This Star Wars mega-fan has celebrated the release of the latest sci-fi blockbuster by unveiling an ultra-realistic working replica of the iconic droid R2-D2.
Over the course of the last 12 months, 66-year-old Ricky Butler has spent countless hours toiling away in his garden shed to create the remarkable 3.5-foot-tall imitation.
The droid, which is made from plywood, fiberglass, and aluminum, is fitted with a whopping 500 feet of wiring and blu-tooth speakers so it can light up, beep, and roll around just like the real thing.
“It’s a very long and often a very difficult process to build something like this, but I love the challenge because it keeps my mind active,” says Butler.
“When I look at the finished thing now, I’m absolutely delighted—it’s come out brilliantly,” he added. “Sometimes I can’t believe that I actually did it.”
Butler, who also built an X-wing starfighter measuring in at 21 feet long, has been a fan of the Star Wars franchise ever since watching the first installment in 1977. However, the granddad-of-seven and semi-retired actor only began building Star Wars replicas as a hobby a couple of years ago when he took a step back from work.
“I’ve been a big fan of the series ever since queuing up to watch A New Hope in the cinema more than 40 years ago,” Butler said. “I’ve always liked making things and working with electronics so I thought, ‘why not combine that with Star Wars?’”
Butler says he doesn’t know how many hours he has dedicated to building the droid—only that he would go into his back garden shed in Doncaster, England “at any opportunity” to work on it.
“At my age it’s important to keep your mind active—and doing this is a really good way to do that for me,” says Butler. “I have to think about what I’m doing and work out how to fix things.
“I rely on lots of knowledge I have picked up over the years, but every now and then there is something I get stuck with. When that happens I go on YouTube and watch a video to help me do it.”
Over the years, Butler has worked as a disc jockey and an actor, including a stint as the body double for Sam Neil, who is famous for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.
Then in 2018, he built his “battlescorched” X-wing starfighter fitted with half-a-mile of cables, flashing lights, joy sticks, and the moving wings.
Immediately after unveiling that particular creation, he began work on R2-D2 with the help of his 16-year-old son Prince, who wants to be a civil engineer.
His next creation will be a lifelike Dalek replica from Doctor Who, which he plans on starting in the new year so he can have it ready by Christmas 2020.
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