Dreams come true. The best day of the R2 journey yet

That's right.  With out a doubt, this is the best experience for me yet.

Before now, I've enjoyed seeing kids faces light up (kids between the ages of 5 and 50!), 30 minute trips to a fast food stall that was 500 yards away just because I'm stopping for  photos, talking to builders about this that and the other and even had the occasional eureka moment where I've cracked something so baffling to me before hand.

All good stuff.

But today, for me, will stand out as probably the best day yet.

This morning the screen arrived for my controller, so I can now see what I'm doing.  Pretty cool.

I went and picked up my Aluminium 300mm Dome.  Beautiful thing it is.  Very pleased!  But also, only pretty cool.

Ohhh, I've got your attention now!  Better than a 300mm dome? :o


After un-packing the dome when I got home, I was told that a load of my toys had been brought down from the loft.  That's instantly good news.

Among all the piles of awesome that I collected as a kid, I have just unearthed these Star Wars treasures.

If you're not jealous of the dome, you will be of this haul.



I hit the bottom of the box (huge grin by this point by the way), and there at the bottom was a blue clip board.

A blue clip board, filled with a 10 year old boys dreams.

I remember when I was young and I had the idea for building R2, I started collecting tin cans, hoping to fashion a way of flattening them out, welding them and making a seamless skin.  But I had totally forgotten about this folder.

Until I opened it up :)

 "PRESCOPE"

Here's some scribbles trying to calculate the scale of R2 from some toys I had

If you can't read the picture above, here is as accurate of a translation as I can make:

AccessoRIE 1

GRabber

Iv'e chose to make this body out of a Bycycle pump Because it is the same shape.  It will be located In the slot Just Next to the Left lef Labbled 2


10 years old.

That's more than half my life time ago!


Yeah ok, it's closer to 2 thirds of my life ago...



It's amazing sitting here reading through this, looking at the time I spent trying to draw it as accurately as possible, the thought I put in to the scale, and now being able to look up at R2 as he stands now, 17 years later.

Sure, he doesn't have boosters.  He's missing a foot strip.  No utility arms.  And a few other bits ;)

But!

He does go above and beyond what that little boy dreamed of a long time ago, in a bedroom far, far away.

I want to go into giving deep and philosophical advice about never giving up on your dreams or how no obstacle is too big so long as you have the heart and patience for it.  But all I have for you is this.

Build a robot.  They're freakin' awesome man!