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Button break After lots of grinding off return edges all morning for my arms, biceps and such I decided I needed a break from ABS grinding, and decided to jump ahead to the Ab buttons for a change of pace. First, I trimmed both the large and small button plates per Billhag's graphic and lightly sanded the edges, then used some really fine sandpaper to scuff-sand the buttons themselves for better paint adhesion. Now, there are a lot of things I do pretty well but painting ain't one of them, so I bought some button masking templates from Trooperbay. These things are a lifesaver for fumble-finger painters like me. The real trick with these (or regular masking tape, for that matter) is to ensure that they're stuck securely as possible to the edge of the paint line, otherwise paint can easily go underneath. So, once I had the templates in place, I used the end of a thin dowel to press around the edges to seal them. Also in this photo you can see everything I'm using for this paint task: fine brush, Q-Tips, screwdriver for opening Humbrol tins and a razor knife. Also on hand was some mineral spirits in a small cup and paper towels. Note that once the templates are all smoothed out, I wrote a "G" or "B" by each button so I'd get the colors right. And if you're looking closely at the items in that photo above you're probably thinking, Oh, look, the idiot has a magnet stuck to his screwdriver. Well, there's a reason for that: Don't know about you, but I have the hardest time handling those tiny lids without either dropping them or getting paint all over me. Or both. So before prying off the lid I stick a tiny magnet to the screwdriver. Then when you pry the lid off it doesn't go anywhere. With luck, it'll even flip around to the magnet itself as it did for me up there. OK, let's paint. I tried both the Q-Tip to paint and the fine brush, and preferred the brush. I brushed on the appropriate colors over each of the buttons, brushing right over the edge of the templates. Then I let the paint "set up" for about 10-15 minutes or so. Not dry -- that will take hours to fully dry and cure -- but enough time for the paint to thicken in place a bit, then peeled off the templates. It's important to remove the templates before the paint dries for two reasons. First, if you let it dry all the way you run the risk of pulling up the edge of the button paint when pulling the templates off. Even if that doesn't happen, the paint will dry with a little "ridge" at the edges where the templates were, and that's prone to flaking there. But with the paint thickened but still wet when you remove the templates, it'll self-level at the edges and be quite smooth when fully dry. By the way, note here that I lifted the corner of the templates with the razor knife, and used that to pull them free. They're easier to handle this way. Finally, let's see how they came out: Nice. Now, I'll set these aside where nothing will get on them -- this is enamel paint, and will remain sticky for hours -- and allow them to fully dry. OK, break's over. Time to get back to those arms. A.J.

Minor progress these last few weeks. Life with young children is not conducive to building armour - plus we’ve been away on vacation for a bit. Oh well, here are some more check boxes that I’ve checked off. Started to add the canon bracket strapping. I managed to get the screws counter sunk a bit. I have seen other people use elastic along the left kidney to abdomen connection. They also used a extra piece of ABS to support it. I tried the same method, but once I got the split rivets set, a gap formed. The elastic got stretched a little a now won’t retract due to the ABS support. This is a lot more gap than I want. Not too happy. I changed out the right ab snap for a “Tandy”-less snap. Added some bits of ABS to the inside of the thighs. I will ABS paste the outside. The screen used thighs appear to be filled as well - probably paint. Reference Snap bases for shoulder straps. I also added a snap base opposite the right ab snap (not shown) 25mm coverstrips for back of shins. Adding Velcro before gluing. I’ll see how that works. Just waiting for one snap base to set. Happy belated Father’s Day. My wife ordered me a couple of helmet bags from Trooperbay. She even knew that one should be TD. Just when you think they don’t care... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would trim it more like this: oh..and sorry for cutting your thumb And RS suit for reference:

If you can bend your arms and touch your head I would say you`re good to go

OK, no idea what happened with the previous two posts with nothing in them except a blank ukswrath quote. Sorry. Can a sysop get rid of them? Thanks. Was trying to post new stuff on my build. But that quote form kept popping up and wouldn't let me type anything else in. I'm clueless. Anyway, regular posts resume in next post. (I hope...)

Back of the calves are fixed Trimmed the front return edges off of the thighs... much nicer! and a pic “sans bucket” I’ve also trimmed the large tab off the back of the bridges and then shaped them with some hot water to get them to rest closer to the back plate (sorry, no pic). Going to work on the shoulder bells some more to close the gap between them and the chest plate.

That said - submitting a pre-approval is a good idea, IMHO.

Actually it varies by garrison. I make in person approvals when needed. Why not? They are better than photos.

Huge update: I’ve done a lot over the past week in progressing the armor. Still waiting on the marine snaps I ordered to put the shoulders, cod piece, butt plate and all together. So, in the meantime I’ve got to find other parts to work on. First off I sized up my leg pieces and made the necessary cuts to shape them more screen accurate as well as have them sit on my legs much more correctly/comfortably. After this I spent a bunch of time working on the back plate and extending the underarm section so it sits flush with the chest piece when wearing the TD and ab plate. I ran out of Apoxie Sculpt part way through this so I’ve got more on order to fill in the remainder then be able to sand/cut it down. At this point it’s just a waiting game for the final pieces I need so I went ahead in the process with the helmet. I sanded it down using 100 grit, 220 grit, and finally 320 grit sandpaper. After this I used some Rustoleum Sandable Primer Filler to spray it up. Once sprayed I marked all the little holes I found with a pen and then with bondo filler I covered all the little holes. Note: Bondo hardens a lot faster than Apoxie Sculpt. So when you use it, only do small bits of bondo/hardener at a time. Otherwise you will end up having a lot go to waste. Once all the holes were filled I had to sand again to get the smooth finish for another round of priming. I used the 320 grit sandpaper and wet sanding to get the excess bondo sanded up. It takes a good deal of sanding to get down, but once done those holes are filled and I’m ready to prime again. I did another final coat of primer after I had washed off the helmet from the wet sanding and let it dry. At this point it’s ready for some polish sanding with a much finer grit sandpaper. I’ve seen others use anything from 1200 to 3000 grit on this. I think I used something near 3000 for my blasters. This I will do later once I’ve got all the other pieces to the same point. Pictures incoming.

As I mentioned, you shouldn't have any problems with basic, depending on your GML. Those were minor suggestions for the higher levels, and you did an incredible job with that build. If it were me, this is what I would do with the ears: 1. Using a handful of Q-tips and some NON ACETONE (very important) paint remover, take the paint off the edges. 2. Tape off the area with blue painter's tape. (I have added a photo below, but bear in mind that I just did it on an existing bucket of mine for an example). 3. Hit the edges with a very light coat of white paint first. This will seal the edges of the tape and prevent any bleeding of the black, giving you a crisp line. 4. Let that dry for about 10-15 minutes. 5. Paint on the black, extending up a bit farther up the ear bump than it needs to be. ** 6. Remove the tape after 10 minutes. Otherwise, the tape can lift some of the paint off. 7. After the black completely dries, apply the gray, then the black on the rank stripe. ** The reason I suggest painting the black a little higher than it needs to be is that it is easier to make a straight line with the gray around the edges,

This whole work thing is really interfering with my build. Lame... LoL But I’ve got a few things done. Popped off the smaller ab button plate, trimmed it up some more and reattached. I cut my forearms and biceps and have inner support strips drying as I type. Ammo/battery belt attached to bottom of thigh. Just need to paint the rivets. Also attached holster to the belt and glued rivet covers on. Also been working on my helmet electronics. might try to get the ab rivets and snap done tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd use something like an Exacto knife. Use the tip to scrape/shape the outline edge of the paint where it goes "outside the lines." It'll come right off and leave a sharp edge. Go easy with the tip of the knife -- you just want to scrape paint, not plastic, and go slowly. It's really easier than it sounds. As another A.M. builder, I'm thrilled with how great a job you did Jordan! I hope my build turns out so well. A.J.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. In fact, I mentioned that in the first part of the forearms post, although I didn't specifically refer to L3: "The A.M. kit includes a healthy return edge on everything, which can make fitting difficult, plus there's not supposed to be any return edge on the wrists anyway." And then again a bit later: "In the photo below you can see the trimmed returns on forearms. Almost nothing on the wrist end (I'll finish that later after assembly is complete), and about 3/16" on the elbow end. " I hope you'll be pleased to know that everything I'm doing at this point, although it's for Basic now, is a preliminary for going for Centurion. I'm leaving a bit of return on those edges until after gluing, at which point I'll then go back and remove the last little bit. I want a really smooth transition, so I'll do the final sanding and stuff on those wrists after that. A.J.

Really nice job, minor things to fix but you did great on it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So on with the build, I decided the next step would be the greaves - I had to slightly increase the size of these due to having large calves from my days as a cyclist. Next I went to work on Paul Prentice's awesome buckles; cutting out the back and sanding them smooth. } Then I lopped through a section of his straps and bonded in to place. Also due to the support required I went back to using automotive filler rather than wood filler. My local hardware shop had a 30% sale on so not only did I pick up a new batch of Montana Gold Sahara Beige, but also a new paint gun and air compressor! Painting armour is now going to be so much easier! Also my Rebel Art Base shoretrooper trousers arrived - WOOT! Now time for distressing and then weathering! And so did I!

The snaps are not a requirement, but adding them will definitely keep your belt level, especially when holstering your blaster. When you get the chance, please add a photo of your belt sitting level so we can get started with your approval, brother! Thanks!

Also today I got two LBB (Little Brown Boxes) of softparts! The undershirt is made by Sheev's Emporium and regarded as the most accurate undershirt and neckseal currently available. The shoes are through Katherine Partis in the UK who supplied the originals to the set, so these are the real deal!

The hip armour was built using the templates provided by one of the awesome members seantrooper - many thanks for sharing this with the community! Because I was unable to get a long roll of plasizone I had to get creative and hide the breaks behind the armoured plates. 1mm Plaplate was added on areas that would take the snaps and also accessories as these would prevent damage to the plastizone if they got caught on anything or through general wear and tear. (I will be reprinting the cyclinders as it turns out the body is too long in comparison to the movie armour. Once everything had cured it was time to hit it with more Sahara Beige and then connect it all together! (Please note that the front of the hip armour has been deliberately left open - I'm reprinting the adbominal armour and can't cut and bond to size until I have a finished piece!)

Next up was the hard belt - The thermal detonator and pringle can were up scaled to 108% from Sean's original as they were too small in comparison to the movie props. Again I have to thank Paul Prentice who diligently researched this and with those finished assembly and modifications could begin. The hard belt needed to be shaped to meet the contours of the armour and it turned out that my recycling bins in the kitchen were a perfect match! The thermal detonator was modified using 0.2mm Tamiya PlaSheet and then CA glued into place. The same was done for the strap line on the Pringle can as it would sit too low on the hard belt if done the original way. Also additional detailing was added to the top of the can - apparently there are two types of detailing from reference photos and I opted for this one. Let the painting begin! Next on the list was attaching the ammo boxes from Paul Prentice to Rob Kittel's amazing belt and buckle system.

Sorry for going dark on this build - lots and lots have been happening on it and just didn't have enough time to update it! So the next step was to get the shoulders and strapping to movie accuracy! Que - Paul Prentice who offers the most accurate models on the market! So the first job of the day was to sand back the paint and build a ramp to launch the strapping so it leans over at an angle and also a new mount with raiser for the buckles. This was achieved by making a frame using off cuts of PETG plastic sheet and then filling it with automotive filler. Once cured it was sanded to shape, repainted and the strapping attached at the front with bond. As you can see the angle is perfect and swoops up and over the shoulders and tucks into the slots on the back plate The buckles and foam were then attached to the sides of the armour and weathered.

Could I add a suggestion to your great info piece? When making magnet sachets, it's a really good idea to make sure that you've got polarity-correct pairs. An easy way to help identify magnet pairs is to assemble them using fabric with high-contrast colors. Kind of like this:

All that's left is to paint it weather it and distress it!