Welcome to the home page of R2-KT: the pink droid with the heart of gold. Built by the R2 Builders as a gift for Katie, the droid was her constant companion as she battled brain cancer. Today the droid is on a mission to spread awareness of pediatric illnesses, partner with charities to make a difference, and help spread the magic of hope.
LEGO QT-KT
Super excited at the Fantha Tracks announcement about QT-KT appearing in the new reveal LEGO® Star Wars™ Creative Play Droid™ Builder #75392 set coming August 1st. QT is the alter ego for R2-KT from her appearance in D-Squad, an all-droid team. Hey, a girl can change outfits and assume a new nickname! Love this. Thank you Lucasfilm and LEGO for showcasing KT!
From Fantha Tracks:
Revealed on the Australian certified store and up for preorder soon. Possibly a retailer exclusive. #legostarwars Link found by Jeremy Beckett
“Build your own R2-D2, Chopper (C1-10P), QT-KT, R5-J2 and invent droids with the LEGO® Star Wars™ Creative Play Droid Builder set (75392). A unique family gift idea for boys and girls and any fan aged 9 and over, this buildable Star Wars toy set comes with lots of accessories to customise the droids, including a duck, cowboy hat, moustache, glasses, headphones, 2 jet boosters and 2 stud shooters. The rotating head and legs of each droid character can be reattached to any other character’s body to build totally mixed-up droids!
“The set also features a special LEGO Star Wars 25th anniversary minifigure of Young Princess Leia with her droid Lola (L0-LA59) and a display stand. Brick-built droid accessories – Including a duck, cowboy hat, baseball cap, hat with flower, moustache, ice cream, balloon, glasses, bow, bow tie, headphones, 2 jet boosters and 2 stud shooters. Customisable building toys – The buildable accessories fit on all the droids, and the rotating head and legs of each droid can be reattached to any other droid body.”
2023 Pink Force Day at Cartoomics: Milan
2023 Star Wars Celebration London
Young Leia and R2-KT-11
Andreas Lukas sent in this report of Team KT11 from ComicCon Stuttgart! They joined forces with the Rebel Legion booth and were able to sell a lot of KT pins on the first day. KT11 got to met “Little Leia” Vivian Lyra Blair, who is a big fan of the droid! Well done KT11 team!
Will the real R2-KT please stand up?
Fascinating article on the elusive R2-KT LEGO figure as told by Jeremy Beckett on The Holo-Bricks Archive. I had no idea they made fifty of our girl as a test run! Wonder why they can’t make an official one? It’s a shame, I know there would be bananas level of interest in one. But at least there are custom figures out there. Thank you for the amazing article, Jeremy!
Jerry Greene: R2-KT’s Maker
It is with a heavy heart that we say farewell to Jerry Greene, the selfless droid builder from Rhode Island who masterminded the construction of R2-KT back in 2005. He heard of Katie’s wish for a droid by her bedside when battling cancer and he united all the Droid Builders to donate parts. he made the dream a reality and presented KT in person at Shore Leave in Maryland in 2006. Jerry has gone on to be one with the Force, but his legacy shines every day all around the world – smiles on kids’ faces, funds raised for charity, and hope for a new generation. Thank you, Jerry and rest in peace.
LEGO Star Wars Commercial
Check out KT-15 making a cameo along with Per Valgreen and the troopers of the Danish Garrison! Shout out to all the volunteers who helped make this happen! Beautiful work! #legostarwars #r2kt
https://www.facebook.com/LEGO/videos/1008291510088843
R2-KT in LEGO Star Wars: the Skywalker Legacy
The new 2022 LEGO Star Wars game is out and R2-KT is all over the place as a character in the story! You can find KT and she will recruit you for a mission, fully involved in the story arc. We always knew she had it in her to get the heroes going!
December, 2021: First Day, a fan film by Peter Haynes
First Day is a lighthearted look at what’s going on in an average Stormtrooper’s head while on boring guard duty. Composited and rendered in Unreal Engine 5, this short delivers the look and feel of a day on Tattooine along with superb voice talents. Plus, there’s a certain pink droid that drops in on the drama that we think you’ll like. Well done to the Epically Casual crew – we hope this can become a whole series featuring those two knuckleheads.
November, 2021: Pink Force Day
On November 27 over two hundred members of the 501st, Rebel Legion, Mando Mercs, Droid Builders, and Galactic Academy joined together in San Sebastian to celebrate the first ever Pink Force Day! Organized by Andoni Serrano, this was an unprecedented combined effort to raise awareness of blood donation needs and unite the members of the Pink Force from Spain, Italy, and France. In spite of inclement weather, the public turned out in droves to enjoy the magic of Star Wars and a parade by the brave costumers through the center of town. It was also the first every meeting of two KT units: KT4 of Spain and KT8 of France! I was honored to join the festivities along with none other than Samantha Alleyne, cast member in multiple Star Wars movies as well as the first female Stormtrooper in the Star Wars saga. Amazing! An enormous success that heralded the power of hope and the ability of the fan community to effect great change. It will live as a permanent highlight in my life as a fan. Well done, Pink Force!
Pink Force for Katie’s Birthday!
May 13th was Katie’s birthday, and the entire galaxy came out to celebrate. Here is a gallery of the amazing Star Wars fans who embraced the PINK side of the Force for the day!
Power Droid Planter
The cool kids over at Cloud City Collective create magical little gonk droids that serve as planters and keep you company just about anywhere. We were thrilled and surprised when they customized one of their kits in KT colors! Little KT-Gonk sits happily along side our KT collection now, filling the room with joy.
You can order your very own Gonk Droid Planter kit here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShopCloudCity?coupon=R2KT10
And you can find Cloud City Collective on Etsy at shopcloudcity and on FB and Instagram at @cloudcitycollective
Antoine Le Chatelier and his gift for others’ safety
I was told someone would prefer to stay anonymous, but the cat’s out of the bag so I will brag on him too! Antoine Le Chatelier is celebrating his FIFTEENTH year with the 501st Legion. And all after he spent 2020 creating gorgeous Star Wars-themed masks he sold to members of 501st French Garrison and Rebel Legion French Base.The full benefits, i.e. € 501, he donated to the R2-KT 2021 charity fund which we will be slating for the first quarter gift to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). I can’t get over just how hard people worked in the Star Wars community this year to make a positive impact. I’m just smiling with pride and gratitude for knowing people like Antoine. I was lucky enough to see the good work and warm fellowship of the French Garrison many years ago and I even had a brief moment with Antoine in London at Celebration Europe. I am so happy to see them doing well and producing people like this. Merci, Antoine – vous rendez le monde meilleur!
Kids’ Christmas Artwork Challenge!
We asked kids to send in a drawing of KT celebrating Christmas and boy were there some awesome artist who responded! Each one of these artists gets a set of the 2020 KT Christmas patches! Happy Holidays everyone!
Thanksgiving Photoshop Challenge
Thanksgiving is all about bringing everyone together over a good meal and giving thanks. We asked fans to send us one of their favorite scenes from a movie or t.v. show where everyone is gathered together for a meal. Hooboy did folks have fun with it! Below are some of our favorites! Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season! (Check out the full gallery of photos in our Photoshop Gallery here: https://www.r2kt.com/r2-kt-photoshop-contests/)
SIMS 4 : Journey to Batuu
August 27, 2020
Official reveal for the SIMS 4 expansion: Star Wars Journey to Batuu. Along with Kylo and Rey making appearances, there’s a certain droid front and center that they doubtless knew would appeal to the SIMS audience. I asked KT if that is her. She never told me about the gig. She said she’s just doing what all stars do: use their fabulous looks to make a good story look even better. And she does it quite well! Way to go, KT!
KT Heroes!
We are sending out free KT patches as a tiny token of gratitude for our healthcare workers, first-responders, and essential personnel. These are the real heroes facing down the challenges of this day. We salute their courage and their hard work. It’s because of YOU that lives are being saved and real change is happening. Thank you!!!
(if you know a KT Hero, just email us at r2kt@r2kt.com and tell us where to send them a free patch! we’d love to post their photo on our wall!)
June is Star Wars Artists Month!
This June we are celebrating STAR WARS ARTIST MONTH.
Every day we are posting a Star Wars artist in celebration of their work and to raise awareness of the need to buy authentic: too many knock-off operations out there. Join us in supporting our Star Wars artists!
Slide over to our SWAM page and check out all the articles!
https://www.r2kt.com/star-wars-artist-month/
PI-R2-KT : a young man’s journey to build his own KT
Owen Jeanmonod from Switzerland is a kid with a big heart. I mean HUGE! And a big brain behind it. Are you ready for this? He read the story of R2-KT and decided he had to take up the torch and join the mission. That’s right. This teenager spent 3050 hours (127 days) printing on three 3D printers with over 184 km of PLA .75 filament, and then glued, sanded, painted and decorated 482 pieces to build his own R2-KT, which they call PI-R2-KT.
What!?!?
And this kid says he wants to give hope to sick children and raise money for charity.
WHAT!?!
We at the R2-KT team are blown away. This is amazing. In spite of all the tragedy we are facing right now this is what is happening. Hope is stronger than fear – period. Hats of to Owen and his family for being having vision and showing the Force is still strong in all of our hearts. Wow.
Check out the full video on YouTube. Below the link is the translation of the beginning text.
“Albin Johnson, who founded the 501 legion (the largest association of Star Wars fans) learned in 2004 that his daughter, Katie, had an inoperable brain tumor. He decided to build an R2 unit, in his daughter’s favorite color: pink. The droid accompanied Katie until 2005, when she died at the age of only 7 years.
This story made me so upset. So I decided to build a replica of R2-KT and to continue what Albin Johnson started after the death of his daughter Katie:
Give hope to sick children and raise funds for a foundation.”
A Special Message from Samantha Alleyne – Stormtrooper from Star Wars!
Children’s Stay At Home R2-KT Art Contest
Hey there all you kids stuck at home! Draw us up a picture of KT hanging out at home with some friends and playing games or doing some other activity. It can be any characters and any activity: lightsabers with Harry Potter? Chess with Spock? Video games with Doctor Who? Email your artwork to r2kt@r2kt.com and you will receive a KT Prize Pack! Check out all the great artwork sent in so far! Submissions taken through May 4th!
Partner Droids
R2-KT is proud to partner with other community-driven droids. Please welcome R4-AU the droid for autism, R2-WW the Wounded Warrior droid, and R4-EN the droid spreading awareness of cancer. You can learn more on their Facebook pages, just follow the links in their photo captions!
Congratulations to Karen Greniuk and the rest of the Pink Force team! They have made us all so proud for winning the competition. What a great crew!
#CampeonatoFeminino
October 2019 – Pink Force Argentina
Andoni Serrano put us in contact with the Pink Force unit in Argentina. Karen Greniuk is a member and also competes in yacht racing. She and her crew now race in the Pink Force yacht, complete with R2-KT signage and KT shirts! This month they won their most recent race, which capped off the year-long racing series (which they won as well!). How cool is that!
“It is really an honor to be able to represent The Pink Force and very exciting to know that we have your support and Andoni, who has given us great help to get to the race with everything!
I hope that we can reach many people with the message and be able to accompany the children with ‘our grain of sand.’ The initiative to create the sailing team was to use all the resources I had at hand to generate as much diffusion as possible and my teammates found it a great idea.
Here, we sail and we have championships very often, today was the last race of a Women’s Championship that we ran throughout the year and that in addition to winning the race of the day and closed winning the annual championship.
So here are Karen, Paula, Magui, Malena, Flor, and Viviana showing the world the power of hope!
October 2019 – Original Art by Angel Acosta
Angel is a member of the 501st Legion in Mexico, where they created the fifth of the KT AmbassaDroids. As an artist, Angel felt inspired to create a comic book cover depicting Katie herself along with KT-Cinco on merry adventures. This is pure magic and a complete and priceless surprise.
AmbassaDroid Logo Revealed! September 2019
Unit Logo
The KT AmbassaDroid program finally has a unit logo!
In 2016 in the wake of R2-KT’s appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans and droid builders requested to make their own R2-KT and help with charitable works and appearances. The solution: why not mobilize these fans and their passion into an ambassador group for the KT mission? And so the AmbassaDroid program was born!
And now, thanks to amazing artist and 501st Legion Star Garrison member Eric Ehrlich, we have our unit logo!!! Eric designed two stunning designs. Based on votes from the AmbassaDroid members this is the winner: the KT logo re-imagined in a globe motif with the flags of our member nations adorning the border. The logo is dated to allow for changes as new nations join and will be used to identify KT’s sisters and unify the group in their awesome work.
Patches are 3.5″ x 4″ embroidered with twill background. We will be offering these as a KT patch run to once again raise funds for charitable works. This run will benefit Doctors Without Borders – a charity that ranks 94% on Charity Navigator and a fund that I personally donate to already. You can learn more about DWB here: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
Patches are $7 apiece (or $5 apiece for orders of 5 or more)
Soda City Comicon – August 10-11 2019
(see more photos by clicking on the Adventures page link)
Katie’s Legacy
A beautiful testament:
Late in Katie’s treatment, when she was bloated from steroids and sick from the chemo, one little girl in her class named Jessica took special care of her. Jessica would have Katie over for afternoons of quiet and safe fun – it made Katie feel better knowing she had a friend and could hang out like normal kids. Jessica’s whole family were loving and supportive and a blessing from God.
Years later Jessica and her family would move away. But last month Jessica’s dad reached out to me for a favor: Jessica was all grown up now and graduating from nursing school. Could I send them some R2-KT items for her to carry with her during graduation?
Last week I got this email and photo:
“Hey Mr. Johnson it’s Jessica. I can’t tell you how grateful I was for your letter. I’ve been applying to jobs recently for nursing and have had my heart set on working at a cancer hospital. I had no reason other than I thought I liked it. After talking to my dad and getting the letter I think I had a realization that Katie was part of that reason and I didn’t even know. It’s an honor to say I was a part of such a beautiful person’s life.
You guys are an amazing family and you’ve done so much goodness in the world already. Thank you for letting me bring her with me.”
God bless this young woman and her family. This is the kind of youth we need to see taking a stand. I am so proud and she’s not even my daughter.
Remember: the life you live sends ripples across time. Invest in love – the harvest is more than you can imagine.
Celebration Chicago!
R2-KT was at Celebration and living it up with the other droids. Follow her adventures as she greets the tens of thousands of Star Wars fans coming together in the Windy City!
(see more photos by clicking on the Adventures page link)
Star Wars Galaxy of Adventure!
Check out who made it in the Droid episode of Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures on the Star Wars Kids channel!