The influences of film and literature can run deep, which is certainly the case with Harford County’s Greg Tracy, who has taken his love of the “Star Wars” films to the next level in constructive fan-dom.

The 41-year-old Abingdon resident is a graphic designer by day and a constructor of “Star Wars” droids by night.

“I’ve always loved building things, and when I was younger, I was deeply engrossed in the ‘Star Wars’ movies, especially the first one, from 1977,” Tracy said

The talents of the Tracy home’s patriarch are so developed that he created a fully-functional, life-sized R2-D2 model, which looks exactly like the tried-and-true droid featured in all six of the movies.

“It’s about as replica as replica gets,” Tracy laughed.

The origin of Tracy’s R2-D2 began, like so many other creative ideas, as a joke of sorts.

“Back in 2005, we went to the Halloween event at the Festival at Bel Air, and there was a guy that had a motorized vehicle with his daughter,” Tracy explained. “Back then [2005] was when the last [Star Wars] movie came outs, and my son, Alex, who was 5 at the time, wanted to go as one of the characters.”

Tracy said his wife, Jill, initially proposed the idea.

“My wife kind of joked about it, and stated that it would be cute if I built our daughter, Brenna, who was a year and a half old then, a little R2-D2 model to ride in,” Tracy said. “Of course she thought I was going to use trash cans or something; she seriously didn’t think I was going to do the real thing.”

Tracy saw fit to construct a real R2-D2, to be outfitted with real automated parts.

“I’ve always loved to build things and tinker, so it was a good challenge for me,” Tracy said. “I sort of told myself that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right.”

Tracy worked for several weeks, building the droid in his garage, and designed it so meticulously that it wasn’t finished in time for that year’s Halloween celebration.

“I didn’t get it ready for Halloween that year, but it was ready for Halloween of 2006,” Tracy said.

He recalled the joy on her young face as she made her appearance at the following year’s event.

“She was ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic,” Tracy said. “Brenna sat inside it and we pushed her around and she thought it was the greatest thing ever.”

Greg Tracy wasn’t finished with the droid, however, and has since customized it, adding engines, lights and sounds, and even has it operable by radio control.

The R2-D2 stands at about 3-1/2 feet tall, weighs just under 150 pounds, is firm to the touch, and, according to Tracy, “is made made from just about every material I could get my hands on that lends itself to building.”

Tracy prefers to make his own parts for his various machinations, and R2-D2 was no different. Much of the droid is made of laminated wood, which has been refined to the point of almost being unrecognizable. The trademark dome of R2-D2 is aluminum, with a fiberglass interior.

The craftsman even wired the droid completely by himself, and did much of the robotics programming on his own.

The bright man with an interesting hobby is not alone, however, with his love of all things R2-D2.

Tracy belongs to an elite builders’ organization, The R2-D2 Builders Club, who all specialize in the construction of the various forms of Hollywood’s favorite droid.

Referring to the club members as “fellow hobbyists,” Tracy explained that the club consists of people from around the globe, and even contains members affiliated with Lucas Films, the source of all things Star Wars, as well as a few select members who have had their works involved in the recent films themselves.

Tracy has especially tethered himself to a local branch in the Washington, D.C., area.

“The whole thrust of the R2 Builders group is to get together to share information on how to build these things,” Tracy said.

His ties with the group include participation in Astromech.net, the official site of the R2-D2 club as a site administrator. The owner of the Web site has ties with Lucas Films.

“We actually have members of Lucas Film that are members on the site,” Tracy said. “They help to bring a little extra clout to the group, I’d say.”

The club’s activities include hosting and attending various science expos and “Star Wars”-themed events, instructing others on how to build and gather materials for droids, and participating in various forms of charity events.

Tracy has displayed his R2-D2, often alongside other members’ droids, at various venues, including the Franklin Institute, museums and various “Star Wars” conventions and parades.

“One of my favorite events was absolutely with the Franklin Institute,” Tracy said. “There was an event that featured the science behind the ‘Star Wars’ movies, and the theme was how scenes and technologies displayed in the movie have tied into and shaped technology today. We had a blast out there.”

Tracy also uses his R2-D2 to the benefit of the community in and around his Abingdon home.

“I do charity events when I can, such as Relay for Life, and various events for elementary schools,” Tracy said, “and I’ve talked to several robotics groups down towards the D.C. area as well.”

“We have an event coming up on April 25, at the National Electronics Museum at Linthicum, Maryland, called Robot Fest,” Tracy said. “We’re really looking forward to that. There’s going to be a lot of robots there that can do even more than mine can, advancement-wise, such as speech recognition and pressure sensors on the body of the robots. There’s some pretty intense stuff out there.”

When asked how his family has taken to the de facto fifth member of the household, Tracy’s amusement was evident in his laughter.

“My wife has pretty much stayed away from it,” Tracy chuckled. “She can only stand so much of it.”

His kids are another matter, though.

“Brenna and Alex like it, and their friends obviously like it much more,” Tracy added. “As I said before, I’ve been to many schools in the area and showcase the robot. Naturally the kids are flabbergasted, and I try to play it up as best I can in order get the kids excited with science. Hopefully I can help convince one or two of them to pick up a great hobby like this.”

When pressed about his own two children, who are 9 and 6, Tracy again delivered his answers with a laugh.

“My daughter’s been around it since she was 1, so the thrill’s kind of worn off,” a smiling Tracy said. “They’re both a little desensitized to it nowadays.”

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