The wood exploded into a million parts, covering the floor of the workshop. When he stood there, looking at the mess that he had just made, Kurt Zimmerman was at the crossroads.
“I just stood and thought:“ I really want to do it, or isn't it? ”
Kurt's first attempt to create his own droid of “Star Wars” – and an incredible journey that the hobby will take him – almost came there right there, even before he began. All because the saw blade caught a notch on a wooden panel and sent it throughout the workshop. “But I'm glad I continued to go!”
The memory of 1977, and the young Kurt was going to go through the only most transforming film of his generation. Already an avid model builder with a love of science fiction thanks to the series of the 1960s Thunder birds and its use of “supermarionation” (a combination of models and dolls), Kurt was amazed when Star wars It began with a gigantic imperial star destroyer, knocking above his head. But something would catch him forever in a second.
“R2-D2-first on the screen that we see,” says Kurt. “And I immediately thought:“ I should have one of them! ”
This took him 35 years, but Kurt eventually realized his dream of that day. After raising a family, managing a successful hardware business in his native state of Michigan and creating a seminar, where he can pamper himself with his other passion to restore vintage cars, Kurt decided to see, finally, own his own R2-D2. Soon he found that he was not alone.
“I started viewing the Internet and found R2-D2 Builders Clubhe says. – It was back in 2011, and in the world there were only 200 droids outside Lucasfilm. I joined the club and conducted about two months of research – because they document everything. ”
Not only this, but also many members of the club worked on Lucasfilm, and had original drawings from the used droids. The club members share information, tips and even parts, supporting and inspiring each other to create droids, using everything they could – from corrugated cardboard to plywood to aluminum to LED lights. Some members even used a process called hydraulic formation, which includes the use of high-pressure hydraulic presses for the shape and shape of the metal, a technique that turned out to be invaluable for building subscription (and extremely complex) R2-D2 round doll heads and other droids.
For his first attempt, Kurt spent two months for research. He searched the website of the R2-D2 Builders Club, absorbing all the information that he could from drawings, photographs of progress and back between the participants. “The actual idea of creating such a droid, which was controlled by remote control, had sounds and could perform all functions, it is really frightening,” Kurt admits. “But when you see how other people did it, it seems to be hung up.”
The study paid off, and Kurt saw how he could solve a difficult problem. “I was more experienced in woodworking, so I decided to make my droid frames from plywood. But as soon as they are polished, planted, filled and painted correctly, they look like a metal. ” He connected the traditional model remote control for the aircraft (“some of our participants are real electronical craftsmen, make their own controls or even made them outside the PlayStation controllers”) and, finally, had R2-D2, which he represented in childhood.
Kurt Zimmerman sets “Artoo Deco” by ghosts. Credit: Kurt Zimmerman
He also learned an important lesson. “The secret of building one of them is not to look at the entire project – because if you look at the finished product, this is impossible. You must break it. Make one thing at night. Make one thing the next night.
Despite the fact that Kurt did not become a collector of toys or someone, who had walls, lined up with posters and goods. He found satisfaction in the combination of his fandom with love for woodworking and models, not thinking about where he can lead to the fact that he simply has his own R2-D2. However, the close ties of the R2-D2 Builders club with Lucasfilm opened the door for something completely unexpected.
How 501st Legion—Ah of a fan group of cosplayers with costumes and uniforms with accurate R2-D2 Builders Club films is not an official part of Lucasfilm, but it has a blessing of the studio to such an extent that 501st and home droids of the club R2-D2 Builders were invited to participate in the official Star wars Events such as Celebration of Star Wars Or thematic evenings at sporting events.
“I do many local things,” says Kurt. “I had R2 in the center of the court on the game Pistons or on the ice during the game Red Wings, something like that. All with the blessing of Lucasfilm. ” Droids with remote control, which welcome visitors in Disneyland and Disney World, were actually built by club members.
“And it was then that I found out that there is another majority of this hobby,” Kurt says. “You don’t just need to be in the building, there is also part of the speech. You can take these droids in the church, schools and hospitals and make these visits – this turned out to be the most useful part of this hobby. ”
This began when a couple of 18 grandchildren Kurt asked if he could bring one of his droids to their class. After the demonstration for their classes in the fourth grade, teachers asked Kurt if he could do this again for kindergartens and young classes. And then again for the sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Before he found out about this, they gathered in senior schoolchildren. Kurt adapted his presentation for each group, allowing the youngest to enjoy the R2, rolling, relying on engineering and construction elements for the older crowd.
“I have become the coolest grandfather in the world,” he jokes, noting that some of his grandchildren have since got into robotics. Soon after, he discovered that he brings droids to hospitals, where he saw another way for his hobby to have a greater, more valuable influence.
“When you have these interactions with patients and parents, and they are in the middle of terrible experience, but you can make them smile. This is the most useful thing in history. This turned a hobby into a change in life. ”
Nowadays, Kurt does not tour as much with his creations as before, where he spent every weekend, loading and unloading droid trucks. Instead, he passes them to the club members throughout the country, guaranteeing that his hobbies -projects will have life outside his workshop, and possibly inspires several more droid builders.
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