The Story of R2-AL

or How an Imperial Droid Became a Rebel Hero

R2-AL, aka AL, started as R2-X8, an Imperial droid serving on a spy ship stationed in the Outer Rim. He was modified to oversee the ship's onboard computers and make quick repairs. He was also retrofitted with long-range scanners as part of an advance detection radar system. It was also up to Exate to boost the rockets for quick getaways.

During the Battle of Yavin, Exate's ship hid on the opposite side of Tatooine to avoid detection. Unfortunately, a rebel cruiser was also stationed there to protect that side of the planet. The cruiser immediately recognized the spy ship and, before Exate could activate the booster rockets, obliterated it. Exate was the only one to survive, crashing into the sands of Tatooine.

Tatooine is full of scavenging creatures called Jawas. Misunderstood and underated, they collect and repair the junk that falls into their territory. Jawas are family-oriented social creatures that live in Sandcrawlers, giant mobile collection/repair stations with living quarters. Several families can live in a single Sandcrawler. But even Jawas have "black sheep" in their families. Jawa Jaka is a loner who prefers to live in tents and small shelters. Unsocial, unhappy, and unjustifiably lonely, he wonders the sands eeking out a living selling any junk he finds. So, when Jaka happened upon Exate half-buried and barely alive, all Jaka could think of was no one would buy this piece of junk. About to leave Exate buried in the sand, Jaka had a change of heart when he heard a faint cry from Exate.

Taking pity on the little droid, Jaka unburied him and took him to Mos Espa, where he rented a small shop with tools in exchange for janitorial duties for the owner's other shop rentals. Scraping off the black Imperial paint, he noticed that Exate was really make of shiny aluminum. Jaka renamed him R2-AL.

During the two years it took to rebuild AL, Jaka began to transform himself, becoming more social and taking pride in his work. Jaka had never refurbished a droid before, so he got a lot of local help. He became fond of AL, referring to him as "son". Jaka also became somewhat sympathetic to the rebel cause, as did AL. Jaka fitted AL with a chip to give AL a personality, although no one could figure out what exactly that personality was. That is, until Jaka and AL overheard a conversation between two stormtroopers about another Death Star in the works.

While Jaka preferred to stay out of the whole Imperial/Rebel affair, and staying out of politics altogether, AL insisted he had to join the fight. The two came to an agreement; Jaka would stay behind as a rebel spy and AL would go to Hoth to help with the tracking system. It took a lot of convincing the rebel army, but with AL's highly sophisticated computer systems array and tracking devices, knowledge of Imperial systems, and his strong determination, AL was finally allowed to serve at Hoth. It was AL that alerted the rebel army of the arrival of Imperial troops, thus setting off a chain of events that led to the evacuation of Echo Base on Hoth, saving countless of rebel lives.

AL and Jawa Jaka have both been decorated for their bravery during the Battle of Hoth. A new paint job has given AL a hammered-iron and bronze look, giving him the nickname Hammerin' AL. He is still devoted to Jawa Jaka, whom he calls Dad, and to the rebel cause. What started as an impersonal Imperial droid has now become a loyal rebel hero.

The Dome (so far)

As promised here are some pics of AL's dome. As mentioned before, he's bronze and iron (well, painted that way, at least).


1. Cutting the panels out with the dremel using a cutting wheel. Notice the flex shaft. The rainbow colors are the reflection off of my TV, cool huh? Tip: before cutting out, label all panels and inside the outer dome so you know where to put them back (think match game).


2. The panels all cut out, edges smoothed and sanded with the dremel sanding kit, surfaces roughed up a bit, and ready to paint. Tip: roughing surfaces helps the paint to stick to it without peeling off later.


3. The dome as displayed at Starfest/Robocon 2008 in the Model Room. Since I still need to cut out the inner dome, I used the tacky stuff you hang posters in dorm rooms with to put the panels and eye on. It really holds great! Tip: for temp holding, use the tacky stuff that comes off easily.


4. The top of the dome to get a better look of the Rustoleum Hammered Gray paint job. It really does look like hammered iron! Tip: use a large cardboard box lined with newspapers to spraypaint items in. This prevents paint from spraying all over. Don't forget face and eye protection specifically for paint.


5. The EYE! Four hours with an airbrush with a very small jar of bronze hobby paint. I couldn't be happier. Azman is hooking me up with a bronze-tinted lens. Tip: there's more than one kind of paint. Shop around and READ LABELS FIRST! Tried a spraypaint for plastic only, didn't work on alum.


6. Another view of the eye to show the paint job. Tip: use a small amount of paint thinner in the airbrush to keep paint from clumping in the crevices. Trust me on that one!


Hope you enjoyed your quick tour of AL's partial dome.
Until next time,
Jawa Jaka

Starfest Balcony Contest Winner!

Whew! Starfest is finally over! I was in so many panels and events that I didn't have time to take my usual 500 pictures (just a few of my dome) or see any of the celebrities or main events. I did, however, participate in one of the coolest contests at Starfest - the balcony contest.


As a member of the Order of the Gray, one of Denver's Star Wars fan clubs, I've been helping with the balcony props along with other members since October. It started at CIV in LA when I and a couple friends saw giant foam board starships being used to promote the cardboard Star Wars Battleships minis game. I told my idea to our group leader of making our own giant foamboard ships for the balcony. Half an hour later another member came up with the exact same idea. Thus a balcony was born!

After many months and hours of labor and an electrician in our group, we came up with this:













Yep, that's a blacklight turning the engines of one of the ships blue.













Of course, these are pics before we put up the day-glo string to show the ships firing at each other. I'll try to post a pic of that as soon as I get one.

Until next time,
Jawa Jaka

Quick post: for those that have never seen me, here's a couple great pictures taken of me at Starfest 2007. My eyes were a little weak due to the consumption of Klingon blood wine. I promise to look a little brighter this year...

In the meantime, the R2-KT auction is very near. My to-do list seems long, but there really isn't a whole lot to do. Just the final touches and printing and getting everything ready and.......

Until next time,

Jawa Jaka