FT-05: A Droid for All Seasons

FT-05 enjoys a brisk perambulation around the neighborhood.

Name: FT-05

Droid Type: EG-series power droid or "Gonk" droid (exact model unknown)

Height: 3 ft. 5 in (top of housing), 4 ft. 1 in (tip of antenna)

FT-05 joined our family via a rescue program for independent droids seeking loving homes with organics. This plucky little droid's scarred exterior bears witness to a long and turbulent history being passed from one owner to the next. Multiple memory wipes over the years have left her unable to recall much of her past, apart from isolated fragments. The removal of her full serial number and factory details leave us unsure of her exact model, apart from being an EG-series manufactured by Veril Line Systems.

FT-O5 has been extensively retrofitted and rewired by previous owners, sometimes a little inelegantly, but we think it gives her character.

After countless after-market modifications and alterations, FT is now technically a power droid in name only. Power droids were originally designed to serve as not much more than walking batteries in areas lacking adequate power infrastructure. At some point along the line, though, someone replaced FT's fusion generator with a mock generator and resold her (probably as part of a large droid bundle to buyers who weren't looking too closely at the merchandise.) She's currently outfitted with a standard power cell.

FT has seen some hard times and experienced a lot of rough treatment, as evidenced by repaired blaster damage on her backside. It probably doesn't pay to be a power droid that needs to be regularly recharged.

FT has also received a few substantial upgrades over the years, most notably a reconditioned Intellex V brain, standard for R3-series astromech droids, which means she has significantly more going on upstairs than your standard "Gonk" droid. Other modifications include her all-terrain continuous track tread feet, allowing her a second, speedier form of locomotion; atmospheric sensor array; auxiliary 360° visual imaging system; and communications transceiver package.

A rear view reveals some repaired blaster damage.

Making FT-05

For whatever reason, the power droid really made an impression on me when I was eight years old and seeing Star Wars for the first time. I mean, the whole movie made an impression on me, but I remember specifically the moment when R2-D2 and C3-PO encounter this bipedal box in the cargo hold of the sandcrawler on Tatooine. It's just a few fleeting non-plot essential seconds of a droid background player who emerges from the shadows and then, probably uninterested in getting involved, shambles off making his trademark "gonk, gonk" noises. So, come to think of it, he did have lines. I guess that technically makes him a day player?

FT-05 upgraded from the clunky classic power droid metal "boots" to caterpillar-style treads.

I think the reason that moment stuck with me was because it perfectly encapsulated my experience of the movie as a whole: that scalp-tingling feeling of discovery and wonder as only an eight year old can experience. Who was that little weirdo? Doesn't matter because the whole movie is crammed with exotic and unexplained background details. And the unexplainedness of it let your imagination fill in the gaps. Or let you just leave it unexplained because the mystery is maybe better than knowing for certain. With the benefit of adult hindsight, you can tell that the power droid's design (while awesome) was probably driven by a bit of "Fuck, we need another damned robot!" It feels like a cross between the drones in Silent Running and, with its bellows-encased legs, the more retro feel of the robots from Lost in Space and Forbidden Planet. But however much a case of "put a guy in a box" it was, the simplicity and presentation of it works.

FT-05 was a COVID stay-at-home project. I hadn't gotten a chance to visit Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which as a Star Wars nerd and a guy who worked for theme parks was doubly frustrating for me. (Sorry this became so tragic out of nowhere.) Then it occurred to me that even if I couldn't go to Star Wars, there's no reason I couldn't bring a little Star Wars to me.

Aging the artificial solder around the repair plate on the back of FT-05.

The power droid appealed to me for its kitbashed/repurposed character. I knew I could use real world items to build the majority of it. While a R2 droid would be cool, I didn't have the fabrication skills or access to resources to build something quite so designed. Or really the interest. The beauty of the power droid is that aside from some basic visual details it felt more like a blank canvas upon which to create a story of age and change.

Maybe weirdly for a guy who just went on about how he loved the look of the power droid, I wasn't a huge fan of the design of their ungainly boot feet. I liked the idea of a previous owner, perhaps annoyed by their droid's laborious plodding, giving them some homemade astromech-style feet. Presumably, FT-05 could combine her movements into a kind of strolling roller skating amble, if she so chose. If she could move under her own power, which—not to ruin the illusion—she cannot.

FT-05 is largely made out of repurposed items, although the main housing, legs, and most of the feet were new items bought specifically for the build:

• A pair of 32 qt. Hefty (name inspiration!) storage bins for the main body

• Corrugated plastic drainage pipe for the legs

• A pair of steel vent register boxes for feet

• A baking tin for the recessed face plate

• Lumber for a support structure

Various gizmos made from a variety of items, including flash cubes, bits and pieces from an old coffee machine, Nerf gun, discarded water filter, and candy and juice packaging.

Pretty much everything adorning her exterior is reused items, old machine and appliance parts, pieces of old toys, plastic bottle caps, random discarded bits and pieces. This was the fun part of the build, finding ways to combine different found things to create something else entirely.

Apart from paint and lumber, he only items used in this project for their original intended purpose are the caterpillar tracks on the feet, which are made for tank type robots. I wasn't particularly satisfied with my attempts to simulate tank-style tracks using other items and finally broke down and purchased real ones. Although considering FT-05 is meant to be a stationary figure (alas, she cannot actually be rolled), more sculpture than anything else, it's maybe stretching the definition of "intended purpose".

Aging and weathering the figure (mainly with painting techniques) was both satisfying and more stressful than I imagined. You never quite know when to stop and leave it be. It can also be harder than you would think to get a consistent feeling of wear. Given that it's a 1:1 scale model, you wouldn't think scale would be an issue, but it can be easy to get caught up in a detail and lose sight of the overall picture. I lacked the foresight to track my time or do much to document FT-05's creation. I try not to tinker excessively with something I make after I initially decide it's finished (you can decide whether or not this is a dig at George Lucas), but I did decide to redo the repaired battle damage on the droid's backside, as the original version didn't quite read right to me. It's strange the things that'll stand out to you as "wrong".

Having since visited Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, I'm reasonably satisfied that FT-05 could slip in among their assorted Gonk droids without anybody being any the wiser. On the other hand, she's a very good girl and I'm not going to leave her outside with a bunch of strangers.