polymer clay BB-8 sculpture

December 29, 2016 @ 9:55 am · Filed under Polymer Clay

If you’re a long-time reader, you may remember the R2-D2 sculpture I completed in 2009. Ever since I saw The Force Awakens, I’ve been wanting to make my R2 a little BB-8 buddy. I bought the polymer clay in May (it turns out FIMO Soft is available in the perfect orange colour – very convenient), and I’ve been waiting to find some sculpting time ever since. And here’s the result:

polymer clay BB-8 and R2-D2

This was not an easy project. It didn’t occur to me at first how much more difficult BB-8 would be to make than R2-D2. The detailing I did on R2 was incredibly small, and, as BB-8 is only two-thirds the size of R2, that means all the detail is even smaller.

polymer clay BB-8

And then there’s the real problem: circles. (Yes, this should have been obvious from the start…) BB-8 is a ball, where R2 is a cylinder, and all the details are based on circles, whereas R2’s are based on rectangles. Freehanding circles is hard. Freehanding rings is even harder. And then try shrinking all those rings down to fit on a ball that’s only 4cm (1.5″) tall..!

polymer clay BB-8

So yes, the circles aren’t perfect, and I had to leave out the finest level of detailing. But it’s part of the joy of a handsculpt that it’s clearly handmade – if I wanted exact perfection, I could have just bought a model BB-8 from a toy shop, but where’s the fun in that?

And now for your reward for reading this whole post: BB-8 and R2-D2 both have hidden magnets embedded within them that allow their heads to rotate! Just watch this:

polymer clay BB-8 and R2-D2
See my R2-D2 post to see how I achieved this!

It’s such a pleasure to make things just for the fun and challenge of the making. R2-D2 is very pleased with his little brother, and so am I 🙂

polymer clay BB-8 and R2-D2

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8 Comments »

Orven Gonzales said

February 5, 2020 @ 8:41 pm

Really adorable since your sculpture was made from Star Wars and I am a huge fan of the film. Where do you get the supply for your clay? Thanks a lot,

June said

February 6, 2020 @ 7:09 pm

Thanks, Orven! I just buy FIMO Soft from my local craft supply store (Michaels).

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Deborah White said

December 29, 2016 @ 4:34 pm

This has to be the cutest thing ever. I love all of the details on both the droids. Very good job!

Miriam P. said

December 29, 2016 @ 12:28 pm

Absolutely fantastic!! Wow. I wasn’t reading your blog when you made the R2D2 sculpture – you’ve even got the little cables that run over his feet! Wow. This makes me want to break out my stash of Sculpey clay.

June said

January 2, 2017 @ 1:38 am
Yay, I hope you do, Miriam – playing with clay is a great way to slow down and just enjoy making! Here are a few of my top tips to avoid frustration:
1. Bake your piece multiple times, adding more details each time, so you don’t accidentally squash anything you’ve already created
2. Check for fingerprints and smooth them out before baking – it’s a lot easier than trying to sand them off afterwards
3. Unless you can work in a sterile clean room and wash your hands every 5 seconds, white clay will always end up looking dirty – just accept that!
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