First Assembly

I spent this weekend putting R2 together for the first time. This is just the "frame" pieces, since I don't have any of the detail resin parts yet. No significant problems, other than the center ankle assembly: It's crooked and I'm not happy with it overall. I might rebuild this over the winter with tips I've learned along the way. Not sure how to address the crooked center foot. It's off by 1cm, and I'm thinking about removing the ankle and sanding it at the connection point between the ankle and the bottom of the skirt. That would send my tapped screw holes out of alignment though. I might have to construct a new ankle to solve this problem.

I have the JEDI Control System all laid out and ready to wire up. Waiting for a fuse block from Amazon, and I'm ready. Also need to order a pair of nice speakers.

Giving a lot of thought to joining in on Teeces' FLD/RLD v3 run. It's another $140 I don't want to part with right now, but having everything tied together, including holo projectors and PSIs is a good thing. I'm totally unhappy with the PSI flashers I got from fiberopticproducts. Fortunately, they were only $20 for the pair. 

Also waiting on a circle cutter from Amazon. I painted all the dome pieces with Sonic Blue last weekend, and it turned out great. 1 coat grey primer, 3 coats sonic blue, 3 coats clear gloss. No problems. My plan is to drill out the inner dome with 1/2" circles so I can pop out pie pieces and other dome pieces if I need to. I will probably secure with 3M tape. That dome was so expensive, I hate the idea of doing anything too permanent! The gluing/fusing of the inner to outer dome is going to be scary enough.

I am very happy that I got the Detail Door and Power Door installed without much trouble. I am planning on using the Detail Door to house the JEDI LCD and main power switch. Depending on space, I might also put the charging port here too. The Power Door might just go unused for now. I also intend on putting one of my spare Arduinos in this area to power some red, yellow, and white LEDs on a spare FLD board. Just because that would be cool. 

Next weekend I should have all my parts and I can start wiring and cutting in earnest. I was hoping to be done in time for CVI (8/2012), but now I just might be ready to trick-or-treat!!!