Jump to content

Cookie Nomster

Member
  • Posts

    82
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Cookie Nomster

  1. Whats the approximate ETA on this round of orders? I got in on a combo kit, even though I already had the original Heston F-11D (before LEDs).
  2. For me to give any kind of commitment, a ROM estimate is needed. Are we talking about a 400 dollar prop or a 1200 dollar prop?
  3. I was wondering if this project was dead. My blaster is a piece of....and I need a new one.
  4. I don't personally like the new look, but I do see why people say it looks more "Clone-ish." Annoying that they did this, but I agree, it looks like nothing else major on the armor changed, except the cod. The cod appears to be shaped a little differently.
  5. This build is unbelievable. It puts my stock Heston blaster to shame. I really want to spend time on a complete blaster build like this to get it looking nice. What paint did you use, if I might ask?
  6. I picked up an Aker 10w, but the problem is I can't keep it all in my helmet. The mic proximity to the speaker causes it to screech something fierce. I need to figure out another location for the Aker on my kit. Things are a little different with the FOTK...probably cannot mount to chest plate.
  7. Is anyone out there using their own voice amplification system? I'm interested in buying my own PCB and soldering my own wires. This is for my FOTK bucket. The electronic components are rather inexpensive compared to the price people are charging for pre-built systems. Any recommendations for a good PCB / mic / speaker setup?
  8. TK-33113 requesting update http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=23094
  9. Thanks for the comment.,..definitely alot of blood, sweat and tears in this build. I reached out to GMLs and submitted my 501st app earlier this week. Haven't heard back yet. Wanted to update with some of my approval pictures sent to the GML (this is not all of them). These versions have been cropped, whereas the ones submitted to GML were 100% raw.
  10. Alright, I think we're about home! A couple of exciting updates today. Per my previous post, four things left to do. I installed MICH helmet pads into my helmet two days ago. Installation was easy, however I will need more padding in order for the helmet to not wiggle around on my head too much. Planning to go to WalMart first, followed possibly by a trip to Michaels depending on what WalMart has. Thinking about supplementing the padding with some bike helmet pads. I'll add some pictures of the interior of the bucket when I get it fit better to my head. For now, I can at least put it on and it looks cool. Chest plate painting completed successfully without any major issue. I did not add clear-coat, so hopefully it holds up over time. Pics later in this thread. I implemented the knee shock-cord solution. The idea of using christmas-light hooks is not new, we saw steamboatphan do it in his thread. The difference with my implementation is that I used two hooks, and my shock cord is looped on each side so that I can easily hook and unhook it. Looping it around the front of the knee plate just so the cord is out of the way for storage, but it would obviously loop around behind my leg Spats were next. I actually suited up in full armor before implementing my spat solution because I couldn't wait to see what everything looked like with chest plate. But I'll leave those pictures for last. There's been alot of discussion on the Jimmi Facebook group about how to do spats, and everyone seems to do them differently. The method I'm going to try first is velcro and a white stretch-strap that also uses velcro to pull the cut together on the inside. The CRL states that a visible seam exists on the inside-facing portion of the spat, so I'm not worried as long as the spat comes together, which is a tough ask because they barely fit around the bottom part of the leg. There's also a piece on the rear of the calf-armor Inside of spat, with velcro and stretch-bungee solution Attached to lower leg Clip glued on to spat Now the fun stuff. Basically, the armor itself it done. I suited up today (and I need help to do it unfortunately), and the wife took a couple pictures. Keep in mind the spats were not even started when these pictures were taken (I finished that part later in the day). My butt-plate was a little crooked when I put the belt on, but it should sit straight normally I intend to take my application pictures tomorrow, and fill out the 501st application online! There is still some work to do on the build...for example, installing helmet fans into the bucket, possibly voice assist and speaker-voice. I also plan to put LEDs into my blaster. Stay tuned for those updates. Let me know what you think!
  11. It's been 10 days since my last post...haven't gotten to do too much in that timeframe, but I'm getting very close to wrapping up my work on the armor! Finally feeling like the end is in sight. So, I've had some good things and bad things go on. I'll just continue chronologically, as I have been. I continued with work on my mitcheg1 lid. You'll recall it needed some re-work, and it still does, but I'm going to leave that until after I get approved. The issues with it will not stop approval (I don't think). Below, final coats of clear on the bucket for the freshly repainted beak. As you can see, the lenses are not in yet, nor is the aerator. Now, fast forward 9 days, and I finally installed the lenses, aerator, and clips. Everything was attached with CA glue. I will probably go back and add some E6000 or something like that on the inside of the helmet to better secure the lenses a litte, possibly even with a heat gun to get a slightly better fit. Here are some pictures of the finished exterior. Helmet pads are the final step, which should only take me about 15 minutes to install. Fans and other accessories will come later, after I submit 501st application. I'm pretty happy how this thing turned out...it looks pretty sweet! I put it on a couple times for my kids and they were loving it. Moving along, I had a mishap with my chest plate again. I was putting the upper armor on to try out my new attachment methodology as detailed in my last major post. And then I dropped it. And craccckkkk! The paint and clearcoat was splintered - interestingly, in the same spots that I previously had trouble and had done paint repair. So, there are a couple takeaways here: It has become painfully obvious that this armor does not like Rustoleum Gloss ClearCoat. It doesn't seem to flex with the armor, though my paint selection DOES seem to flex some, which is good news. Do not half-an impolite person paint repairs Based on the damage, my observations lead me to believe that I didn't do a sufficient job of sanding off the previous layers when I repaired the previous chest-plate mishap. I think I had layers of paint on top of some clear, followed by clear on top of that. And that didn't work out so well. The solution this time around was to sand the heck out of it and make sure I got all the clear off, and in the cracked areas down to the resin. I do not intend to re-clearcoat the chest plate armor...too much flex - or if I do, it'll be one coat that goes on immediately following a fresh coat of white paint. Anyway, last night I sanded this thing down and laid down a fresh coat of white today. Thank goodness we're scheduled to have two more days of randomly nice weather - which should allow me to get in two solid coats so I can get my submission pictures done. I will have to redo my gaffers tape on the inside, but that shouldn't be a big deal. I'm also happy to report that I did try on the chest plate after I dropped it, and found solace in the fact that the mounting seems much more solid with three snaps. It is a pain to get it on though, might need help. Finally, two nights ago I worked on getting the clips onto my armor. I used CA glue...hope everything sticks. Nevermind the rough-looking yoke...that's leftover from my removal of the velcro. The rough parts are not visible externally, they're covered by chest plate. Only four tasks remain: Shock-rope for knee caps (partially done) Spats (also need to glue the clip on to it) Helmet pads Chest-plate paint
  12. Well, it would certainly be beneficial from the perspective of holding the rearward facing portion of the belt together. However, I don't know if the CRL allows this.
  13. I was going to post this update sooner, but Photobucket was down for awhile. I'll just go at this chronologically, as I did some work across a few different days. After the last update, I went for a full-suite up with everything that was done up to that point. First time I've done it since paint, and in some cases, first time certain pieces have been on at the same time as others (for example, calfs had never been on with other parts of the armor). Before I get into the findings, here are the pictures of what it looked like: Note: some straps are hanging out at the bicep / shoulder bell connection (simply because I did not snap that strap in place for the photo). This connection will be completely out of view normally. Now, the major findings: This armor is a pain in the an impolite person to get on! I've never worn armor before, but I'll definitely need to work out the proper order of assembly. And...its a HOT kit. I was sweating just kinda walking around. I was majorly unhappy with the chest-plate connection. I walked away from this fitting with that as the biggest takeaway. It looks good in the picture, but it would not stay in place. Velcro points were not connecting at all, primarily due to the addition of the thermal det, which changes connection angle against the yoke; plus the flared edges of this armor kit don't allow the chest plate to really directly contact the yoke except on the edges. From previous pictures, you'll recall I have a strap that runs across my chest, and it has one snap-plate connection to the chest plate. This is not enough. My planned solution is three snap connections. Additionally, I may use a velcro strap near the top of the chest plate to connect it to the yoke (underneath of course). Pictures further down in this thread on this snap-plate implementation. My thigh mounting belt is not going to work as-is. Basically...I can't get into the armor and have it adjusted in the right position. The result is that the thighs hang down too low. This can be fixed by adjusting the velcro, but I can't adjust it with the thighs on, and I can't step into the thighs when the belt is connected to the chest strap rigging as seen in this previous post. I have a couple options: 1) Disconnect belt from the shoulder rigging completely (which I tested and confirmed it works better) 2) reduce length of the actual velcro connection inside the thigh (strap itself), thereby allowing less contact but raising it higher 3) adjust the rigging so that i can get the thighs on with the belt, and then snap the belt into the chest rigging straps that extend down to the bottom of the abs It does not appear that I will need velcro connections on lower half of knee gaskets to calf armor. I barely fit in the calfs with the gaskets...its a super tight fit and I probably should have extended the calfs a bit as many others have done, but I think I'll be ok. It's tight enough that I highly doubt I'll have any problems with the calfs rotating around as some others have reported in the Facebook group. The clearcoat does NOT like flexible areas; specifically the calfs. You have to open them a good bit to get them on, and the clearcoat does not flex. Paint seems to be doing fine, but the clear is disconnecting from the paint in high-flex areas. I was really frustrated with the chest plate after suiting up...so much so that I took a day off. The chest plate has been a point of contention, so I was really bummed that my strapping was not satisfactory. I resumed work, and decided to remove all velcro from the yoke. Most of the yoke is not visible when the chest plate is on, but there was a ton of glue and buildup from velcro sticky-back that wasn't coming off with some major major work, which was simply not worth it given the point that nobody sees where I was working. I sanded it multiple times, used Goo-Gone, and re-sanded, more Goo-Gone, and so on for about 30 minutes. Then I dried everything off, made sure the rest was bagged and taped, then gave it two coats of white. As of this post, this is still the condition that the yoke is in...I'll probably give it another blast of white tomorrow while weather is still good. Probably will NOT clear-coat, since I expect some flex here and nobody will see it. The next thing I started work on was the dreaded belt. For some reason, I've been really dreading the belt and dragging my feet on it. But finally I got started. I ordered JAFO's "Belts of the First Order" kit, which ships out of Australia. Fast shipping, got it in about a week. Price was a little higher than some other vendors here, but quality appears to be high. First thing I did was line up all the layers, and use some gaffers tape to hold it together while I tried it on around my armor. I did this multiple times to ensure I knew where to cut. I ended up cutting only a few inches off, so the fit right from the box was decent. Then, I moved on to glue the top two layers together. As you can see...I used E600...and I do not recommend it. I found the next day that E600 won't bind well to both sides...the belt will disconnect easily. Use CA glue, it grabs both sides. Then I moved on to belt-boxes. I used a snap-plate methodology with the included Chicago screws. Belt boxes come with the armor, not the belt kit. Although it's not pictured here, the next step was to go to the sewing machine and sew into the third layer of the belt (the inner-most facing to the body), which is a nylon strap basically. I added velcro to the front and back of the strap, which are the connection points to the armor. I added this velcro via sewing before I connected all three layers permanently with belt boxes and so on. I used CA glue to connect the nylon inner loop of the belt to the other two layers at the back of the belt, as there were no Chicago screws to hold everything together there. Also, you might be wondering how I got the white-plate on the black pouch. I sewed Velcro onto the outside of the pouch, and added velcro to the back of the plate...it's not going anywhere. Here are the armor connection points: Finally, here's what it looks like on me: I'm pretty darn happy with how the belt turned out. And it grips the velcro like a son-of-a-gun. I moved on to the beginnings of the chest-plate fix. Had to order more snaps, because I was out. I created two additional snap-plates on the chest plate itself, and built a new strap that crosses the chest and connects to both sides under the yoke. I haven't tried it on yet, but will soon, as I expect to need some help. Anyway, this is where I am now. Definitely some setbacks, but I'm learning as I go. Many of the items I listed in the last post remain, but I'm inching closer to the goal-line.
  14. Well, unfortunately I suffered a setback on my helmet. Evidently I cranked the clamps down a little too hard...just enough to make a minor indent in the beak. I tried to resolve the problem with a coat of clear gloss....but then I accidentally oversprayed. As a result, I had to chip off the clear coat, sand the paint, re-paint, and re-clear. I put the first coat of clear on today along with second coat of paint. I'll wait 48 hours and spray additional clear on, then I can get installation of lenses and pads. Sadly, it looks like I'll miss the Halloween target because of this There is still plenty to do on the armor. The last coat of clear went onto the chest-plate today, and tomorrow I'll add gaffers tape to the pill-holes. I've already added gaffers tape to the pill-holes on the biceps and on the forearms. Forearm with gaffers tape shown. Bicep pill-hole w/gaffers tape Here's the inside of the forearm. You can see I have velcro over top part of the gaffers tape, which may not work out long term. This is the sticky-back velcro. The part that is attached to the fiberglass also has CA glue in addition to the sticky-back to help secure it into place. If it doesn't work out, I'll create a velcro extension off the gaskets and push the velcro further down inside the forearm. Inside view of forearm I also did some sewing this weekend. I had to add velcro to the gaskets where the biceps piece sit, because right now they kind of slide around. Had an issue with my sewing machine that necessitated investigating the bobbin area, where I had a tangle, so that slowed me down. I also did some sewing on one of my pouches - specifically the belt pouch that has the outer white piece attached to it. I added velcro so that I can attach the white belt plate. I considered using snaps but I'm all out If it doesn't work out, I'll order some snaps and go that method. By the way, a leftover velcro box fits perfectly (with a little trimming) into the pouch, and pushes it out so it looks like a nice box. Won't need any foam here. Black belt pouch which will have white plate attached Knee caps and hand-armor also got velcro applied using combo of E6000 and CA Glue Here is the method I plan to use for my knee-plates. It's similar to steamboatphans methodology utilizing shock cord and clips. Here's a picture of the clips applied tonight: Clips face inward and black cord will loop around behind my knee and on top of gaskets. I'm using gloves purchased from Imperial Boots, and they come with the velcro already sewn to the glove. Unfortunately with the Imperial Boots version of the glove, there have been many reports of the glove staining and/or changing color due to sweat. I havent worn mine much other than trying on for size, so I'll be keeping an eye on that. Many other people have had an issue with this though, so I'm a little concerned there, especially given the cost. I also worked on the calfs a bit, and installed some velcro. Not all velcro work is done - need to do the gasket-attachment velcro, and I will possibly require foam as others have (I don't know if I will or not, still need to try them on with the velcro). Also, some people are using velcro on their boots to connect with a piece inside the calf to keep it from spinning...not sure if I'll need to do that or not, we will soon see. These pictures were taken when installing the velcro, so the calfs are "inside-out" to allow installation and dry-time without attachment to each side of the hook and loop. Finally, I plan to utilize the velcro approach for the thermal detonator. Some CA glue was used as well to help keep the velcro on. Rear of thermal detonator Rear of abs The remaining things to do on the armor are: Gasket / Velcro attachment points in thighs, calfs, and bicep Spats Belt (received JAFOs kit, but haven't started work yet) Shock-rope for knee caps Helmet:additional coats of clear on beek Lenses Helmet pads Fans and audio (this will be done after approval submission pics) Check fit and function of all pieces. This is a key part that I haven't really been able to do yet without the final strapping fully complete Add soft-side velcro to areas that rub
  15. Thanks Molly! Sadly...I'll doubt my system will be ready for Halloween. I'll update in my next post, as I made some good progress tonight.
  16. Back in action tonight with a few small tasks completed. First, gloss coat on the chest plate, right thigh, and calfs. Chest plate still needs two more coats, calfs need one more. Right thigh is probably done, but might hit it one more time. I'm cutting it close, as weather here is now maximum highs of ~60, and lows in the 30s and 40s at night. Luckily, I'm damn near done with spraying. Next, I moved to the helmet. First, I drilled holes in the helmet beak for air movement and for a place to have glue to seep and grab. Second, I sanded down the areas which would be contacted with glue using a rough-grit sponge. Then, I wiped the area down with a damp paper towl to get the crap off prior to glue. Holes drilled, light sanding for glue to grab Then it was time for glue. I mixed up some two-part apoxy and applied it to the helmet and the beak itself with a popsicle stick. Then, small clamps and magnets, protecting the beak using some thin cardboard. Finally, I took the respirator and used Testors Enamel model paint with brush to get the silver applied to it. I will probably give that two coats of clear, then get it glued to the helmet after the clear dries.
  17. Rollin' rollin' rollin'! Today I worked on mounting the holster, clear-coating a few pieces, and the last of the black paint on the armor. I did run into some more unfortunate problems with the notorious chest plate. It has been the single piece that has given me the most trouble - and for no good reason! Anyway, lets start with the holster. I'm using Justin Morrisons (Emerald Garrison) 3D printed holster. It's nice, but pricey as I've previously mentioned. He can be found on the Jimmiroquai FOTK Facebook group for sales. First step was figuring out where I wanted the holster. Checked the CRL, and then gave the holster a slight press into the thigh so that the screws would mark where I needed to drill. I proceeded to drill holes. The holster shipped with two screws, a washer, nut, and tension washer. The obvious biggest concern will be the gap-filling around the holster. So, I used two-part apoxie and put some on the bottom of the holster prior to mounting. I didn't use much, and kept it mostly around the edges. The holster has to slightly bend to contour to the thigh, so I wanted the glue for the extra hold. I was hoping the glue would help fill gaps around the edges. Unfortunately, there were too many "imperfections" (I use this word for lack of better term...holster itself is fine, referring to fit against armor) in the 3D printing process. I decided to use silicone to fill in the remaining gaps and give the mate against the thigh a nice fit. I honestly did not want to break into a $5 bottle of silicone for about 1/2 teaspoon of material...but so it goes. Had I planned better, I should have done this at the same time I added my left calf boxes. Silicone applied and finger used to smooth around edges I had previously checked the CRL and noticed that the screws had been painted over in the images, and the holster didn't match my paint job (it was sort of a tan white color), so it went outside for a light coat of paint. I had to buy another can of paint last night because I was basically out. I'll probably give it another light dusting tomorrow, and then clear coat after 48 hours. Moving along, next thing I did this evening was clear coat the freshly painted belt boxes and thermal detonator. After gloss clear Thermal det after gloss clear I'll hit these again tomorrow with another round of gloss clear, and that'll be it for them. Belt boxes will then be ready for mounting (which will be one of the last things I do on the build). You'll recall that I had some issues with chest plate (overspray, requiring sanding, and re-painting). Well, I broke my own rule and did not wait 48 hours to spray gloss clear. It had only been 24 hours, but I kind of forgot that, and I suspect that's what lead to the problems I had. I gave the chest plate a light 1000 grit sand, wiped it off with dry cloth (probably should have used damp cloth), and proceeded to give it a spray. Walked away, came back and immediately saw scaling. The scaling occurred only in the areas of the newer paint, other areas that already had clear were unaffected. Dammit! I will come back tomorrow, re-sand this, probably with 200-300 grit and evaluate the damage. Probably will require some re-painting, then gloss again. After I got the kids to bed, got to work on the calfs, and the last black paint on the armor hopefully. I'm talking now about the black strip right above the spats on the outside of the calfs. Taped it off first, followed by brush painting with two brushes. Taped off After tape removal. Will let this dry tonight, then hit it with gloss clear tomorrow. Hoping to get some work in this weekend, but it might be tough....feeling that Halloween pressure!
  18. Another night of progress on the build. I've really been able to get some time in the last week or so...I think the wife secretly wants me to finish the build before Halloween. I'll be happy if I'm approved before Rogue One...not that anyone cares about FOTKs when Rogue One comes out Anyhow, the objectives tonight were to conduct another round of clear-coat spray onto armor that received it yesterday. There was one unfortunate event...yesterday I noticed overspray on the chest plate. I re-examined today and concluded it would require sanding. Unfortunately, I had to get down to the paint. Luckily, I didn't have to go deep into the paint, and not across the whole chest plate. So I sprayed a coat onto the affected area, and will revisit tomorrow for a light 1000 grit sand, then clear coat. Other pieces of armor were fine, and I sprayed what will likely be the final round of clear on them. Admittedly, 4 light coats of clear probably isn't enough, I'd prefer 6 total (one more night of spraying), but I'm a little impatient. I'm also eager to demo my polishing technique on one of the knee plates (small and easily fixed if it doesnt work out). After spray, I spent time this evening focused on touching up the thermal detonator, and painting the center belt boxes. I think both will be satisfactory, and will get clear coat tomorrow. Demonstrating technique used for center belt boxes (left: tape has been removed; right: tape still on) Tape removed, nice clean lines Results of thermal detonator touch-up. Looks much better. Still not perfect, but its so hard with straight hand and tiny brushes I hope to keep the momentum going this weekend. Next task will be attaching the holster to the right thigh, spraying a very light coat of white on it, followed by clear a day later. Also, I plan to get the black leg boxes painted on the calfs, and that should wrap up black paint. Demoing polishing technique will also occur, and if it works well, I'll polish the beak on the helmet prior to glue so I don't have to bang it around much after glue. Remaining on the helmet are still the lenses and inserting pads into the bucket. Plenty still to be done, including some velcro strapping on the biceps and calfs. Clear coat still needed on several lower parts as well, including both calfs, right thigh, and chest plate.
  19. Two updates in one day ! Initial coat of gloss clear for the majority of the armor. Pieces not receiving clear coat today: right thigh (holster still needs to be applied), both calfs (left calf received final coat of paint today), center belt boxes (still needs black paint), thermal det (touch-up required), helmet and armor clips (another coat of paint applied today). The rest received first round of clear, and helmet beak received its final coat of clear and is ready to go on to the helmet. The helmet also received clear coat today, targeted around the black trim. It really makes the trim pop, nice and shiny. You can tell how shiny the black gets with the gloss clear applied. Looks pretty nice.
  20. More work accomplished last night, starting to feel like the final phases of this build. The night began with 1000 grit sanding of parts that won't require additional paint. I'll run a damp rag over the parts this evening to collect any dust, but they're ready for gloss coat. I then brought the pieces inside that need black boxes applied. I'm using the same paint I used on my helmet, a Rustoleum oil-based Satin Black. Note to self - don't buy oil-based again (it's a pain in the an impolite person!). I had spray paint, but this would have required more work to apply (bagging of armor in addition to taping). Furthermore, the black will match my helmet, so the entire armor set will have matching colors. First step was taping off everything using automotive masking tape. This worked well on my helmet, so I figured I'd give it a try again. I also used this opportunity to clean up some lines on my helmet that were bothering me. Probably nobody would have noticed, but it irritated me so I fixed them. After taping (which took as long as the painting, if not longer), I moved on to paint application. I used a combination of three brushes, a sponge brush for large areas, a standard testors model brush, and then a tiny detail brush, also made for model airplane painting. Paint applied with tape in place Freehand, no tape used. Fairly easy given the recessed nature. My overall biggest concern was the thermal detonator. This is one of the most visible and widely eyed pieces of the armor, and I was really concerned about it. There is alot of area to paint, and straight lines are pretty important here. The taping job was a challenge. This area will require significant touch-up this evening, as the tape didn't do a very good job in this case. However, I did achieve a straight line around the left side of the thermal det, which was very important. In the pictures below, you can see where I clearly need to spend more time (these were taken after tape was removed). Tape removed, clearly need to touch up the lines. Clearly more touch-up required here, but I'm very happy with the outside circular line, which is straight. Maybe I should have used electrical tape Freehand - no tape used In general, I'm very happy with the finished results on the forearms, hand-plates, and abs. I did not work on the calfs, as one of the units still needs another round of white paint, and I'll just work on them together after I measure spat distance. Tape removed....pretty happy with finished product Freehand. I'm going to check if I need more black on the circle, might be a few spots that need a second coat. In general, aside from thermal det, I think these other pieces are ready for clear coat.
×
×
  • Create New...