In The Beginning.....

After looking at lots of different websites with lots of different build methods and building materials, I opted to go for the styrene build. Using the plans from Dave Everett on the R2 Builders website, they were printed off at Staples and ready to go. The plastic was bought with money received for my birthday then it was just a matter of finding some spare time to start.
The straight edge parts of the frame were cut out roughly from the the paper plans and tacked on to the styrene with repositionable glue.

Plans stuck on and starting to score.

The plans were then scored with a very sharp knife with Skye taking the photos and waiting to laugh should I cut myself. (By cutting the plans out first should mean that wastage is kept to a minimum and if any bits go wrong then I have some spare.) The plans were left on the plastic so that I knew what they were when the build actually starts.

All the frame upright supports

The next stage was to work out how to cut the circular parts of the frame. Some people have made a table to use a router, others have used a circle cutter for paper. After thinking a bit, I remembered that I have a device my father made for marking circles on sheet metal. A search of the garage and there it was big enough to mark the styrene and sharp enough to score. I have found that a cut with the knife will help but at least the scoring is deep enough for the blade not to go of course.

Carefully deep scoring the inner circle(!)

With the first 2 frame rings cut out, that was enough for an few hours in the garage, but at least R2 has been started. Progress may be slow and the blogs equally slow, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end. As I have mentioned above, there is a wealth of information and knowledge at the R2 Builders Club, who have plans that give a universal size so that a a lot of the external items can be interchangable.