SpiceCredits

lol touche! I cook sometimes and do ok when I do, but not on a normal, daily basis. lol I watch a lot of Top Chef though...does that count?

I think I may have a pot that will work. I'll know when I get home. I don't think it's a lot to dip actually.

Thank you so much! I'm nervous, but I'm going to give it a try. Now to find a large pot. lol Single=Doesn't cook much.

Thanks Luc! What did you use for the hot water bath (not sure I have anything big enough lol)? And how hot? Do you mind walking me through the steps on how to properly do that?

I didn't get as much done today as expected. I need to buy some more snaps. All I have left are brass, and I don't want to mix and match them. I thought I had more. lol I got my chest connected to the back and another right-side ab/kidney strap done. I'm going to add two straps of nylon webbing to the middle-ish area of the right side ab/kidney, and two on the left-hand side as well to keep the kidney from flaring out and to keep the seam tighter than it is. You'll see in the pics. I think the belt will keep the butt from flaring a bit too. I'm waiting on a new one to come from Mark (AP) right now. I'm going to be ordering new snaps and cutting some more snap plates in the meantime! Once that's done, I should have the arms and torso done in no time!

If you're anywhere close to my size, then you may have a chance! lol

Thanks! It lined up pretty well. I had zero extra! lol I had to trim right at the "red-lines". Any more wouldn't have fit right, and any less wouldn't look right. lol

Here's what I have done tonight. Tomorrow will be strapping the cod/butt, the chest/back, and the shoulder bells…And probably the extra right-side ab/kidney straps too. I'll try to get a pic of the torso and shoulder bells on after I get them attached.

Thank you.

Before I leave this weekend, I wanted to show pics of my ab/kidney connection. My plan is to add nylon webbing in between the elastic. But for now, here's this.

So I didn't get much done the past few days. I had a birthday and then some really downer personal stuff go on, and I'll be gone this weekend as well. I'll be starting back up strong next week!

Thanks, 68Brick! I appreciate it! and that's good to know! I made sure I followed that post early on so I could remember it when I was ready. lol

I was going to bend my shoulder straps tonight, but I'm gonna wait until I have the chest and back all snapped together so I can get a better idea for the fitted shape.

Nice! Get it while the gettin's good! lol I'm planning on getting the remainder of my right/left and cod snap plates in place. I'm also going to start getting the webbing/elastic straps made so I can start piecing this sucker together! Oh, and repainting the left side rivets... Ugh..

I ended up completing the clam-shell of the left ab/kidney late last night (minus the additional snaps I'll be adding). Basically I just got the functional rivets all connected. I'll have to repaint the rivets though. I had them drying for like 3 days and the paint was still semi-soft. So when I was hammering the rivets in place, the paint smudged. Kinda bummed, but oh well... easy fix. Just when I thought the painting was over... Photos to come later this evening.

Hey! Lol Thanks! And thanks for checking it out!

My thigh garter package came from Pencap510 today!

I got my forearms complete and am attaching snap plates to them and the biceps tonight.

My torso turned out pretty snug and holds up (haven't strapped it yet) on its own so far. I rounded off all edges to help with poking and I haven't had an issue yet. I pretty much stay the same size, so I should be good. <br><br> Just put the arms on to see how they felt and there's no pinching... Just a smidge tight on the upper area. It may be a good thing and help the arms stay in place, but feels a little tight. May just trim the return edge a little in the cover strip area (at its tightest) and contour out to meet the rest.

Thanks! Yea, I may be taking off a little more (or just get rid of) from the tops of the forearms too. I tried them on before adding my cover strips last night. I think I may end up having some slight rubbing that I'll need to address.

Here are some photos from the work I have done today and last night. I started on some strapping. The 3 black ones are going to be used for the functional rivets in the left of the ab/kidney. I plan to add 2 more additional snap plate sets in between the functional rivets for a little more security. The white ones will be for the chest/back connection at the shoulders. They will connect to double snap plates in the respective locations. I don't have a sewing machine, so I have been sewing them by hand. They seem secure and weren't too bad to do. The ab buttons will be done curing in a few hours Butt snap plates being added Forearms will be married in a few hours and I'll be adding cover strips tonight. I also am painting the new rivets for my left ab/kidney strapping. I ended up buying centurion rivets to replace the ones I originally had. These are the correct 8mm head. Kidney snap plates are ready to go! More to come later! Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Thanks so much!

Also, there are still some light pencil marks for lining the tube stripes, but those will come off after the paint drys. Oh, and I'll eventually get rid of the foam liner and probably go full-on hard hat liner.

Ok guys and gals…Are you ready for an image dump?? lol I completed my helmet today, so I have photos of that to share and also some things I did today while I was stuck at home with a dead car battery. I also have finished bicep and shoulder bells to show because I don't think I have shown those yet. I cut out the thighs and shins today also, but I haven't trimmed to my size yet or sanded, so those photos will come a little later. I'm going to be assembling the forearm halves together tomorrow night. Here are the photos! I'm pretty happy with how my bucket turned out. Hope you guys like it! (Dun Dun Dunnnn…) The frown mesh idea was one I got from JoblessPunk's build thread. I thought it was a pretty nice approach. It's some kind of kid's foam sheet that I cut out, and E-6000'd to the mesh. It's held to the helmet but duct tape rolled over in small strips to be "double-sided". Here are some paint detail shots, because I know my lighting sucks. The tube stripe paint is currently drying and the gloss, along with the light's reflection, give some a spotty look, but they aren't. I'm proud of my shakey hand for doing as well as it did with the toothpicks and thinner! lol Here's what else I did today… And here are the biceps and bells. I still need to add my snap plates to the inner bell and to biceps... Just haven't gotten there yet. The End.

I kind of like this idea too...So many choices! lol