gazmosis

Great progress!!!

Which armor are you working with?? Pics are also a great help in accurately assisting you

With practice and patience, you can get those ears to fit nice and tight. Lowering the left ear (as you wear the helmet) can help close that gap a bit. If you get hold of a dremmel with a sanding drum attachment, You will love it!!! I'd also take an exacto knife and edge out the corners of your teeth. They appear a bit rounded. Nice progress, though! One other thing that might make a step easier. When you are ready to glue up, cut to length and shape your cover strip PRIOR to gluing. IT will make the end result much cleaner.

Trooperbay's also has them

You may want to soften the corners on your cover strips. I worry that the ones on the backs of your thighs may jab you. The pics show you need to dab a little white paint on the ear screws. NICE WORK!!! Congratulations!! Must be a big sense of accomplishment!!

Build it once...build it right.....know your materials and methods and it will work.

The armor in this case was built by the manufacturer. It was without a doubt an error by the builder. For the exception of a small crack at the back of the thigh and this belt rivet issue, the rest of the armor has held up fine. We were able to successfully do the necessary repairs. I was just wondering if anyone else had these or similar problems. Another thing I had noticed with the accurately assembled armor is the avoidance of inner connecting strips on the clamshell parts. Has anyone had issues with these not being present??

PAUL IS THE MAN!!!!!!

YOur forearms could always be adjusted when you attach the strap between the bicep and forearm. Before you go farther on your belt, it looks like it is sagging in the middle. You might want to reconsider your snaps to tighten that up before attaching your waist belt

Glen speaks the truth. The white ear screws are also needed

And it begins!!!!!!

spread all the parts out...crawl in the middle of them and roll around for a while. Get to know the feel of the plastic....the feel, the taste.......the texture.....Wait, too much?

I'm not trying to call anyone out. What I am saying is that the original suits and their methods of construction differ from the demands we place on OUR suits. Those suits needed to stay together and look good in the background. Ours are scrutinized and must withstand a beating weekend after weekend and still look good from a foot away. As you proved, Paul, the methods used back then CAN work if done properly. However, the same method, using the same material CAN and DID fail. Is this because of builder error? Without a doubt. But the person who invested in the trust of the builder probably has a bad taste in their mouth. If the 1976 methods can be improved without being seen and/or detected to ensure that the armor can withstand OUR demands, why not upgrade. I am all for keeping the tradition for a display piece.

Thanks for chiming in guys. The belt I repaired was built by the armor manufacturer themselves. I have never considered using speed rivets. I am sure when done correctly it can work, I just can't bring myself to trust them to attach the two belts.

Several armor makers offer the wonderful option of you providing your measurements and having them build your armor for you. As far as my experience has led me to see, these sets are constructed to exacting methods that were used on screen. However, (as the trooper who just left my house after the SECOND repair on his set would attest to) screen accurate methods may not be suitable for Legion trooping. I can totally see if you wanted a display suit to add to your collection. But Legion troopers put their armor through paces the armor was not designed to be put through. I feel the construction of the suits needs to altered to match the demands set to that specific set of armor. On this trooper's armor, the plastic ammo belt was attached to the canvas belt using the tiny 6MM speed rivets used to hold the ammo pack on the bottom of the thigh. Without any kind of washer, two of the three rivets have pulled through the canvas belt requiring the front rivet cover to be pried off and broken. We used a standard pop rivet with a back up washer to re secure it permanently. Luckily, I know how to make replacement rivet covers. My point is, I believe that if an armor manufacturer offers to construct your armor for you, it should be determined whether or not the suit will be trooped in or used for display. And if it is for trooping, it should be built for it. What are your thoughts on this???

You won't find it at an auto store. It's called window ad glass trim #R102 from Weber gas pump heaven -----------

Nice looking build so far!!!!!

I sacrificed one of my daughter's white crayons and tried out the crayon method. I did not rub the crayon into the letters. I melted the crayon then dripped it into the letters. It hardened up right away so I slightly heated a nail and re-melted the crayon into the letters. There were some higher spots in the mold so it didn't get into every nook. I gently scraped the excess away. I needed to touch up around a few letters but overall I am happy with the results.

I have looked at youtube vids and if I had painted the main body with an automotive type paint, I could do it with model paint. You paint it, scrape the excess, and wipe thinner lightly to remove the rest on the surface. Sadly, I used model paint to paint the scope. I will need to do either the crayon or grease pencil method

So I got this really cool scope and I am in the process of painting her up. The indented lettering on the eyepiece side is filled with white paint so the lettering can be read. There must be method for doing this well. No matter how small the brush or steady the hand, there is no way to paint each letter. Has anyone successfully done this??

Sorry Arturo...that's not gonna make you any taller

On the helmet face, either one of those lines on the side will be fine. You don't need to cut the top off the face in front. Your eye marks are good, just take your sweet time there. You will need a little more off in the tooth area. As for the marks on the cap you will need to take that line close to the rear of the temple trapezoid on both sides. There is a mold line that will guide you. The shins should be all about fit. They should be comfortable without being too loose.

You need to use some sort of masking tape because of the curved edge around the trap perimeter Of course you could always hand paint it if you are feeling controversial.

My apologies. I was in no way trying to sound disrespectful or non supportive. Blasters excite me and I guess I was just a tad overenthusiastic awaiting the sight of this new project.

definitely put another rivet someplace on that seam. The helmet halves will want to pivot constantly if you don't.