CLASSIFICATION: KITBASH
BASE FIGURE: STAR WARS: EPISODE I R2-D2
MATERIALS USED: ELECTRICAL WIRING, ACRYLIC PAINTS
FIRST APPEARANCE: STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE

"Hello, boyos!"

Preamble: R2-R9 was one of five droids operating on the Naboo Royal Starship when Queen Amidala was transported off Naboo to avoid capture by the Trade Federation.  After the ship was attacked during the escape attempt, the crew of astromech droids exited the ship to make repairs, but R2-R9 was among the unfortunate droids who got blasted into space in the process.

To be honest, I'm really not sure what this little guy's name is.  He's not named in the movie, and the reference guides I've found online seem to disagree on his designation (I've also seen him referred to as R2-F7 and R2-L7).  In any event, I decided shortly after seeing the movie that I would create my own versions of these droids, since at the time, R2-D2 was the only one who had a toy in his likeness.

Construction:  This was actually the first of the astromechs from the Royal Starship that I worked on.  For some reason, I painted the original blue detailing white before I painted the main body red.  This was a mistake, since it's much more difficult to paint around fine details like this than it is to paint over them.  I also painted the inside of the chambers that house his rocket thrusters, so his body is uniformly-colored even when the rockets are deployed.

Later on, I went back and added the third holoprojector to the top of his head (which was originally part of a tiny LEGO screwdriver accessory) and made some new cables for the front of his feet (actually some electrical wiring that I pulled out of some electronic toy, cut to the right length, and glued in place).

Comments: Hasbro did eventually release a toy based on this droid, an exclusive figure that came with the Episode I  Naboo Royal Starship playet, and it's superior to my version in some respects.  It was a brand-new sculpt, rather than a recycled version of R2-D2, and had a number of very nice features like a retractable middle leg and a light on his face that glowed red when you held it up to a light source.  For the first time ever, they even remembered the third head sensor.  However, where my version is arguably too dark, Hasbro's is a much lighter shade of red than it should be.  (What's funny is that when Hasbro sold this toy with the Naboo Royal Starship, they marketed it only as a "red R2-unit," suggesting they didn't know what his name was, either.  Of course, they also didn't know that the starship is named the Marie Celeste.)