mgraeme

Folks, I have some questions about aligning and shimming for (AP) calf pieces . . . but first, take a look at this picture . . . ----- Because of my mutant calf muscles, I'll be using a fairly wide shim at the back and will velcro the two pieces together. 1. You can see the unevenness of the molds when glued together. I feel that when joined together with the velcro, the pieces will even up however by doing that, it is placing some pressure on the joins. Am I better off doing that or should I cut a bit before joining to even the sides up ? With my other calf, its much more even naturally. 2. If I do cut, am I right to cut a bit from the top left to get the top right and then the bottom right to even it all up ? 3. For the back shim, what is better - a inner shim or outer one ? My FX calves have an inner shim that works well. It would also hide the velcro as its on the inside however an outer shim may look better. Any thoughts from anyone ? Will an outer shim and velcro join provide the necessary sturdiness that I feel an inner shim brings ?

I am working on my AP build at the moment and I'm getting near the end of the initial cutting and sanding. Generally, the process has gone well but here and there, I see some nicks and light scratches in the armour, caused either during transit of pieces or by the cutting knife getting away from me a couple of times. We are not talking about anything major, just minor nicks and imperfections. Is there a process I can follow to clean up these little issues ? I have Novus polish which I can use but am wondering if I should be doing any very light sanding of the affected areas beforehand. If its a mistake to try and do this, can somebody speak up ? If its OK, are there any issues I need to be aware in the sanding technique ? Just to be clear, the sanding I am thinking if is very localised, just getting rid of the nick itself and not sanding a wider area.

Well, I had been debating whether it needed it or not and then I was advised I should do it to make the helmet match my armour better. However, after taking some advice here and on the Australian garrison boards, I have now stripped it down completely and using Novus polish and elbow grease, I have brought up a reasonably good sheen. So, the crisis is averted and I'm now ou naturale. Well, I bought it in kit form and like the white armour look so thats why I wanted to go all glossy .. but the way I troop, I tend to become what I call a "natural TD" over time. Anyway, thanks for the advice guys, you stopped me from making a grave mistake.

I am having some trouble getting a nice gleam to my AP bucket. This is what I have done . . . 1. 2 coats of Plastic primer. I used an auto spray that was safe for ABS plastics. Note that I did not sand the bucket at all prior to applying the primer. 2. Frown, chin and ear pieces painted - no problem there 3. 2 coats of gloss purchased from a hobby store. I have a few problems . . . 1. I see fine fibres in the paint work - as if it collected dust and material particles along the way even though I tried to keep the bucket clean. They are not visible from far away but to the afficionado, they can be recognised. 2. I am not getting a great glossy finish. 3. The finish is not as smooth and highly buffed as I hoped it would be. Can anyone help with some advice ?

OK, in constructing my AP helmet, I've made a mistake that is bugging me. The left ear is placed in such a way that it doesn't quite cover the join between the two pieces of the kit. Of course, the brow covers up a bit of the problem but I was wondering if there were ways to make the join between the brow and the the ear piece invisible. The ear piece itself cannot be moved any more without leaving whopping great big gaps. I don't have a pic at the moment as my bucket is not with me at the moment however I think you get the idea of what has happened. Can some sort of plaster be used to cover up the join ? If so, what is the best stuff to use ? What technique is used to do this ? I haven't found a tutorial or thread about this on FISD but if somebody knows where one is, that'd be appreciated. Thanks for any advice.

The only way I am gonna get to join that club is if I stick a couple of stripes on the other side of my ear pieces Seriously though, many thanks for the input from this soon-to-be-11 striper.

Hi all, I'm currently building my AP bucket and although there have been a few things I would do differently on a 2nd attempt, overall its going OK. I have a question about the tube stripes that come with the kit . . . With the positioning of my ears and the tilt of my face plate (i.e. the way my particular bucket is constructed), I can only get 11 stripes on the jawline. I could possibly get part of a 12th if I unscrewed my ears but I don't really want to do that. My questions are: 1. Is there a minimum number I need to get on ? Is 11 sufficient ? I've been loooking at various pics and sometimes I see 12 or 13 and I have even seen a thread here about 16 ! Aye carumba ! 2. If I just go for 11, will the other TKs snigger at me and call out, "Hey 11 striper, go get us some coffees while us real stormtroopers guard the Death Star!" OK, question 2 is just for a laugh but if I can get some advice, that'd be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi there, Can I get myself an upgrade ? http://www.501st.com/members/displaymember...amp;userID=6954 Many thanks, Graeme