Wired up Tamashii C3PO and RAH R2D2 for AC in diorama display case

[JazzInc]

I thought you guys might get a kick out of this. I just love the Tamashii C3PO and wanted to display it with R2 of course. I just think 3PO looks lifeless without the eyes on, so I needed to find a way to wire him up. Also, I needed a good R2. Medicoms R2 was the only option, because all the others look too cheap to me. It is too small, but I got it at a great price on ebay. I think it looks great in the pictures. I also wired up R2.

I got a great price on a Master Lighthouse 1/6 scale display case. I needed to get inside that thing because I wanted to bypass the touch on/off switch, so I could switch everything on with one AC remote. That way I could also tap some regulated DC from the USB powered Lighthouse case for the figures. I painted the floor dark grey and etched lines in it just like the Tantive IV. I made some high res screen shots of the Tantive IV scenes and had them enlarged. I used that for the back ground. Now I have THE classic scene for R2 and 3PO, remotely activated at my pleasure!

I also had to do a lot of weathering and some repainting on both figures to get them movie accurate. While I was at it, I put an orange flash gel in front of 3pos eyes to get them the right color. I am very happy with the results. Just so realistic and lifelike!

Please let me know what you think!!

 

[JazzInc]

Here are some pictures of the process for wiring up 3PO. R2D2 was very straightforward so I didn't take any pictures of that. Because you can take 3PO apart, it was possible to do it in phases. I could drill small holes in the back and put through some stiff iron guide wire. Then I got some really small and thin black and red wire. I twisted them up by putting them in my electric screw driver. Looked great. I taped the twisted wire to the iron guide wire using duct tape for a strong connection. Then I could guide the wires through, using the iron guide wire. You can't tell which wires are the fake wires and which are the live wires on 3POs back.

I had to take apart the knee joint to guide wires through there. I wish I had used a slightly heavier gauge of red wire, because it snapped very easily, especially when you flex the knee heavily. I got that sorted by making sure there was extra length in the knee.

Then I took apart the foot. I glued a female DC connector in the foot and closed it up again. Now I can still display 3PO any way I want to or place it over the live DC jack and power up the eyes!

In the back of the head I soldered the wires to the board, using two 100R resistors to make sure the LEDs wouldn't be overloaded. I also built a small dimmer in the floor to get the lights of the figures to match the rest of the lights.

Finally, you see a picture of the final product, when I had only done very little weathering. The picture of the back of 3PO was halfway through the weathering process

 

[Dr. Odd]

Very cool, great display!

 

[jra81984]

Incredible! I wish more figures were wired for AC.

If you don't mind me asking… what did you do to bypass the power in the Master Lighthouse? The fact that they do not work with a switch has been a big deterrent in me buying a couple of those.

 

[JazzInc]

Thanks guys!

@jra81984. It's not an easy mod. You have to break into the parts that hold the lights. That leaves holes, hence the brass brushed plates to hide that elegantly. You can just solder a jumper between the two white wires on the board, where they go into the board. It really is a stupid thing to do design-wise, to make them unswitchable.

 

[Lejuan]

Outstanding Thanks for posting your pics Jazz!

 

[jra81984]

Thanks guys!

@jra81984. It's not an easy mod. You have to break into the parts that hold the lights. That leaves holes, hence the brass brushed plates to hide that elegantly. You can just solder a jumper between the two white wires on the board, where they go into the board. It really is a stupid thing to do design-wise, to make them unswitchable.

Yeah it is a really bad design flaw. I keep all my displays and cases on an electrical switch for easy on/off. To not have these be capable of doing that is a huge mistake. I hope in the future that it will change in future releases.

 

[TheFiend]

Great display , man! Very ambitious. Love the weathering too. Though I dont think I'd gone through the trouble with R2 so out of scale but if you're happy with it than that's all that matters.

Do you think you'll upgrade when SSCs R2 comes out?

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk

 

[JazzInc]

Thanks. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't gotten it for a great price. I might upgrade, but I'll await the reviews first

 

[Darth Waller]

Awesome job on the weathering and wiring.

 

[McHaleyArt]

Very nice. Looks great!!

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Looks great Jazz!!!

 

[Geraldfire]

Very nice and great job!

 

[bbl]

That's really cool. What is the voltage and amp on your adapter?

Been thinking about myself. Also hooked up the boba fett stand. No soldering, just added the wiring in the battery compartment.



Best,

Robert

 

[Darth Fok]

Very nice indeed

 

[kl241]

Looks great but I'd be too terrified to take apart a $400 figure.

 

[bambooluv]

Great job, that's insane!

 

[slynger]

You've definitely got some skills if you took the thing apart and rewired it! Major kudos to you.

 

[Alastair]

Great job with the eyes and the wiring.

 

[wolverine_x]

This is simply awesome!