More painting and dome arrival

So, I woke up thsi morning and checked the blue parts I painted yesterday. They looked really good, as it happened, and so I went ahead and one o the power couplings together to see how it looked in one piece:

I wish the picture could do the color justice. It's a very deep, rich blue with metallic sparkles and it changes a little as you move it in the light. I also made the mistake of thinking that just because it felt dry meant it was completely dry, so you may see the lower-right corner piece isn't as smooth as it ought to be. Well, lesson learned: the next batch is laying in state for 48 hours.

And speaking of the next batch:

That's the other power coupling, large data port, and the radar eye. I went over them with the same formula as yesterday, and so we'll see how it looks in 48 hours.

(Incidentially, I was reading up on the forums and they said not to worry about weathering and such until the entire droid is assembled, so I've put those activities aside for now.)

In the meantime, my dome has arrived. Check it out:

The top picture is the base of the dome, with the R2-D2 builders' club logo on it, to show it's officially approved. You can see indentations going around in a circle: those are for the Rockler bearing from yesterday, and as far as I can tell are an exact fit for it. Neatness.

Below is the dome itself, pre-cut with another dome that goes underneath, I resume. Still not sure how it all goes together. You'll notice the top segments are out. They actually come in a little baggie separate. I guess I paint them and paste them back in, or something. I've got to find some documentation on it. In any case, it's very light and flexible, but obviously precision cut and a very nice little set up. Can't wait to prep it and decorate it up with the lights and the radar eye and all that jazz.The pieces aren't quite coming together yet, but they're showing up in any case.