South West Builders 2021 events compilation

 With 2021 done with,

the guys asked me to

compile a short video

montage of the events

we were able to

attend this year.

It was great getting out with these

guys & girls and being able to

brighten peoples days with

meeting the droids.

Here’s to more in 2022!

We already have a few dates/events penciled in, some local #Bristol,

Others a bit further away.

If your interested in building a

droid, check out:

www.astromech.net

www.astromech.info (uk)

www.droidbuilders.uk (uk)

…as well as on Facebook & YouTube.

THE South West Droid Builders MOT Day - Sunday 4th July 2021

Just a quick rundown of the days event.....

Firstly I have to give a

massive thanks to Mike Berry,

of Vinyl Designs.....

www.vinyldesigns.co.uk

...... for making all of the arrangements, printing banners etc, sorting out a large outdoor open air area, covered with

pop-up gazebos [which where needed for both the Sunshine

& the rain], free parking, PPE/sanitizers and food/drinks.....

.....phew, think that's everything.

nothing but droids.....

Mike, Mark T and co, had set up the above (picture) ready by the time I arrived around 9am. Because Bristol's harborside is now a thriving area, with lots to see and do, as well as the M-Shed Museum, there are small shops and food places, the area around the Droid tent was busy with lots of passers by, with children (and adults) eager to see R2D2 and friends.

Mike's R2-XL ride in droid

Glynn T arrived with his A-LT droid(s) all the way from UP-NORTH! A very long 4hr drive each way!!!

There were a quite a few droids in attendance, most requiring MOT's some just for advice etc. Thankfully Oliver S, was able to assist me with the MOT'ing, thanks  mate, it was much appreciated!

A big thanks to Paul F for bringing his laptop as it was needed lol.

We also welcomed a few 'Pit-Droids', some 39.1% droids a Mouse Droid and one massive, full scale, IG-11 droid (Paul S)

Pit Droid

Pit Droid 2 with Paul F's R2-D2

Pit Droids 3 & 4 towered over by IG-11

Special guest appearances from 😁

Mr Lee Towersey,

Mr Sam Prentice,

Mr Oliver Steeples,

Mr Giles Redpath .

Sam brought along his red A-LT droid and also 'went live' via his You Tube channel, for a walk around the enclosure.

In between the MOT'ing, the weather changed from hot to wet with a few light showers, and the droids that were driving around outside on the test track area, would have to make a run for the covers lol. But the sunshine came back and so did the passing public.

Mike Berry's R2 domed Clone Wars droid

Nik H's - R2-A5 droid (his fourth build)

I managed to put R5's utility arm/trade card dispenser into action for the first time. Thanks to Giles for checking that R5 had actually dispensed a card 😁

Mike's R2-XL was part of a 'feature', but I can't say more than that.....you'll have to wait and see.

As well as re-MOT testing, we now also have a few more new droids ready for events: Nik Martin [R2-D2] & Nik Harber [R2-A5] 😎

Around 3:30/4pm the rain came down harder than before and that sealed the end of the day's event. The few remaining helped pack droids away, barriers, signs and the gazebo's before saying thanks again to Mike for organising and driving off into the sunset..... rain.

Not mentioned everyone, sorry, but for those who did make it, thank you for making the journey and being able to catch up with everyone was definitely needed! Big thanks again to all! :)

Check out Sam's channel for his 'Live' video here.

#bristol #droidbuildersuk #astromechdroids

Corsa transport upgrades - 1.1

June 21st

After thinking about how best to support the legs. I decided that the solid shoulder hubs would be best, with a slot designed to hold in place.

I may still think about a central support, but the legs are solid hence not having them.

Next up was to support the ankle. The piece I had already made which would slot in the ankle and support on the bent steel ankle lock, needed to be modified to fit on the ankle support part.

~~~~~

July 3rd

With everything else going on, today was finishing up the leg platform.

So measured up, and got on with cutting out wood. All pieces were then glued and screwed together.

I added padding to areas needed to protect the paint etc. and these were covered in leftover red material.

And the finished platform…..

Tomorrow’s the big event day, for MOT’ing droids. Some have traveled far and are already in Bristol. I’ll be loading up R5 etc in the morning.

Life-form scanner - R4-D4 - part 19

Back in.....May 7th 2021.....

Dug out the laptop and got playing with the Pololu servo controller program...... then had a refresh look at the instructions lol :D

Got the pie panel to open and close, great!

.....but the continuous rotation servo for the lift is going to take a bit of figuring out.

The connector sleeve for the LFS rod to servo, broke. So knowing a bit more about shell thickness for 3D printing [thanks YouTube lol] I made the wall's thicker, and also increased the bore diameter. The rod is now a much better fit and isn't as hard to push into the connector.

July 1st 2021

Hoping to get this all working on Sunday at the MOT Day, as Paul is a whiz with Pololu programing.

** South West Droid Builders MOT Day - UPDATE 2 **

 ** MOT Testing Day **

Droid MOT Day, news update 2:

For club members wanting to attend either

North or South events, please check out the

www.droidbuilders.uk

page for the portal link  to register.

The Bristol event is STILL,

Sunday 4th July 2021

This event is open to all R2D2 Builders Club members,

with or without Droids,

though of course the purposes is for MOT'ing them.

15-17 members attending

1 members maybe attending

10+ requested MOT's.

Corsa transport upgrades - 1.0

May of mentioned before, but my small Corsa, will probably be my main transport for events etc. for future events. The boot load area isn’t large enough to hold R5 in one piece, thankfully with recent upgrades the legs can easily be removed. Allowing a lot less weight to be lifted up and over the boot lip into the rear boot area.

So R5’s body and transport sledge location are sorted. Next up are the legs/feet. This required a new platform to sit over the rear seat area, when it’s laid down. Designed the platform to be level and to be able to be slid forward and use the supports in the boot area that support the raised false floor position.

Measured and cut up some wood and added some strengthening beams underneath.

Next:

• securing points.
• Strap/handles
• Location mounts for legs.

I didn’t want the handles to be an obstruction so decided that as I have plenty of web strapping, I’d make two handles out of a piece of 10mm dia dowel, with the webbing fixed to them.

The second handle is fitted to the rear of the board, to be able to 'lift' the platform up over the side support end stops. The platform then easily slides up onto the rear of the lowered seat......as can be seen in the first picture above.

Still working out how best to mount the legs to the platform....

This picture shows the platform in its 'unloading' position, after being pulled forward, allowing easy access to the legs to be loaded/unloaded.

Am leaning towards the leg bolts as a fixing point and the ankles have a metal strengthening strip, so this could be the support point.

More updates soon......

..............Don't forget, the South West MOT day,

Sunday 4th July [UK only]

If your a UK Builder who needs a Droid MOT

[required for club approved events]

check out the Droid Builders UK portal link,

for the Northern & Southern events.