Infern0

Progress report: After a few attempts now, I’ve still been unhappy with the patching I’ve done. Color never matched quite well enough, and the patching looked pretty obvious, even from a distance, so I decided to leave it be for now, and finish up the build for at basic approval. Because I decided to do strapping on both sides of the abdomen/kidney, I figured I would just e6000 the rivets in for now so I can remove them later if I want to have another go at patching the holes and moving the rivet placement. I still needed to sort out the thigh ammo pack though, and get the replacement matching the color of the rest of my armor. I found that a light coat of Rustoleum Gloss White got it to just about match (I know, Rustoleum has its issues… I’ve actually been using it a lot this year and had good results). In hindsight I should have done a clear coat over top, but that can always come later. Before: After: Finishing up, I made a little pouch for my phone (voice changer) out of some scrap canvas and glued it to my chest plate: Finally: added a little extra padding in the abdominal, butt, and thighs to get it sitting better, and took my submission pics. I think it looks pretty good. Abdominal plate could definitely be trimmed down a bit in the future - I’ve lost more weight this year from health issues so it’s even bigger on me than it was last year - but I’m pretty happy with it, and it got basic approval a couple of weeks ago!

Definitely having luck going one layer at a time, just going very slowly! Trying to finish up house stuff this weekend so my garage can be (relatively) dust free again.

This is so cool, thanks for sharing!!

Wow you did awesomely with yours! I’ll definitely copy what you did. I also found that a toothpick was the best sized applicator. thanks!!

Fair enough. Slow and steady and thin it is!

I’ve been pretty busy with house projects this summer, but trying to get the hang of patching up the holes in my abdominal and kidney plates with ABS paste in my spare time. Its definitely not as easy as I though it would be, but I’m guessing I’m doing something wrong too, so I’m hoping to get some advice! I tried using a thicker paste, but after sanding it down, I found that there were lots of little holes in and around where I’d put the paste - it had nearly turned into a honeycomb! Now I’m trying with a thinner paste and just filling slowly layer by layer, but still getting the honeycomb effect… also looks like even though I’ve been careful about cleaning it, some dirt go into the abs, darkening it a little, so I’m concerned that it won’t really blend that well (maybe from sanding?). Any thoughts on what I could be doing better to avoid the holes and the discoloration? Thanks! Worst case I’ll clean it up as best as I can and then just put rivets back intro the original holes… might not get Centurion, but at least it’ll be wearable! Update to my TK to-do list: - Glue pouch for phone and cable management system to chest plate (or maybe abdominal plate) for sound system - Remove top two rivets on ab and kidney plates, patch hole with ABS paste, sand and polish, correctly place rivets ~20mm from top, and midway between bottom and top as per reference, and paint rivets. - Replace thigh ammo belt with new ammo belt with corrected corners, paint new rivets - Replace current left abdominal strapping with less screen accurate but more handy webbing and velcro

Hey Tim, good luck on the build dude! I look forward to following!! Yes, RS used to use a whiter plastic - their current stock doesn’t match my armor from 2017. I’ve yet to find an exact match for it, but older Anovos armor seems to be pretty close if you can get your hands on some. I’m not really sure if/how having a few slightly yellower bits will effect approval though (it bothers my inner perfectionist ). @justjoseph63 can advise I’m sure!

Thanks for the update! That’s awesome that it worked so well.

Darn… have you glued some scrap ABS to the back to reenforce it?

Welcome!! Definitely take your time! Triple check each bit you trim off and every hole you cut. I’ve gotten too eager a few times in my build and am still fixing stuff on my RS ESB build because of that! If you get stuck anywhere on the build, feel free to give me a shout - I’ve been immersed in the world of RS ESB for a while now.

Thanks @justjoseph63! Definitely don’t want to cut the trim too much, but I’ll give it a little paring down. Maybe a little bit idealized?

Thank you!! I’m so stoked. Keep catching myself just staring at it

Awesome, thank you Glen! Found it

Keep meaning to ask this and keep forgetting: I should change the title of the build thread to something more descriptive and helpful to other prospective TKs. @gmrhodes13 @justjoseph63 who would I contact to change it?

The hair dryer worked great! As per a bunch of suggestions on Facebook and a video from Trooperbay, I sprayed the decal (which I’d removed) and the bucket with a solution of water and a squirt of dish detergent, and floated it into position, then gently rubbed/dabbed it with tissue until while holding it in place until the water was gone. Once the water/soap was gone it stuck pretty well, but still had bubbles, and wasn’t sitting great, so I used the hair dryer and gently worked it to fit. I did rub a little too vigorously trying to remove the air bubbles and rubbed a little of the ink off, but it’s barely noticeable, and my fault for using a tissue instead of a soft cloth, and it looks pretty darn good if I say so myself. After some cleanup on the paint, and adding the tube stripes with the soap and water trick as well, I’d say it’s done. There are some scratches on the right lens which I need to buff out, but I’m pretty stoked with how it turned out! It’s been a long time in progress! Next up: helmet padding, and fixing holes in the abdominal and kidney plates.

Cool, good ideas thank you! I have some left over bits of vinyl, so I’ll play around with a hairdryer first, before I move to a heat gun... Don’t want to use the knife trick unless I have to. Any advice on keeping the decal sticky while using the heat gun?

Helmet is nearly done now. Got some clean up and still need to paint the ear screws. Want to do a little tidy up of the ears too - hands were not super steady painting them! Also got all of the decals placed aside from the tube stripes, but I’m a little confused as to why the decal for the left tear is too large for the hole... it’s difficult to make it fit without it creasing or bubbling. Still working on it though. Had anyone else encountered this?

Cool, thank you! I can go a bit longer on both sides then.

After a bit of fiddling, got the right ear fixed up using ABS paste, and lots of sanding/polishing! It’s not perfect - did several passes and still couldn’t completely get rid of all air bubbles, but there are few enough that I’m happy with it now. Sits well enough on there too I think! Also, got the chin straps and s-trim in there: It’s crazy how once you get the ears on and the s-trim on, it goes from being a plastic thing to a fairly solid feeling helmet! Despite my lack of painting expertise, I’ve been feeling encouraged, so I moved on to the vocoder and frown. I’ve done two coats so far, and it definitely needs a bit of cleanup, but it’s getting there!

Thank you Glen! Good advice.

Haven’t touched the armor in a while... Decided to try ABS paste to fix the bits I overtrimmed before I go paint matching or ABS matching (although older Anovos armor seems to be very close interestingly. Anyone have a spare Anovos knee ammo belt?). Unfortunately, due to health issues haven’t spent much time in the garage the past few months. Already being exhausted all of the time from my condition, plus IBS keeping me up most nights this year has been killer. Hoping to have the energy and time to get back into it soon, fingers crossed, but I’ve become a little discouraged to be honest. Did manage to tick a few things off the list since January though: - Adjust padding that I added in shins (it was pushing the shin into the back of my calf) - Trim back tops of thighs to match the shape of butt plate better - Add little bits of padding to fronts of thighs to make them sit nicer - Add padding to abdominal plate to make it sit nicer - Loosen strapping holding butt plate to kidney - Shorten shoulder bell to shoulder bridge strapping

Wow, looking great!!

Oh man, I'll pretty much only use Rustoleum for primer now hahaha. Color matching will require me talking to people face to face which is discouraged here in the USA right now (I really miss living in New Zealand)... but I'll see what I can sort out

Interesting see how cream colored your RS armor is. I guess it's not just a fluke thing then! I've been thinking on it a bit, and I've decided to paint my helmet, so I may try the automotive option. Unless you have any suggestions for a good spray color for buckets. I've heard Krylon gloss white, but also had mixed results with getting a really nice finish with Kryon in the past... ... or I may see if @CableGuy wants to finish the bucket for me at this point hahaha. For the ammo pack, I've sent a message out to Trooper Bay and WTF to see if I can get samples of their ABS. If one matches closely enough, I'll go with them, or else try to paint my RS ammo pack. I'm also debating trying to patch my current one up with abs paste and trying to make it work since I have to fix some holes in my abdominal and kidney plates anyway... So many options!

Here's what the ammo pack would look like on the thigh (in my crappy garage lighting):