FN1313

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44940-fn1313s-jimmiroqaui-fotk-armor-build/

Update time! So I stuck with the Rustoleum 2x for my paint to see if I could get it to work by better following the instructions on the cans. I had previously sprayed my hand plates and knee plates with two coats of the 2x gloss white. It covered really well even with lighter coatings of spray so I didn't really need more than two coats. From here I let this sit over the weekend (three days exactly) while I worked on filling spots on the rest of the armor components. Here's a visual representation of what you might be dealing with when filling spots. It seemed scary that I had that much to cover, but to be honest the spot filler is only going to make the parts smoother and more beautiful, so definitely use this as an opportunity to get very picky about what you are filling. I've found in some of my first runs filling spots I've actually missed some areas that I've gone back over and covered so I could have better outcomes. The best ways I've found to actually find where to cover are first, to use a well lit area or have a light close and nearby while you look from many angles. This will point out the little areas to cover. Next after you've filled, let sit for 24 hours, and then wet sanded back down with 600 grit. If you can't see anything, prime it again. This will either prove you've covered what you intended and are ready to paint, or that you have missed some spots. Again, take your time with this. It will prove worth it in the long run. Now from here I had let the previously painted pieces sit over the weekend and cure for a good 72 hours. I yesterday decided to take the risk again and use the enamel clear coat. And it worked out just fine. So I think I'm good to say that with Rustoleum 2x if you give yourself a good 72 hours before clear coat you shouldn't have the awful paint destruction like I had when I first did my helmet. Here's the results: Finally, I started the white paint on two more pieces that I had filled, primed and sanded. Their turn to cure for 72 hours. Forgive all the random messes. I'm using a lot of old plastic containers and all to rest the dried armor on just in case so I don't get it all over the house. I don't have very much room to store these in a garage or so at the moment. More to come!

Jimmi definitely does have a great kit. It is fiberglass, but I will be honest with you, I've never worked with any kit before. My Jim kit for TLJ was my first kit ever and it hasn't been too bad of a build it's had some things. Really as long as you have good sources and guides you can build it just fine. You can check out my build thread for an idea of what you'll be working with.

I'd go with Jimmiroquai right now. KB is dealing with backorders still and Anovos, who knows when. There's also 850 armorworks, but I don't know much about working with them. Haven't heard bad things. I just recommend Jimmi as he's quick, reliable, and detailed armor. His V5 kit he just produced is very good.

I bought this off of Amazon. Removed the bolts on the sides and then used CA glue to attache the strap to the top of my helmet. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RIFGE6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 From there I used some green foam padding around the outside of this and between my head and the strap I glued.

Yeah I’ve been wet sanding it down before I do another layer of primer. Then after that I’ve gone to the white paint. I love how smooth the wet sanded armor feels!

Alright, another quick update. I just got some spot filler for all the pock mark holes on this armor. Been working on filling them in. Because I wanted to test out the enamel on the rustoleum after a good time of letting it sit and cure (all weekend at least) I got the hand and knee plates ready for painting as well and did the white paint coating on them. Here are pictures. So now just waiting for the armor pieces to dry, test enamel and if it works right I'm going to then finish this project up. Also I'm videoing this so I can have some videos to view. Those will take some time to get available though.

I also have read with rustoleum 2x to try putting the clear coat on 30 minutes after the last color coat. That way it cures with the coat instead of peeling it away. Either that or wait a few weeks. What I'm going to do is test this with a large piece of plastic and see if that 30 minute method works. I also got a new camera recently so I will be sure to video the process for future users if this works.

Okay, I'm putting this here to remind me as I've been so busy recently, but tonight I'm going to sand down the Bondo'ed sections and then start priming the rest of the armor components. I hope to prep things to the point that I can paint again this weekend.

Yeah good info. Generally it has been quite dry and warm being in Utah, but it just happened to be the one wrong day that messed it up lol.

A'ight. Got an update so far. First off. Helmet paint. I had weather come through and I think I sprayed enamel too early and it cracked...thus I had to strip and sand and start over. I fully sanded all armor pieces from 100 to 220 to 320 grit so they are ready for priming. I also primed the chest piece. I wanted to do a test fit with my rigging now sewn together. So I also did plastidip on the shoulders to prevent scratching here's my harness/snap system. the next pictures show how it was before I updated the snaps in this picture. As I mentioned I updated my snaps so that the ab plate sits higher, thus raising the TD under the back plate too. The shoulders sit great, Just have to pull the biceps up a little higher and then they don't swallow the shoulder bells. Finally I used Bondo on the areas that had some rough patches so I can soon sand it down to smooth. Taking a brief break now because I've got some other things I'm busy with for a few nights. But soon I will finish sanding and start priming everything. I've also opted with painting to paint it all in white first. Probably 6+ coats of light spraying instead of light spray, medium, heavy. I will from there detail the black spots with paint and give it a good 3-5+ days of curing and all before enamel again. I've been told that this is good as this lets it fully cure and get the gasses out of the paint before that enamel. However if anyone has better ideas on how to solid coat/clear coat that rustoleum 2x so it doesn't crack on me, I'm up for ideas.

I’ve got my harness done with the gaskets, so tomorrow I’m going to figure out the last snaps for the thighs, then test wear the armor. Got some sanding to do going forward now.

That’s what I’m going to do next. Some bad weather hit right after I sprayed enamel and it cracked real bad all over. So I had to spend the day sanding down to bones and repainting the primer... this time though...hopefully all goes better.

You wanted them, WE GOT THEM! PICTURES! Alright first I worked on the strapping system for the codpiece and the butt plate. Essentially I've got some 1 inch Nylon webbing and marine snaps that hold things together. The magnets don't do anything, they just are solidly glued. I have open snap spots just in case I decide at some point I need more straps. I did the same snap method for the butt plate and cod piece. The TD is only held on right now with the plastic hook I created on top. Then I was in a rut waiting on my harness system to get sewed. So I worked on the helmet: Wet sanded with 600 grit on the primer and taped up. Wrapping up the work on the helmet while waiting. After the harness is done I can finalize snaps and then get working on the rest.

Good info. I too am following.

Small update. I've been very busy the past few nights, so only had time to do this. I will get the other rigging photos tonight as I finish the snaps and get going on sanding. I installed the welder's mask liner with some CA glue and then padded the top and the sides with this lovely green padding stuff. This way it fits perfectly as well as isn't bobblehead trooper. Soon, gentlemen, soon

Dang, that must have been a really impolite person. JK, Thanks! I hope to get a good build thread for everyone and have it done soon. Where I stand there's just a few snaps to setup on the armor and then from there it's sanding, priming and painting.

Last pictures didn't show how I did the snaps, I will get more detailed photos later.

Did some more work last night now that the marine grade snaps I ordered came in. I setup the snaps for the shoulders and the back of the ab plate to hold it closed. I've got the connector snaps set for the codpiece, just need to get the strap snaps setup to hold it on. The butt plate will be installed soon and then the thigh straps will have their snaps set for the thighs soon as well. I got a hard hat liner for a welders mask from amazon. It was this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RIFGE6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It sits really well and holds well. I'm going to need to get some additional foam padding to add some distance between the top of the helmet and the top of my head as well as pad the surrounding areas of the top of the helmet around the hard hat liner just for more accurate look when wearing and padding. The shoulder supports hold the shoulder pieces at perfect height. Looking forward to getting my gaskets finished in sizing up and then I can do a full armor test fit. Forgive my sweat soaked shirt, it was easily 100 degrees here and those marine snaps take a lot to get set even with snap pliers.

Here's the Helmet process pics: Post Initial sanding down to 320 grit. These show how I marked the little holes after priming. Those holes I fixed with bondo filler. And the Bondo filler Sanded down the bondo with 320 grit Then primed again: Here's the trimmed leg pieces. I further got the sewing done to fit the gaskets right. Arms still in progress sewing.

Huge update: I’ve done a lot over the past week in progressing the armor. Still waiting on the marine snaps I ordered to put the shoulders, cod piece, butt plate and all together. So, in the meantime I’ve got to find other parts to work on. First off I sized up my leg pieces and made the necessary cuts to shape them more screen accurate as well as have them sit on my legs much more correctly/comfortably. After this I spent a bunch of time working on the back plate and extending the underarm section so it sits flush with the chest piece when wearing the TD and ab plate. I ran out of Apoxie Sculpt part way through this so I’ve got more on order to fill in the remainder then be able to sand/cut it down. At this point it’s just a waiting game for the final pieces I need so I went ahead in the process with the helmet. I sanded it down using 100 grit, 220 grit, and finally 320 grit sandpaper. After this I used some Rustoleum Sandable Primer Filler to spray it up. Once sprayed I marked all the little holes I found with a pen and then with bondo filler I covered all the little holes. Note: Bondo hardens a lot faster than Apoxie Sculpt. So when you use it, only do small bits of bondo/hardener at a time. Otherwise you will end up having a lot go to waste. Once all the holes were filled I had to sand again to get the smooth finish for another round of priming. I used the 320 grit sandpaper and wet sanding to get the excess bondo sanded up. It takes a good deal of sanding to get down, but once done those holes are filled and I’m ready to prime again. I did another final coat of primer after I had washed off the helmet from the wet sanding and let it dry. At this point it’s ready for some polish sanding with a much finer grit sandpaper. I’ve seen others use anything from 1200 to 3000 grit on this. I think I used something near 3000 for my blasters. This I will do later once I’ve got all the other pieces to the same point. Pictures incoming.

Yeah! Jim’s V5 kit is probably the most completely built kit with details I’ve seen. In fact we’re I normal sized I wouldn’t have even had to have cut parts to expand.

That's awesome. I'm getting close, at least I'm on the last bits of assembly/fine tuning, from there I can move on to the paint stuff. Luckily I'm in Utah so it's crazy warm right now and decent painting temperature (If I'm in a garage)

For added detail here's how I attached the containers on the left leg: And for the Jim kit I noticed I couldn't get the small greeblies to fit in the rectangle openings provided, so I trimmed out a groove using my dremel and cutting bit. With that little groove I was able to fit the pieces no problem. I expect a little detail sanding for the greeblie pieces, but so far things are going well. For those following this thread for their own builds, Notice that I used a long strip of masking tape to hold the greeblies in place with glue. This was to keep the forced bend as the glue dried and cured. It worked out quite well. Just make sure there's enough pull on the tape that it keeps a tight hold on the greeblie in the bent positions.

Updates and images: Did the greeblies and some more Apoxie Sculpt. Also expanded the spats to make openings for having to expand the calves. I'm going to be keeping them open up so I can use either velcro or snaps to close them. Next areas of work: Add more to the chest piece underarm wings So it connects to the back piece with the TD and ab plate on, fill in with some plastidip the upper body/helmet. Get the snap system finished up. (Waiting on snaps) and then it's finally to a point that I can start detail sanding/priming.