Frank has been taking things apart—and somehow putting them back together better—since the age of three, when he famously removed the headlights from a truck… and reinstalled them correctly. From that moment on, it was clear: if something had screws, wires, or even vague structural integrity, Frank was going to get into it.

By the mid-80s, armed with cardboard, creativity, and a deep love of Star Wars, he built his first stormtrooper costume—long before cosplay was cool. That love never faded, but it grew even stronger years later during cancer treatment, when the stories, characters, and universe took on a whole new meaning and sense of escape. That experience sparked a new goal: joining the ranks of costume clubs and bringing those characters to life for others. But Frank doesn’t just wear the galaxy—he builds it.

A lifelong tinkerer (emphasis on lifelong), he’s been creating animated Christmas light displays since 2004, turning his home into a glowing, synchronized spectacle that’s inspired his community—even while battling cancer. Naturally, the next evolution was droid building, because why stop at lights when you can add robots?

Equipped with a Bambu H2D, a workshop full of tools, and a brain that absolutely refuses to power down, Frank dove into building DJ Rex—because, in his words, “there are already too many R2s and BB-8s.” Not one to stop at a single project, he’s also bringing a D-O unit to life, piece by piece.

If it blinks, beeps, spins, or sparks joy, chances are Frank is already building it… or making it better.