Painting the inner dome.

As strange as it may seem, apparently there is one panel that is silver on the outside, and BLUE on the inside, which means there is a small section of the inner dome that must be painted blue. I started this by tracing the panel, and then placing blue tape just outside of that line.

One it was done and I was certain that the dome was protected, I used some dupli-color self-etching primer.

Next, I proceeded to put 3 coats on the inner dome, and clear coat it, then I allowed it to cure overnight. The next morning, I started to remove the tape.

And finally, we are able to see a perfect "panel" on the inner dome.

In other news, I also touched up my Large Data Port (LDP)because it had some chipped paint (due to my carelessness!). I still have several parts on the way, including aluminum holoprojectors and aluminum logic surrounds. The last piece I need to acquire is an aluminum radar eye. Forunately, I have a friend who is holding one for me and I just need to transfer the funds and my dome will be 100% done!!

Video of progress!!

I shot a small video showing the progress of R2! You get to see a lot of cool parts and you get a small update (via video) of the things to come!! Enjoy. R2D2 Progress Report!

JAG SKIRT!!!

Today, I received my JAG Skirt. I wasted NO time pulling it out of the box to see it. This is a part I have been so excited about getting that I could barely contain my excitment when the doorbell rang! Quickly, I opened the box to reveal this beauty!!

First, I set up a table and laid out all the parts.

I had to get it painted. Today was a fairly decent day to paint due to the lower humidity. I quickly got it primed with self etching primer!

I did three lighter coats, and allowed about 2 hours worth of drying in between each one. I allowed the extra time because of the humidity. While it is still higher, it was lower today which allowed me the opportunity to paint. After the three coats, I did a wet sand, and then applied the fourth and final coat. I will be honest, of all the painting I have done, this one looks FLAWLESS!! I am very happy.

I will let it sit for about 12-15 hours before I place the clear coat on because I want to ensure the paint is fully dried before it's coated! In other news, my Teece's kit is coming along nicely. I had a hiccup yesterday when my front logics wouldn't work. Only half of the lights would come on.....I spent 5 hours trying to solve the problem, and I consulted many people including Mark, Don, and Mike. Eventually.....and almost sadly, it turns out I simply had the chip in backwards. It's ironic, since the how-to video specifically states to ensure the chips are in correctly. Hopefully, sometime tomorrow I will have a video showing my lights in full working action!!

I've been workin' on the Teeces.

Okay, I received my Teece's kit the other day to start assembling all of the lights. All I can say is.....WOW. There are a LOT of parts to this kit. I purchased a wellner Soldering Iron, some solder that I would later realize was WAY to thick, and a few other accessories. To start with, I am on my SECOND soldering iron now. The wellner's tip was TOO thick (I have never soldered anything), so I later bought a $8.00 one at RadioShack that has a needle-like tip.....and this thing is perfect!! I also bought some new .022 solder that is working well. I stupidly forgot to buy a AA battery pack so that I could test it out, so first thing in the morning, that'll be on my "to-do" list..... Otherwise, after watching the tutorial videos about 3 times, I finally started to "get" it and make some progress. I got quite a bit done on my first evening (probably about 4 hours worth of work so far) and am excited to 'hope' it all works tomorrow when I turn it on to test! Here are a couple photos.

In other news, I received an email notification informing me that my JAG Skirt has been shipped and should be here on Thursday, so that is EXTREMELY exciting for me. With some luck, i'll have this kit done by Thursday and ready to tackle my new skirt.