First was to add a 1/8th inch "lip" for the pie panel to lay on. The easiest way I found to do this was with 2 pop-sickle sticks. I just went slow and steady, making many small marks.
Once I had the pie panels done, I checked my Star Wars reference pictures to see which lower panels I wanted to hinge. I want to be able to duplicate R2-D2 having all of the panels popped open, much like when R2 shorted out when shot in "Return of the Jedi
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With that as a reference, I traced out the panels....
With that done, it was time to connect the dots for cut lines. The vertical lines were pretty easy, just using a flexible ruler. For the horizontal ones, I used the pie panels that were cut out of the outer dome to trace the curvature correctly.
Then came the nerve-wracking part...cutting. I had two options....drill a large hole and try cutting with a bulky jigsaw. Or...use the Dremel with a reinforced cutting disc. I opted for the Dremel.
The Dremel could do it but it required the RPMs to be pretty high. Going slow and steady I managed to stay within my lines. However, the Dremel was getting very, very hot so it wasn't very fun to handle, even with workgloves on.
Here's the first panel cutout!
One down, about 10 more to go!
