justjoseph63

If you haven't made your snap plates yet, I would suggest using short (1 1/2 inch) sections of 1 inch wide nylon as a base for the part of the snap that attaches to your armor instead of ABS. The reason being is that ABS, being flat, may not conform to the areas where the armor has a curve to it, such as the top of the butt/bottom of the kidney, shoulder bridge areas, etc. Amanda is 100% correct about the heat knife. I purchased a woodburning/soldering tool from Lowe's (about $10.00), and it saved me a HUGE amount of time making holes in nylon, and is great for sealing the ends as well.

Just be sure to let it dry on it's own after using the damp cloth, again, to keep the static down. I would try a small area with a thin coat of paint to see what kind of results you get, but you should be fine. Worse case scenario you would need to bring a small heater (electric) into the area for a bit to warm it up. Just turn the heater OFF before painting, as the fumes can be flammable as well as toxic in a small space.

Congratulations on some outstanding work, Brad. I agree with Tony about your positive attitude, and welcome you to the ranks, brother!

I'm thinking it is probably pretty cold in the area you primed this, Richard, and what you are seeing is more than likely dust that was drawn to it from excess static. When you sand it, do it lightly, and be sure to wipe it down again with a slightly damp cloth to keep the static down before painting it. I think you have plenty of primer on there, and it looks great so far!

Best.. Dad.. EVER! Awesome job, sir!

Awesome pics, Fergus... That look in your son's eyes is priceless!

Carl is 100% spot on about doing the inside, it will help pull the seams into place before adding the outside cover strips.

Damned fine set of armor building, Brad, you should be proud of it.

Not sure about passing for 501st approval, but a few things I could suggest are: 1. Tighten up the connection between your shoulder bells and shoulder bars. 2. Raise your belt to where it either touches or slightly overlaps your ab plate button plate. 3. If you can, cut down the circumference of the bottoms of your calf pieces, which will make them ride higher and not touch the bottoms of your boots. On a side note: I would paint the ear screws, bucket screws and thigh ammo pack screws white. Really nice paint job, by the way, and PERFECT job on the forearms

Mathias is absolutely correct about the magnets. The type you will require are the "rare earth" type, which are MUCH stronger that ordinary ones, and will help bring the cover strips in contact with the seams. They are so strong that I would suggest covering them in blue painter's tape to keep them from scratching the ABS. As for the E-6000, you can actually rub most of it off with your thumb. Zip Kicker is only used for CA (super) glue, but I personally don't recommend it unless you are 100% percent certain that the seam and fit are correct. There are no "do-overs" with it. At this point, I would wait until you get the magnets before proceeding. Yes, I know it may take a while, but anything doing is worth doing right!

GREAT job on the fixes, Brad! If I could suggest something, (if you haven't done it already), it would be to add a strip of ABS on the inside of the shim seams where you used the ABS paste for added protection against the seam cracking in the future. I can see that Centurion badge under your name in no time, and looking forward to welcoming you to the ranks!

WOW, Richard, outstanding job on the masking and sanding! If I may make a small suggestion, I would recommend masking off the areas above and below the clamps that hold the bin closed, (see photo), and here is why... The act of constantly opening and closing the clamps will scratch the heck out of the paint if you cover those areas, and not only look bad, but may cause the paint to peel in the surrounding areas. Can't wait to see photos of the finished product!

Side note: I am envious as hell of that work-shop. And the socks.

Gotta say, Chris, that this is coming along great! Also, outstanding paint job on the bucket and ab plate buttons. Looks like you are shooting for Centurion right out of the box, and I say kudos to you, sir! If it's not too late, you might want to think about raising the front of your belt just a hair. I believe it should touch the bottom of the ab button plate or even overlap just a bit.

I know that Ingrid was in the process of building one, but not sure how far along things have progressed. You can check out her build thread here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32972-ladyinwhite-phasma-build/

Very interesting! Looking forward to seeing how this goes!!

Hola! I was wondering if someone could let me know who I can get in touch with about a strange problem I am having regarding a technical glitch in the posting system. Thanks!!

Perhaps you just haven't got this far yet, Dave, but you can put wider cover strips on the inside for more seam strength when you get to that point

I bought the compression shirt from here, complete with Imperial logo: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/33824-fs-imperial-cog-under-suit-shirtpants/ I have used it many, many times and it still looks like new! I just ordered an extra pair of pants from here as well. $20.00 per piece can't be beat!

I was 13 when ANH came out... but life got in the way for (more than a few) years.... military, travel, marriage(s), etc., so I plan on trooping for many, many years to come to make up for lost time. If you ever see a TK using a white ABS cane, or a HWT with oxygen tanks instead of a pack doing a "Stormtrooper shuffle", that'll be me!

Fixing the paint on the wipes container should be really easy, Wayne. Just spray about half a teaspoon of the base color paint into a small plastic container, then use an artist's brush to touch up the edges.

I recommend putting the join under the vocoder. The reason being is that it is a lot less noticeable, and that area doesn't get handled as much as the back.

Really nice turnout, and it looks like you all had a blast! Thanks for sharing!!

Good call, Ed! I also forgot to recommend wearing some sort of dust mask or respirator.