Grandfather builds the droids he was always looking for
The wood exploded in a million pieces, covering the workshop floor. As he stood there watching the disorder he just made, Kurt Zimmerman was at a time of crossroads.
“I just stood there and I thought,” Do I really want to do that, or not? ” »»
Kurt’s first attempt to create his own Star Wars droid – and the incredible trip on which Hobby would – almost finished right there, even before he begins. All because a saw blade caught a notch on a wooden panel and sent it to rush to the workshop. “But I’m happy to have continued!”
Flashback in 1977, and a young Kurt was about to undergo the most transformative cinematic experience of his generation. Already a manufacturer of passionate models with a love for science fiction thanks to the television series of the 1960s Ombragères And its use of “supermarion” (a combination of models and puppets), Kurt was impressed when Star Wars started with a giant imperial star destructive that plunged above. But something a few seconds later would catch him forever.
“R2-D2 is the first character on the screen we see,” explains Kurt. “And I immediately thought:” I must have one! ” »»
It took him 35 years, but Kurt finally realized his dream today. After having raised a family, managed a company of material prosperous in its original state of Michigan and built a workshop where he could engage in his other passion for restoring vintage cars, Kurt decided to finally seek his own R2-D2. He quickly discovered that he was not alone.
“I started watching on the internet and I found the R2-D2 Builders Club,” he says. “It was in 2011 and there were probably only 200 droids around the world outside Lucasfilm. I joined the club and I did about two months of research – because they document everything.”
Not only that, but many club members worked for Lucasfilm and had original plans of the droids used by screen. Club members share information, advice and even parts, supporting and being inspired to build droids using everything they could – from corrugated carton to plastic aluminum plastic with LED lights. Some members have even used a process called Hydroforming, which consists in using high pressure hydraulic presses to shape and mold the metal, a technique that has proven to be invaluable for the construction of round dome of (and extremely difficult) dome of R2-D2 and other droids.
For his first attempt, Kurt spent two months in search only. He traveled the R2-D2 Builders Club site, absorbing all the information he could on the plans, the photos of progression and the back and forth between the members. “The real thought of building a droid like the one that was remote control and had sounds and could do all the functions, it’s really intimidating,” admits Kurt. “But when you see how the others have done it, it empowers you.”
The research has borne fruit and Kurt saw how it could tackle the intimidating task. “I was more experienced in the work of wood, which is why I decided to do my droid frames from plywood. But once they are weighted and adjusted and filled and painted correctly, they look like metal. ” He connected a traditional plane remote control (“some of our members are real electronic wizards and make their own commands or even made them from PlayStation game controllers”) and finally had the R2-D2 that he imagined when he was a child.
Kurt Zimmerman’s “Artoo Deco” asks Ghostbuster questions. Credit: Kurt Zimmerman
He also learned an important lesson. “The secret to build one is not to look at the whole project – because if you look at the finished product, it is impossible. You must decompose it. Make one thing one night. Make one thing the next night. And then the next night. When you do this this way, it becomes feasible. These are 1000 small projects instead of it.
Although a fan of Star Wars for life, Kurt was not a toys collector or someone who had walls lined with posters and Merch. He found satisfaction by combining his fandom with his love for wood work and the manufacture of models, without thinking about where he could lead beyond the simple fact of having his own R2-D2. The narrow links of R2-D2 Builders Club with Lucasfilm, however, opened the door to something completely unexpected.
Like the 501st LEGION – A group of cosplayers fans with specific costumes and uniform uniforms – R2 -D2 BUILDERS CLUB is not an official part of LUCASFILM, but it has the blessing of the studio to the point where the 501st And the homemade droids of R2-D2 Builders Club were both invited to participate in Star Wars Events such as the celebration of Star Wars or themed evenings during sporting events.
“I do a lot of local things,” says Kurt. “I had R2 on Center runs in a piston match or on the ice in a Red Wings match, things like that. Everything with the blessing of Lucasfilm.” The remote -controlled droids that welcome Visitors to Disneyland and Disney World have been built by club members.
“And this is where I discovered that there was another large part of this hobby,” explains Kurt. “You don’t just have to be in the part of the building, there is also part of the performance. You can take these droids to churches and schools and hospitals and make these visits – which turned out to be the most gratifying part of this hobby. ”
It started when some of the 18 Kurt grandchildren asked if he could bring one of his class to their class. After demonstrating for their fourth year lesson, teachers asked Kurt if he could do it again for children’s gardens and younger classes. And then for the sixth, seventh and eighth year. Before he knows it, they were by bus in high school students. Kurt has adapted its presentation for each group, letting the youngest take advantage of R2 roll while leaning in the engineering and construction elements for the older crowd.
“I have become the coolest grandfather in the world,” he jokes, noting that several of his grandchildren have since entered into the robotics themselves. Shortly after, he found himself bringing droids to hospitals, where he saw another way for his hobby to have a more important and more precious impact.
“When you have these interactions with patients and parents and they are in the midst of a terrible experience, but you can make them smile. This is the most gratifying thing of all time. It has transformed a hobby into an experience that changes life.”
These days, Kurt does not turn as much with his creations as before, where he would spend every weekend loading and unloading trucks of droids. Instead, he lends them to club members across the country, making sure that his pastime projects have a life outside of his workshop, and perhaps inspire a few more droid manufacturers along the way.
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