One of my favorite hobbies to help me unwind after a long day is building the Star Wars Metal Earth models by Fascinations. The are intricately detailed, challenging to put together, and become obsessively addictive. There is no glue or painting required, but you do need a couple of good pairs of small pliers and a small flat screwdriver for wedging some of the pieces in place. Most of the models are only two or three inches tall, but I found an R2-D2 and C-3PO combo set that is larger and much more detailed than the rest. As a bonus, it also has some battle marks painted on it whereas most of the models are simply just silver.
The models typically come with two flat sheets of laser cut pieces. You then have to twist, cut, or pry them apart so that they can be formed into the shapes you are trying to build. Since this kit contains two characters, it came with three silver sheets, two gold sheets, and one red sheet.
The first step was to assemble R2-D2’s head which involved forming the metal dome and attaching a few of the sensors. Next came forming two pieces together to make the body and attaching it to the single front “leg”. The body has several pieces that must be attached from behind then the two halves are connected by bending the tabs inward. The last pieces to be assembled are the “side” legs. Once they have been attached, the head can be put on and the fully assembled R2-D2 can be attached to the display stand.
Now it’s time to assemble C-3PO, which is a little more of a challenge. C-3PO contains lots of small parts that have to be carefully balanced while attaching them. The head comes first. Its very tricky to bend both halves together so they match and then hold them in place while you attach seven different tiny tabs to form the head. The next step is the main torso which isn’t too tricky to fold around on itself. Then comes the arms. They require multiple small pieces to be folded and placed together while trying not to break the small pieces that protrude off of the arms to represent the hydraulics. The legs and feet also require multiple pieces, but they are little easier to fold and attach. Once all of the separate pieces are assembled, they can all be combined to form a completed C-3PO.
The last step is to place C-3PO on the stand next to R2-D2 and that’s it! This is one of the cooler Star Wars Metal Earth models I have completed.
If you want to try one of these models yourself, below are links to a few different models. If Star Wars isn’t your thing, there are also other fandoms available, such as Star Trek and Marvel. Be careful though, they become addicting!
