SydB1974

Well.....I think main armor assembly is DONE! Here's a few pics from the last few weeks up until tonight where I donned the full suit for the first time (sans Thermal Detonator....not quite done with it.) I still need to finish up shin closure too....trying to use the bra hook method. I'll get more pics up when I can get someone over to take em!

I didn't have to shim mine, but having recently finished assembling my armor, here's what you probably need to do. To shim the back, you'll want to create an inner join strip. If you take a look at the Thigh/Shin tutorial on the site, it does a pretty good job of showing/explaining the inner strips. On my build, I glued the inner strip to one side first, and let it cure for 24 hrs. Then I glued the other half the next day. You'll want to create your inner strip wide enough so that you can glue it together so it fits. Remember, measure twice, cut once. Leave plenty of excess on your inner strip and glue to one of the halves. When the glue is cured, do a test fit. Tape up the back, measure and mark the shim, and cut off the excess so you can get the join to fit.....then glue them together. That should do it!

Busy last couple weeks.....but making progress on the ATA. Biceps and forearms are assembled and painted. I need to hit a couple spots on the forearm with another coat of paint, though......and got a couple nice drip spots on one that I'll have to sand down got one thigh piece done earlier this week, and finished the other tonight (sans battery pack, which I'll attach after bending and painting). I'll prime those Sunday morning.....maybe paint Sunday evening? Got lenses in the bucket....just need to put in the mesh. Shin assembly will start tomorrow....and will probably start getting snap plates together!!!! Got my boots from TKBoots yesterday, neckseal came today.....belt should be on it's way soon....and still waiting on my E-11 barrel. Things are coming together!!!

Been a little hectic around here lately (wrestling with some computer issues ), but here's a progress update: Helmet: - Attached aerators. one is a bit wonky (pointing down) due to where the holes were drilled. thinking about re-backing the area with milliput and re-drilling - Applied TK-4510's decals. Wow! How freaking awesome are those?! - Put on the S-Trim and brow trim. The S-trim was a pain! Armor: - Primed and painted Shoulder Bells, Back, Kidney, Butt, Chest, and Ab/Cod. got a couple ripples on the Chest (straps) and on the cod, I think due to higher than optimum humidity when I painted. I should be able to sand those bits down and polish it up once the paint cures. - Fully assembled the left bicep. didn't quite get the pieces totally flush, so will probably fill the small spaces with bondo. Blaster: - Ordered the requisite DoopyDoos kit and elements to do a PVC build. Have some pix of the bucket on my cell phone, but need to take some proper pics when it's done and upload them. This thread is seriously lacking photo updates!

I got the sandpaper at a store....HobbyTown USA. Check http://www.hobbytown.com to see if there's a location near you.

Reco, I'm in the middle of my build as well. I'm almost totally finished with my bucket (decals, screen, lens and interior bits are all that's left to be done), and I used the Rustoleum Pro paint. Whether it was humidity or lack of skill, I too am experiencing some orange peel here and there. On the bucket, I found a thread here and on another site that explains how to fine sand and polish orange peel out. I did it on my bucket and was pretty impressed with the results. Get some very fine grit sandpaper from a hobby shop....I found a set made by Revell that starts out at 3200 grit and goes up to 12000. You wet sand the surface, starting with the lowest grit and move up through each successive grit level. When you're done sanding, use an automotive scratch polish (I used Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0) to polish/even it out. Ends up looking pretty darn good. I painted some more pieces this weekend, and will have to do it to these pieces as well. Good luck finishing up your build!

yep....using the E-6000. it's a little like rubber cement...although it doesn't seem to spread quite as easily as rubber cement. But, it gets the job done very well.

went ahead and ordered TK-4510's decals and a few other items. the test didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. no worries though. work on the armor stalled last week, as my brother and his wife welcomed a new addition.....work will commence again tonight...prepping some pieces for priming, and going to get started gluing the rest of the pieces finally.

Bucket is looking good after a few days of drying and curing. Still going to let it sit until Friday (7 days since painting). Glued my first piece last night to get a feel of working with E-6000. Went with the ab button cluster. Followed the advice from some threads here. First, I sanded the areas that would be getting the glue. Then I washed and dried the pieces to get rid of the dust from sanding. Applied E-6000 to the pieces using a popsicle/craft stick. I put down a line and then spread it out, like buttering bread. I let the pieces sit for a couple minutes, then put em together, and threw a few magnets on it. worked pretty well....the glue is a little gummier than I expected. tonight I'm going to start gluing the biceps. I'm going to go with the "inner strip" method to join the pieces. I have plenty of scrap laying around, so I figure I'll put it to good use! Back to the bucket for a sec.....I'm thinking about hand painting the traps and tears, but creating some stencils for them, so they have a neat/clean look. Actually, the grey I'll do by hand, but the stencils would be for the black outline and lines. I was thinking about using the sticky backed vinyl sheets that RC car builders use to mask and paint designs (flames) on their cars. Does anyone have experience with these sheets? I am going to get a piece and create a test template and do it on a piece of scrap material. If it turns out well, then I'll go ahead and do it. If not, TK-4510's decals will do the trick. I plan on using his tube stripe stencil anyway

went ahead and painted the bucket today. now the wait for drying/curing!

vacation has had me running around the last couple days, but finally got back to the build yesterday. trimmed/fit the shins. primed the handplates yesterday. I'm using the handplates as a test for using the Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel before painting the bucket. Since I'm off this week, and the temps and humidity are down (especially in the mornings) it's actually perfect. I just got done priming the helmet and then painting the handplates with the enamel. After sanding the bucket, I may run another coat of primer on it, just for giggles.

Basic assembly on the bucket is DONE!!!! Ears are attached! Ended up with a bit of a high brow, which I don't mind at all. this kit will start out as a regular Stunt kit, but may end up going Sandy in the future (next year project could be AP armor as ultimate shiny Death Star TK). The brow could almost be 'Move Along' height. Actually VERY HAPPY with the results. Finishing the basic bits of the bucket was a great way to spend the last day of my 35th year on this rock, transitioning into year 36. Here's some pics!

Ok....Here's the bucket sans ears.

Luckily, I used the bolts/washers Terrell included, so I don't have any extra rivets hanging out in there right now. After sleeping on it, and taking a fresh look at the bucket this morning, I really like how it came out. Should look pretty good once I get the ears shaped and on there. From there, I need to trim out the bottom a bit more to fit my melon in there comfortably, then reinforce the aerator sockets (picked up some Milliput yesterday). Would love to run some painting tests on my hand plates before I tackle painting the bucket, but our weather here may not be ideal over the next week or so for painting.

Last couple nights labors included: fitting of the forearms, trimming ends of shins and thighs, filing of teeth, and assembly of faceplate and cap'n'back, trimming of one ear piece. my first pass @ the faceplate and cap'n'back didn't really give a good spot for ear attachment @ the bottom of the ears. So, I ended up drilling a second set of holes to attach the cap'n'back. at first, i was kind of bummed, because i thought i had a good look going with the original holes. after attaching to the second pass at holes, and taking a long look, and thinking about it, i'm pretty fine with the second setup. realizing that every set of screen used armor had it's own individual quirks and "imperfections" helped me appreciate the work I put into my bucket. I'll take some pics of it this evening.....my batteries on my camera were kaput. after assembling the bucket, i got to work on one of the ears. i'm gonna go with a screen style on the ears...i.e. the tell tale gaps here and there. i'm gonna spend some time shaving them down though, so it's not too gappy. the ear pieces so far are the more nerve wracking pieces to work on. the words "be careful....don't trim too much" keeps bouncing through my head.