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Event Review: UK R2 Builders Christmas Meet

December 16, 2018

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The annual UK R2 Builders Christmas Meet took place on Saturday 15th December and Fantha Tracks were invited, with me and Martin going along. There were plenty of talks and activities during the day, plus veteran builders were on hand to help those new to the craft with their creations.

There was advice on engineering and electronics, with different build techniques including new 3D printed shells, now an affordable technology to more builders than ever. Now the weight-to-power requirements for the droids becomes even better.

Droid time trials were happening over the big course, and Lee Towersey was on hand to help teach new drivers learn to control Astromechs around the course. My son loved his first lesson!

Most importantly, £2396.00 was raised for Meningitis Now with a big cheque handed over to the charity.

For anyone interested in building an astromech please check out the R2 Builders website.

Tags
R2 Builders

SourceR2 Builders

Matt Booker

Matt brings decades of retail and fandom experience to Fantha Tracks. A number of years at Cool Toy Review and The Private Universe, numerous trips across the Atlantic to US conventions and dozens of others in the UK and Europe as well as his knowledge of Star Wars (specifically Boba Fett) and the wider world of comics and sci-fi.

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Counting Down To:

March 2026

sat07mar10:00 AM3:00 PMEcho Base Live: Episode XVIII: 7th March 2026TIME UNTIL THE EVENT ENDS:

May 2026

fri22may12:01 AM11:59 PMThe Mandalorian & GroguThe Mandalorian & Grogu arrives

Event Details

The Mandalorian and Grogu, announced as The Mandalorian & Grogu, is a Star Wars movie that started production in 2024. Directed by Jon Favreau and produced by Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, and Dave Filoni, it takes place between the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Episode VII: The Force Awakens, focuses on the adventures of Din Djarin and Din Grogu, and will be a spinoff to the TV series Star Wars: The Mandalorian. The film was announced on January 9 that year on StarWars.com with a conceptual sketch by veteran illustrator Ryan Church, along with an announcement of a second season of the television series Star Wars: Ahsoka. A fourth season of The Mandalorian is also still in development.

On May 7, 2019, Disney revealed their future movie release schedule, including a set of three untitled new Star Wars films, one of which had a scheduled release date of December 20, 2024. The Star Wars Show also reported on the news on May 15. On July 23, 2020, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was delayed to December 19, 2025. After the start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Disney shifted their theatrical film release slate, with the film being pushed to its current release date of May 22, 2026. A film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy occupied this release slot until The Mandalorian & Grogu was announced.

Star Wars Insider 224 revealed the initial film logo was the same as the one for The Mandalorian Season Three. In August 2024, during D23 2024, it was revealed that the film had entered production, and a new logo was revealed, in addition to a teaser that was shown to the audience. In August 2024, Sigourney Weaver revealed that she had joined the cast of The Mandalorian & Grogu.

Alongside the release of the movie, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run will be updated to include a new mission featuring Djarin, Grogu, Tatooine, Endor and Cloud City, which takes place off camera from the film.

Time

May 22, 2026 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM(GMT+01:00)

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Droid time trials were happening over the big course, and Lee Towersey was on hand to help teach new drivers learn to control Astromechs around the course. My son loved his first lesson!