Things got exciting, I might have ordered loads of bits, from arduino’s LED’s, Alu Skins, and a 3D printer.

So lets start there: 3D Printing can be very rewarding when you are building. It offers a quick(ish) light weight option to your build. Most of the files can be found online, if you have the skills to print, undercoat and then paint then its great. I went for the £300 i3 Duplicator as that is the printer of choice for many builders. I have printed a fair amount of my Astromech parts on my printer, and so far (with other prints) racked up about 80 days of solid printing time. I printed some things just to see how they would look and many parts that I will never use on my build, but it was worth it to find out whats best. The impressiveness of the printer for quality and cost is awesome. My printed parts are the Skirt (big print), the arms, vents, leg parts, and so on. If it could get stuck on with glue it did.

The legs were CNC cut by the guy that did the frame, there were a couple of small issues, but lets glide over that as its history now.

The skins came of the Astromech forum and were shipped from Germany. I was very impressed with how they came, and moved into removing the panels and merging the 4 sheets together for undercoating and painting. I was about to order another set, but my boiler blew up and I spent those funds on having that replaced. So the other project is sitting and waiting for another time.