Started off by reinforcing the side panels with some 3/4x1/2" angle aluminum:
They were getting a little "flexy" and needed stiffening. Front, back, and both sides are done. I used white painted pop rivets, because that's what I had handy, from the old days building storm trooper armor.
It only took me about 6.5 hours to "engineer" the neck joint. I followed the plans from the K9.replicarobots.com files as best I could, what with them being in mm and not inches. That made things only a little more difficult, since I had to round up or down, depending on what I was buying/ordering.
I used 1" angle aluminum for the left and right mounting brackets, 3" tall on the outside. I used 3/4" U channel for the neck, bought from Amazon, measured to the lengths in the how-to. The nuts and bolts that hold the mounts are 5/8" long, 1/4-20. The bolt that's currently in place for the pivot is 1 1/2" 1/4-20, and will have a nylon threaded lock nut when it's time to assemble it all "for good".
On the inside, I used one side scrap flat aluminum from a cheap yardstick from good ol' Harbor Freight. On the other side I used 1" angle again, this time long enough to act as backing for the handle as well. You can also see that I've cut the notch for the giant Turnigy S8166M that'll move the head. I haven't drilled the mount holes yet, waiting for the servo to arrive first.
There IS a little issue, well actually a huge issue, but I don't have any pics, so I'll just have to leave you hanging whilst I figure out exactly what to do about it.
In other news, I also did a little body work. I used "Squadron Green Modeling Putty" from the local model shop as filler. I'd never heard of it until I was checking out another builder's log.
When building R2, I'd previously used CA glue (superglue), which is terrible to sand and super brittle, Bondo body filler, which is heavy and brittle, Elmer's Glue Wood filler, which is easy to use, easy to sand, but doesn't stick to plastic well, and is brittle.
So far, the putty's been easy to apply. It comes out of the tube a little thicker than toothpaste, and applies easily with a finger. It also washes off of said finger fairly easily It did seem to shrink a little where there was a gap to fill. I used a little more than half the tube:
Tomorrow I'll sand and see how it turns out. I'm sure there will be some areas that will need a 2nd application, but I still have half a tube left. After a 2nd application maybe this weekend I'll shoot a little primer on the seams to see how it turns out.
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