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Jag

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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About Jag

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  • Website URL
    http://

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Rancho PV

Standard Info

  • Name
    Daryl
  • 501st ID
    8086
  • 501st Unit
    Southern California
  1. Stretch? Which axis? Are you trying to make the shin longer or make it wider? It sounds like it's too narrow. Heat guns are very fickle... well, for me, it's not the gun, it's my impatience! I've had great success by being patient and evenly distributing the heat to reshape the waist and butt armor. I've also slagged pieces due to inattention and impatience. Going slow is the best way if you dare. I haven't done any stretching/widening although I'd like to make the opening on my shins a bit wider for me (they are destroying my boots). Right now it's nothing more than an inconvenience so I'm not that motivated to taking that risk. Stretching would actually deform the shape of the shin and that scares me. Bending a piece with heat is one thing, but reforming seems risky to me. The piece would have to be heated to be pliable and over a large enough surface to maintain the "scale" (i.e. not just bulge). Once heated then expanded evenly. Would a balloon work? Imagine the shin closed up with a deflated balloon able to withstand the heat and of the size to assume a shin like shape at the needed diameter. Heat the shin up, inflate the balloon. Is this too insane a concept or is getting new shins much more easier?
  2. Requesting status change to 501st and a TK http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=8657 Thanks, Daryl
  3. Christaan, wow. I didn't see your build thread until now. Amazing. I love the split cable tubing running around the neck of your bucket like a cable raceway. I may incorporate that in my bucket even though I'll initially only be managing a fan and battery pack.
  4. I've had great success with E6000 and I learned there is no short cut when using it properly. If you do not rough up both sides and then apply it to both sides and let it set for a few minutes, you will appear to have a good bond and then the piece will come apart when you least expect it. The bummer is waiting 24 hours... but I'll wait E6000 is very forgiving unlike other glues. I can accidentally get it on the wrong place and then scrape it up with no damage. The bond (when applied correctly) is very tight, yet if I've glued two pieces together wrong (again), gentle pressure can get those two pieces apart with no damage. Emphasis on "gentle pressure"!!! I was hasty in one incident and wound up tearing a hole the HIPS piece. A hole of all things! You do need to get the old glue off the parts, but depending on where, I've used sandpaper, plastic "razor" blades and my fingernails to get it clean. I'm too sloppy and prone to mistakes to use epoxy.
  5. Not yet. I fear I won't have the inside as nice as the outside. I'm going to mount up padding taken from a batting helmet. It's clear where the forehead and crown pad will go. But the two other pieces not so sure, may have to cut them down, leaving yucky ragged edges.
  6. Here are pics of my "bucket recovery" DONE! the helmet is a KWdesigns, A.N.H. 2.5 (one piece, rotocast) I've noticed some flaws I didn't catch as I've sponged for builder affirmation from others in the So. Cal Garrison. Different lights and different angles revealed some things only a builder could stress over. I'm not going to do anything major from here on out. It's good enough and I don't want to mess up what I've gained to "fix" something invisible to anyone else... and no, I won't tell you where to look
  7. Argh! I don't have pics at the moment of where I did repaint (under the "jawline" on either side). I was able to polish the tape lines down to nothing and it blended in with the rest of the paint seamlessly. BUT, be sure that there is sufficient paint laid down during a respray. If you painted your bucket with three coats and polished through a light area, be sure to lay down a heavy enough coat (or coats) to cover the spot and surrounding areas or you may find yourself uncovering MORE light spots during the sanding/polishing. Laser-brain me found this out the hardway. OBSERVATION: I could NOT get the finish to look like another painted piece of armor with a decent paint coat. Yes, it's silky smooth and shines and it's not the same. A well painted piece with gloss is something I've yet to achieve after sanding/polishing. If you "fixed" a place on your paint with a coat of spray and then polished out the evidence of the masking, it may still be noticeable as the shine is different. Still, if you had to polish the whole helmet (using the pads, polishing compound and wax were needed) it wouldn't take that long to get the finish to match. Using the sanding/polishing pads is not as "clumsy or random as a blaster". My bucket was bare so there were no worries about damaging the decals. The only spot I think would be worrisome would be the blue stripes. It would be easy to go over those little decals and possible mar them. The other decals are in depressed areas so by controlling pressure on the pads you could avoid those spots.
  8. All: Thanks for the kind words. It makes the struggle almost worth it Wow, really? I hope my experience will help others if they find themselves in the same situation. Additional notes: One, thing I didn't say in my initial post, I WET sanded using the super fine grit pads. I understand if optimal sanding can be done under running water. Yeah, I suppose I could of done it under a garden hose or in the kitchen sink but the wife would have slain me. I found good success wetting the bucket down using a spray bottle filled with water. Another thing I found the spray was good for was blasting the sanding pad to get the paint residue off. (it's more fun than rinsing and you get to shoot something! ) I'm still experimenting, but the pads do work well dry. I still haven't found an ideal lighting situation where I can see all the not so shiny spots, so when I'm going over the helmet and see a spot I grab the 8000 grit pad and run it over. The sanding pads are color coded. No grit number is printed on the pads. I'm not color blind, but to me the colors on the legend did not simply match. Before each session, I sorted the pads out in order determining what was "teal", "purple", and "royal blue". When I got going I didn't need to slow down to make sure I had grabbed the right grit. It's easier to tell which is which when you've got the pads laid out and suss out the order using the legend. I wasn't brave enough to get stick my hand into the bag and grab the one I thought was the right color. For most there are two pads that could fit a color. Also at www.rockler.com are individual super fine sanding sheets (I think they are actually on cloth) for about $5 a piece. Those have the grit printed on the backside. I got the pad assortment because I wasn't sure what grit I'd need.
  9. I've established myself at being NOT very good at spray painting and I'm also stubborn, cheap, and unwilling to settle for less without a fight. There is a graveyard of empty cans and spent sandpaper to prove this. I'm working on a TK and the whole rig needed to be painted. Even though I did research I committed a grievous error by painting on too thick of a coat and then compounded that error by doing it in several layers (yeah, i'm brilliant). I got a mostly nice shiny finish that neither hardened or completely dried after two weeks. The helmet was the worst. As I handled it, scratches and dents showed up, even under the most careful handling. I can't accept a shabby looking bucket (at least for my first troop in the suit anyways). The recovery plan: sand off the bad paint job, paint again using more discipline. After weeks of sanding, I got off all the paint still finding gooey patches of paint in the creases. The repaint try was using light coats and maximizing the time between coats (30 mins). Keeping in mind I never want to sand a TK bucket clean EVER EVER AGAIN, I made sure the last coat was light... and didn't lay down smooth. I did accomplish good coverage and a dry helmet after a week. This my kwdesigns ANH 2.5 bucket with a finish looks like an orange peel. ARGH! (P.S. Kev, if you read this I also succeeded in washing off your sig on the INSIDE. If I see you on a troop, I'm the one with the blue sharpie asking for your autograph ) I found some tips on a model car builders site on how to fix a lame spray paint job WITHOUT painting again AND getting a mirror like finish. I visited a local Rockler store and picked up a package of micro abrasion pads that had grits starting at 1500 grit and climbing to 12000(!!!). These pads are typically used to put mirror finishes on wood furniture (and even polish plexiglass). I was skeptical but I had seen pics on the model site and gave it a try. What do you think? I started with the 3000 grit and worked my way to the 8000. After sanding down the orange peel to a dull but silky smooth surface, I then applied "Meguiars Scratch X" polishing compound (found at the auto store). The dullness vanished and I got a nice clear finish! BUT, to my critical eye the finish is NOT as good as a good gloss paint job. I've got another trick, car polish. The dome in the last two pictures has been given a quick coat of auto wax. I will do a better wax job, then I will have the finish I want. I did find two spots on the helmet where the paint was NOT thick enough to tolerate the micro fine sanding on the underside of the aerator sockets. I sanded right through the paint to the surface and it looked ugly (like a hole rubbed through fiberglass). BUT, I did some quick and careful masking and hit it with a good coat of spray. After a single day of drying, I pulled the masking tape off and using the micro pads polished out the lines left by the masking tape and you can't tell where the helmet was painted twice. There are some spots on my TIE helmet that will be getting some love from these high grit polishing pads. I'm very pleased with the polishing pads and HIGHLY recommend them to those who can't seem to get a spray paint job to lie down nicely. I had junk in the air land on my bucket while spraying (i.e. lint) which happens to me on a regular basis. But using the pads on a well done coat of paint, it can be very easily fixed. Even an errant fingerprint (say, to keep the bucket from falling on the ground and/or just losing focus and doing something stupid) is easy to recover from. My latest favorite building tool: Micro-Mesh Cushioned Abrasives I know that most don't have to paint their armor and those that do are skilled or have the skilled do the job right. This post was for anyone who doesn't paint well and doesn't want to give up easily
  10. I stand at a massive 5'4" and in possession of an AP style kit still being built. I've had no "too big" problems that will keep me from trimming anything not on my legs at least until AFTER my first troop in the armor. On the legs, I've had problems just walking. I sound like a plastic cup being crushed when I walk. I've seen posts where the concern is "showing too much black". In my suit I have people wondering "IS there black?" The thigh armor was striking the butt and cod and carved in nice furrows in my paint job. Even before attaching the sniper plate and knee bando the shin and thigh "talked" (clacked together). I also had problems getting my foot off the ground to negotiate a step because the leg armor was binding. I was loathe to cut anything, but once I figured "close to screen accurate" meant I wouldn't be able to wear the armor the decision was clear. I cut the thighs along the top edge and cut the shins along the bottom. Using a marking gauge, I trimmed 1/4" off and re-suited to see how things fit. I've cut the shins twice and thighs once. I may have to trim the thighs again. Everyone's body shape is different and some fit the suit better than others. I believe it's easier to add than subtract, but for me, it's ALL subtract. I'm very fortunate not to have to mess with the chest to see the ab plate properly. (misc note#1: after the fact I was at a hobby store that sold remote control airplanes, they had a hobby iron that modelers used to tighten up the plastic on plane wings. this is the same kind of model iron seen elsewhere on these pages to put an "lip" on armor. it went for $20, much better than stuff I've seen at Micheal's or Joanns. you do have to purchase the terry cloth bootie separately tho) (misc note#2: i don't have an authoritative TK friend near by so figuring out what looks right while suited has been a challenge. my wife doesn't "play dress up" like I do so I can't really rely on her observations. i got a hold of a cheapie video cam that runs on 3 AAA batteries. this has reduced a lot of guess work and help me correct a lot of problems)
  11. In my quest for build advice I've found MANY suggestions that were innovative, efficient, and completely un-reproducible by me Lack of equipment, materials, and/or friends that do are my ever present foes Costuming is not for those who can't learn to color outside the lines, that's for sure. I have had to learn to seek the point of good advice and not mourn not having a key something or other, say, like a furnace Your point is gentle heat, "framing" the piece into the shape, and being patient Picked that up all by myself after reading it three times Living in So. California, we've no clue on what real weather is :headphone: Weather conditions that climb over 80F or drop below 70F is just shy of a disaster state here Stressing about whether or not to wear long pants or put on shoes really ruins the day. And the Lord knows that when this thing called "rain" happens (wet stuff falling out of the sky) our driving skills suddenly drop towards zero
  12. @Doug, I too have an absence of a caboose. I need to work on making sure my armor is configured right when placing the belt. My butt plate does seem huge (it's not my body! ) The network of suspenders and elastic makes this a challenge. Using a heat gun still gives me nightmares (or little to no change, frayed nerves and burnt fingertips). The darn paint on the armor is still soft enough for me to dent with a fingernail, so I must wait longer. SIGH. @all, thanks for the advice. if anyone else has advice/opinion chime in plz.
  13. Well, you could try the TIE Detatchment ----- There are a bunch of resources there to help you. This includes screen caps that go into more detail than you can shake a stick at. What kind of TIE bucket do you have? (BTW, I'm a TIE pilot aspiring to be a TK )
  14. I stand at a massive 5'4" weighing in at a 135lbs with a 32 in waist. Luckily the thighs seem to fit fine, but I too have the problem of feeling like I'm wearing a white plastic barrel with suspenders when it comes to the abs/kidney/butt panels. I've had to paint my armor so I'm STILL waiting for the darn paint to harden before doing more work. I've done a lot of snap work and I'm loathing having to cut the armor down to fit around the waist. A major problem is when snugging the belt down the abs/kidney/butt panels squirt out every which way since there is nothing for the belt to compress against but a shell. Has anyone tried to pad out the inside of the armor around the waist? I know it's done for the other armor pieces to prevent sliding/twisting. I'm considering trying to pad the inside around the abs/kidney/butt so I fill out the suit better. No cutting. BUT, I'm concerned about the pads making heat an issue. As a prowl the boards I have only seen details posted on extending the armor that doesn't fit. If anyone has advice or experience putting more "junk in the trunk" to make a suit fit better, I'd appreciate it
  15. As I struggle to paint my boots white, I shake my head at how I missed the release of these boots. Plus, my wife laughs at me each time I go and "play dress up" with my Star Wars friends. It's the same all over Our women just don't realize "the power of the Force"
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