welshchris77

The magazine button pushes down on my sterling to release the clip but I don't think the bottom piece with the 'o's stamped on it moves, maybe it moves when its being stripped, I'm not 100% on this though, will have to check!

Your doing a great job Michael, i love how your blaster is coming along!

I live in a fishing village where nylon 'fish box's' are used for the fishing industry, I have found loads on the beach and made lids for them and used them as storage containers as they are extremely hard to break, I actually have loads of my star wars collectables stored in them. Im sure they could be used or adapted into a really strong box for armor and wheels and handle added. If not maybe sheets of nylon could be sourced somewhere to scratch build a box, the nylon doesn't shatter like most plastic boxes like the ones available from local stores do, thats why I use the fish box's. Oh yeah when they are cleaned they don't smell of fish by the way, before anyone starts cracking jokes about it! -----------

Seems a little expensive for a box, maybe a 'budget' box could be modified from something cheaper or even built from scratch from a flight case parts suppliers. Just a suggestion!

What Joseph said!, I have a full doopydoo's kit, looks great but kinda feels like I'm holding a piece of china, afraid of damaging it because its resin which can be brittle, the Hyperfirms look great. I would avoid Originalstormtrooper.com if I were you, its Andrew Ainsworth, I paid more for a lid a few years ago (before I knew better and knew about this site) than the price of a anovos kit. His blasters look really bad quality too, you can make a doopy's quick and easy if your not too bothered about all the bells and whistles (mods).

Ive had an idea that could 'theoretically' be better for masking off the sole line and save time and any clean up. Start by masking off the sole line with painters tape but the opposite way (wrong way) around, sounds crazy but bare with me, then paint 'artists masking fluid' (latex based) over the rubber sole overlapping some of the tape too, then when its dry score the edge where the tape and masking fluid meet and carefully peel away the tape, paint boots, again score the line and remove masking fluid, this 'should' stop any bleed through and clean up as long as the masking fluid sticks to the rubber sole long enough for the painting process. If someone wanted to try it they could do a test area on the bottom of the sole first. Just throwing ideas out there!.

Thanks Joseph and Bryan

Im sure mine will loosen up once they have been broken in and be fine also, If I can get away with the rubber ones though I'm going with them as they are so comfy, maybe I'm spoilt as so used to wearing my Birkenstock Sandals 24/7, since last summer they haven't left my feet only to go to bed

After doing a 'test patch' of the Angelus paint on the back heel of the rubber jodhpurs I found that the paint was surprisingly hard to get off!. The paint is quite flexible so Im going to take the plunge and paint them and if I have enough paint left will also do the leather ones another time, I could send the leather ones back but wouldn't be worth it for the postage cost. Rubber Jodhpur before painting Give them a once over with some acetone and a clean rag Here is the compressor and airbrush I have, only a cheap one from Lidls (or was it Adli, I forget), really need a header tank or a new compressor as the pressure fluctuates too much even with a regulator on it, the angelus could do with being thinned too but I don't have the recommended thinner by Angelus, just takes longer as can't push the paint through as good. I also used a slightly better dual action gravity feed airbrush (not pictured) to see if it would help but was only slightly better, I'm a newbie to airbrushing by the way, dam they take a lot of cleaning!!! I could have just used a brush but a sprayed finish looks so much better!. Blue Painters tape to mask of the sole and foot hole Paint loaded up and ready to go!. I have the boot on a turntable made from an old spice rack (I think) I got from a charity (goodwill) shop, its on bearings so easy to spin around as I spray. And so it begins!!!! Its more awkward than I though holding a camera in one hand and an airbrush in the other to take a pic, especially when I'm holding the airbrush with my right hand and the camera in my left which is designed for right handed use maybe use a tripod next time. Anyway after 5/6 coats (I lost count) Im satisfied it looks 'white enough'!, I probably left about 20/30 mins between each coat and helped it along (very gingerly from a distance) with a hot air gun. I used a brush to finish off the elastic areas as they were taking too long to turn white just using the airbrush, I know a lot of people use a separate fabric dye for the elastic but I'm going to go ahead and just use the Angelus Paint. They are in a safe place away from dust now until I get my Angelus Acrylic finisher to give them a protective top coat, I don't know how well these boats will stand up to trooping/scratches etc but I guess I will eventually find out! First coat Many coats latter Tape all peeled off after lightly scoring the tape/paint line with a sharp blade and remarkably very little clean up with a knife! I will get some pics when I have them top coated and in natural daylight as they look much 'Whiter' in real life!, I'm happy so far with the outcome though

Hey Mark did you find your boots very tight too?, what size are you, I'm a size UK10 and these say 10 but seem awfully tight unless they are a US10 in which case they are a size9, maybe they will loosen up after a while if not.

Also what thickness solder are you using, you want quite thin solder for thin wires, for example plumbing solder would be totally inadequate for wires of this thickness, some solder has a flux core also dispensing for the need for flux (assuming the wire wires are clean and shinny)

I got my Leather jodhpurs yesterday but there is a bit of a problem with them . They feel awfully tight for a UK size 10 and there is a ridge (seam line) on the inside running down the heel, the right boot isn't too bad but the left boot's ridge is sticking out about 10mm, maybe they will soften up over time and not be an issue but at the moment they are no way as comfortable as the 'rubber like' Jodhpurs and I don't fancy trooping in them for hours. I have emailed the company to see what they have to say about it, I hope they don't ask me to send them back as postage cost wouldn't make it worth it!. Were yours like this Mark? The new boots The ridge (seam line) I mentioned

I don't think its anything to do with an enamel coating by the way!

It could be the solder your using, not all solder is created equally!, some have more silver in them making them flow and adhere better. I had two tubes of solder that looked the same, one was from a euro (dollar) shop, the other from a more reputable place and the cheaper one was terrible, it wouldn't stick to the copper very good at all and ended up throwing it in the bin. Just a thought!

Thanks Scott, will give it a shot!

I have the Angelus white leather paint also and tested it on one boot earlier today, will take pics when I do the other one in my boot post but just wanted to mention you can airbrush(if you have one) the angelus paint on, it mentions it on the bottle so thought I would give it a go, I only have a cheap airbrush from Lidls (could have been Aldi can't remember) but it came out great and used very little of the paint too. Thinking about getting the Angelus Acrylic sealer/finisher but not sure which one to get, normal, Matte, satin or high gloss, an suggestions ?

Hope you get well soon Steve, and Vern I hope your situation improves!, I know what it is like being unwell and missing things, I was diagnosed with a bowel disease 3 years ago that has caused me to lose my job and made me miss lots of things in my life especially time with my kids that I can't get back!. I love this community as I always felt I was a bit of an 'odd one out' before I discovered it!. Our lives can change so fast and dramatically sometimes and it can be hard to adjust!, all we can do is soldier on and make the best of things!

I know how you feel , sell it on Ebay if I were you Omar and forget about it!

Yes I got a 10% discount code when I bought my TK, they emailed it to me after I ordered, I gave it to a fellow member!

Your doing great Scott, I only have limited skills myself with electronics, I just know what I need to know for basic soldering etc. The stand/helper thing you mentioned is helpful, is it the type with two arms with crocodile clips at the end?, I have one also somewhere but found it just as easy sometimes to prop the cable I'm working on between the jaws on a long nose pliers or whatever is lying around, the weight of the tool keeps the wire from moving!. Keep up the good work!

Robert is right and said it better than me, red and white is usually for stereo left and right speaker and the ground is common for the two wires, joining the red and white is the way to go but will only be in mono being sent to two speakers, fine for this!

Your welcome Tony, hope it helps

If its ABS or PVC It won't matter to me as long as it doesn't go yellow!. The manufacturing process of ABS has come along way though so it seems, I was reading an article that basically says the yellowing over time is caused by a fire retardant added to the plastic when its made that breaks down over time in a chemical reaction causing the plastic to yellow. Sorry if this is old new to people here but the process can be reversed on older ABS, here is what the article says about ABS and the link to the site:- 'The yellowing of ABS when exposed to Ultraviolet light is the result of a flame retardant added to the plastic during the manufacturing process. The most common of which is tetrabromobisphenol –A, or TBBP-A. When exposed to UV light the TBBP-A degrades allowing Bromine to become a free radical. The bromine forms a bond with readily available oxygen and causes the yellow color. By irradiating the ABS with UV light in the presence of more hydrogen atoms, in the form of hydrogen peroxide, we break the bonds between the oxygen and bromine and allow the bromine to bond with the hydrogen, thus reversing the discoloration' http://www.instructables.com/id/Restoring-yellowed-Stormtrooper-armor/?ALLSTEPS. Read through all the comments though as user 'mfilos' talks about how to prevent the process reoccurring!.

Sometimes we all make mistakes and have to write them off and forget about them for the sake of out sanity!, I would write this bucket off if it was me and not bother wasting any more money or time on it!. I bought a sds hero lid a few years ago like many others before i knew about this site thinking it was the best thing ever and we all know what Andrew Ainsworth is like, a rip off merchant!, looks ok for display but way too thin for anything else. Write it off bro and save yourself a lot of headache!

Thanks for the followup Mark, I know the sponges your talking about alright, they have them in tesco and i have plenty of old t-shirts too, looking forward to getting my teeth into something while I wait for my armor, it really helps when someone has previously tackled something and gives good pointers!!!!, I tried a little bit of the leather dye as a test patch out of curiosity on the rubber jodhpurs and it actually stuck fairly ok, I don't think it would be hard wearing but could paint them if I have any left over from the leather ones and keep them as a backup pair.