DarthBiscuit

Naptime got messed up today, so I didn't have long to work... I focused on the thighs, so I can re-resin the interiors tomorrow. Sanding went well, then I used one of my trusty files to clean the cover strips. Such great detail in Jim's armor! The seam where he attached the front to the back needed a lot of sanding. I'm sure that's the spot Justin referred to when promoting primer! The repair I made looks great (that off-white spot on the top right)! I had put E6000 in the crack, let it cure, applied resin to the interior and exterior, then laid a square of fiberglass cloth across the inside. It flexes just fine with the rest of the thigh!

I used this cutting wheel. I was a pain! Either its diameter was too big to fit, or too small and the Dremel couldn't get close enough. Small files helped tidy it all up though!

Good start! Can you post pics of your bit? I used a cutting wheel, but it couldn't get too deep without nicking the edges. You have some good rectangles going there!

I don't really want to mess up their nice stitching, but your recommendation makes me think I could over lap the back straps and sew them (I'll post pics if I go that way). I'll probably wait until I fit the barrel and figure out how much I'll cut off, then I'll know where to snap the suspenders and how long they'll be! I think you've both convinced me that gluing before painting gloss will be best! Actually, these aren't the ones you linked, but I did follow Related Items, so you still get credit ;-) I think the difference was I originally looked at normal suspenders (that were Y) and you pointed me toward hockey goalkeeper suspenders (standard X). So good call! I may only glue the biceps as well. The wrists of the forearms seem a little narrow, so I may need them detached to put on (maybe glue one side, velcro/magnet the other?). I still haven't decided how to attach the shins. I don't want them fully glued in the front, since they'll crack at the top/bottom. I'm thinking a short strip of glue in the middle (to hold their position) and then elastic inside across the top/bottom. I may be able to get away with just velcro instead since my stuff has some give to it... I ordered more resin hardener since I still have some resin left. I'll use the to fill the oval, then sand it and even it out with putty. You got me, Justin. I'll prime. You're right, and I was just trying the quick way. Better to do it right the first time!

My 2" elastic suspenders came in (adjustable 36"-50")! Adjusted to their shortest, I'll have to snap them on around here: Something I didn't think about while I was researching, but luckily worked out: the back has 2 separate straps! Some options have a single strap in the rear, which would have been problematic when attaching to the separate barrel sides... Not much done today, just sanding a few more pieces. I planned on spraying satin white on interiors while pieces were separate from each other, then adhering, and finally spraying gloss white on exteriors. Spraying gloss last might create more hard-to-reach crevices... Would it be better to spray satin inside, gloss outside, and THEN attach pieces? I also considered that attaching after spray might be less effective (E6000 is sticking to gloss paint, not the actual fiberglass piece). Am I over thinking this, or does one way work better?

Yeah resin could work much more easily! Thanks!

I sanded the back of the belt, the hand plates, and the chest, back, and shoulder straps. I had some resin that extended onto the edges, so I used a Dremel to sand that down. It was difficult getting in the back box, but I got it pretty well. My shoulder straps don't line up right, which might affect the way the torso hangs. So I taped them together with a bit of tension to bend them evenly and a little more. I asked Jim about the oval indentation on the back of the left shoulder. He said to cut on costs he uses the same mold as his Inferno Squad back. It's pretty thin, but I think using a Bondo spot putty would Crack when it flexes. I'm thinking about trimming some fiberglass that I'll cut off and E6000 it in there, then lining with putty. Just thinking out loud... I think I'll use the hand plates as my test pieces for my modified process. They're small and pretty simple, so I should be able to fix them if needed. The gloss I'm using is paint+primer, so I'll skip priming several times with alternating grays. After applying some putty and sanding, I'll spray the back satin white, then spray the front gloss white. Then put soft white velcro under and stick them on the gloves! It'll be super rewarding having accomplished something!

After test fitting and posting my questions, I sanded the interiors and exteriors of the barrel and front half of the belt. I used a Dremel to sand down the notches that are really tight or rounded, so they fit a little better and look straighter. I'm still unsure about how to extend the notches so they fill the gaps more...

I think this pic shows just how oversized the barrel is on me. Most barrels I saw in other forums had a gap. I figured horizontally crossing the gap with some elastic will allow flex while still keeping it snug, but I'll have to cut off like 6 inches (the overlap plus some extra). Does that seem reasonable? I'm really hesitant to makes cuts, and THAT'S a lot to take off. Maybe I'm putting the barrel too high..? Holding it and the belt at this height allows me to bring my legs all the way up, but then barely any of the panels are visible... I think the chest is at a good height so that it isn't choking me, but maybe I need to trim Jim's shoulder straps to bring it up a little. Jim's straps are really firm and barely flex, so they kind of push the back too far from me. Trimming them will probably make it worse! Has anyone else used Jim's included straps? Is there a way to increase flexibility? Also, from the side, it looks like the barrel is WAY OVER the tops of where the side panels will be. That's a lot to trim down, isn't it? I know 11b30b4 remade the belt so that the notches fit, but I'm not equipped for that. Did anyone else do anything to adjust the notches? I can just trim some a little so they lock in better, but then they won't fill the gaps (and already don't fill some spots).

I rearranged the pads, and moved the lens up. It all fits a bit better now. After a LOT of trial and error, I figured out a method for mounting the iComm and amp. There's no flat surface for good velcro grip, so I wrapped them in hard velcro and put a strip along the bottom, then made a soft velcro strap to hold them onto the helmet. I hooked everything up, and then used some black electrical tape to hold the wires close to the helmet. It took some bending and arranging with the mic, but I got it into a good spot! Performed a sound check! I don't know if this video works or has sound, but assume that it's good lol! This kids loved it! My son kept saying it's "crackly" haha, I explained that's how Stormtroopers sound! I didn't get anything done on my armor, but here's a pic of what's ahead. The barrel ends overlap about 2 inches, so I think I need to cut off 4-6 to leave a gap. Then I'll snap 2 strips of elastic across to hold it tight. For vertical placement, I was thinking the bottom of the barrel should be high enough that I can sit and it rests on my legs, then I'll cut down the top to where the chest still overlaps. Is that a good height placement? I figured that I shouldn't cut from the bottom, right?

Nothing better after a morning run than a hot cup of coffee on the bridge of a Star Destroyer! Do you guys think I'm ready for GML approval lol!

Let me start with a quick mention that my boots and gloves came in! Got the boots from EndorFinders with a July 4th discount! They seem like great quality and the interior is so soft and comfortable! Bonus that there's already hard velcro sewn onto the back! I got my boots from ImperialBoots. They also seem like great, lasting quality and materials. They're a little snug in the heel, but I'm thinking about wearing them while I work to break them in before trooping. And now for the meat and potatoes! I applied fiberglass resin to the interior of the rest of the parts that'll need it. I lightly applied some to the thigh crack along with a strip of fiberglass cloth on the inside. I ran out of hardener after my 2nd batch, but it seemed like enough to finish. Until...the resin melted thru the plastic cup I was using and leaked onto the towels I laid out. Then I did NOT have enough to cover the thighs, but I spread it super thin and I think it's good enough. Now to the helmet, while that dries! I tested the vocoder and it held up the weight of the helmet, so hopefully no issues with the E6000 adhesion. Then I installed ukswrath's hovi tips. I stuck 3 small pieces of velcro on the lens and installed it. The distance from the lens to the helmet was kind of far so I doubled and bunched up the velcro a little to cover the gap. Then I hot glued the black and blue fabrics and the wire screen. I figured this makes them semi-removable, if needed. Then I stuck in the pads and tried it on! The good: the blue fabric looks great! The bad: I need to rearrange the pads, for a few reasons. My eyes are pressed a little close to the lens. If I look down or lean forward, the helmet tilts back. It also shakes a little when I move my head. I hooked up the iComm and amp system, and I think it's working alright, if the mic is right up on my lips. I want to mount the mic in the helmet, so I'll have to figure out placement so it still works. I'm going to velcro the boxes in too, and possibly move them to my chest later (depending how I can hide the cords). So ecstatic right now!! The kids love it, and I can't see my wife rolling her eyes when I wear it haha!

I'm really glad I decided to look back thru your thread! I think I'll have to do the same and am just SO HESITANT to make any cuts to Jim's beautiful kit... I'll probably use a strip of fiberglass as a shim to back the cut. I think I'll have to take an inch off around the top too to shorten it, but I'll wait until I can test fit against the belt/cod and shins.

I can add fiberglass cloth behind the cracks when I go to brush on resin! Anything directly on top of the cracks? I'll apply bondo putty to pinholes, but I don't think it'll flex when I have to use that much.

I didn't mess with the helmet today, since I wanted to give the E6000 sufficient time to cure. I'm thinking about using some fiberglass pieces that I'll trim off (glue and paint) to support the vocoder, mostly because I don't want to set my bucket down and pop it off. I looked over Jim's pieces again and only found issues with one thigh (a few small cracks). I bent open the cracks and filled them with E6000. I wiped off the excess and taped the thigh to hold the cracks closed while it cures. This should work to repair the cracks, right? After this, I applied fiberglass resin to the interior of some pieces. I remember that warmth and sun helps to cure, so I moved everything into the backyard. And then the clouds rolled and it started drizzling... So I brought it all back to the garage. I decided to resin the rest tomorrow, since I'm mostly out of space. Since I had a break, I decided to pull out the Darth Nihilus mask pieces I got my buddy to print me in PLA. I don't know if I'll one day figure out the costume, but I just really like his mask. At that point I'll join the Flagship Eclipse. But for now I'm just gonna put these pics here... Sanded and glued the pieces together. Super glue is supposed to be great for PLA...

Awesome, congrats! I'll follow along with you, as I haven't started on the armor yet, but am almost done with the helmet!

I don't think it's TOO noticeable from the front. I'll get a pic tmrw when I take the magnets off.

Angling it so the middle and bottom prongs touch left a big gap at the top instead. I'm pretty sure it's just a chunk of fiberglass, since that's what Jim uses. Not sure if I can bend that...

So I got A LOT done today, not many pics, since most of it was touching up things you wouldn't notice without being inches away from it... I first tried rubbing compound to blend in the white parts that were taped with the untaped white parts that I sprayed a few extra coats on. That didn't really help. So I gently sanded with 1,000 grit and then buffed it again. That helped a little, enough that I think it's good enough to move on. Then I used my Sharpie extra fine point oil-based paint markers to touch up the outlines. The markers performed HORRIBLY. Paint just wasn't coming out of the 1st marker, so I opened a 2nd. This worked for most of the outlines, except the rear trap that screwed up before. I saw videos that recommended soaking the tips in isopropyl alcohol to clean them out, but I don't have any readily available. So I opened a 3rd marker... This one was doing well, but just couldn't get into the rear trap's crevice. So I taped off around the crevice, and used a brush to apply paint from the 1st marker that I poured onto a plate. It worked lol! Moving on... I CAREFULLY drilled holes for ukswrath's hovi tips, starting with a small bit and working bigger to ensure I stayed perpendicular. That worked! I popped them in and am so happy! Didn't get a pic before I took them out though... Then, I put some E6000 across the top and the middle prongs of Jim's vocoder and stuck it on. The bottom prongs aren't touching at all. Does anyone see any issues with this application, or Does it look fine and will be acceptable? I put 2 magnets on top and 2 underneath to hold it still while curing.

Another great pointer! Do you think E6000 is sufficient to adhere the snap squares to the armor?

Ready for white touch ups! And it worked! There are some seams along the tape, but I think I can buff them out with some rubbing compound, after sufficient drying time. Next on the helmet: redraw the black outlines (hella carefully). Then pull out the interior tape and touch up the interior black. After that, I can start attaching ukswrath's Hovi speakers, the vocoder (with E6000?), vent/frown backing (with hot glue?), lens (with velcro along the top), and velcro padding. In between coats of white, I prepped some snaps! gmrhodes13's soldering iron tip worked great to cut squares and poke holes! I prepped 28 snap backs on squares that I'll E6000 to armor. I'm waiting for my paintbrushes to arrive tomorrow, so then I can apply fiberglass resin on pieces that flex a lot and that will rub on my undersuit. I also put a few pieces on and see that I'll need to trim quite a bit, but I'll get into that on another post...

BBB day!!! Great packing! What have I gotten myself into?! There are so many pieces and they're much bigger than I pictured in my head... I realized I needed a few more supplies (like paintbrush) and put them on order. Washing the pieces now. Then I'll go back to my helmet and try to clean up those spots, helping me decide if I need to spray a little white again...

Do you have the link to these? I found some options, but not with those ends. Most have clips that just won't work the same.

Thanks! I'll see if my buddy has some I can use. I appreciate the tip! My webbing comes in today, I have a soldering iron, and the snaps come in tomorrow. I look forward to giving that method a shot!

I taped off and sprayed some gray on the tear and rear trap that needed touching up. Gave it some time to dry and peeled off all of the tape...looking good!! Sadly, the tape let some gray/black through, but thankfully just light overspray in only a few spots. Tomorrow I'll tape off everything non-white, seal the edges as best as I can, and apply what I hope to be the last coat of white! Since most of it's fine, I'm going to try spraying only the spots that need it, not the whole bucket. I'm sure I'd make other mistakes if I tried doing the whole thing...