A few weeks ago, Jedis, Siths, smugglers and princesses alike gathered in Orlando for the biggest convention of Star Wars fandom in the galaxy, Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017.
And for one Plant City man, the weekend was a long, long time in the making.
John Harris, 47, a resident of the Walden Lake neighborhood, debuted his homemade, life-size astromech droid, the same kind made popular in the Star Wars franchise, during Celebration. He was part of the R2 Builders Club, a group of fans dedicated to making realistic replicas of the galaxy’s most famous droid.
Harris’ droid is modeled after the R2-J8 model seen in the ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ animated television series. Harris said most of the droids he’d seen were R2-D2 replicas and he wanted to try something a little different.
“When I see pictures, it’s usually R2-D2,” Harris said. “I wanted a little more freedom.”
Harris started the build after finding a smaller R2-D2 at a garage sale. It was motorized, but didn’t work. Harris, who spends much of his free time tinkering with electronics and wood working -— he has built and restored many arcade-style video game cabinets — decided he might tinker with his new toy.
Then, he thought, why not put the time into building a real one?
“I started in November 2013, but it wasn’t steady,” Harris said. “I would work on it in my
spare time for a few months and then stop completely for three or four months, then go back to it.”
Harris said his interest in droid building goes back to the formation of the R2 Builders Club in 1999, but quality parts weren’t readily available. Now, though, with the availability of 3-D printing and the Builders Club internet forums, it was more feasible.
“It’s a very cooperative build,” Harris said.
Star Wars Celebration often changes locations. Last year, it was held in the United Kingdom and the year before it was held in Anaheim, California. With this year’s convention in Orlando, it was just the motivation he needed to complete his build.
He finished within days of the convention and said it was well worth it. The droid was a hit, he said. Harris and his daughter, Kylie Harris, couldn’t make it a few feet without being stopped for photos.
“The color scheme on his droid was really unique and he paid a lot of attention to detail, so I think that’s why it got a lot of attention,” Kylie said. “He was able to control it with small hand-held remotes, so people wouldn’t really notice it was his. It just looked like a droid from the movie minding its own business.”
A 100-foot walk could take them an hour, Harris said.
The slow pace was well worth it thanks to the expressions he saw on the faces of children when the droid would light up, spin, beep and whirl.
“To me it was just a bunch of parts,” Harris said. “But to the kids, it’s magic.”
Harris said he plans on taking R2-J8 to another Orlando convention, MegaCon, in May and looks forward to teaming with fellow builders to do charity work, like visiting children hospitals, with the droid.
Contact Daniel Figueroa IV at dfigueroa@plantcityobserver.com