Mac Bragg

Ordered 2

Just about a year to the day between start and finish. Approved: Thanks to everyone who have posted their "How I Did It" pictures and suggestions, I would not have been able to get this finished to such a high level of accuracy without the information available here. Like all armor, we're tracking down the "armor bites" and correcting as needed.

Started on the main armor today. Trimmed up the arm parts Hint for others just starting a build or thinking about it: No two parts are the exact same shape, even "Left" and "Right". Don't try and make them match each other.

Sorry about the long gap between posts. Real Life decided to intervene. Basically, finished up fitting and trimming so it was ready to start painting. Combinations of brushed, airbrushed, Sharpie, and Tamiya "paint pen" for the authentic "hand done" markings. Gray areas first, then a fine point Sharpie to lay out guidelines. Then gloss black with a very fine brush to fill in to the desired thickness. Cut, stick, and spray for the tube stripes. Made a template out of some box card and used it to cut the lens to a TIGHT friction fit. A notch on each side that fits over one of the ear screws, and a matching hole for the brow bolt. A very tight fit to the eyes I will probably get a replacement screw that's about 1/8" longer so I can put a nut over the lens as well. Also trimthe bottom of the lens to provide some more room over the nose. So, I need to add the ear stipes, neck edging, and third ear screws. Then trim the interior screws and pad as needed.

Been a few weeks of work, bad weather, etc. so didn't make much progress until this afternoon. Got the face cleaned up and have the front and back attached - Thanks to Wyatt (TK-4205) for the tip of adding an addtional screw under the forehead rubber strip to hold everything in place once you have made a decision. Stopped in to my local hobby shop to get the French Blue and some gloss gray, and found out they're shutting down. The owner has been trying to sell it for several years, but I guess things have dropped off to where they can't keep the doors open. Now it will be a half hour drive to the big chain shop. Support your local small businesses! Starting on the second set of ears, I wasn't happy with the way the first set turned out. Is this an acceptable amount of "gap" over the cheek tube?

Day 2 - A pleasant 60 degrees, but not so pleasant cutting the the main "Head" part. I ran some tape across the mold line to guide the forehead cut, and still left some extra just in case The right side had the best lines for the "ear" so I cut a template And swapped it on the left side Rare Earth Magnets = "Not just for breakfast anymore!" And the same for the lower half of the cut Test fitting requires use of clamps, as there are too many places to keep in alignment by hand alone. I matched up the corners of the eyes and the cheek tubes However, viewed from the front you can see the mold line that I used as my cut giude is not straight across I checked each eye to get the same distance between the top corner and the edge of the top piece The width between the eyes and bottom on the rubber strip really needs to be even all the way across, being almost center of the face it's one of the first things a person will look at. The rubber strip is wide enough to go straight across and even things out. I'm thinking of trimming the right side to make the bottom edge of the strip more paralell to the top of the trapezoid (like on the right side) Suggestions before I go any further? Also, would the "ANH (Stunt and Hero)" forum be more appropiate for this thread?

"Oven Cleaner" type sprays are used by the scale modelers as well. But always TEST on a scrap or hidden area first!

Thanks for the tip. Thinking I'll take some of the stuff I just cut off and perhaps glue in some reinforcing plates on the back of the mounting areas then.

Thought I'd start a build thread as well. Feel free to post any "Before you cut that..." suggestions. What you get in the box Pretty much all you need. With the 4 teeth per side, it looks like ANH Stunt. Nice touch including a second set of "ears". I recently rebuilt an IN helmet ( http://www.imperialo...php?f=14&t=1667 ) - getting this sort of part to fit neatly is a bit of a challenge. Laying out some trim guides After our best buddy Mr. Dremel went to work with a ctuoff wheel attachement. The left side has been given a couple of quick passes with some 80 grit on a sanding block, the right still raw after cutting. About an hour of more work with the cutoff wheel, various rat-tail files and finishing with 80 and 110 grit paper. You'll notice very quickly that just like the originals, they are not symmetrical so don't freak out if each side looks a bit different from the other. Despite the sunny apperance, it was snowing earliler in the day (the Seattle area had snow somewhere 12 out of the previous 15 days!). At this point my fingers were getting numb so time to quit.

Harbor Freight - 10 for $1.99 SALE $1.29! http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-rare-earth-magnets-67488.html