GilFran007

Beautiful work sir!

You are going to have lots of fun Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

That's what the community is for Plus, in a double snap straps configuration, you just increased your odds of everything holding together ; Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Those don't look bad at all and if the male counterpart holds firmly in there, you should be okay. You are correct, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind and the functionality is still there. The guy at Tandy leather told me misaligned snaps will still hold for the purposes that we are using them for. If you want to avoid misalignments, use a softer mallet and take more time pounding the posts down. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

In my experience, misaligned snaps generally happen when the material you are using is too thin for the post to deform on to it's mating half.... It deforms to it's optimum limit, where it is straight, has no where else to go so it starts to skew with every blow.... Unless you are really careful. Machines help you keep the arrangement straight for sure, but you can do the same manually with allot of care and patience. A slight misalignment in the mating parts, either male or female, will still work. If you want it dead straight, put more material in between for it to pinch in on our use a machine. If the snaps misalign to the extent of say half it's radius, I would say that it would need to be rejected.... If you are OCD like me If you are using e6000 glue, you can always put the snap straps in that are a little skewed.... If they fail, it's easy to replace...... As long as the troop you are on is not of the utmost importance Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Taking your time, research, and having fun with it is part of the journey. Don't rush it..... Like I did. I worked on mine every night after work.... At a good pace. I produced something I'm proud of but am a little sad that the journey is over.... For now Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

The bucket looks fantastic! One thing that I noticed on my RS helmet is that the right side tube on the face is somewhat collapsed when you mate it with the cape.... Hence the ear gap. Mine has a very uncomfortable ear gap, perhaps too large, but I like it and it's not too far off from the real deal. Have a close look at the screen bucket, that ear gap is quite substantial. And some smaller things I've noticed and echoed, which would be up for debate, is that the left ear is a tad thicker and set lower on the bucket. I just ran with those observations..... Swat designation be damned! Lol.... Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Removing paint with non acetone nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol is good for small areas.... If you need to remove entire traps or all the tears, I've used easy off and it worked like a charm. Spray it outdoors and don't breathe it in Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Will definitely help you where I can Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Ooooo.... Where's the E11 from? Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

There are many options for vendors and also for types of blasters. I got my bfg t-21 from tk421 propstop on Etsy... There's a whole section on the forum just for blasters. Surf around and see what you like. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Glad you found the areas that need adjustment.... Just be careful that there is still enough of an overlap for the ear screw to grab during install. I thought I didn't have enough at one point, but just had the face plate moved too far back Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Great progress on the body Greg...I like to check back into this thread as I'm interested in your bucket build I thought about your ABS paste approach for mimicking the paint drips but am leaning towards a different route....I did a test myself and will probably use e-6000 painted over with white enamel to make it look like a sloppy rattle-can paintjob. Once I blend the weathering in on top of that it should look like the movie helmet. The irregularities in the RS molds will lend itself nicely to this technique me thinks.....and if it doesn't work, i'll just peal it off....LOL

I played around with my bucket last night and see how the brow gap forms. I have my helmet trimmed down so that the mask sits right up to the brow naturally. Do you have excess plastic on the sides and top of the faceplate that is not allowing you to push the face right to the front of the dome? These RS kits come off the molds in pretty rough shape compared to some of the pristine fan molds (AP). There's lots of doctoring to be done to get the pieces to sit nicely together.

Check for a Sandy at MEPD that has Anovos armour.... Those peices are usually sold, given, thrown out. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

yes the RS bucket is very tricky. You probably need to shoot over some clearer pics of when the gap is gone vs. when it comes back for me to understand......

It seems you and I are pretty much at the same place with our RS helmet builds. Do not underestimate the power of magnets and tape at this stage. This will allow you to manipulate the spacing of all the components and see the finished product before it is tacked down. I must of shimmied and adjusted the face and cap a dozen times at this point.....and gone through lots of masking tape. I'm almost to the point of drilling the holes......but everything has to sit perfectly first

Paint em in with some French blue enamel You guys are lucky though....TK Centurion level allows for decals that simulate hand painting. Sandy's have to paint their tube stripes in.....someway....somehow....lol

Much respect to those that have trimmed and assembled an RS bucket.....definitely not an easy assembly, at least for me. The construction is slow but sure.....lots of trimming to make things fit. Also lots of respect to the armour makers that make sure their pieces fit together (Mark at AP, you spoiled me!!!....LOL). The gaps between the mask and the cape are driving me bananas...but I think the screws will close these once I get them installed.....just gotta make sure the ears fit over them nicely and I still have the nice high brow. I wish the the areas that mate under the ears were flat......too much to ask for a 70's design???

Thanks Cableguy... My main focus is trimming down the cap where the ears line up. The RS cap has this weird Vader flare out and I'm curious to see where to trim.

Are there any tips on trimming the mask and cap? Would like to see some references before attempting. Thanks

Congrats on BBB and starting your build

here's my entry for your questions: 1. The ammo belt choices look like they are accommodating for larger screw heads where the covers won't be able to stay flush on the plate....hence the recesses.....could be wrong. I used larger Chicago screws on my ammo belt and therefore had to put extensions on my covers so that they sit flush. Those recesses would've helped a brother out. 2. I recall when TD shoulder straps just asked for the smooth variety. Perhaps they thought this would have been used for a TD build? Now they are more specific with ensuring the shoulder bridges are elastic.....trooperbay's canvas ones aren't spec (anyone want to buy canvas shoulder straps? :P) 3. Look at the Sandy behind the famous picture of the captain strolling with his BFG on his shoulder.....I believe he also has an orange pauldron if memory serves. He's got the cheese grater hand plates

I never liked that blue wire on the top of the barrel . I'm at the mercy of the GML on that one... Thanks.... Can't wait to see what you're gonna build brother Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

here's the final product with the barrel greeblies.....Good for SWAT level once I get the sling on her?