Pain in the neck-ring

after studying the collar/neck ring, i tried to think of a way to construct it. it looked simple enough, just a few rings stacked on top of each other.Having looked at more detailed photos, however, i noticed the complexity. i started by sculpting one half, thinking i could mold the other half. realizing this wasn't going to work, i decided i would try to sculpt the entire neck ring out of super sculpey. ahem..after several days and trials, i ended up with one that i was okay with.I hardend it in the oven and primered and started sanding. it still seemed off to me.



I then decided to see if i could solicit the talents of a machinist. A CNC machinist, to be exact. I posted several ads, with no response. I did a detailed sketch,and had a builder ( Jerry Greene) render it into detailed plans.After emailing it to a local shop, they agreed to do it, but the cost was way more than my budget would allow. "Will this never end?" A friend and fellow builder Chris Bartlett mentioned posting the request on the R2D2 builders board. (shhhh, don't tell 3po that he needed R2's help for this one). I got a response from "commando eight/James" and zipped the plans off to him. Well, i wish i would have sought him out sooner. The collars turned out ExCELLENT! I couldn't have been more satisfied.