The JAG V5.0 Frame

Here are some photos of my JAG V5.0 Frame. All aluminum, precut, predrilled, and very stable. Put it together in about three hours with a phillips-head screwdriver. The day before I did put together the utility arm carrier, but had to take it apart again so I can put the arms (same bronze as the eye). Currently the frame doesn't have the arm carrier attached. However, I have included a couple picks of the carrier to show how it looks.

05-15-08
Utility Arm Carrier. Each arm has a pivot pin so they can swing out. Make sure that for each pair of rails (top and bottom of each arm) the pivot holes face each other (tops are facing down, bottoms facing up). It took me awhile to figure this out, but that's how the pivot pins work.

View of arms pivoted out.

Smokey the ALTA performing quality assurance. Yep, that rail is good and tight from the back!

Completed carrier. Too bad I had to take it apart so I can paint the arms.

05-16-08

Getting down to business! The two bottom rings and risers are in, the shoulder plates attached, the speaker plate screwed in.

Speaker plate has very small horizontal risers to allow room for center vents to go in. The four holes on the vertical rails are where the vents attach. I'm planning to align the skins onto the frame first, then put on the vents. It's so nice to have a place to put speakers for AL's "bloopideebloops" (sounds).

Smokey taking a very long cat-nap. Imagine that, an ALTA asleep on the job! Give her a break, though, it was a hard day for her. Chasing birds, fluffing her tail, harrassing the male cat. You know, the usual stuff that wears out a cat-girl.

Back to the frame! Shoulder hubs in, battery box in, top ring on. The green plastic in the back is to mount electronics. I'm considering switching it out for a block of wood. I also need to move the battery box somewhere so there is room for the 2-3-2 center leg (leg comes up through the frame). Gotta plan that carefully or nothing will fit inside. Will work on it when I have the legs and feet done.

Another view of shoulder hubs. The plates, hubs, and bolts are built so that the shoulders can rotate in 2-3-2 mode.

It's beginning to look a lot like R2! (hum to favorite Christmas tune). I had to take the panels and eye off of the dome so I can drill holes in the inner dome for the HP's. With the frame, you can see AL taking shape.

With Smokey out like a light (nothing could wake her up, not even me petting her tail), I put Fritz to the task of checking the work. Quality assurance is important! I don't think he knew what he was doing (take a sniff, walk away, walk back right by AL ignoring it, walk to AL, sniff again, repeat), but he sure liked the smell of it!

There are no instructions for putting these frames together. My best tip for this project is to print out a few pictures of frames already put together. Try to get different angles. There's some really good ones on the astromech.net forum under "Frame".

Next up is legs, ankles, and feet.

Until next time,

JawaJaka