We Love R2-KT

501st Legion Founder Albin Johnson started something incredible 10 years ago when he decided to show up at a local movie theater in full Stormtrooper armor just for fun. Although he would never admit it, Albin has an amazing sense of vision and his passion drives him to succeed. I would like to state now, for the record, that I think he's doing it again. The formula is similar to that which fuels the ever-growing 501st Legion, but replace the fans in costume with an army of good-willed robots.

The result is the story of R2-KT, the "Pink Imperial Droid with a Heart of Gold."

When Albin's daughter, Katie, was diagnosed with brain cancer, the network of friends that Albin had built over the years rallied around the brave little girl. The fan community showed a tremendous outpour of support including the construction of a scale remote control droid to watch over Katie while she slept (her sister Allie's idea). The droid was dubbed "R2-KT" (as in "Artoo-Katie"), and despite the loss of Katie, the pink robot now serves to educate, entertain, and bring awareness to pediatric cancer. She's even inspired Hasbro and Lucasfilm to donate $100,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

My prediction: R2-KT's robot friends (namely the R2 Builders Group) will join the cause. Awareness will spread amongst children's hospitals and charitable organizations across the world. More fans (perhaps parents of sick children) will be inspired to build replica droids for the same purpose. A new Legion will be born. In fact, with a trading card, embroidered patch, and Hasbro action figure already on the market, the future looks bright pink for R2-KT.

For more information about R2-KT, please visit r2kt.com.