyperspace jumps and whistle indignantly at Threepio when he gets all prissy). Then, as if the interweb gods themselves were smiling upon me, I see mention of astromech.net, home to the R2 Builders Club, on the tele. This is a club of people from across the globe that have built their own astromech droids. The site contains a wealth of reference photos, information on proper letter designations for naming your droid, film-accurate blueprints and CAD files, and even tutorials on how to wire your little metal friend for radio-controlled locomotion. There are, predictably, quite a few R2-D2 replicas, but there are just as many “background character” droids represented, as well as a handful of custom jobs. If I didn’t know any better, and hadn’t seen some of the in-progress construction pictures, I’d swear they got their R2s off the set of one of the films.
So it would appear that my dream of owning my very own R2 unit is finally within reach. All I need now is the time to build one. And the money to buy all the needed materials. And a space to build it in. And the tools to build it with.
…OK, maybe not within reach. But surely a hell of a lot closer than I previously believed.
Now the dreaming ends, and the planning begins. Now that I know there’s a sizable information base out there to help out and answer questions, this doesn’t seem so far-fetched anymore. I know I can’t tackle this project right now, but I also know I want to more than ever, and when the time comes, I’ll be ready.
Hopefully, my droid will be ready for me as well.
