New arrivals: Large Data Port, Arms and Hinges

Well the mailman brought some new goodies this past week.

First to arrive was the Hobart Hinges. Jerry C. got an incredible group rate on these. And bless this man's soul...look at all the small parts he had to sort out and bag for everyone!



The hinges themselves are pretty small and are used for remote-controlled airplanes, namely for the retractable landing gear and gear doors. A small, plastic piece goes through the hole, then you screw the pieces together with the tiny locknut provided. These will be ideal for using in the dome panels and the doors on R2's body.

Next up was some parts from Daniel's Droidstuff.Com site.

First were the utility arms. On the actual droid, they really dont do much. The ones I have are made of resin/plastic. I'm really not a big fan of plastic and with my R2 being near children when done, I really dont want anything that can break. In this photo, the resin arm is in the foreground, while behind it are the new aluminum ones.

Also from Daniel was the Large Data Port. I have an aluminum one that was run by someone a few years ago. It didnt go together well and I wound up shelving it. I then bought a resin one the same member offered sometime later. Its OK but again, I'm not a plastic fan.

As you can see, I've been replacing plastic/resin parts with aluminum. Hopefully in the next few days I'll get the frame ring sanded and adjusted so that this fits inside of it. Daniel offering these parts at an excellent price has been great. I had planned to focus on electronics and motors by now....but with his part offerings being a limited time item, I wanted to acquire as many pieces from him as I could before he brings down his tents, so to speak.

What next?

Well, a better dome is available from another R2 member...I intend to upgrade to that. (It also looks to require no sanding, it already has the dull/shine finish I'm seeking.

Daniel also has a periscope lift mechanism and base plate I really want. I'm pinching my pennies where i can to get those before he closes shop!