Cutting the dome panels
Much time passed since the last time I cut the dome, during which I primed and painted the pie panels using a variation of the “Krider blue” rattle can formula, which can be found on astromech.net. My blue may not be exactly like the real R2, but it uses colors I know I can find consistently.
First holoprojector test fit
Now that I had gotten two dremel accessory kits for Christmas, it was time to start cutting again. I used the same dome blueprints I used for the pie panels. This time I printed one of them out at full scale so it took up several sheets of 8.5×11 paper, then tacked them all down on a piece of plywood and set the dome on top. I used the measurements from the other dome drawing to get a figure for the heights of the panels (this particular drawing measured in fractions of the circumference of your dome). Once everything was drawn in, I compared it to images of R2 to make sure I wasn’t making any stupid mistakes.
I started by cutting out the circles for the holoprojectors. I started by using a circle-cutter drill bit, but I found it to be unreliable and prone to sticking. I’m sure it works great if you’re using a drill press and/or cutting a flat surface. I ended up rough-cutting the circles with the dremel+cutoff wheels, and cleaning it up with the dremel+sanding attachment and files.
Panels cut. Also, I'm a dork.
I finished off a Guinness to steady my hands, and cut out the rest of the panels with the dremel. I know some of the panels should have cutouts within them, and I missed one small additional panel, but I feel like I’m done cutting. I may end up just painting those in.
I should also mention I’m using the “fence-post cap” method for creating my holoprojectors (developed originally by Craig Smith, the god of scratch-builders). This involves cutting a hole into the top of a cap for a chain-link fence, putting a door-knob into it, and capping it off with the top from a bottle of Scope mouthwash. Funny story, these were actually the first things I built for R2 since they’re so cheap to make, and I promptly lost them. Someday years from now I’ll find that first set somewhere safe where they wouldn’t be damaged.
Panels cut, pie panels and inner dome fit
All panels cleaned up, back in place