10 Origins Of Star Wars Props You Won't Believe
6. R2’s Head Started Out As The Top Of A Film Studio Lamp
R2D2 is one of the most iconic characters in science fiction, and part of his appeal stems from his unique design. Typically, robots in sci-fi are androids, but that's not always the case in Star Wars. There are tons of small, unusually-shaped droids, with R2 being the fan-favorite.
When the prototype was being put together, his head was nothing more than a metal studio lamp. At the time, his body was carved out of marine plywood Roger Christain brought from home, and that was only the beginning. As his design evolved, so too did the components that went into him.
Hit little mechanical arm used to press buttons and manipulate objects was a Pickle and Ice Cube Grabber. Various other parts that went into the small details include a part from a Hydraulic Reference turntable. The restraining bolt the Jawas put on him was actually a lens housing for an Arriflex standard camera lens mount.
The protruding lens that sits beside his large red light (just below the main "eye" lens) is a Vickers Viscount 700 series turboprop airliner reading light. If you've ever sat on a plane with an adjustable light, you're old, but you've also fiddled with one of R2's eyes.