fostering the construction of high-quality replica robots,
founder Everett was determined that the club put measures
in place to ensure parts compatibility and also safeguard
against profiteering. This prompted a brilliant and inspired
move: the assemblage of a Builders Council. This five-person
council approves each and every one of the club’s parts
suppliers. These suppliers — who are also members of the
group — work from R2BC’s “official blueprints” and offer all
their robot parts at cost.
“It is not a venture to be undertaken
lightly. As such, Jedi instruction is
rigidly structured and codified to
enforce discipline and hinder
transgression.”1
The official blueprints for building R-series astromech
droid replicas were developed by early members of the
R2BC. This research and design phase lasted a couple of
years. Everett recruited a small group of Builders to assist
him in this endeavor. They collected measurements from
Star Wars exhibits and dimensions from actual droids. These
Builders then used this information to draft blueprints and
perform test builds. They created their initial R2-D2 replicas
by hand and adjusted the blueprints as needed. This
process enabled them to make sure all the pieces fit
together. The accuracy of the resulting blueprints provided
the group with standardized plans, which ensures the
uniformity of the robot parts made by Builders, as well as
parts suppliers. So, if an R2 Builder in Paris, TX bought a
pair of aluminum outer ankle brackets from an approved
supplier in Paris, France, those French brackets would be
compatible with that Texan’s other aluminum robot parts.
(To read more about how the R2BC official blueprints
benefited a German fellow who was creating an R2 on his
own, visit www.r2-d2.de/index5.htm/.)
When enough R2BC members post to the group
expressing interest in a particular robot part, an approved
supplier will offer a “parts run.” First, the supplier collects
payment from all interested parties. Then, the supplier pays
a shop (for example, a machine shop) to make the part
that has been requested. The supplier also submits contact
information for the chosen shop and that run’s buyers to
the Builders Council. Longtime R2BC member Craig Smith
explains: “The R2BC does not offer complete R2-D2s for
sale. Group parts that are available from time to time are
made by Builders for Builders as a hobby. The parts are
not mass produced for profit, and no kits are available.”
Once a particular batch of parts is created, the supplier
ships those parts to the Builders who ordered them. The
duration of a parts run can vary from weeks to months —
even years, in some cases. Soon after the shipments are
made, cheers of glee are emitted around the globe as
Builders collect their newly crafted parts from their porches.
At approximately the same time (particularly if the shipped
parts are aluminum), UPS and Fed-Ex carriers the world over
... and the Jedi Code
A father and daughter meet R2-KT.
R2-KT in all her glory.
SERVO 05.2008 43