Category: TADAW (Terran Astromech Droid Assembly Works)

On April 17, I take the dome outside to sand it …
… and sand, and sand, and sand, and sand, and sand. This stuff is hard as rock. I used 40 grit sandpaper, and it hardly making a dent.
Mom goes back online. Reads several blog posts about NOT using papier-mâché pulp to smooth papier-mâché. Seems we should have used gesso instead. The bloggers say that the gesso will fill in the bumps and lumps, while papier-mâché pulp is usually lumpy no matter how much you break it up and mix.

I take a week off from the build to prep for the first Tripoli Minnesota High Power Rocketry Club Launch of the spring — which we then miss for reasons not related to R2D2 building.

On April 18, I get to visit the shop of another local R2D2 builder, AimeeD!

On April 23, I apply a layer of gesso. It fills in the tiny holes, but thick as it is, it’s not going to help with the large lumps.

Things go horribly wrong, although I won’t know that for a while yet.

Mom does some quick internet research. Too quick it turns out. She reads ONE blog post about using papier-mâché pulp to smooth the finish of a papier-mâché project, so we walk to Michael’s and back for a box of FastMâché.

It’s goopy and sloppy!

It doesn’t exactly smooth on easily.

It mostly sticks to my hands.

But it does seem to be covering the newspaper with uniform whiteness.

THAT’S NO MOON!

Mom says we can sand it smooth. She reads the instructions and tells me that it’s easiest to sand when it’s “leather dry.”

She will be wrong about this.

The second layer of papier-mâché on April 12:

The third layer of papier-mâché on April 13:

Apply the fourth layer of papier-mâché on April 14:

The fourth layer completed:

The fifth and final layer of papier-mâché on April 15:

I have decided to build a full-size functioning astromech droid. This project will take years to complete, so for this spring, I am focusing on getting a functioning radar eye with a hidden camera and getting the dome to rotate via remote control.

But first I needed a dome. Having a tight budget, I decided to make one from papier-mâché. I used my mom’s 18-inch yoga ball as the form.

But she made me cover it in plastic wrap because she says she wants it back.

I used dilute Tacky Glue for the papier-mâché paste.

And I used regular newspaper stripes for the paper.

The first layer looks pretty darn good. I can see R2 hiding in there.