What Part Is This? Answer

"Mushtang" got it right!
It's the second camera/eye on the R2D2 rocket!

When the model was glued together I only found one in the zip-lock bag. I found the second "eye" a week after building it, on the bathroom floor! I knew there was two when the kit was first opened.

The one I had was glued onto the front side of the rocket.
The back (launch lug side) of the model just got the second "eye" glued on.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Finished

The plastic molding was very clean and the parts fit together very well.
It's nearly impossible to smoothly hand paint the details on the head dome and two arms.
The stick on decals didn't fit flat on the curved surfaces.

Finished, the model looks pretty good.
We'll see how well it flys and if the rear ejects parachute opens.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 8, Parachute, Shock Cord & Fins

The 12" parachute is assembled as normal.
The instructions have you loop the shroud lines around the mount then pull the canopy through the loop. This will make some tangled shroud lines.

For a tangle free parachute I tied some small loop knots at the centers of the shroud line loops.
A heavy line was fed through the loops.
This outside line was tied around the engine mount and taped.

The 36" elastic shock cord was tied on the upper end and taped.
A second 18" shock cord was included in the kit and isn't used.

This is a rear eject model.
The parachute folds and is set around the interior engine mount tube.
The shock cord wraps around the parachute.





The other end of the shock cord is tied to a plastic loop at the bottom of the body.
With the shock cord attached the engine mount doesn't slide in very easily over the lower plastic centering ring. I'll have to file a notch to allow the shock cord some relief.

Don't dry fit the clear fins!
The fit on the pin is so tight I had problems getting the two pieces apart to get some glue in there.
You only have to apply glue to the pin and press the fins in place.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 7, Stickers!

The stickers will lay flat around the main body can.
They will not lay flat over the dome head!
I went back and cut slits over all the raised areas. This allowed the stickers to be burnished down flat.

You have to make a call on this. Does the dome stickers look better with raised wrinkles or sitting flat with cut lines?
To me, the cut lines are much less noticeable.

It's too bad Estes compromised and went with stickers. Whoever made up the plastic molds did a GREAT job. When I was younger I built a lot of plastic models. I wish those kits fit together as well as this one did.

Use your knife blade to lift and place the stickers on the model.
If you use a clean knife, fingerprints won't be picked up under the clear areas.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 6, Brushed Blue Trim

One of the stickers was set on the dome to match the blue paint that will be  brushed on.
With the transluscent sticker over the aluminum paint, the nave blue was close.

I used to spray paint into the can cap for touch ups.
Now I put a small baggie into a mixing cup and spray the paint into the bag.
When I'm done, the bag is zipped close and thrown away.

I knew the legs would be a problem.
There is no way to mask and spray these.
I didn't spray the legs white before the blue was painted on. There was going to be some scraping. These were left bare plastic.

The picture shows the first coat. It is uneven. I'll wait until the first coat is completely dry before brushing on a second coat.
TIP: If you try to brush the second coat before the first is dry, the first coat will lift off making a more uneven surface.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 5, Assembly and Mask

The body halves joined, held tight with rubber bands while the glue dries.

Later on, stickers will go over the top rounded surfaces.
After the glue dried the seams were sanded smooth for better adhesion of the stickers.

I'd recommend painting the body before the legs are glued on. It'll just be easier to mask.

The upper dome gets silver, I'll use metallic aluminum.






On the left is the mask for the silver.
Scotch tape went down first, over that a wrap of copy paper held on with masking tape.

The inset shows the paint lines after the mask was removed.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 4, Body Lock Rings

The interior rings are slid on dry, without glue.
Once the BT-55 tube is even with the bottom of the body half, the green rings are slid to either side of the horizontal ridge.
The rings should be fairly tight against the ridge.

The instructions have you set lines of glue up and down the tube around the final position of the rings.
The rings are tight and would probably get stuck in the wrong position. I don't agree with the way you are told to glue then slide the rings into place over glue that is probably starting to set up!

I slid the rings tight around the horizontal ridge then removed the tube with the rings in place.
White glue fillets were added away and separate from the body half.

Before the glue set up the assembly was set back into the plastic half to check position and dry.

These two fillets on the top and bottom alone will be plenty strong.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 3, Upper Bulkhead

The fat centering ring is art of the upper bulkhead. It will glue to one of the flat disks.

A ring this thick should be sanded flat, the surface is a little uneven.





The white bulkhead disk is wider than than the green ring.
Sand the edges for a slip fit into the BT-55 sized tube.





In preparation for the next step, 
There are ridges on the interior of the large centering rings.
Before peeling away some inside layers, try pressing them down with a hard, round object like a pen barrel or dowel.
If they are still too tight, lightly sand or peel if necessary.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 2 Engine Mount

The padded four-sided fingernail files are great for removing the mold tabs and flash on the plastic parts.

This is one half of the centering rings.

The green centering rings are glued to the long engine mount tubes.
The plastic pieces are glued over those.

ALL of the plastic piece fit better than any plastic model I've ever built! Whoever made the molds for these knows what he was doing.
There are small ridged and interlocking tabs on the parts halves that fit without any trouble.






The top of the mount gets the washer weight and a plastic "cap" over that.
Rubber bands are wrapped around the plastic centering ring overlay halves while the plastic glue dried.

Estes R2D2 #2142 Build, Part 1, Parts

Again, this is the smaller version of the Estes R2D2 kit. The larger version had a BT-101 body with a printed wrap. This one has a plastic body.

Lots of parts, the only traditional tube and rings are inside in the engine mount.

You are given two elastic shock cords, the 1/8" x 36" long one is used.

A 1/8" x 18" shock cord is in the parachute bag but not needed.

Parts on interest from the upper left going clockwise - 
Two bulkhead disks are on thick die cut card stock. Only one is used.
The engine mount and interior tubes are thick for Estes. No shiny layer on the larger 55 size tube.
In the center is a washer weight.
The centering rings were probably made for just this kit.
These aren't anything I've seen before, especially the bulkhead ring on the lower right.

Estes R2D2 Back Story

The first Estes R2D2 was "available" after March 15, 1978.
It was a big BT-101 based model. Recommended engines were a B6-2 and C6-3.
The pre-production catalog illustration shows the legs as "T" shaped profile fins. The kit ended up with clear plastic fins that extended below the side legs.
I remember building one. It was nearly impossible to paint all the trim. The round nose did eject like a normal rocket.

It flew once. With a C6-3 it hit the ground before the parachute ejected. The plastic fins shattered.

In 1998, Estes released a smaller version of the R2D2, this time around BT-70 size at 2.6" diameter.
The clear fins were much the same design. The earlier clear fins screwed on, the fins on the new small version are glued.
This is a rear eject with a 12" parachute rolled around a central engine tube.

The larger earlier edition was also re-released in 1998.
Still under powered, I'd never use a recommended B6-2 in the larger one. Even a C6-3 is questionable.
A small third "T" engine RTF model was also produced.

The 1998 package says: Simple construction.
Simple, no. Interesting, YES!