SpiceCredits

Totally. I've been doing that, but what you are seeing is small amounts of paint from doing that that have sunk into the sanding of trying to sand out the initial scratches made from cutting out the buttons from the masking tape while applied to the ABS (which is what started it all)...dumb move! I would be in the clear, had I not taken that approach. I guess I thought I could cut light enough to only separate the tape, but nope...lolol Normally that way of paint clean up works like a charm for me, but not when I've created micorscopic dips and valleys for it to find an stick into.

Yea, I am just going to have to find a new pair and not start it the way I did. Looking back, that was just dumb and I wasn't paying attention or thinking about the result it would have caused. I'm sure I can find a pair in between all the other work I have left to do. I'll keep you guys posted!

Thanks for the suggestion! The paint application wasn't really the culprit here. I had no problems with it on the helmet, or the actual painting of the buttons. It was really from how I prepped the job before painting, and then trying to fix, and then repainting and having the old issue interfere with the new paint. UGH. lol I can't believe how royally I screwed up the easiest piece.

Here is the pic of the ab buttons as promised. Looking at them now, they don't seem to be as bad as I may have described. But they aren't the prettiest, that's for sure. lol I feel like they are worse in person. I think my option to touch them up is going to be white gloss. Thought? Good idea? Bad idea? Also, I said I wasn't doing much tonight, but I decided to start putting my biceps together!

This is excellent! I love the idea. I'm seriously considering it. Thanks for sharing that!

I'll send photos tonight, so that you guys can see (and laugh) at them. Maybe you'll be able to find a work around that I haven't thought of as well. My only options now (that I know of) are to paint them with white gloss, or leave them looking bad (but painted ab buttons are present). I just hate that they are more-or-less dead-center around all this shiny plastic and may end up looking like a sore thumb. At the same time, I may be over-thinking and you guys might think they could pass. I sorta doubt it though. lol Pics to com.

My snaps from Tandy Leather came in today. The majority have their logo on them, which I have not seen used on any builds yet. Did they change them? Are they OK to use? Luckily the set that I bought that included the setter has ones without the logo. Can I just use these for the snaps that can be seen on the armor, and use the ones that have the logo on the interior strapping? Is that OK?

My plans for tomorrow and Saturday (Won't get much done tonight) is to get the ab and kidney clam shell, cod rivet, and biceps and forearms assembled and ready for snap plates. I'm ready to get this thing going, but then I realize the stupid little things I have done, and it makes me want to work slower. lol

No new photos yet. Last night I didn't get much further on any other pieces. My ab buttons are atrocious. I've royally screwed them up. I'll send pics tonight. I'm thinking I may need a new pair. The funny thing is that it's like the easiest part of the build, right? lolol The issue is that I didn't think it through—at all. Instead of cutting the circles out of tape, and then placing the already cut mask on to the buttons to paint... I put the tape on the buttons and then cut the circle from that. It doesn't sound too bad at first, but the button circles I cut were over the 11mm diameter stated in the CRL. So I had to remove the paint and start over. Once the paint was removed, I noticed some leftover paint had seeped into the cuts made from the exacto used to cut the initial circles. I decided to clean and sand those down...it looked ok, and I covered the area in white paint to hide it. Moving on... I cut the circles out the right way and placed them on to the abs and repainted. Everything seemed fine until I removed the masks. I had some bleed, and promptly began to remove with thinner and toothpicks to clean up the edges, BUT color from the bleed began to seep into the areas that had been sanded... UGH! I am super frustrated that I messed it up so bad. The buttons are the right size, but around them looks bad. I guess I could paint white around them, but I'd have to almost paint most of the abs. I'm afraid the white from the paint may clash with the rest of the armor, and may be too glossy and look out of place (this is all speculation though). Should I do that, or just try to order a whole new set?? Does anyone sell just those parts? Are they expensive? Kicking myself... On a positive though... I used a blade and split my helmet foam in half, and it now fits well!

Either way… I think it looks better than the eFX I have in my photo. lol I sold it to help pay for this kit. RIP

Thank you for this!! Part of it was just that I could not find a detailed tutorial on how to accomplish this. Gold star goes to you! Thanks for the compliment. I've talked with some people on my garrison's FB recruit page, and they seem to say about the same thing. They like it and for something that is preference, and arguably just fine "as"is", I'm not sure I want to risk doing that right now. Maybe later if I feel more comfortable. The more I look at it and see other Centurion helmets that resemble it I'm getting more used to it. I think part of it was just that it didn't look exactly as how I imagined, or wanted. lol But it's my best (and first) attempt, and I think it still looks awesome. Thanks a lot for the advice and help!

Hey guys! <br><br> So I'm starting to wonder about my brow. I wanted it kinda low, but this is a few mm lower than I wanted. It's partly due to me replacing the screws (not ear) with rivets. <br><br> I'm thinking of drilling them out and going back to screws, but I'm super nervous about that. <br><br> Do you think the brow is good, or is it worth drilling them out and putting the screws back in fo a few mm??

Also, I tried the foam insert for padding but it's way to big. My head won't fit with it in there, and is too loose without. Any thoughts on hard hat liner?<br><br> Or is there a good way of splitting the foam in half, so that it isn't too thick?

Woot woot! Thanks!

Thanks, yea, I couldn't live with how they were, and definitely made some adjustments. I got as tight as I could with what I felt comfortable doing. My hands aren't the steadiest when I need to be precise...that and I haven't touched paint or a brush in ages! lolol

Thanks for the suggestion! I ended up doing all of those things.

Ok, so here she is... minus tube stripes (waiting on mask to arrive), mesh, and painted ear screws. Lens is installed, but the lighting in my apartment sucks. :/ I'll post better photos in the daylight later. There are some gaps in the lenses, but hopefully it's not too big of a deal.

Hi guys! <br><br> I was hoping to post pics of my helmet today, but I decided to tighten up the trap and tear outlines some more and clean up my stripes just a hair first. <br><br> I should be posting pics tomorrow. I think I'll have it all done minus tube stripes by then. <br><br> Hope everyone had a good weekend!

I did some painting today. Let me know what you think! I'm happy with the tears (still need striping). I'm happy with the vocoder. The ears are ok, I guess. The traps will be better tomorrow after I add some grey and tighten the outlines more (and add striping)...they got a little out of control with my shake hands. lol I also started the ab buttons. Hand painting is hard! omg. Hats off to all the people who painted their helmets!!!

Thanks! It feels like it's taking for-ev-errrr... lol

Hey guys! I went and picked up my nylon and elastic this morning. Did I do this right? 1" Nylon for snap plates…and ab to kidney (or is it elastic? I feel like I have seen both.) ⅛" Elastic (white/braided) for strapping down the shoulder straps 1" Elastic (white/braided) for drop boxes 1" Elastic (black/braided) for shoulder bells strapping and for around biceps 2" Elastic (white/knit) for chest to back 2" Elastic (black/knit) for forearms to bicep 3" Elastic (black/knit) for thighs Also I've read I need to get a Loctite glue to adhere the hand guards to the gloves... Is that correct? Does anyone know which Loctite to get? I read E-6000 won't hold. Oh, and what size rivets do I need to attach the ABS piece to the canvas belt in those 3 spots? I can't seem to find it. I know it's those long ones that you use a faster tool for, but not sure what specific size. THANKS!!

Roger Roger

Oh awesome! Thanks a lot!

Hey, Luc. I cleaned up the forearm's wrist return edge. These look way more correct, thanks! It also gives me a tad more room between my bicep . Win wiin! What do you think? Other than that, I just cut some cover strips tonight. Right arm Left arm