Hello from a droidbuilder on planet Hoth!

[norlemann123]

Hi everyone!
I'm a sabern00b. I'm currently building an all metal Astromech, but as some of you may know building a full on droid is a tedious business - Soooo I want a side-project to fiddle with while waiting for more sweet sweet aluminium to arrive for the droid. I'm hoping to build a rechargeable LED MHS saber with the Petit Crouton board. I was a COMPLEAT n00b to electronics/soldering before starting the droid, but after soldering hundreds of tiny LEDs, resistors and chips for his circuitry I'm getting confident enough to give building a saber a go. My usual haunt is astromech.net (1200+ posts), so I know how annoying n00bs and the endless repetition of basic questions can be. Hopefully this forum works like the ones I'm used to -> most info is allready here, I just need to research/read....and then search again, hehe. Hopefully I'll find what I need on my own without being a PITA. If I DO ask a retarded question, believe me, I have tried to find the answer on my own first :D

So instead of asking silly questions - is there any build threads that is elementary reading for a beginner wanting a high-end result, and is there any pitfalls to avoid?

If you're curious about me droid check out my blog at http://norwegianr2.blogspot.com/ or come say hi at astromech.net (I'm norlemann123 there aswell)

Cheers

Lasse

[zeropiccolo]

Well here what I went with:
n00b! So you want to build a MHS saber huh?
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?6430-n00b!-So-you-want-to-build-a-MHS-saber-huh&p=108682&posted=1#post108682
The Saber Building Dictionary
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?6524-The-Saber-Building-Dictionary
Thread Index
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?553-Thread-Index
New to the scene forum
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/forumdisplay.php?35-New-to-the-saber-scene-Start-Here

With all this you should be fine.

[madmaxx]

Holy mother of crap! i didnt even know there was a R2-D2 builders club!!i just looked at astromech.net and i am floored at the quality of those droids.I think your more than qualified to make a saber if you are spending your time turning out R2 units...well done indeed!

[Rob]

Lasse!

I just posted the other day about starting a build here. Robkashikoi on the astro forums. Nice to see you here.

Madmaxx, check my previous post for a link to my R2 if you are interested.

Rob

[Evilpancreas]

I just looked at your R2 building blog. I must say that your skills are very impressive. Would you mind tellimg me how much you payed for all of the components? I'm assuming its a tad bit expensive.

[norlemann123]

Hi Rob! Small nerdworld, eh? :D

Evilpancreas - the type of all metal droid I'm building doesn't involve any mad metalworking skills I'm afraid. Some modding here and there, but that's about it. Metal parts are made in part-runs by various builders in the club, so much of it is just bolt on. The main skill you need to build an all metal astromech is patience - collecting the parts might take 2yrs... Price depends a bit, but if your selling your soul to the aluminium devil you're looking at 10-15000 USD for a complete working RC droid with all the bells and whistles. Quite a lot, but as it is spread over 2-3 years it's doable.

BUT we have builders who make their droids out of Styrene or wood/mixed media aswell. It involves more skills, but for a tenth of the price you'll get a droid no one can tell apart from the metal ones ;)

[Rob]

I think you are being a bit modest, Lasse. Your astromech is outstanding.

Rob

[brett]

Beautiful droid sir, should be a fitting partner for your saber! I guess you might consider making a gas/spring loaded chamber for him to fire your saber to you when needed. Hee hee. Seriously though, good luck with your build (both) and there are many fantastic people here willing to help out, should ease the difficulties you might face considerably.

[norlemann123]

Beautiful droid sir, should be a fitting partner for your saber! I guess you might consider making a gas/spring loaded chamber for him to fire your saber to you when needed. Hee hee...

Hehehe - one of our parts suppliers is looking into that very gadget! The biggest problem is the lack of space/height inside the dome. A full scale Luke saber is too high - it will catch on the frame and hinder the dome from rotating the full 360 degrees. But a shortened version could work - or a custom one ;)

[Evilpancreas]

That's simply amazing. That's definitely been chalked up as one of my "do before I die" kind of things.

[norlemann123]

That's simply amazing. That's definitely been chalked up as one of my "do before I die" kind of things.
Just do it mate! The guys over at astromech.net will welcome you with open arms. They are the most helpful bunch of people on the interweb ;)

[Silver Serpent]

Anyone with the skill and patience (and funds) to build an astromech shouldn't have any difficulty with a saber. Fair warning, it gets cramped inside those metal tubes very quickly.

[norlemann123]

Anyone with the skill and patience (and funds) to build an astromech shouldn't have any difficulty with a saber. Fair warning, it gets cramped inside those metal tubes very quickly.

Funds - may the wife never know... lol! So far my wish list at the saber shop is about 450usd. Thats about twice what my monthly droid spending have been. In other words - if you build a saber with sound/FX every other month you should be able to afford a metal droid :D

Space - yeah, so I've understood. Is there any trick to calculate what will fit inside the hilt?

[Jordandau]

Pretty much everything in the store has dimensions. Also using the MHS builder will help. But there is no substitute for holding the parts in you hand. I remember being unsure about how long I wanted my saber to be before it was in my hand. So I bought a few different pieces to try them out.

[dustunite]

Those are pretty amazing, I didn't know there were droid building clubs either. I really don't need another hobby but i might not be able to help myself.

[Vlad Doon]

Oh myyyy god, I thought I couldn't ruin my free time and my wallets more than I do with my lightsaber hobby, wrrrrong, this astromech thing can be waaaay more dangerous.
8)

[norlemann123]

Hehe! Looking at the total a full on all metal droid can be quite expensive (about 10k usd), but if you choose the light path of styrene you'll have a fully working droid for much much less (some have been made for about 1k usd)...

[Rob]

Mine was about 2K but I am an inpatient fool so I probably could have saved a bit.

[norlemann123]

YESSS!! It has arrived! My GF just called me, somewhat angry, and said the postman had just delivered two parcels she SUSPECTED was some MORE Star Wars related STUFF... hahaha Got slammed pretty hard by customs (115usd - yikes!). Funny thing is the customs fee had to be paid to the postman - by my GF as I'm still at work...hahahaha, no wonder she was a bit angry, lolz :D Now I just can't wait to get my ass out of the office! w000000t!

[Crystal Chambers]

Too awesome. Welcome aboard! This should be a piece of cake for ya.

The idea of droid building is tempting but wow...extensive lightsabers are pushing my time and budget as is. I might have to give it a go eventually. Maybe something more custom then a R2D2 though. As much as I appreciate an accurate replica I prefer to build customs.