Thought I'd share this here.... Figured out what the restraining bolts were actually made from. First a little background:
Last year I set about finally doing a super accurate R2 build of my favorite R2. The one seen at the sandcrawler scenes when Luke and Owen are picking out the droids. (Incidentally it was also the first day of shooting on Star wars)
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One thing I definitely needed for that was the restraining bolt and I was definitely not happy with the existing ones that have been floating around for a while so I set out to figure it out. It took a little leg work and some educated guessing but we did figure it out.
Here are couple more pics of the real deal:
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The found part was actually a type of Arriflex movie camera lens. These once common camera parts are now quite rare and expensive (very close versions go for around a grand) although I have yet to find an EXACT match. These were a standardized style fitting with many different versions and lens types produced for many years by several companies. We purchased a similar cine lens to confirm dimensions. Some of the originals featured a bolt and washer to hold them to the droids during filming. As seen in the reference photos, the black finish is mostly worn off (likely due to a design flaw in the early style lens that allowed them to 'spin' in place, eroding the finish. Later versions 'locked' and did not spin).
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real arri lens from ebay
The other problem is that it appears several subtly different ones were used. (differences just on the interior details) Probably just lenses with different focal lengths that had different internal components.
Anyhoo... using all the info I had gathered and deduced I went about making a super accurate 3D model and had a bunch made. They're pretty great and once the anodizing is sanded off they look perfect on any droid or refrigerator. :)
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a couple pics of the 3D file
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a few of the aluminum ones fresh back from the shop
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The finished anodized aluminum ones with my weathered one on the right.
I would still love to find the exactly correct original piece but for now I'm more than content with my replicas.
And lastly... a shot of my replica bolt on my ANH R2:
![]()
Last year I set about finally doing a super accurate R2 build of my favorite R2. The one seen at the sandcrawler scenes when Luke and Owen are picking out the droids. (Incidentally it was also the first day of shooting on Star wars)
One thing I definitely needed for that was the restraining bolt and I was definitely not happy with the existing ones that have been floating around for a while so I set out to figure it out. It took a little leg work and some educated guessing but we did figure it out.
Here are couple more pics of the real deal:
The found part was actually a type of Arriflex movie camera lens. These once common camera parts are now quite rare and expensive (very close versions go for around a grand) although I have yet to find an EXACT match. These were a standardized style fitting with many different versions and lens types produced for many years by several companies. We purchased a similar cine lens to confirm dimensions. Some of the originals featured a bolt and washer to hold them to the droids during filming. As seen in the reference photos, the black finish is mostly worn off (likely due to a design flaw in the early style lens that allowed them to 'spin' in place, eroding the finish. Later versions 'locked' and did not spin).
real arri lens from ebay
The other problem is that it appears several subtly different ones were used. (differences just on the interior details) Probably just lenses with different focal lengths that had different internal components.
Anyhoo... using all the info I had gathered and deduced I went about making a super accurate 3D model and had a bunch made. They're pretty great and once the anodizing is sanded off they look perfect on any droid or refrigerator. :)
a couple pics of the 3D file
a few of the aluminum ones fresh back from the shop
The finished anodized aluminum ones with my weathered one on the right.
I would still love to find the exactly correct original piece but for now I'm more than content with my replicas.
And lastly... a shot of my replica bolt on my ANH R2:
