I thought it would be more fun to build LEGO set 10125, Obi Wan's Starfighter, into the "B" version of the Delta-7 Aethersprite, which uses a full-bodied astromech for a co-pilot.

The body and legs of the droid were pieced together around the kit's astromech dome, a printed 4x4 hemisphere. Just make more headpieces, and you have astromech variants, like an R5.

How cool would it be to build astromechs in all the colors of the current LEGO palette? Alas, the printed 4x4 hemisphere is only produced in dark red; and other pieces, like the feet, are only available in a limited number of colors.

Here's the part list to make an R2 astromech with the printed 4x4 hemisphere:

(first number in parentheses is the quantity),

second number is the Bricklink part numbers, &

"description is in quotes".

Legs:

(4) 92946 "Slope 45 2 x 1 with 2/3 Cutout"

(2) 48336 "Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle on Side - Type 2 (closed ends)"

(2) 3794 "Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud (Jumper)"

(6) 2555 "Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip"

(2) 60478 "Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle on End - (closed ends)"

(2) 3623 "Plate 1 x 3"

(2) 3023 "Plate 1 x 2"

(4) 3024 "Plate 1 x 1"

(4) 3069b "Tile 1 x 2 with Groove"

(2) 6541 "Technic, Brick 1 x 1 with Hole"

(2) 2780 "Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise WITH Center Slots"

Body:

(1) 47905 "Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Studs on 2 Sides"

(1) 52107 "Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Studs on 2 Sides"

(2) 3024 "Plate 1 x 1"

(6) 54200 "Slope 30 1 x 1 x 2/3"

(2) 60474 "Plate, Round 4 x 4 with Pin Hole" (one attaches to the dome, one attaches to the bottom of the body)

(2) 87081 "Brick, Round 4 x 4"

(1) 6222 "Brick, Round 4 x 4 with Holes"

The creation was submitted to LEGO Cuusoo, so that we can push to get all these parts produced in more colors, especially the R2 dome, i.e. blue & black printing on a gray piece to make R2-D2. If you'd like to support the project, please visit this page.

Thanks for the support and I hope to see astromechs in all sorts of colors, variations, roles, etc.

Looks great, I have to ask how is the conversion of the Delta 7 to 7B coming along?

That's a pretty good idea. I like the way they look I'm just not sure I can see LEGO selling these as a set. Then again, it would be a Cuusoo set. You've definitely nailed the shape and I would love to have one to put on the shelf.

jmagaletta,

I haven't started the 7B conversion, yet. I put it on the back-burner, in deference to another Cuusoo proposal. I'm trying to get a model of Ralph McQuarrie's X-Wing put together with real bricks. That project is here.

That R-5 unit is lovely , the sticker usage is great. The shaping of the body and construction of the legs is a fantastic idea. Do they come with a third leg?

Tried a couple of third leg assemblies, but I wasn't happy with them. They either didn't look good or weren't securely attached. Suggestions and ideas are welcome!

I really would like to see someone put together an R2-D2 serving drinks on Jabba's barge.

They look good. Do the heads turn?

Do the heads turn?

Kinda...the dome can be attached at any rotational angle around 360 degrees for different poses and looks but it's not free-spinning.

I'm sure there's a way to get the truncated cone R5 head rotating, but on the pictured prototype it's stuck at only one angle.

Nice suggestions, I'll try play around with the models, soon.

This looks nice. What are those torso stickers from?

I see you got some inspiration from Dapper-D2's MOC's of droids..Glad to see people taking inspiration from others on the site and making them in there own style. They look great too...

I like them. The only con would be that stickers are required to make them look accurate, but knowing that adding detail on this scale is pretty hard, I can live with it.

I see you got some inspiration from Dapper-D2's MOC's of droids.

What do you mean? I suppose the general idea is the same (a body for the head from 10215), but the resemblance pretty much ends there. The legs are completlely different builds, as are the bottoms. And one would expect that SPARKART! would give credit where it is due - from his post, it sounds like he built this independently as part of his 10215 conversion.

I honestly have never seen Dapper-D2's MOCs, pretty spiffy!

An earlier iteration of my version was similar, using stacked 1x1 and 1x2 technic bricks for the legs. I switched to stacked plates to get more color variation in the legs, and to get a sturdier structure, to ensure they'd hold together when placing and removing from a starfighter socket.

The stickers are custom printed using a Brother P-Touch label printer.

I honestly have never seen Dapper-D2's MOCs, pretty spiffy!

An earlier iteration of my version was similar, using stacked 1x1 and 1x2 technic bricks for the legs. I switched to stacked plates to get more color variation in the legs, and to get a sturdier structure, to ensure they'd hold together when placing and removing from a starfighter socket.

The stickers are custom printed using a Brother P-Touch label printer.

Nothing personal, i thought you saw them.. Yours are fantastic..

These look great! I got really excited at first (despite the fact that I read "twice the scale"). Too bad they're not minifig scale, as that's all I have decided to focus on for my builds.

Edited February 8, 201213 yr by rogueang

I'm not a fan of stickers, and I'm not indifferent, I really hate stickers. But I guess they have their use. I was thinking of making three separate stickers, one for each round brick on the body, but to line up one is hassle enough.

These look great! I got really excited at first (despite the fact that I read "twice the scale"). Too bad they're not minifig scale, as that's all I have decided to focus on for my builds.

Oh, but they actually ARE minifig scale. These are models of the Empire's new terror weapon, giant killer astro droids!

But the official droids are already too big. Don't tell me we'll have more giant killer astro droids?

"Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?"

I'm not a fan of stickers, and I'm not indifferent, I really hate stickers. But I guess they have their use. I was thinking of making three separate stickers, one for each round brick on the body, but to line up one is hassle enough.

Use one big sticker, then very careful application of a sharp blade along the joins. Hey presto, individual stickers that all line up.

Of course, now you've done these, you need to get a few of these and make the grand daddy of all Astromechs!

There was the Astormech I made here, it has a third leg but IMO it doest look as good as sparkart's as he has the detailing in the stickers.

My idea was sparked by Dappers astromech's but made my own interpretation on it.

I'm loving these, it's too bad creating other R2 units are limited without the use of custom printed pieces.

Andy, I think the grand daddy of astromechs are the giant R2-D2 models assembled at LEGO store openings and special events.

I was watching a bit of Episode I, and thought it would be kinda neat to make a hangar full of different astromechs, or model the scene on the outside of the ship with the astromechs fixing the shield generator, and getting blown away during the escape. Modeling wispy things like fire, smoke, and explosions in a static model is a special challenge, and I'm amazed when I see it done really well in the scale modeling world.

Edited February 8, 201213 yr by sparkart

Now I can post this! Great work.

The project's been updated with a photo of rockets firing and the third mobility leg. I don't really like the way the third leg is connected - it's two clips hugging each other. While I like hugs, this isn't a connection that I've seen in any official LEGO set.

Click on the pic to see the project on LEGO Cuusoo.

Edited February 11, 201213 yr by sparkart

The project's been updated with a photo of rockets firing and the third mobility leg. I don't really like the way the third leg is connected - it's two clips hugging each other. While I like hugs, this isn't a connection that I've seen in any LEGO set.

Click on the pic to see the project on LEGO Cuusoo.

I think it's a great third leg and the connection, looks secure enough.

those are cool. then again I'd settle for astromech minifigs with swivel heads so you can turn them without having to detach them first.