As luck would have it, I misplaced one of the dome panelpices, the one that goes between the lights! I am sure it will turn up...someday. Thankfully, its a simple piece to make using some left over aluminum skin scraps.
I want to hinge my pie panels but at a later time. So for now, I just taped the panels into place, then from inside, with the dome sitting upside down on a pile of bubble wrap, I applied blobs of silicone to the edges. I used a popsickle stick to spread it around. Silicone is easy to remove and for now, keeps the panels from clanking around.
The pieces near the rear logic display were a bit of a puzzle for me. In some R2 photos, they are all touching, in others, slightly spaced apart. I went for something in the middle, siliconed then taped them into place.
More rear pieces are glued into position. I plan to have a silver plastic piece covering that opening with a red light behind it (as seen in Return of the Jedi).
After drying for a few hours, I mounted the dome. With all the panels in place, its a lot trickier to ount the dome onto the rockler! I need to buy a new style radar eye which is available in resin from one of the other builders. Once I have that painted, I can agonize over mounting the eye to the dome!
Its getting there! The To-Do List is getting shorter!
