sskunky

If you use plastic weld then a good little trick if you have any spare is to shave some of the black ABS or white if you are gluing a white suit and dissolve it into the weld until you get a slightly thicker consistency, then you have a glue that matches you armor perfectly and you won't notice the connection at all. You have to be careful as it will still weld the plastic together but you get an invisible weld. Hope this helps.

I'm going to finish the gloss of with this http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/images/PRO...edium/15130.gif has anyone used it before?

Yeah it looks great and I'm chuffed I got one of these HDPEs from Matt they really have a unique look. I'm going ESB with this one as I don't have one yet . I have a ANH SFS lid and armor and a ROTJ lid coming from Matt. I managed to get him to persuade his mate that pulled his old ANH sets years ago to sell me his as it was just sitting in the garage. I've been waiting since last December for it to be trimmed, painted, strapped, packed and shipped to me. He has assured me it's coming soon.

Thanks alot! The HDPE do certainly have a different look to all my others . All my others are ABS. I'll take a couple of comparison shots against my SDS tomorrow and post them up if you like. I think the tubes tend to be fatter giving the overall face shape a slightly squatter look. :excl:

Cheers Matti. I've just given it another coat of Appliance white which is slightly off white and has a great gloss. I think the originals look slightly creamy white not brilliant white so I have opted for that. It gives it that slightly older look which I like. I'll take some more pics tomorrow in good light and post them up.

Thanks Mark. This is my best attempt so far.....

Hi Guys, here's an update and some new pics. I completely stripped her down for the fourth time! put the ears on the right way round and resprayed her again. here are the pics: Not as glossy as I would like but I'll put a high gloss coat on in a week or two when it's had time to cure. then it's detail time!

Hey Joey, Sorry it's been a while since I've answered but I didn't realize anyone else posted. I have a young daughter myself and you soon learn that it's pointless getting too worked up over what kids do. Young kids in particular don't know the difference between wrong and right and I guess they were just being inquisitive. I don't suppose they knew what it was or that it had wet paint all over it when they decided to touch it! I shouldn't have left it out in a communal area. anyway I stripped it all down to the bare HDPE and started again, then dropped it on the grass and F***** it up all on my own this time! So waited for it to dry, stripped it down again and started all over again..............Que song....... I'm now on my fourth attempt at getting this thing right and learning alot of lessons along the way. I look at the bright side of life and just think how lucky I am to have been able to paint 4 TE HDPE lids! I've just done some glossing and it hasn't come out quite as glossy as I'd like so I guess I'll have to leave it another week and give it another coat and hopefully get it finished soon. I going for an ESB this time round and will definately be posting some more progress and finished photos soon. Watch this space peeps..................

Anything to do with Stormtroopers? if so here goes -----

These lithiums are great and you get a long run time and you only need 3 batteries!

When did you see Star Wars in the theater for the first time and where? In 1977 at the Empire Leicester Square London, I was 7 years old , my father took me and my twin brother. I haven't been the same since! What is your favorite Star Wars movie? ANH What is your least favorite Star Wars movie? Phantom Menace What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Music, Hair( I'm a hairdresser),STAR WARS my wife and daughter and finding original parts of props..... What turns you off? rudeness, arrogance and selfishness. What is your favorite curse word? C**T What Star Wars Character do you love? Love is a strong word, my wife and daughter come first followed closely by Stormtroopers. What Star Wars Character do you hate? Jar Jar Binks How did you first find out about your home garrison? I'm not a member but through the internet community. What Costume other than your own would you like to attempt? Darth Vader and Boba Fett What Costume would you not like to do? Jar Jar Binks! What would you like to hear George Lucas say when you arrive at the LucasFilm Gates? Hey Mark hows it hangin'? It's been too long. I have you Trooper gear here, please take it home this time........

Hi, thanks and no problem. If this helps other troopers out then all the better. Right, sandpaper. It really depends on what you goal is. If you are removing paint then you will want to start with something more abrasive like a 80-120 grit and work down to a finer grit in stages untill you get to 800 wet and dry. Please remember that when using a rough grit paper the last thing you want to do is a back and forth action with a lot of pressure or you will end up with deep grooves a scratches that will be very hard to remove. A circular action with lighter pressure will be preferable. If you have already got a fairly good surface to work on the you will prime it and wait till dry and sand down with a fine wet and dry of about 600-800 which will take off any roughness and leave a good suface for glossing. Remember to wipe down all surfaces in between each sanding process before painting. If you feel the need to sand the gloss for whatever reason use the finest paper you can get, 1200-2000. If you are spraying abs then all you will need to do is take the shine off with a fairly fine paper 400-600 just to give the paint something to adhere to. When you have glossed which should be at least 3 coats, leaving about 15-30 minutes in between each coat and no longer than a few hours. Then you must let the gloss cure/ dry for at least 36 hours before touching it again with any kind of paint or lacquer or it will bubble and crack up. You have been warned! Patience is the big thing here and I have found out the hard way. Waitng the desired time will in the long run save you days more hard work. Then you can lacquer. After that you can add the details. All these products can be got from B&Q or any good hardware store. Always spray outside unless you have access to a spray booth with extractors. I hope this helps. Any more questions please post them here or pm me.

When you cut and paste you often get an add on of mailto: then the email address. if you delete mailto it should work? my addy is medwards5@mac.com but if I cut and paste I get mailto:medwards5@mac.com. Just a thought. try it?

Ok, I have put the ears on the right way again but the paint had chipped a bit so i will have to sand and respray it when it has cured properly. I hope it looks better when it's done? I managed to get a great finish on with the ears back to front! This HDPE is a nightmare to get the paint to adhere properly. the slightest knock and it flakes off. anyway some more pics of the corrected ear position(I think)!

Hi David, I am using Plasti-cote from B&Q . White primer, appliance white as it seems slightly warmer than most and clear coat lacquer

The ears look weird because they are on back to front/ wrong sides, I've switched them now and the vocoder is sharp as it is an HDPE lid and you get a much sharper pull than ABS. I don't think you can get too sharp can you?

Oh bugger! I'll switch them back. I took them off when I stripped it down last time and put them back on wrong. I just hope I don't mess the paint job up? Should I wait till it cures first?

Oops double post!

Of it crackled then you more than likely didn't leave the paint to dry for long enough. I had the same problem with this one. In fact this is the third attepmt at painting this! I have learnt that patience is a vitue! You must leave it for 3-5 days after glossing.

All Glossed up! Now just waiting to clear lacquer....... Thanks for looking.......

Thanks for your kind words. The vocoder is as sharp as I have ever seen before, none of my others have it this sharp!

It's a TE. Yeah, it looks great. I wasn't sure when it first arrived because it's so different to others I have but I really like it now.

Hi Guys, Well I have finally got around to completing my TE HDPE bucket that has been sitting in a box for months waiting for some spare time...... I had a complete nightmare upon the first paint job. I had a great glossy finish, left it on a pole in the garden and some pesky kids managed to put their grubby little fingers all over the newly painted lid! Finger prints in wet gloss everywere! I don't know how many of you have had the pleasure:lol: of painting HDPE but I can tell you it aint easy! I am using appliance white for the gloss as it is used on washing machines and fridges and it tends to have a flexible quality which made stripping off the old paint a dream, well almost! It just peeled off. anyway I re primed it and here are the updated pics. I'm going to ESB this one as I don't have one in my collection as yet. And one with a flash... More to come..........

Cheers John, I was thinking a little longer too. I think in the long run if I paint it now and it does go wrong then I'll have to wait again anyway.

Thanks Chris! Will do. I'll post some pics of it when I'm done.