December 30, 2007 - Clear Head, Life Ahead

Well, this update warranted stealing a Rush lyric. I have been focusing on the dome and the dome ring ever since I got the legs on. When you buy a dome from the gurus on the R2Builders group, you get the whole thing. Since I got a bird feeder baffle, I had to build up the "dome ring" that sits underneath the dome. This will really give the head of the droid its distinctive look (rather than looking like a salad bowl).

As you can see in the following image, I have the dome and the ring installed on the body.

The ring is a pair of plywood discs that are cut to allow for the clear dome to fit inside, once I wrap it in styrene. The lower disc is half-inch plywood, while the upper disc is quarter-inch plywood. Sandwiched between the two are four half-inch shims. I drilled through the shims to add support, and made the bottom disc more of a ring (to lose some weight).

While the clear bird feeder baffle was about one-eleventh the price of a real aluminum dome, it does have its problems. There are some words (the name of the company that sells them) embossed on the outer surface of the dome, as well as a hole in the very center to accept a screw hook (for hanging on a post or branch). As you can see from the image below, the screw support is quite substantial. Luckily, most of that extra plastic is inside the dome, and won't have to be sanded down. I will, however, have to get the words off before I can paint it up. It would look kinda silly if RD-22 had the words "Wild Birds Unlimited" painted on his forehead!

Next time, I hope to have an update on the feet shells that I got from Andy Schwartz and Alex Kung. Stay tuned...

Bob
December 30, 2007