Bandai Star Wars - C-3P0 and R2-D2

Gareth Windsor
Following

Tom
Hi Gareth 👍 I'm just getting set up. Will make a start this week, but I am currently pondering the best way to solve the C-3P0 silver leg issue. His legs are all gold in the kit, which is slightly disappointing 🙂

Tom
Hi Roland 👍

Gareth Windsor
Because of the way these kits go together (beautifully), you could almost get away with spraying the leg parts on the sprue. They will need a light sanding for the paint to grip.

Tom
Thanks Gareth, I didn't think about light sanding, thanks for the tip 👍

Tom
Pic 3 - coaxing C-3P0's electronics transfers into the many contours of his middle part.

Tom
Finished for the night, will swap ear bud legs for real ones tomorrow. I have decided not to go silver on his lower right leg. I will only mess it up and it is not a cheap kit. Apparently he was gold plated sometime around episode 3, then between ep3 and ep4, it was removed and replaced with silver (all part of his backstory) - something about a bomb being placed in his leg, which was disposed of by disposing of his leg. Maybe someone with better knowledge of canon than me can confirm.

Torsten
Nice working, I follow

Tom
Hi Torsten 👍

Tom
I messed up the wiring decals on the backs of his knees, so I switched to the stickers. Bandai stickers are quite soft and they worked just as well over the indentations as the waterslides. Probably better, as you can push them in a bit harder. The parts around his midsection are much more indented, so melted watersides work better there.

Tom
For C-3P0, the kit gives the option of movable arms or fixed arms. The movable arms feature actuators that slide along slots in the arm (one on the front, one on the back - see pic 7). If you are building this kit - CAUTION - make sure you fit the actuators in the right way around (see pic 8 ). I put one in back to front, then moved the completed arm and the actuator bent instead of sliding. It didn't break, as the actuator parts are made of a softer plastic (and therefore are also not the bright, shiny gold colour like the rest of the parts). I fixed that and it works now, but the actuator is weakened. The fixed arms are all gold, and so might look better, but the movable arms are good enough and a nice feature.

Tom
Started R2-D2. A lot more work involved, but more interesting to build than C-3P0. Over 30 decals/stickers on R2, compared to 6 on C-3P0. Some of the parts on R2-D2 snap together much tighter than C-3P0, such that they are never coming apart again, so if you are building this, read the instructions carefully and go in order. I would recommend putting the decals on his head before fitting the base plate under his dome. If you are using stickers and push too hard, some of the blue head parts might recess (they are fitted from the inside). If the base plate is fitted when that happens, there is no way to push them out again, and I don't think there is a way to get the base plate off without doing some damage. It might be worth gluing some of the blue head inserts to avoid that problem, but note that some parts are intended to be removable, so take care. I've used a combination of stickers and decals. In some places, the stickers work fine and are faster to place.

Tom
So, pic 11 is a practical demonstration of not following the instructions 🙂 I have attached the bottom roller/motor housing the wrong way around. Spotted when building the second leg. Luckily this was an easy fix.

JD
Hey wow, first time seeing this awesome build! I just recently acquired the Threepio kit myself, and you have inspired me to build him sooner rather than later!

Tom
Hi JD 👍 Go for it, looking forward to seeing your build. The Bandai kit is good. C-3P0 comes out really well with his recognizable stiff-backed posture and awkward arm angles.

Tom
R2-D2 sub-assemblies done. 29 (mostly tiny) decals/stickers done, only another 20 (equally tiny) decals to go... and then there are the panel lines to do 🙂 A much more involved job than C-3P0.

Tom
Still doing decals on R2-D2 - 49 in total I think. Some of them require a bit of patience/luck (pic 13). Some cleanup to do when they are set.

Tom
R2-D2 is done. I am putting the tools and attachments aside. Will paint/fit them if I ever need them for a dio. Classic R2 is fine for the display shelf. Actually, I have one last task: panel lines. I think they should be silver. I am deciding on whether to make up a silver pin wash or use gray Tamiya panel line accent.

JD
I find it fascinating that there are subtle differences in Hero characters across different Bandai kits. R2, Threepio, and BB-8 are unique In each kit they appear in, including the kit I am working on. (Where Bb-8 is missing an antennae) A marketing trick I'm sure, but only battle-hardened hardcore StarWars fans like me may notice these things..😉

JD
For Example, Your 'Threepio torso decals in the combo kit with R2, are colored, whereas in My Threepio stand-alone kit, they are just silver.. there are many more differences (Easter eggs) I could tell you about.. Hee he heee..😄

Torsten
I like this little one, well done 👍

Tom
Is your standalone C-3P0 from Bandai, JD? That is weird, I thought they would have reused as much as possible. But yeah, could convince real fans to get both kits I suppose 🙂 I can only get Bandai locally, have wondered what the Revell kits are like. I am pleased with this one. It was weird how different the build of each droid was - R2-D2 was much more involved. Looking forward to seeing your project 👍

Tom
Cheers, Torsten, he's already my favourite 👍

JD
Yea Tom, I thought so too, but each Character' s appearance is slightly different in different kits.. Another example is the 1:72 Red Squadron X-wing stand alone v.s The
Rogue One Special set with the bonus 1:144 X-Wing, where the decals are different,or the Bb-8 missing a panel in the D-0 diorama.. And the stand alone R2 with rocket boosters.. I really don't like the idea of having 4 different R2-D2's though..

Tom
Yeah, one is enough for me, JD, as long as it is a good one. I've run out of Bandai now. At my local store there is only half a floor-level shelf of Star Wars kits left, among about 10 aisles of Gundam kits, but I know nothing about that so it doesn't grab me. I'll get R2's panel lines done and go back to ruining tanks 🙂

Tom
Added some panel lines to R2-D2.

Tom
Final pic recreating the box art. Not enough fill light on C-3P0, but they're done. Great kits, a lot of fun.

Gareth Windsor
They look great Tom.

Tom
Cheers Gareth! 👍

Mike Purvis
Those are amazing kits. I salute anyone who can do that kind of great build & paint on kits that are so small!

JD
"Don't call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight blob of grease!" Classic 👍

Tom
Thanks Mike - fortunately most of the parts came on coloured runners, so it was mostly just a build. But some of R2-D2's 1x1mm decals were a bit of a test 🙂 I did some panel lines on R2, which give the kit some definition.

Tom
Indeed JD 😄 I always felt that some of the hostility C-3P0 draws is unfair 🙂 Loving your X-wing, great work 👍

Łukasz Gliński
Wow, that R2 detailing and that shiny gold look fantastic 👍

Tom
Cheers Łukasz, they are very photogenic characters 🙂

JD
Yeah, Threepio's mind has been wiped too many times. I think he knew too much, and had become a security risk. He's often clueless to what's going on, and has become eccentric and defensive.. (nerd alert) 😛

Rui S
Very Nice & shiny work 👍

Stéphane Jayet
I have this kit on my todo list, and I hope I will be able to build them as good as you did. They are very nice !

Tom
Thanks Rui, Stéphane! 👍
Stéphane, the only tricky part I found is C-3P0's arm actuators on the movable option - I recommend double-checking those parts to ensure they are in the correct way around.

JD
I also have Threepio on my todo list. I really want to learn how to light up his eyes.. someday

Tom
Defo JD, that would be the finishing touch. K-2SO also.

JD
Yeah that's the dream... and soundFX too..

Dietmar Bogatzki
Perfect build of 2 iconic Starwars Heros 🙂

Tom
JD, I now have very high expectations when your build starts 🙂
Thanks Dietmar! 👍 The kits are very well made and go together very well. The quality of the C-3P0 parts is indeed excellent right out of the box.

Stephan H.
These are the droids we are looking for 🙂 nice work!

Tom
Thanks Stephan! Great avatar 🙂

Spanjaard
both look great!

Tom
Thanks Spanjaard! 👍

Stephan H.
Representing !😉

Dale
Couple of years late but great job! 🙂

Tom
Cheers Dale! 🙂👍