I hadn't planned to do it, but I just finished up some mods to an R2-D2 figure. The retracting sensor mast has been replaced with a new scratchbuilt one, that is not connected to any automatic mechanism. I hate it when I can't just turn the head on my astromechs, without something happening. I also wound up repainting all the white on the torso, after having to patch up damage from trying to modify a glued on panel. There was just too much difference between my paint, and the plastic.











I gutted the original mechanism, that made the factory sensory mast pop up, when the head was turned. That pretty well restricted the head to mast down/looking right straight ahead, or mast up/head turned 90º. The sensor head didn't even look like the movie prop. The new sensor head is just thick styrene, sanded and filed to shape, with a piece of thin sheet on top. The mast is clear acrylic dowel. I spread some super glue around the acrylic at the bottom, and near the top, to create friction to hold the sensor in place fully extended, and fully retracted. It rides in a short piece of plastic tube mounted in the dome. It can turn 360º. I made a small button on the bottom of the body that pushes the mast up just enough that I can hook a fingernail under the top of it, without trashing the paint. It only works if the head is facing relatively close to straight ahead. Nothing blocks head movement, with the sensor up or down.

He's a sneaky little droid.

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Cool as always! love that Indiana Jones Display you got going!

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very cool man.

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Nice. I like it. I'm honestly shocked at how many R2's I have accumulated over the years.

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I know you didn't set out intending to repaint it, but something about the new paint really makes him pop. Nice mods all around. I have to admit that I also think the dio steals the show here.


lol, no doubt. My fave to hoard though are the McQuarrie concept version. It is not quite so iconic, such that I feel like I can sneak them into a sci-fi dio without it automatically looking too Starwarsy

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Thanks guys! I'll admit that the weathering I did on the paint is pretty close to what it came with. Except for some brown on the feet, to muddy them up (which doesn't even seem to show in these pictures) I left the legs alone.

The dio is just two walls and a floor with a lot of boxes and stuff I can move around. Works good for taking some quick pictures.

I do seem to have a small astromech collection starting here....

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great work --

that shot of the 'eye' over the boxes is awesome -- made me lol

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Thanks.

Yeah, he's such a voyeur.

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