tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85519999149549906912024-03-13T20:19:25.995-07:00L3-G0 the Lego brick R2-D2L3-G0 is a full size, working, Lego brick R2-D2Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-4064251973204604232019-09-23T19:48:00.003-07:002019-09-23T19:48:36.902-07:00Changed the title to be "Lego brick"The Lego Group's apparently asked Thingiverse to remove everything with their name in the title. So I guess I need to be more careful about how I refer to my Lego brick built R2-D2 model. <br />
<br />Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-47382293219831125792017-10-23T11:22:00.003-07:002017-10-23T11:22:45.946-07:00Inquisitive InfernoI was trying to troubleshoot L3-G0's sprayer a while back and Inferno the Cat decided to help out. Unfortunately L3-G0's shoulder doesn't support a 24lb/11kg cat:<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/29604028161/in/album-72157671804502910/" title="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2"><img alt="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2" height="320" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/29604028161_45babd0bb0_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/29604028781/in/album-72157671804502910/" title="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2"><img alt="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2" height="320" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8244/29604028781_2833decb3f_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/29604029721/in/album-72157671804502910/" title="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2"><img alt="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2" height="320" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/29604029721_de85fe1680_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/29604030461/in/album-72157671804502910/" title="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2"><img alt="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2" height="320" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8893/29604030461_268a4c8113_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>
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His adventure caused a little damage:<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/29604031401/in/album-72157671804502910/" title="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2"><img alt="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2" height="320" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/29604031401_e9bb6f0863_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/29604032501/in/album-72157671804502910/" title="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2"><img alt="Inferno the Cat trying to climb L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2" height="320" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8760/29604032501_3bf491cd8a_n.jpg" width="180" /></a><!--script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script-->
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Inferno has a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/albums/72157671804502910/with/29604032501/" target="_blank">small album on Flickr</a>.Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-50843045195229803032015-10-23T09:47:00.002-07:002015-10-23T09:51:57.155-07:00L3-G0 and TerrainArtoo is a terrible mechanical design. You can see that in some of Lucasfilm's R2-D2 Extras where they talk about building him and stuff.<br />
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For starters, the front foot appears to merely be there as something for him to trip over. In the replica droid business this leads what is known as a "faceplant." Yes, L3-G0 has faceplanted (fortunately without the dome).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAWft2Abmvw/VXJljtFl4UI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Hd7_XzYC1vo/s1600/L3-G0%2BFace%2BPlant%2B%25281054x1280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAWft2Abmvw/VXJljtFl4UI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Hd7_XzYC1vo/s400/L3-G0%2BFace%2BPlant%2B%25281054x1280%2529.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego R2-D2 doing the "Faceplant"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Basically, there's not enough distance in the front foot from the center of gravity to provide good leverage when you run into an obstacle. In this case a sidewalk crack as I was trying to get in out of a light drizzle.<br />
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In order for the front wheel to turn, it's on casters, and those can't be very big because they'll hit the foot shell. So the small diameter also makes it hard to cross cracks like the one at the bottom of the picture. (I thought all of the cracks would be as small as the earlier cracks). <br />
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L3-G0 is "worse" in this regard because the Lego bricks make his front foot shell pretty thick on the bottom, reducing the available wheel diameter to about 2" (about 5cm). Another problem is that his front foot is hinged at the ankle (thinking about 2-3-2 mode), which means that if the front wheel drops in, then it stays.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Types of terrain that gives L3-G0 trouble</h3>
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Any kind of bump is potentially disastrous. So I really look out for those. If the caster drops in or has to climb over, it leads to tripping. If its "small enough" I try ramming it gently and seeing if he'll make it. If not, then I either back over the obstacle or lift the front over it.<br />
<br />
The gap in an elevator is usually "OK" and about the maximum that he can travel over. Small door sills like on a front door are iffy, sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Something like an extension cable at an event may be traversable, though high bumps can cause me to drag on the foot shell (he has about 1cm or 3/8th inch clearance)<br />
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If the terrain is too soft, then his wheels dig in. This happens on padded carpet. He either can't climb out or the foot shells can even ride on whatever it is.<br />
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Another problem is "rough" terrain. The drive train can handle a sidewalk or pavement, but most exterior surfaces are pebbly and cause a lot of vibration, which wants to shake him (literally) to pieces.<br />
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There's also a limit to the incline L3-G0 can safely traverse. Especially ramps going down he wants to coast and we have to use power to brake him.<br />
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<h3>
So is there anything L3-G0 CAN drive on?</h3>
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Fortunately most convention halls and public spaces have big flat smooth concrete floors. I just have to watch for the expansion gaps between slabs and cable runs. Most houses have similarly smooth slabs in their garages, but watch for the crack! Driveways or streets are often too rough or steep. (For Halloween we put out mats for him on our driveway).<br />
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He can usually climb the 1/4" onto the carpet some folks put down for their booths (like when he visited the Lego booth at Celebration). The wood floor in our house is fine, though we have a 1/4" rise between rooms I have to watch.<br />
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Tile is another scary area because it has lots of little cracks, and can be rough on top depending on the style. Close fitted tile or linoleum tiles are fine.<br />
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Industrial carpeted areas are usually OK, though they can drain the battery a bit more than concrete. However the carpet in the lobby at Rose City (Oregon Convention Center) seems padded more than normal. A typical house carpet is too soft to really be passable.<br />
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Wheelchair ramps are often a good path for him, not being too steep. <br />
<h4>
</h4>
<br />
<h3>
What can be done? </h3>
<br />
As a practical thing, if I have complicated terrain, then I drive over it backwards. The load is better distributed on the back feet that way, and he can drag the problematic front foot over whatever it is. For the foot shell clearance issue, I raised the shell a tiny amount, which helped a lot. (Some of the "real" Artoos have a gaping 1" or more clearance, but I think that looks funny)<br />
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Tracks (like a tank) could help some, but you still have steering issues. Some builders have created a system that can navigate a grass yard (though that would shake L3-G0 apart).<br />
<br />
Some of the fanciest systems have a single large diameter rotating wheel up front, sometimes even powered, but that typically requires complicated mechanical systems.<br />
<br />
L3-G0 could also have a more rigid front ankle, however that can lead to other issues. I've limited it's play a little, but he was designed to have it be flexible so stiffening it is tough.<br />
<span id="goog_884265359"></span><br />
Oliver and Lee came up with a system using a hub motor for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, which seems to help a lot. Some of the other builders are trying that. (I confess that it's on L3-G0's to-do list).<br />
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In the meantime I watch out for rough surfaces.<br />
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And cracks.Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-16177288739100602412015-10-04T22:48:00.004-07:002015-10-04T22:50:00.064-07:00Brickcon 2015!<strong>Subtitle:</strong> how to be completely out-of-sync since I haven't even posted about (much) earlier events.... Oh well.<br />
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This weekend was Brickcon 2015, one of the biggest Lego conventions around. Tons of "well known" Lego artists show stuff there, and we've been going most recent years. We represented the R2-D2 Builder's Club, showing off the banner we picked up at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lmWB4iIrErw/VhIIw9SKF1I/AAAAAAAAARk/eu5XUaRkaEI/s1600/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2B%2B%25286%2529%2B%2528670x1280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 and MCK-Y, Lego Droids at BrickCon 2015" border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lmWB4iIrErw/VhIIw9SKF1I/AAAAAAAAARk/eu5XUaRkaEI/s320/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2B%2B%25286%2529%2B%2528670x1280%2529.jpg" title="L3-G0 and MCK-Y, Lego Droids at BrickCon 2015" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 and MCK-Y, Lego Droids at BrickCon 2015</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_985813278">MCK-Y the Mouse Droid and I had tons of fun entertaining folks</span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPj08Kt8ip0/VhIJWblXI-I/AAAAAAAAASQ/f1q1waHVbpY/s1600/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2B%2B%25285%2529%2B%25281280x722%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPj08Kt8ip0/VhIJWblXI-I/AAAAAAAAASQ/f1q1waHVbpY/s400/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2B%2B%25285%2529%2B%25281280x722%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entertaining kids at BrickCon</td></tr>
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On Saturday we had some excitement when the fire alarm went off. Apparently some mom had her kiddo in one of those backpack things, and was leaning against the wall to rest. When she went to leave, the kid was apparently really curious about this thing attached to the wall and tried to hang on.<br />
Lara was wrangling L3-G0 at the time and was wondering what kind of whacky noise she'd triggered!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lD-bF9Eu--0/VhIKUDkSAWI/AAAAAAAAATA/UnHeNgOz_rM/s1600/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2BFire%2BDrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lD-bF9Eu--0/VhIKUDkSAWI/AAAAAAAAATA/UnHeNgOz_rM/s320/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2BFire%2BDrill.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>
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MCK-Y also took it upon himself to go entertain some of the folks in the crowd outside waiting to get tickets (there's often a line, particularly in the morning). Unfortunately, he also tried to test the strength of this wall by backing into it!<br />
The line curved around this shallow fountain, so MCK-Y decided to show off his off-road skillz!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVO8Pll__iU/VhIK2ZQGxHI/AAAAAAAAATQ/dh5oCKPaO0U/s1600/Lego%2BMouse%2BDroid%2BWalks%2Bon%2BWater%2B-%2BBrickCon%2B2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVO8Pll__iU/VhIK2ZQGxHI/AAAAAAAAATQ/dh5oCKPaO0U/s400/Lego%2BMouse%2BDroid%2BWalks%2Bon%2BWater%2B-%2BBrickCon%2B2015.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego Mouse Droid driving through fountain!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here are some of the other MOCs (My Own Creation, 'cept that these other people's creations, it's a Lego Builder acronym for things they make).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_3yQQNw3IU/VhILlnFhk_I/AAAAAAAAATg/M6jkcO8gU1o/s1600/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2BCool%2BLighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_3yQQNw3IU/VhILlnFhk_I/AAAAAAAAATg/M6jkcO8gU1o/s400/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2BCool%2BLighthouse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool Lighthouse, 2nd place in People's Choice</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-91QWr03wcaw/VhILl9HnDmI/AAAAAAAAATo/TsZJQT-Tw3E/s1600/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2BFun%2BLego%2BMosaic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-91QWr03wcaw/VhILl9HnDmI/AAAAAAAAATo/TsZJQT-Tw3E/s400/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-%2BFun%2BLego%2BMosaic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nifty Lego Mosaic, Our Neighbor won an Mosaic award</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1XmZO49HP1w/VhILlxO2-SI/AAAAAAAAATk/7Uqo4LXu53k/s1600/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-Lego%2BComputer%2BNeighbor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1XmZO49HP1w/VhILlxO2-SI/AAAAAAAAATk/7Uqo4LXu53k/s400/BrickCon%2B2015%2B-Lego%2BComputer%2BNeighbor.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These computers were also our neighbors, Look at those Lego cases!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On Sunday we were privileged to receive the BrickCon 2015 People's Choice Award. What a cool honor! We're glad you liked L3-G0 and MCK-Y, and thanks to everyone who voted for us. We go to the cons because like showing off the droids for the crowds, especially when folks are excited and curious, but we don't mind winning prizes :) There were tons of other great and deserving Lego Creations at the show, so we're thrilled and humbled that you chose us.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AcxiiczBsLk/VhIO_lliA4I/AAAAAAAAAUI/DtxO-R5YohI/s1600/Lego%2BR2-D2%2Bwith%2BPeople%2527s%2BChoice%2BAward%252C%2BBrickCon%2B2015%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AcxiiczBsLk/VhIO_lliA4I/AAAAAAAAAUI/DtxO-R5YohI/s400/Lego%2BR2-D2%2Bwith%2BPeople%2527s%2BChoice%2BAward%252C%2BBrickCon%2B2015%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 with People's Choice Award</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OlyOiV6lvM4/VhIO_3NhIGI/AAAAAAAAAUE/kxU1Kc4FDxQ/s1600/Lego%2BR2-D2%2Bwith%2BPeople%2527s%2BChoice%2BAward%252C%2BBrickCon%2B2015%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OlyOiV6lvM4/VhIO_3NhIGI/AAAAAAAAAUE/kxU1Kc4FDxQ/s400/Lego%2BR2-D2%2Bwith%2BPeople%2527s%2BChoice%2BAward%252C%2BBrickCon%2B2015%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 trying the People's Choice Trophy on as a hat!</td></tr>
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Now maybe I'll get around to posting some of the things that happened earlier in the year...<br />
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Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-41666665282021884532015-10-01T19:19:00.000-07:002015-10-01T19:19:07.073-07:00Holoprojector Repair - Rose City Comic Con DamageTaking something like L3-G0 out and exhibiting him causes a lot of wear and tear. Foot motors break, shoulders get smashed, fuses blow, etc.<br />
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One common problem I've had is with the holoprojectors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qqnv1lc3ydA/Vg3mrnDSUaI/AAAAAAAAAQA/UTr8zrmaf1o/s1600/Broken%2BHP%2BL3-G0%2B%25281280x1168%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="365" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qqnv1lc3ydA/Vg3mrnDSUaI/AAAAAAAAAQA/UTr8zrmaf1o/s400/Broken%2BHP%2BL3-G0%2B%25281280x1168%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 Lego Holoprojector</td></tr>
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There are 8 panels on each one (alternating fat/narrow), attached by Lego clips. The clips break, as on the bottom left. This HP lost a panel before the show even started, but I lost 3 more during the show. I moved one down to be less conspicuous earlier, but right after the show closed some toddler yanked the HP off his back and when it came back it had even fewer panels.<br />
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Anyway, this is one place I have to Kragle. The narrow arms especially want to fall off, and the 1x1 rounds. The clips are free to move though, and the axle fits in a round hole that lets the entire HP move and be positioned.<br />
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Biggest problem was that one of the chargers failed. We made do, but fortunately Shorai replaced it under warranty. <br />
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At RCCC the slip ring that powers the dome lights also got disconnected at the plug, and shorted, blowing a fuse. So that needs repaired too.<br />
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Also a few misc parts form the feet. Left battery box isn't staying on very well.<br />
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Lastly one of the feet might be slipping. The RCCC convention center has nasty carpet.<br />
Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-88152069599401636952015-06-05T21:13:00.000-07:002015-06-05T21:27:31.618-07:00Can Lego Bricks be Jinxed?L3-G0 went to a small school's kid's dance last night. Everyone had a great time, and he danced with some of the kids. <br />
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Most of the kids at the school knew L3-G0 already, but they were happy that he could join in.
Given the environment, there was a lot of touching and stuff, and eventually there was a small accident with his <i><i><strong>LEFT</strong></i></i> shoulder, which had to be repaired. And made me wonder if bricks can be cursed?<br />
<br />
Is it possible to have unlucky bricks? Cursed? Jinxed? Did I run afoul of a Voodoo Doctor somewhere? <br />
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<h4>
You see, there's a kind of Déjà vu here...
</h4>
<br />
On the completed L3-G0's first outing, to <a href="http://l3-g0.blogspot.com/2014/03/made-it-to-emerald-city-comicon-finally.html" target="_blank">Emerald City Comicon (ECCC),</a> there was a bit of a mishap. He was driving along and the escalator reached it's rail out to smash him in the <em><strong>right</strong></em> shoulder. (I'm sure that's what happened, I would have never driven that close to the rail!) Since the escalator was moving, bricks when flying everywhere. Huge gasp from the crowd. Very impressive. We even got censured by security and prohibited from the escalator for some reason.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXddTSr0hKM/VXJj5j0c2PI/AAAAAAAAAMA/ci48M_uT8ho/s1600/L3-G0%2BBroken%2BShoulder%2BECCC%2B%25281%2529%2B%2528960x1280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXddTSr0hKM/VXJj5j0c2PI/AAAAAAAAAMA/ci48M_uT8ho/s320/L3-G0%2BBroken%2BShoulder%2BECCC%2B%25281%2529%2B%2528960x1280%2529.jpg" style="padding: 2px;" title="Lego R2D2 Broken Right Shoulder at ECCC 2014" width="240" /></a>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EUxXl5gHjaE/VXJj53wVPaI/AAAAAAAAAL8/aor31PJoQo4/s1600/L3-G0%2BBroken%2BShoulder%2BECCC%2B%25282%2529%2B%2528960x1280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EUxXl5gHjaE/VXJj53wVPaI/AAAAAAAAAL8/aor31PJoQo4/s320/L3-G0%2BBroken%2BShoulder%2BECCC%2B%25282%2529%2B%2528960x1280%2529.jpg" style="padding: 2px;" title="Lego Artoo with Broken Shoulder at Emerald City Comicon" width="240" /></a>
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Then a bit later we took L3-G0 out to a friend's bookstore for <a href="http://l3-g0.blogspot.com/2014/05/star-wars-day-may-4th-be-with-you.html" target="_blank"> Star Wars Day</a>. May the Fourth be With You! Unfortunately there was an earthquake which opened a gap in the sidewalk, tripping L3-G0 and causing a faceplant, along with the <em><strong>right</strong></em> shoulder. (I'm sure it was an earthquake, this is Seattle after all. I'm sure it wasn't something so mundane as me trying to outrun the rain and not looking at the crack!)<br />
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(Ironically this is one of my favorite pictures of him. I just love the Tuskan Raider's expression - it was he who invited me, and this is before the event I was supposed to participate in).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAWft2Abmvw/VXJljtFl4UI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Lt8kJ99fqqI/s1600/L3-G0%2BFace%2BPlant%2B%25281054x1280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lego Artoo crashed with bricks everywhere and wheels showing in front of a Tuskan Raider." border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAWft2Abmvw/VXJljtFl4UI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Lt8kJ99fqqI/s320/L3-G0%2BFace%2BPlant%2B%25281054x1280%2529.jpg" title="Tuskan Raider examining wreck of Lego R2D2" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrecked Lego R2-D2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You don't get it, I know. How is he cursed if those were the right shoulder, but the party broke the left. Patience young Padawan, I'm getting there...<br />
<br />
Next time the curse struck was at Rose City Comicon (RCCC, kinda like ECCC, but smaller). Things were going well, but one of the vendors shoved his table out into his shoulder as I turned the corner (I'm sure that's what happened, I mean he looked nice and all, and the table was loaded with stuff so it looked like it couldn't possibly move, but there's no way I was inept enough to drive down a 50 foot path and smash into a table on one side). <br />
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You guessed it, the <em><strong>right</strong></em> shoulder was destroyed AGAIN!!!! No pix, sorry. Of course we're getting better at fixing the shoulder by now.<br />
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Mishap #4 was back at that accursed book store. This time it was an endcap full of books that attacked. Darth Vader was there and may have used the Dark Side to yank L3-G0 into the books. This time we were picking <em><strong>right</strong></em> shoulder bricks out from between the books.<br />
<br />
We had uneventful trips to Children's and some schools and work and stuff, but then it was time for Star Wars Celebration, Anaheim. Which I know I still need to blog about, but until then he has some pix on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/myl3g0" target="_blank">facebook</a>.<br />
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On the way down we stopped in Endor (Redwoods park) to take a cool photograph. Unfortunately Lara stumbled. I'm sure she was falling away from R2, but at the last instant she jumped towards him and smashed down on the... wait for it... <em><strong>right</strong></em> shoulder! (You could've guessed by now. The fifth time we smashed his right shoulder). Fortunately a couple kind schoolteachers helped get the bricks out of the dirt and a while later we were ready for the pictures.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2bGZsJkXMp8/VXJqMqq9BVI/AAAAAAAAAMU/MfUsHfHCUPY/s1600/L3-G0%2Bthe%2BLego%2BArtoo%2Bafter%2BLara%2BCrushed%2BShoulder%2B%25281280x958%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="R2-D2 with smashed Lego Bricks on Endor." border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2bGZsJkXMp8/VXJqMqq9BVI/AAAAAAAAAMU/MfUsHfHCUPY/s320/L3-G0%2Bthe%2BLego%2BArtoo%2Bafter%2BLara%2BCrushed%2BShoulder%2B%25281280x958%2529.jpg" title="L3-G0 the Lego Artoo Detoo being repaired after smashing shoulder in Redwoods." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 smashed shoulder on Endor (Redwood's National Park)</td></tr>
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After several stops (including LEGOLAND) we reached Celebration! And there was a lot of activity, running around, launching lightsabers and generally showing off, which all went pretty smoothly.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Buttons Front!</h4>
<br />
R2 Builders have had huge debates and discussions about "Buttons Front" or "Buttons Back". You see, at the top of his legs, each of Artoo's shoulder has 2 buttons on one side and a hydraulic bar on the other side. Unfortunately the legs are kind of interchangeable, so in some scenes and movies, they're flipped, sometimes buttons are front, sometimes buttons are back.<br />
<br />
At Celebration we met Lee and Oliver, a couple great fellow builders who built R2-D2 for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens! (Way to go guys, he looks great!) Anyway, building Artoo for the movie they had to make a decision, and the decided "Buttons Front."<br />
<br />
That's all well and good, however L3-G0 was built "Buttons Back". I don't remember all of my reasoning, but thought about flipping the shoulders. On day three, we were hanging out by the Sandcrawler, and someone teased us that Oliver had said "Buttons Front". <br />
<br />
I was like "fine", and ripped the shoulders off and flipped them, putting the left shoulder on the right side and the left on the right. I think I surprised him, most builders are pretty picky about the buttons decision. They're symmetrical so it was pretty easy and I'd been thinking about it anyway. I thought it looked a little funny at first, but now I don't notice.<br />
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<strong>What do Buttons have to do with this story?</strong><br />
<br />
Now that you ask, an interesting thing happened. A little bit after I swapped the shoulders we had what I call "The Great Parking of the Droids". We all got together for a group photo. As you can imagine, it took forever, but it was tons of fun. Notice the buttons front in the picture.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WRN5cR3frok/VXJv_njYfpI/AAAAAAAAAMg/aPauIxOY340/s1600/Parking%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDroids%2B%252857%2529%2B%25281280x853%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lego R2-D2 and Mouse Droids with Steampunk and R2-KT and many other droids." border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WRN5cR3frok/VXJv_njYfpI/AAAAAAAAAMg/aPauIxOY340/s400/Parking%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDroids%2B%252857%2529%2B%25281280x853%2529.jpg" title="L3-G0, MCK-Y and R2-KT at the Great Parking of the Droids" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Parking of the Droids, L3-G0 and R2-KT</td></tr>
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<br />
Of course there was lots of maneuvering and people getting their droids into place. During all of that activity someone was a little unbalanced and reached for... wait for it.... Can you guess? L3-G0's <em><strong>LEFT</strong></em> shoulder. Small pile of bricks on the floor, fortunately not too bad of a fix.<br />
<br />
Got that? His right shoulder was smashed 5 times, then we flipped the bricks around and the next time it was the left shoulder, SAME BRICKS! They must be cursed.<br />
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Which brings us back to the dance. No picture, but there was a small oops and L3-G0's left shoulder fell apart onto the dance floor. Now it's twice since moving the bricks to the other side.<br />
<br />
<h4>
So Can Lego Bricks be Jinxed?</h4>
<br />
L3-G0 is made out of Lego, and all sorts of things happen, his feet have to be snapped back together quite often as that what sticks out the most. His head gets dizzy and bricks wiggle loose. <a href="https://twitter.com/myL3G0/status/585942677914398720" target="_blank">The dog's stepped on his head</a>. We've fried electronics, etc, etc. But smashed shoulders is one of the most annoying problems and he's had his shoulders destroyed a total of 7 times now. It's been different shoulders now, but the same bricks all seven times!<br />
<br />
The totally random odds of having two shoulders and smashing the same shoulder bricks 7 times in a row is 1 in 128. Kind of between the odds of rolling double sixes on 2 dice and triple sixes on 3 dice. I use to think I was just leading with the right shoulder somehow, but now??? I thought it was bad when it was 4 in a row.<br />
<br />
I think he's got some cursed bricks. Maybe they were bought from a seller that runs a Voodoo shop on the side or something. Somehow his bricks have been jinxed. Maybe it's just the main ones that connect to the rest of the leg. Maybe it's the whole thing. At least I know which side is L3-G0's unlucky one!Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-5248254610435123532015-05-08T10:48:00.001-07:002019-09-23T19:50:03.531-07:00The Death Star had plans, what about Lego brick Artoos?Every occasionally I get asked to share plans for L3-G0. I encourage everyone to build things they love with Lego bricks, but sharing the plans is hard. REALLY hard.<br />
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L3-G0 had a rough design, however the "plans" don't come close to the as-built model, so there's a lot of work/confusion that would happen if someone started to build another. It'd probably take me a month of hard work to have something decent enough to share. Nothing personal, but I don't have a ton of free time.<br />
<br />
In addition to the Lego model, there are many internal bits of other materials that add to the complexity of the build. He has an aluminum and wood frame with laser cut wood bits. Nothing individually that crazy, but this isn't your normal Lego brick build. You could get away without some of that if you wanted a static version, but he wasn't designed to "stand" without some of that structure.<br />
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For the dynamic version he also has 3D printed bricks internally and of course wires and motors and electronics. None of that's a huge deal, but does make things a bit more complicated.<br />
<br />
Probably the biggest problem is 16,000 Lego Bricks. <br />
<br />
Very specific Lego Bricks.<br />
<br />
Think about that. 16 <em>thousand</em> bricks. Big Lego sets are 1-2 thousand bricks. And those are a completely different very specific group of bricks.<br />
<br />
So how do you get 16K bricks? There are places that people part out sets like bricklink and ebay. <br />
<br />
But lets go back to that number: 16K bricks. Bricklink has 251 million bricks listed right now. But almost all of those are the completely wrong bricks. When I bought bricks for L3-G0, I ended up buying several kinds for which I bought all of the only bricks of that shape/color available. <br />
<br />
Now lets consider what happens if I post the plans. Obviously 10 kids are going to ask dad (or mom) to help build him. If word got out, then it's 100 or 1000 or more. The Lego Group sells 7 sets a second. A quarter billion a year. Presumably 0.001% of those would consider building a Lego brick R2 instead (or in addition). That tiny number would be 2,000 builds started a year. Let's pretend I'm way off and it's only 20.<br />
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Lets look at Bricklink again. Take those 16K bricks times 20 people. That's 320K very specific bricks. That is a HUGE number. Buying the bricks for one L3-G0 distorted the market price of some bricks for a year. <br />
<br />
I just looked at one of the common bricks. There are enough for make 2 or 3 Artoos on sale right now. Most of those however are in small lots, which is going to make shipping fees prohibitive. Supply and demand would do the rest. 10 people trying to make Artoo would cause the price of those bricks to skyrocket. Instead of asking $3,000 for the bricks, you'd be looking at more like $10,000 or $25,000. So most of the people that started wouldn't have a chance of finishing.<br />
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Worse, look at the Lego fan clubs and exhibitions around the world. Where do they get their bricks? What if someone wants to build a really cool white castle? Then we've totally messed up their ability to get bricks as well.<br />
<br />
All that sounds pessimistic, and, to be frank, it sounds like I'm making excuses for not wanting to share the plans. Mostly though I don't have the time to create usable plans, and I don't want to set up a bunch of kids for failure.<br />
<br />
At this point our best bet is Lego Ideas. You may want to follow me there...<br />
[Update: Lego Ideas no longer accepts these kinds of ideas, bummer]<br />
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<br />Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-77207500139279293982015-04-05T11:15:00.000-07:002015-04-05T11:19:08.217-07:00Attempting to build a Lightsaber Launcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Working on a Lightsaber Launcher for his dome. Man this takes up a TON of room! I plan to stretch the lever arm a couple mm because the servo is rubbing, but this would probably work if I needed it to.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s1WUIdrW1-Q/VSF6lsSUUGI/AAAAAAAAAI8/57aerRYYwhY/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s1WUIdrW1-Q/VSF6lsSUUGI/AAAAAAAAAI8/57aerRYYwhY/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightsaber Launcher for Lego Artoo, Mark I Overview</td></tr>
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The main mechanism is an inner chamber that latches onto the knob on the bottom of the .707 scale stunt Lightsaber. This shows the clamp in it's latched position. The spring would be compressed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KJZaTD4l-k4/VSF6k8ud4lI/AAAAAAAAAI4/szaF_geTwz0/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher%2B(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KJZaTD4l-k4/VSF6k8ud4lI/AAAAAAAAAI4/szaF_geTwz0/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher%2B(1).jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closed Position Lightsaber Launcher Clamp</td></tr>
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And here's a picture with the saber loaded.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-DqgBW9QaI/VSF6lFuLDgI/AAAAAAAAAI0/LokwEDzJAKM/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher%2B(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-DqgBW9QaI/VSF6lFuLDgI/AAAAAAAAAI0/LokwEDzJAKM/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher%2B(3).jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loaded Lightsaber Launcher</td></tr>
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To launch, the inner chamber slides over to release the item. The lever arm in the 1st picture redirects the vertical motion of the servo to horizontal.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WHyACwPxfG8/VSF6k5zfwvI/AAAAAAAAAIw/GbglbhtDLRU/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher%2B(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WHyACwPxfG8/VSF6k5zfwvI/AAAAAAAAAIw/GbglbhtDLRU/s1600/Lightsaber%2BLauncher%2B(2).jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open clamp position</td></tr>
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The mount bolts to the aluminum T-slot in L3-G0's frame, but I'm going to tweak it a bit before installing it.<br />
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<br />Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-4287410026899175892015-03-03T21:57:00.000-08:002015-03-03T21:58:18.011-08:00Some bits of L3-G0's InnardsI was poking around looking for some of my pictures to show off and couldn't find them, so I've uploaded them to an <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/sets/72157644652084203/">album on Flickr</a>...
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<iframe src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120610722@N04/16504077837/player/" width="520" height="347" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-19396395688779246602014-12-17T01:36:00.000-08:002015-02-13T01:36:53.893-08:00R2-D2 in Star Trek Redshirt CostumeWell, L3-G0 decided to crash a Star Trek convention. And, of course if you're gonna mix canons like that, your gonna need a costume:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AOsc6F2RE1Q/VN22DRTSA4I/AAAAAAAAAFc/ceUl9FgGHv4/s1600/2014-12-14%2B001%2B2014-12-14%2B042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lego R2-D2 wearing Star Trek Redshirt" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AOsc6F2RE1Q/VN22DRTSA4I/AAAAAAAAAFc/ceUl9FgGHv4/s1600/2014-12-14%2B001%2B2014-12-14%2B042.JPG" height="400" title="Lego R2-D2 wearing Star Trek Redshirt" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego R2-D2 wearing Star Trek Redshirt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our daughter has been collecting signatures, so we wanted to see some of the stars, and Lara thought it would be a good idea to bring L3-G0. I wasn't so sure, but she had the idea for the red shirt. Of course we put off actually making the costume 'til the last minute. Anyway it turned out pretty fun.<br />
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Artoo wasn't the only cosplayer there:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QDJUs9mRPQQ/VN23IvWS1yI/AAAAAAAAAFk/USX3BLzpkLM/s1600/Star%2BTrek%2BConvention%2BCosplay%2Bwith%2BL3-G0%2Bthe%2BLego%2BR2D2%2Bin%2BRed%2BShirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="R2-D2 with Star Trek Cosplay Cosplayers" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QDJUs9mRPQQ/VN23IvWS1yI/AAAAAAAAAFk/USX3BLzpkLM/s1600/Star%2BTrek%2BConvention%2BCosplay%2Bwith%2BL3-G0%2Bthe%2BLego%2BR2D2%2Bin%2BRed%2BShirt.jpg" height="287" title="R2-D2 with Star Trek Cosplay Cosplayers" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R2-D2 with Star Trek Cosplay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course, there were scarier things than Klingons:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m54d5_Ng3vY/VN230TJHAfI/AAAAAAAAAFs/5tGE3SiDa98/s1600/Borg%2BCosplayer%2Band%2BLego%2BR2-D2%2BRed%2BShirt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Borg Cosplay with Lego R2D2 in Red Shirt" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m54d5_Ng3vY/VN230TJHAfI/AAAAAAAAAFs/5tGE3SiDa98/s1600/Borg%2BCosplayer%2Band%2BLego%2BR2-D2%2BRed%2BShirt.JPG" height="400" title="Borg and Lego R2D2 Cosplay" width="337" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borg with Artoo Red Shirt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Artoo did get to meet some of the Star Trek talent. Some of them left early and missed him, but Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Denise Crosby and John De Lancie all got a chance to say hi to him. They also had some talks that were pretty enjoyable with funny anecdotes, their an entertaining crowd. (I guess that's their job.)<br />
<br />
Marina was really funny. She saw R2 in his red shirt and whipped out her phone... a Blackberry... asking if she could tweet a picture. There was lots of tapping and phone wrangling, but finally she held it out to take a picture... Whoops, another one... And another. Finally she apparently has a picture and taps a bunch more (all the while insisting she loves her Blackberry). Viola, she announces that she's done it and posted the pix to twitter.<br />
<br />
Curious about this 5 minute picture taking of course I check twitter when we move on:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
The universes collide!!!! R2D2 in a starfleet shirt!!!<br />
— Marina Sirtis (@Marina_Sirtis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Marina_Sirtis/status/544249475716640768">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Hilarious, all that and no photo :)<br />
<br />
Later in the day the talent had no visitors, so we went back and let her know about the faux pas. It didn't take as long this time:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
OK OK I know I'm dumb. Here's the pic of R2D2 <a href="http://t.co/PPiGFOHRoT">pic.twitter.com/PPiGFOHRoT</a><br />
— Marina Sirtis (@Marina_Sirtis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Marina_Sirtis/status/544285849026715649">December 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>I know she likes that phone, but maybe she wants one with a better camera, just sayin'. Anyway, thanks a ton to Marina for providing us with such a fun story and memories.<br />
<br />
Another hilarious bit was when the talent first arrived. Apparently they had been told to bring photos, but Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes apparently hadn't been listening. Marina was like "men". Brent was griping and grouching, digging around his bag and pulled out the only shot he could find, all bent and torn, turning around and asking the fans if they'd buy that. (Someone did scrounge up some stills for them eventually.)<br />
<br />
In short, we had as much fun as Lara predicted, and he was better received than I expected, considering that we had the wrong genre. I guess we're all just geeks. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yMjOl6t_Tzc/VN3Er54rPJI/AAAAAAAAAF8/CyKdTK_NydA/s1600/Red%2BShirt%2BR2D2%2Bvisiting%2BDenise%2BCrosby.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 (in costume) saying hi to famous people" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yMjOl6t_Tzc/VN3Er54rPJI/AAAAAAAAAF8/CyKdTK_NydA/s1600/Red%2BShirt%2BR2D2%2Bvisiting%2BDenise%2BCrosby.png" height="376" title="L3-G0 (in costume) saying hi to famous people" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 (in costume) saying hi to famous people</td></tr>
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Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0Star Trek Convention, Bellevue, WA - Meydenbauer Center47.622694765375222 -122.1920013427734447.601288265375224 -122.23234184277344 47.64410126537522 -122.15166084277344tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-16612914395443582252014-10-10T21:32:00.000-07:002014-12-16T21:44:14.998-08:00Brickcon 2014<h3 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Back to Brickcon!</h3>
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This time L3-G0 brought a friend, MCK-Y, the Lego Mouse Droid. We spent so much time running around the hall interacting with the kids and folks that we don't have a lot of photos, but here're some decent ones.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ofZYs46cnKU/VJET124_vuI/AAAAAAAAAEc/cpHUfc8RCU4/s1600/Brickcon%2BDay%2BII%2B2014-10-05%2B001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ofZYs46cnKU/VJET124_vuI/AAAAAAAAAEc/cpHUfc8RCU4/s1600/Brickcon%2BDay%2BII%2B2014-10-05%2B001.JPG" height="255" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 and MCK-Y, the Lego R2-D2 astromech and MSE-6 mouse droids.</td></tr>
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Above you can see that MCK-Y has some glowing undercarriage LEDs that provide a nice effect, if not canon. MCK-Y has his own set of bleeps and noises, we'll try to post some video later. MSE-6 Mouse Droids also go by the name "Baby Box Droid." Here's a close up of MCK-Y.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CpsAS-YGcuo/VJEUsxBQWeI/AAAAAAAAAEs/7oRsQSjFPHA/s1600/Brickcon%2BDay%2BII%2B2014-10-05%2B027%2B(1024x683).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CpsAS-YGcuo/VJEUsxBQWeI/AAAAAAAAAEs/7oRsQSjFPHA/s1600/Brickcon%2BDay%2BII%2B2014-10-05%2B027%2B(1024x683).jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MCK-Y the Lego MSE-6 Mouse Droid</td></tr>
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We Win!</h3>
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I know we win because I have a picture of the trophy to prove it :) We one the "Sublime Shape" artistic category in Brickcon 2014. That's one of the art categories. We're honored, there are tons of amazing MOC's at Brickcon. And, as you can see, the trophies themselves are pretty cool. This is our second trophy, the <a href="https://ideas.lego.com/projects/63519" target="_blank">Lego Disney Wonder</a> won a microscale contest a few years ago.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37dPC3uOjFU/VJETtTjji6I/AAAAAAAAAEU/q2BLn4kuz-A/s1600/Sublime%2BShape%2B2014%2BL3-G0%2BAward%2B(442x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37dPC3uOjFU/VJETtTjji6I/AAAAAAAAAEU/q2BLn4kuz-A/s1600/Sublime%2BShape%2B2014%2BL3-G0%2BAward%2B(442x1024).jpg" height="400" width="172" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Sublime Shape" trophy for the Lego Droids, Brickcon 2014</td></tr>
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We had a few mishaps, L3-G0's front foot took a beating, I think the hinges are getting looser so it falls apart more readily :(. MCK-Y is new, so had teething problems. The light is a battery hog, and his wheels are funny rubber bean bags (Lego tires filled with real beans), which make him have a cute wobble, but also make the wheels fall off. Definitely need to figure out how to get better wheels in the future. His wheels are also pinned on with 3 technic pins, so we were able to keep repairing the wheels until the pins actually broke!<br />
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Anyway, we'll leave you with a photo of the droids:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ofeJSJFuf8/VJEURYhs_II/AAAAAAAAAEk/kn5F9pzdLj8/s1600/R2D2%2Band%2BMouse%2BDroid%2BBrickcon%2B2014%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ofeJSJFuf8/VJEURYhs_II/AAAAAAAAAEk/kn5F9pzdLj8/s1600/R2D2%2Band%2BMouse%2BDroid%2BBrickcon%2B2014%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego R2D2 and Mouse Droids</td></tr>
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Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0Brickcon, Seattle47.624269892147396 -122.3515498638153147.6241028921474 -122.35186486381531 47.624436892147394 -122.35123486381531tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-86750225920186928412014-09-23T13:12:00.000-07:002014-12-16T13:14:41.491-08:00Rose City ComiconI've been remiss in posting. L3-G0 has visited a school, Children's Hospital, and a few conventions, and attended a Unicode Technical Committee meeting (last post was backdated). He's also gotten a new friend, <a href="http://mck-y.blogspot.com/">MCK-Y the Lego MSE-6 Mouse</a> (aka Baby Box) droid.<br />
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Anyway, here he is at Rose City Comicon. Roaming the halls we met lots of folks, including Master Chief from Halo!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uaB2juRxi8I/VJCMUEFD0nI/AAAAAAAAAD0/IaqVmMKj5Cs/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2Band%2BCrowd%2BMaster%2BChief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uaB2juRxi8I/VJCMUEFD0nI/AAAAAAAAAD0/IaqVmMKj5Cs/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2Band%2BCrowd%2BMaster%2BChief.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, Master Chief!</td></tr>
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It wasn't as crowded as ECCC, so we were fairly free to roam at will, though we always attracted a crowd. Some weren't very well behaved though, vandals!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpL30llWZ98/VJCMK0D2qOI/AAAAAAAAADs/dtt8XxRJ91o/s1600/R2D2%2BVandal%2Bat%2BRose%2BCity%2BComicon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpL30llWZ98/VJCMK0D2qOI/AAAAAAAAADs/dtt8XxRJ91o/s1600/R2D2%2BVandal%2Bat%2BRose%2BCity%2BComicon.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vandal Attacking Lego R2D2 With a Bat!</td></tr>
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And, of course, there was tons of other cool stuff. Here L3-G0 poses on the red carpet with a Back to the Future Delorean replica, and a Doctor Who Tardis.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pCUdSx8BlGo/VJCJqhcql1I/AAAAAAAAADI/Km2kxxhr7Hg/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2C%2BTardis%2Band%2BDelorean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pCUdSx8BlGo/VJCJqhcql1I/AAAAAAAAADI/Km2kxxhr7Hg/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2C%2BTardis%2Band%2BDelorean.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 with Tardis and Delorean</td></tr>
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This hexacopter was flying around the celebrity area, Artoo took offence and tried to tell him that it was a no-fly no-camera zone! (I'm still hoping to find his video of this confrontation).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65eIIunmwiE/VJCJCQj7HuI/AAAAAAAAADA/WGosAmQ1NiI/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2Bvs%2BQuadrocopter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65eIIunmwiE/VJCJCQj7HuI/AAAAAAAAADA/WGosAmQ1NiI/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2Bvs%2BQuadrocopter.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 tries to fend off a Quadrocopter</td></tr>
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While we were in the celebrity area, Wil Wheaton took notice. He was nice.</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Just a full-sized R2-D2 made out of LEGO, that talks and does R2 stuff. O.o <a href="http://t.co/gCzGGO7MKv">pic.twitter.com/gCzGGO7MKv</a><br />
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) <a href="https://twitter.com/wilw/status/513739068870782976">September 21, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Garrett Wang was also hilarious on the red carpet. He saw L3-G0 while talking to a fan and <em>flew</em> over his table to run up to L3-G0 and take his photo. Startled us terribly. I heard him apologize to his fans when he went back.<br />
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Oh, no, L3-G0's lost his head! We also participated in the R2-D2 Builder's Club talk about building Astromechs, where we showed off some of our droids and how they are built. It was a talk like this that helped me decide to make L3-G0, lots of folks get there start building by seeing the other droids at a 'con and seeing such a talk.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-csvT7kjLK4E/VJCLTObzTfI/AAAAAAAAADg/3c9t1gWH9E4/s1600/At%2BR2D2%2BBuilders%2BTalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-csvT7kjLK4E/VJCLTObzTfI/AAAAAAAAADg/3c9t1gWH9E4/s1600/At%2BR2D2%2BBuilders%2BTalk.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 at builder's talk with head off.</td></tr>
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And we all posed together in the lobby. Group photo time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GZ8gxHaqzRc/VJCKNjh8SMI/AAAAAAAAADQ/HA9gvdtxdX4/s1600/Astromechs%2Bat%2BRose%2BCity%2BComicon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GZ8gxHaqzRc/VJCKNjh8SMI/AAAAAAAAADQ/HA9gvdtxdX4/s1600/Astromechs%2Bat%2BRose%2BCity%2BComicon.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astromechs in the Lobby at Rose City Comicon</td></tr>
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And of course everyone wanted to pose with L3-G0 and the other droids. I don't think he minds.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PKqZ90zcoU/VJCUJxmTXqI/AAAAAAAAAEE/mUAgLBRcXT8/s1600/Posing%2Bwith%2Bthe%2BGirls%2B(995x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PKqZ90zcoU/VJCUJxmTXqI/AAAAAAAAAEE/mUAgLBRcXT8/s1600/Posing%2Bwith%2Bthe%2BGirls%2B(995x1024).jpg" height="400" width="387" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 likes her R2-D2 skirt</td></tr>
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It can get quite crowded though....<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IJxBSpH0QW0/VJCKqXteOYI/AAAAAAAAADY/XPr7Pi17n0Q/s1600/Always%2Ba%2BCrowd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IJxBSpH0QW0/VJCKqXteOYI/AAAAAAAAADY/XPr7Pi17n0Q/s1600/Always%2Ba%2BCrowd.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowds of picture takers</td></tr>
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Things went pretty well this time around, I guess we're getting better at this. We had two problems: the drive wheels keep slipping on the driveshaft. The chain turns a sprocket which uses a bolt as an axle, but the set screws (on all 4 shafts, he's 8-wheel drive) keep slipping. I tried drilling a notch in the shaft for the set screw to grip, and broke the bit. That seems to have helped the most, having the ground up bit mashed in there to keep it from slipping! Anyway we had to fix it several times.<br />
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I also drove ineptly (again) and mashed a shoulder (same one) into a vendor's table. The right shoulder's smashed itself 3 times now!!!<br />
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The lights died right before seeing Wil Wheaton, so we had to come back for a better pix.<br />
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The other problem is an odd electrical thing. He started freaking out and spraying his mist all the time (he can startle folks with canned air), and his dome started spinning madly. We'd had a similar problem where the mist freaked out, so we unplugged it. Then his dome refused to move. But we thought it was fixed before the con. Last day we had to leave early though.<br />
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When I got home I checked EVERYTHING trying to repro the problem, but it wouldn't happen. Eventually I replaced the fuse on that circuit (it's the car-type fuses) and he was great. I left his head spinning for a half hour to prove it. What happened is that the fuse was apparently weak. Eventually the dome motor controller got it hot enough that the volts dropped (from resistance), but it didn't blow. That confused the motor controller which was also reading the RC signals, and sent gibberish to the Arduino controlling the mist, and of course it confused itself about the dome's movement. What a freaky problem. What a relief to have figured it out.<br />
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We had tons of fun at Rose City Comicon, we'll try to see if we can make it next year!<br />
<br />Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0Rose City Comicon45.5282193 -122.6632364000000245.525438300000005 -122.66827890000002 45.5310003 -122.65819390000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-76276438745349726902014-08-08T11:23:00.000-07:002014-12-16T13:15:03.243-08:00L3-G0 attends Unicode Technical Committee MeetingL3-G0 has a good buddy that's interested in millions of forms of communication. He couldn't make it, so L3-G0 decided to attend the Unicode Technical Committee meeting in his stead. (L3-G0 follows me to work somewhat often. I'm losing count, but he's visited about 10 of the buildings on campus).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s962Zq2ZMCs/VJCFz44flXI/AAAAAAAAAC0/fUuvES4BM1Y/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2Bat%2BUnicode%2Bmeeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lego R2D2 at Unicode Technical Committee meeting" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s962Zq2ZMCs/VJCFz44flXI/AAAAAAAAAC0/fUuvES4BM1Y/s1600/Lego%2BR2D2%2Bat%2BUnicode%2Bmeeting.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 with colleague at UTC meeting</td></tr>
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I saw a copy of the meeting minutes, and he's listed on the attendee roster :)<br />
<br />Krestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15117411368394981230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-13672242462385250092014-05-04T23:26:00.002-07:002014-12-16T13:15:38.307-08:00Star Wars Day, May the 4th be With You!<h4>
(General L3-G0 Video is at <a href="http://youtube.com/myL3G0">http://youtube.com/myL3G0</a> if you are just looking for Lego R2D2 videos) </h4>
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@()$*&)(*& Sandpeople!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9HJhBwa0JgM/U2cuFKNlsHI/AAAAAAAAAeM/7oqMdhZUuso/s1600/L3-G0+Face+Plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lego R2D2 fallen on the sidewalk with right shoulder shattered." border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9HJhBwa0JgM/U2cuFKNlsHI/AAAAAAAAAeM/7oqMdhZUuso/s1600/L3-G0+Face+Plant.jpg" height="400" title="L3-G0 faceplant, @#$_()* Sandpeople!" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 faceplant, @#$_()* Sandpeople!</td></tr>
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I was running a little bit late, so I let us be a little rushed and didn't watch for sidewalk cracks close enough (I even thought about it and figured the 2 I could see were OK so the 3rd was probably good), and L3-G0's body tripped as I was trying to get it out of the slight drizzle. <br />
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His right shoulder got mangled again, and one of the front panels screws got pulled out. A few bricks were scratched or dented and I'll probably replace them.<br />
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On the plus side, I don't think I have another picture of the bottom of his feet, and from the label I can now clearly tell which one is the Right Foot! (As if I didn't know).<br />
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Fortunately the 501st was there, though where an Imperial learned to repair Lego Astromechs is beyond me.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EV-ZBA7Lm84/U2clXcfnEHI/AAAAAAAAAcA/LdGk__ClpTY/s1600/501st+and+L3-G0+the+Lego+R2-D2+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 and a 501st Jawa" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EV-ZBA7Lm84/U2clXcfnEHI/AAAAAAAAAcA/LdGk__ClpTY/s1600/501st+and+L3-G0+the+Lego+R2-D2+%25285%2529.jpg" height="320" title="L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 and a 501st Jawa" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 and a 501st Jawa</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mYILdnBX1vw/U2clVTBtDNI/AAAAAAAAAbc/yBzHgEXklXw/s1600/501st+and+L3-G0+the+Lego+R2-D2+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="501st trying to repair L3-G0 the Lego R2D2" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mYILdnBX1vw/U2clVTBtDNI/AAAAAAAAAbc/yBzHgEXklXw/s1600/501st+and+L3-G0+the+Lego+R2-D2+(3).jpg" height="320" title="501st trying to repair L3-G0 the Lego R2D2" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">501st trying to repair L3-G0 the Lego R2D2</td></tr>
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Unfortunately he missed the group photo while I put his shoulder back together, but I got a couple more photos with the 501st.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BzodegWynsM/U2clVl2thTI/AAAAAAAAAbw/X8Gx1MkGgiM/s1600/501st+and+L3-G0+the+Lego+R2-D2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 the Lego R2D2 with some of the 501st" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BzodegWynsM/U2clVl2thTI/AAAAAAAAAbw/X8Gx1MkGgiM/s1600/501st+and+L3-G0+the+Lego+R2-D2+%25281%2529.jpg" height="225" title="L3-G0 the Lego R2D2 with some of the 501st" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 the Lego R2D2 with some of the 501st</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G2wsG57Wbm8/U2clgqXanoI/AAAAAAAAAd8/QqzO9tPBj44/s1600/Tuskan+Raider+and+L3-G0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 considering a Tuskan Raider" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G2wsG57Wbm8/U2clgqXanoI/AAAAAAAAAd8/QqzO9tPBj44/s1600/Tuskan+Raider+and+L3-G0.jpg" height="320" title="L3-G0 considering a Tuskan Raider" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 considering a Tuskan Raider</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Probably even more dangerous than the face plant was a run-in with a <a href="http://www.sarlacc.org/">Sarlacc</a>, I mean <a href="http://theswca.com/gus.html">Gus Lopez</a>, a Star Wars... <em>collector</em>! Fortunately the endorphin rush Gus got from bagging a stuffed Bantha allowed L3-G0 to slip away...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_o86EuSj_0/U2clg72js4I/AAAAAAAAAeA/jKhUiohCFg0/s1600/WP_20140504_11_43_54_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Gus Lopez with L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2, Sandtrooper stumbling in background." border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_o86EuSj_0/U2clg72js4I/AAAAAAAAAeA/jKhUiohCFg0/s1600/WP_20140504_11_43_54_Pro.jpg" height="270" title="No Gus, you may not collect L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 :)" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Gus, you may not collect L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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(I'm not quite sure what's up with the pigeon-toed Sandtrooper, I guess he's still looking for the right droids :-)</div>
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After going back home (and finding my daughter who managed to vanish) we went back out to the mall for a few minutes. Apparently the Minifig he bought at Comicon wasn't enough for him.</div>
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First stop was to check out the Lego store. I tried explaining the birds and the bees, but apparently I didn't make the right beeps and whistles, so L3-G0's still trying to figure out where he came from.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1_t-00Luy8/U2cleb72NkI/AAAAAAAAAdo/CFHM3tCdDM8/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 at the Lego Store" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1_t-00Luy8/U2cleb72NkI/AAAAAAAAAdo/CFHM3tCdDM8/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%25288%2529.jpg" height="225" title="L3-G0, the Lego R2-D2 trying to figure out from whence he came" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0, the Lego R2-D2 trying to figure out from whence he came</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After my earlier wipe out (and random stranger kids wonder why we don't let them at the remote control), my daughter insisted that she be the one with the controls. I'm not quite sure if it was her or L3-G0 that wanted to look at XBox One games...</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YrIKBaM6xg8/U2clcB_acjI/AAAAAAAAAc4/370j1zrQl3A/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 the Lego R2D2 perusing a shelf of XBox One games" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YrIKBaM6xg8/U2clcB_acjI/AAAAAAAAAc4/370j1zrQl3A/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%25283%2529.jpg" height="225" title="L3-G0 the Lego R2D2 perusing a shelf of XBox One games" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 the Lego R2D2 perusing a shelf of XBox One games</td></tr>
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Since it was Star Wars Day, we ran into the obligatory Princess Leia hairdo of course!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_reJq-UdpXc/U2clanLSSxI/AAAAAAAAAck/AV_7EsLC1WQ/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%252810%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 with a fan on Star Wars Day" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_reJq-UdpXc/U2clanLSSxI/AAAAAAAAAck/AV_7EsLC1WQ/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%252810%2529.jpg" height="225" title="L3-G0 with a Princess Leia bun hairdo wearing fan on Star Wars Day" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 with a fan on Star Wars Day</td></tr>
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And as if L3-G0's ''where did I come from?" question wasn't confusing enough already, we ended up at the Disney store. (Looking for one of those Banthas Gus had showed us.) Everyone there learned that, in addition to several Star Wars classics, L3-G0 already knows the Disney production logo theme "When You Wish Upon a Star" as well as "Let it Go".<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x99P48vhv2U/U2clc-tJLFI/AAAAAAAAAdI/s70ogPinR9o/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0 at the local Disney Store" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x99P48vhv2U/U2clc-tJLFI/AAAAAAAAAdI/s70ogPinR9o/s1600/L3-G0+the+Lego+R2D2+at+Bellevue+Square+%25284%2529.jpg" height="400" title="L3-G0 at the local Disney Store" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 at the local Disney Store</td></tr>
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Anyway, that was L3-G0's Star Wars Day, May the 4th be With You!</div>
Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.2636815 -122.9775178 47.9487375 -121.68662379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-7525829979205240312014-04-23T09:30:00.002-07:002014-04-23T09:35:18.802-07:00Emerald City Comicon 2014L3-G0, a life size Lego R2-D2 attended ECCC (Emerald City Comicon) in 2014. It took me a bit to get the video and stuff organized, I've been busy, so the post's been delayed.<br />
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In case you're new here, as far as I know this is the first time a complete full sized Lego R2-D2 has been displayed in public. L3-G0's been "out" a couple times (at Microsoft, Lowe's and a Sealug meeting), but not with all his bits.<br />
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By completed I mean that as in "just completed." The <a href="http://l3-g0.blogspot.com/2014/03/made-it-to-emerald-city-comicon-finally.html">last bit got complicated</a> and he didn't show up until nearly the last minute before the doors opened.<br />
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We had tons of fun with L3-G0 at Comic Con, here's the aforementioned video:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JIALhI5bbgY" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
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The video has several short segments I thought showed pretty much the experience, skip ahead if you don't like a piece, the parts get better.<br />
<ul>
<li>L3-G0 with some of the fans taking pictures, even Unikitty!</li>
<li>The astromech parade with other Pacific NW R2 Builders Club R2-D2s and other droids.</li>
<li>The crowd and going back to "Brick Nation" where the Lego exhibits were.</li>
<li>A short encounter with a taller pirate.</li>
<li>Darth Lily, one of L3-G0's more enthusiastic fans.</li>
<li>L3-G0's shopping spree, it is a con after all, you've gotta buy something!</li>
<li>Keeping all those pesky Daleks away from Brick Nation.</li>
</ul>
People don't seem to be getting past the first bits so I might post individual videos later, however if you want to share only one bit with your friends, YouTube lets you share starting at a certain time. Or just ask them to skip to 3:57 or whatever.<br />
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I forgot to include a bit on <a href="http://l3-g0.blogspot.com/2014/03/transporting-l3-g0-full-size-lego-r2-d2.html">packing him up</a> :( Too bad you can't edit YouTube videos.<br />
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Some photos as well:<br />
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Darth Lily comforting R2-D2 after she scared him so badly. She was cute enough <a href="http://l3-g0.blogspot.com/2014/03/little-darth-vader-loves-r2-d2.html">she has her own post</a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kQ0_cENsmtk/UzgzaETgJTI/AAAAAAAAAX4/Bui8Yi1of5k/s1600/WP_20140329_12_48_36_Pro__highres+-+Copy+%2528711x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Darth Lily comforting R2-D2 after she scared him so badly" title="Darth Lily comforting R2-D2 after she scared him so badly" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kQ0_cENsmtk/UzgzaETgJTI/AAAAAAAAAX4/Bui8Yi1of5k/s1600/WP_20140329_12_48_36_Pro__highres+-+Copy+%2528711x800%2529.jpg" height="320" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darth Lily comforting R2-D2 after she scared him so badly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
L3-G0's on the right with the other club droids. It's kinda cool to see him next to the other droids.<br />
The ankle details on his right ankle are backwards, fortunately it's hiding in this photo. I was so mortified when I noticed that a couple weeks after the con.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0lXn2eqrCwI/Uzg7ZMfw6UI/AAAAAAAAAYI/H9L_XmB69Y4/s1600/ECCC+2014+2014-03-28+053+%25281280x522%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Pacific NW R2 Builders Club astromech droids all lined up. Lego R2-D2 on right." title="Pacific NW R2 Builders Club astromech droids all lined up. L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 on right." border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0lXn2eqrCwI/Uzg7ZMfw6UI/AAAAAAAAAYI/H9L_XmB69Y4/s1600/ECCC+2014+2014-03-28+053+%25281280x522%2529.jpg" height="130" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pacific NW R2 Builder's Club droids all lined up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I liked this nook while waiting for the droid parade. Reminds me of Jabba's Palace for whatever reason. (Not saying anyone else would make that jump, but I did).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AaMYtAkW4LI/UzoxSUrX-uI/AAAAAAAAAZA/ClUH1gd1MNs/s1600/L3-G0+in+Niche+%2528677x1024%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L3-G0, life size Lego R2-D2 in a nook" title="L3-G0, life size Lego R2-D2 in a nook" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AaMYtAkW4LI/UzoxSUrX-uI/AAAAAAAAAZA/ClUH1gd1MNs/s1600/L3-G0+in+Niche+%2528677x1024%2529.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0, Lego R2-D2 in a nook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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What's a Lego exhibition without a Unikitty? Unikitty came to see L3-G0.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PH5A27PoRGc/U1fp8SP_oNI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/ujz1g8-S8Sc/s1600/ECCC+2014+2014-03-28+089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img title="Unikitty posing with Lego R2-D2 (life size)" alt="Unikitty posing with Lego R2-D2 (life size)" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PH5A27PoRGc/U1fp8SP_oNI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/ujz1g8-S8Sc/s1600/ECCC+2014+2014-03-28+089.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unikitty posing with L3-G0</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Eventually it all ended :(<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiBmt2L5GQI/UzotNaWJIeI/AAAAAAAAAYw/Ygt5YKGoqN0/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0%252C+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+%25282%2529+%25281024x655%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img title="L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 packed up and ready to go home" alt="L3-G0 the Lego R2-D2 packed up and ready to go home" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiBmt2L5GQI/UzotNaWJIeI/AAAAAAAAAYw/Ygt5YKGoqN0/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0%252C+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+%25282%2529+%25281024x655%2529.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L3-G0 packed up and ready to go home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the ECCC 2014 report.Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-6139352130804370492014-04-20T19:20:00.000-07:002014-04-25T19:39:31.853-07:00Fixing your Lego R2-D2's angle for Star Wars 10225- Ultimate Collector's Series (UCS) modelBefore I built L3-G0 I built the 10225 Lego UCS R2-D2 ("Ultimate Collector's Series", I guess they haven't thought of L3-G0, is he ultimater?") Even before I joined the R2-D2 Builders Club, I realized that my new "ultimate" R2 didn't stand right in 3-legged mode. It drove me nuts, so I fixed it. Here's what I mean:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iTJNNYiuCQA/U1sSLYpRd3I/AAAAAAAAAZw/8TD0kh49YbI/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+10225+Star+Wars+Too+Straight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iTJNNYiuCQA/U1sSLYpRd3I/AAAAAAAAAZw/8TD0kh49YbI/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+10225+Star+Wars+Too+Straight.jpg" height="360" width="216" /></a></div>
R2-D2 is supposed to have an angle between the legs and vertical of about 18 degrees for a total of 36 degrees. However Lego's instructions for the UCS R2-D2 don't provide the right angle. I didn't know the exact amount when I build the 10225 Lego kit, but I could tell that it looked wrong. He looks like he's about to fall on his face.
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_bY-dAovFB4/U1sSLXwWQ9I/AAAAAAAAAZs/YzhchYsMdWU/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+10225+Star+Wars+Too+Straight+-+Annotated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_bY-dAovFB4/U1sSLXwWQ9I/AAAAAAAAAZs/YzhchYsMdWU/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+10225+Star+Wars+Too+Straight+-+Annotated.jpg" height="360" title="Lego R2D2 with bad angle as in USC 10225 instructions" width="216" /></a></div>
I drew a red line sort of along the middle of the bad angle Lego kit and a green line in L3-G0's centerline. As you can see they're pretty far off. Notice that the back legs aren't too bad, it's just the angle of the body.<br />
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To fix it, all we have to do is make the middle leg a little longer. To do that I moved the stop up one stud to the top of the leg support - and all of the teeth too.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WEwNeiALRq4/U1sYLUws6SI/AAAAAAAAAac/qoAbAKqmplI/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+UCS+10225+-+middle+leg+fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WEwNeiALRq4/U1sYLUws6SI/AAAAAAAAAac/qoAbAKqmplI/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+UCS+10225+-+middle+leg+fix.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, that means that it hits the stop plate in the center support. That's the 4x4 plate with a 2x2 hole in the middle. When it hits the plate, the foot won't retract all the way.</div>
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The fix is to remove the offending plate, which apparently isn't really needed, so you can use the cool hollow 4x4 plate somewhere else. Here's a picture showing the removed plate circled and the stop in the space the plate had occupied.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bp6BI5xPcXM/U1sZTZsXlUI/AAAAAAAAAao/hVKENXlIpdw/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+Fixed+Support+Moving+Past+Stop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bp6BI5xPcXM/U1sZTZsXlUI/AAAAAAAAAao/hVKENXlIpdw/s1600/Lego+R2-D2+Fixed+Support+Moving+Past+Stop.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's the result of our repaired droid. A nicely inclined astromech at the same angle of the full size one.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oIgAPF_b2Lo/U1sbadtO4oI/AAAAAAAAAa0/A4WI2vbzdao/s1600/Lego+R2-D2s,+Full+Size+and+UCS+10225+model+kit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oIgAPF_b2Lo/U1sbadtO4oI/AAAAAAAAAa0/A4WI2vbzdao/s1600/Lego+R2-D2s,+Full+Size+and+UCS+10225+model+kit.jpg" height="640" width="394" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego R2-D2's, both L3-G0 and the UCS 10225 Lego Kit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Anyway, I hope this post helps save the world from Lego R2-D2s that look like they're about to fall on their faces!</div>
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I'll leave you with an annotated copy of on of the R2-D2 Builders Club diagrams showing the correct dimensions of an Astromech Unit. I've added the 36 & 18 degree angles in blue triangles.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6o9O04GW_pI/Uvic7eNVnOI/AAAAAAAAAU8/v1gGXG0gjFM/s1600/The+Plans+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6o9O04GW_pI/Uvic7eNVnOI/AAAAAAAAAU8/v1gGXG0gjFM/s1600/The+Plans+3.png" height="320" width="282" /></a></div>
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Now I know I'm truly way too much of an R2 geek!</div>
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Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-36232298508715901862014-03-31T20:14:00.002-07:002014-03-31T20:14:40.064-07:00Transporting L3-G0, the full size Lego R2-D2People have asked several times how we transport L3-G0. It's actually really, really easy.<br />
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Many MOCs (My Own Creations) are fairly fragile. I was terrified of figuring out how to move L3-G0 and that was in fact one of my first experiments. I had tons of bungees and other stuff ready to move, plans for a plywood base and all sorts of stuff. Moving the <a href="http://ourrandombits.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-space-needle-fell-over.html">Lego Space Needle</a> is pretty challenging. I feel happy that it only takes 1/2 hour (usually) to get it back together now. That's only 4500 bricks. L3-G0 is closer to 16,000 bricks! So I figured it'd be harder.<br />
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He's only 60-65 pounds or so (almost 30kg), so unlike many other R2-D2 builds he's not too hard to lift.<br />
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The first part is to take off his head (remembering to unplug the wire helps) and stick it on the car seat, careful of the holoprojectors. I put the seat back up as far as possible, but don't really worry about strapping it in or anything.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qaC-P4ZRUkk/UzotNSGZEoI/AAAAAAAAAYk/J8e6fy6TtAI/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0,+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+(1)+(1024x680).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qaC-P4ZRUkk/UzotNSGZEoI/AAAAAAAAAYk/J8e6fy6TtAI/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0,+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+(1)+(1024x680).jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then we pick up L3-G0's body and put it in back. The front foot shell comes off and the casters get shoved in around the rear seat's mounting point. Hooking the bungee around the top of the foot is about the only hard part since the hooks don't have much room on the mounting point.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ckaF-g3GivQ/UzotNUZbuTI/AAAAAAAAAYo/B8UTQKQRyaE/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0,+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+(1024x622).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ckaF-g3GivQ/UzotNUZbuTI/AAAAAAAAAYo/B8UTQKQRyaE/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0,+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+(1024x622).jpg" height="194" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then last is to merely hook the back seat belts around the central foot guide post, pulling them to ratchet tight (like you would a child seat). Again, watch the wire on the top.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiBmt2L5GQI/UzotNaWJIeI/AAAAAAAAAYg/pzaD3dpJhM0/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0,+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+(2)+(1024x655).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiBmt2L5GQI/UzotNaWJIeI/AAAAAAAAAYg/pzaD3dpJhM0/s1600/Transporting+L3-G0,+the+full+size+Lego+R2-D2+(2)+(1024x655).jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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The sad thing is that getting the bungee is sometimes tricky, and the last step, the seatbelts, is so simple, that I've forgotten about the seatbelts about three times already. Fortunately the last two times I caught myself, but on the way to Hosik's science fair we were late & rushing, so I drove down the driveway with them off. I was reminded to fix it when L3-G0 fell over on his face. Fortunately it didn't do much damage.<br />
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Anyway, once he's secured, the model's ridiculously stable. It barely moves and I don't need to be nearly as careful driving as with the other models. (The <a href="http://ourrandombits.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-space-needle-was-destroyed-again.html">Space Needle</a> wants the sections I divide it into to fall apart, and the <a href="http://ourrandombits.blogspot.com/2012/12/LegoWonderCruiseShipPage1.html">Lego Disney Wonder's</a> nice wooden platform has slippery velvet on it, so it wants to slide around. The worst part for L3-G0 is putting the front shell back together.Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-75749096753516049072014-03-30T08:26:00.001-07:002014-05-16T13:27:07.303-07:00Little Darth Vader (Darth Lily?) Loves R2-D2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">One of the fans attending ECCC, Lily, was dressed up as Darth Vader when she came to visit L3-G0. Her dad asked her to go put on her Vader mask and pose with R2-D2. As she came up, "R2" saw "Vader", made his sad sound
and backed up. She came closer and he did it again. And again.<br />
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Lily didn't like R2 being sad, so she took it off and showed him it was just a mask. Then she gave R2 a hug to comfort him. She talked to him a lot saying how she saw his movie and he was her favorite robot and other stuff again.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQ0_cENsmtk/UzgzaETgJTI/AAAAAAAAAX0/15GTNwaA4rE/s1600/WP_20140329_12_48_36_Pro__highres+-+Copy+(711x800).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Darth Lily hugging Lego R2-D2" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQ0_cENsmtk/UzgzaETgJTI/AAAAAAAAAX0/15GTNwaA4rE/s1600/WP_20140329_12_48_36_Pro__highres+-+Copy+(711x800).jpg" height="320" title="Darth Lily hugging Lego R2-D2" width="284" /></a></div>
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Everyone wanted to put the mask back on again to take pictures, but she didn't want to scare R2 again. They "talked" a bit, and her dad translated his beeping as really wanting to be scared again. She asked if he was sure and I managed to hit a button that did a somewhat positive sounding beep. Reluctantly she put the mask on again, and when he shuddered again, she quickly ripped it off and gave him a hug.<br />
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Normally L3-G0's a "don't touch", but Lily was so short and concerned and gentle I wasn't worried. It's the kids patting him on the head that cave in the dome, or people tripping over his feet (I've learned R2 has big feet). <br />
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Thanks to Lily and her parents for letting us share her picture and video. I start this clip just before Lily so you can see just why he's so scared of her costume.<br />
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Yes, Lily, L3-G0/R2-D2 hasn't forgotten your name :)Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-18193743798013501042014-03-30T08:20:00.000-07:002014-04-23T08:56:13.434-07:00Group photo at ECCCPhoto of L3-G0 with other R2 Builders Club astromechs here at ECCC.<br />
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It was great finally meeting other club members up here.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qlGNQkrjWfo/Uzg9hNMfr3I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/UwujRkfgHoE/s1600/ECCC+2014+2014-03-28+015+(1280x1920).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qlGNQkrjWfo/Uzg9hNMfr3I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/UwujRkfgHoE/s1600/ECCC+2014+2014-03-28+015+(1280x1920).jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-38496603126834862412014-03-28T21:51:00.001-07:002014-03-28T22:26:52.660-07:00Made it to Emerald City Comicon (finally)I'll try to post more later, but here's a tiny bit about the first day at ECCC. Everyone loved the full size Lego R2-D2. Asking wonderful things like "do you know about the <a href="http://astromech.net/">R2-D2 Builder's Club</a>? (yes) And then L3-G0 would beep and they'd go "oh, he makes sound too!" When they started to turn away I'd drive him out and run around the show floor and they'd say "No way, he moves?!?!?!"<br />
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L3-G0 was supposed to get set up yesterday, but the skirt took too long to get behaving. I blogged about what he looked like <a href="http://l3-g0.blogspot.com/2014/03/umm-when-is-eccc.html">yesterday morning</a>. That required 3D printing some bricks and stuff, but I still had time. Unfortunately the skirt's on the bottom, so he had to be upside down with the legs & feet off to work on the skirt. </div>
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When I flipped him back over and stuck on the remaining parts I found little things like the dome wouldn't fit: </div>
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Above the shoulders, I'd fixed a gap that was missing last time, he hadn't had that before, so I didn't know it'd cause clearance issues. Because of the tightness I'd left out a plate of thickness, about 1/8" and forgot it'd make the sides 1/8" too narrow.</div>
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The left battery box hadn't been Kragle'd and tried to disassemble itself when sticking it on.</div>
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Worst, somehow I'd messed up the center caster. I knew the standards 3" caster didn't fit in my Lego shell, but my custom casters failed miserably. But in the trials I found a 3" caster that seemed to work well. I was so fixated on the fore-aft clearance I forgot about sideways, so he couldn't go backwards without the caster jamming or slamming the box to pieces. So I gave up on Thursday. Show didn't open 'til Friday @ 10 so I had time. I used an early prototype and finally got his feet behaving around midnight.</div>
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Getting to the convention center was tricky. His tie-down is actually really trivial in the minivan. Jam the front casters into the hold-down for the far back seat (after taking out the seat) and throwing a bungee around it. Then, with the dome off (sitting on the rear seat), stick the way-back seatbelts around the center post and let them click into being tight. I'm used to Lego MOCs being fragile and insecure, but L3-G0 travels unbelievably well.</div>
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Of course that's before putting the fragile shell on it. I thought I could lift it up, but it turned out there wasn't enough room for the bungee, so the shell came off. That wasn't too hard, but I outsmarted myself and it was harder to put back on than I'd expected once I got to the convention center.</div>
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Once there, the fans loved him. One seems to have found the droid they were looking for!<br />
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L3-G0 worked really well. On the previous trials parts fell off and there were other small problems, like when the shoulder broke. But he was really reliable. Unfortunately the battery died before lunch, and I let it get really low, so it wouldn't fast-charge. Fortunately I found a motorcycle shop that had another. Alternating two seemed to work fine later in the day (though it's annoying to swap), but we'll see tomorrow. </div>
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The worst part was the prodding of the fans. They liked to poke. And many wanted pictures with their hand resting on the top of his head. Which is the most fragile part, so his head was dented a few times. And he had an accident with his front foot, but for the most part L3-G0 was strong and ran well.</div>
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At the end of the day the sprockets on the bolts I'm using for axles started slipping :( The best I can do is probably tighten the set screws in the morning and cross my fingers, but I think it'll be OK. And maybe slow down the acceleration curve a bit. It looks like the rest of the stuff I did to tighten up the wheels worked OK though, so it should be solvable.</div>
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Gotta get over to the R2-D2 Builder's Club folks sometime, which should be tricky as they're in the other building, and worse, on the other side of the trade floor. The alternate route crosses the street and L3-G0 hates pavement (way, way, way too bumpy).</div>
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Need sleep, two nights up way too late.</div>
Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-27658945946778496962014-03-27T14:45:00.002-07:002014-03-27T14:45:38.499-07:00Umm, when is ECCC?Emerald City Comicon's tonight. L3-G0's gonna be working, flashing lights, sound and everything, right?!!?!?!?<br />
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He's decapitated, and the body's upside down! And doesn't that 3D printer look like its on and running to you? Hope it's nothing critical.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1b_Qm5C5Sz0/UzSa4FD_okI/AAAAAAAAAXM/T0t3FSCCRVs/s1600/Yikes+L3-G0+in+tatters+before+ECCC.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1b_Qm5C5Sz0/UzSa4FD_okI/AAAAAAAAAXM/T0t3FSCCRVs/s1600/Yikes+L3-G0+in+tatters+before+ECCC.png" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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The table's covered with a pile of parts, tools everywhere.</div>
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And his legs are off and the insides of his feet are showing.<br />
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I'm supposed to be at Emerald City Comicon when!!? Maybe I should show him as R2-D2 in the droid factory.</div>
Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-83645904024557479272014-03-25T20:34:00.002-07:002014-03-25T20:34:38.295-07:00Latest VideoStill needs legs and a few other details, but lights and sound are working now! He went on another test run at work (Microsoft Building 50). Afterward we took a spin through the café where he got quite a few pictures taken.<br />
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Latest video:<br />
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Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-67304662156005327582014-03-07T19:52:00.002-08:002014-03-07T21:17:43.691-08:00Oops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, this is a bummer :( </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wv1_k5vMjrE/UxqUDc00eKI/AAAAAAAAAWI/VhpWoZlSebk/s1600/L3-G0+Smashed+at+Science+Fair+(1024x576).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wv1_k5vMjrE/UxqUDc00eKI/AAAAAAAAAWI/VhpWoZlSebk/s1600/L3-G0+Smashed+at+Science+Fair+(1024x576).jpg" height="263" width="320" /></a></div>
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We had a little mishap at the science fair. This is what happens when centripetal force gets to L3-G0's head and he spins too fast.<br />
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Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-31296984567326204282014-03-01T22:45:00.000-08:002014-03-04T08:36:32.508-08:00Sealug MeetingL3-G0's not done yet, but he's getting there! We went on a test run to the Sealug meeting, which was held at ECCC's headquarters. The kids loved chasing around a life size R2-D2 and were willing to look past his partially completed state.<br />
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He's obviously missing his legs/shoulders, skirt, front foot skin and a few other details, but I wanted to test transporting him and see what problems I might encounter, and where he might fall to pieces. I don't want to be spending all of Emerald City Comicon fixing him! Sounds are also still on a random loop, and he has no dome LEDs at the moment (which means he can spin his head a ton).<br />
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I have some video of his outing, the meeting starts about 40 seconds into the clip. I took a week off work to make a big push to get him from frame to nearly complete:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/U1dai2_qbR0?list=PL7uobZWs1n9jt_cGMIK8vOsQ37n-L-Q73" width="560"></iframe>
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I didn't think I was going to get the dome reattached before the meeting, but Lara prodded me and it was mostly reconnected just in time (I was a few minutes late).<br />
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The test outing was a great success, we learned tons that we'll need to know for ECCC later in the month:<br />
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<li>He does great with his new shoulders in the car. Tying down's going to be tricky when the front foot cover gets on, but otherwise much more stable than when I took the frame to work.</li>
<li>The new shoulders (laminated plywood) seem to be doing OK. Since he has 4 wheels in each foot, there's a lot of stress when he turns because some of the wheels have to slip. That pretty much destroyed the old thinner shoulder hub. I'd expected to need aluminum, but the plywood's doing OK.</li>
<li>On a related note, when turning hard, the feet can chatter a lot, enough to knock off the battery box (at 60 seconds in the clip one of them is missing). The outer foot panels chatter too.</li>
<li>He can spin his head fast enough to throw off a holoprojector, which happens at about 1:20 in the video.</li>
<li>With the throttle limit off on the motors he has pretty much a perfect amount of power, much faster than walking, but not so quick as to be uncontrollable or unrealistic. (My previous outing was limiting the motor controllers and he was just under walking speed).</li>
<li>He looks funny without shoulders :)</li>
<li>The vibration from pavement or even a sidewalk is a bit scary, he knocked a couple dome panels loose that way.</li>
<li>The body held up really well.</li>
<li>L3-G0 knew to expect rain in Seattle, but it started to snow at the end!</li>
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We still have a ton to do before ECCC, crossing my fingers that we can get it all done! L3-G0 will be in "Brick Nation" at ECCC, the biggest Lego display yet at <a href="http://emeraldcitycomicon.com/">Emerald City Comicon</a>. Ground floor of The Conference Center building.Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.2636815 -122.9775178 47.9487375 -121.68662379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8551999914954990691.post-9568850828551843352014-03-01T00:25:00.000-08:002014-03-01T00:25:56.476-08:00Starting to get back togetherUpdate for my L3-G0 build, the full size Lego R2-D2.<br />
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It's like cleaning where things get worse before they get better. Finally he's starting to get back together WITH his frame!<br />
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He was upside down a bit while I tried to figure out the skirt (built back on "Day 3", but haven't had anything to attach it to until now.... and now it's not right :(<br />
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And unfortunately the shim that the dome's bearing is on didn't fit once the body was bolted together. The original shim was hand cut, but now the body is in a laser cut 12-sided shape. Apparently without a frame it had more play.</div>
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Even worse, the (@*&#()*%& bearing didn't come with properly spaced holes, so I had to get at the bearing to transfer the bolt holes correctly. And the bearing was on the bottom of the dome. I almost got away with having the dome upside down, but it didn't survive :(</div>
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I'm hoping to get the dome back together for the Sealug meeting tomorrow, but it might not happen. He obviously isn't complete, but I'm hoping to see how well he transports. I'd rather mess up tomorrow with weeks to fix it than mess up on the way to Emerald City Comicon and have a few hours to fix it!.Random Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18162618734617280654noreply@blogger.com0