Current Plan

The next few months are insanely busy with a lot of family functions, so if I don't lay out a strategy, I'm doomed.

DOME - Deadline 11/10
I plan on working on the dome in full when I can to have it complete by November 11th. That oddly specific date is the Albany Comic Convention, where I'll be attending as a Tusken Raider for the 501st. I want to have R5's head done so it can be on display there. There's not a LOT to do, but enough that I need to keep on it or I'll never get done.

I ordered the engine turned tape and some brushed chrome tape for the neck and dome ring, respectively (see last post). I have three large peephole kits in brushed nickel as Chris Reiff has done. I need to peel off the vinyl pie plate stickers and paint those red - I think I may pull out the skin panels that need to be this color and do them at the same time. The only other component is the LEDs for the eyes. I'll have to do a bit more research on that just because I don't want to screw it up. I have a very rudimentary understanding of electricity and how to wire things.

I plan on trying to clean up my basement amidst all the other junk I have going on so that I can work on building the router table by Black Friday (Nov 23). I will (hopefully) begin applying the styrene plans to the plastic and cutting out the frame by mid-December. I want to get the body complete by January, minus any resin parts that just aren't available. I'm thinking I'll probably make the vents and coin returns myself.

I'm not looking too much further than that for now.

Tape Ordered

The last place I wanted to order the engine-turned detail vinyl from is perpetually out of stock for the larger size, so I decided to search the Astromech forums to see what other solutions may be available. For some reason, it's difficult to come up with a good list of options, but I eventually found a post from 2010 talking about Tape Brothers.

I went to their site and was pleasantly surprised that they not only still exist, but that the item was still available.

 While I was there I also ordered this brushed chrome tape for the "ring" at the bottom of R5's head. I'll probably use it for his shoulder hubs too since I don't really mind if they are shiny or not.