RS Props build in progress

[gazmosis[501st]]

Hey Guys! I was commissioned to help a fellow trooper with his RS Props build. He was gonna tackle it, but life changes got in the way and his armor ended up back with me. He asked if we could use my place as his workshop.

anyway, We had started by assembling his right bicep. When the armor returned to my house, I trimmed out the belt and the chest and said "HEY...why am I not making a thread out of this?" Yes there is a helmet, too! I just never took any pictures of the build process...DUR!!!! Here it is in its hand painted glory.More progress=more pics

[Marv]

Sweet, I cheated on my black stripes I used a Sharpie fine point, worked a treat.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Marv

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Yummy!

 

-Eric

[spedlot]

That looks awesome. I ordered an rs props suit and I can't wait for it to arrive so I can start putting it together.

[ray ray[TK]]

That looks great so far! Is it the ABS kit or the Shiny PVC kit? I ask because I am going to buy one on Monday and I keep changing my mind on which to order.

[gazmosis[501st]]

It's the PVC with a little help from some auto polishes and cleaner wax

[gazmosis[501st]]

Sorry it has been a while guys, but progress has been made. Lots of the usual; mark and trim return edges.Drum sanding bit on my Dremmel is my good friend!!!! Kudos to you also, sandpaper!

Finally onto the Kidney

A fellow Garrison mate gave me an extra pair of curved hobby scissors he had. This is the first build that I have used them. The PVC that RS uses is much softer than standard ABS and has trouble with the typical "score & snap". I actually had the return edge crack slightly in a couple areas on the cod. I will be using these much more from now on!!!Finally I got a chance to do some fitting.  The armor's owner is 6' tall and about 190. Tall and thin. All parts can be cut to there minimum and will fit him like a glove. I want to make the sides fit as close together for a nice tight seam. The other side fit just as well. Once I was happy with that...onto the butt!!!! I had a fellow trooper lending a hand for trimming. He worked on the return edges at the tops and bottoms of the thighs and shins (grieves)Marking  the return edge I wanted so Kevin could trim it while I worked on the back plate. With the backplate done, I grabbed the left bicep. I trimmed up the vacuform table edges but without the owner here to properly fit the bicep, that's as far as I could go with that. NEXT!!!!!!!I decided to change gears just a bit and knock out the end caps to the TD. Trimmed down to 3/4". I also trimmed out the control panel (not pictured). I pressed the caps onto the pipe supplied by RS. This is UK plastic pipe either for electrical or plumbing. It is 68MM outside diameter and NOT available here stateside. The finished TD should be about 7 1/4"-7 1/2". RS must have been a little enthusiastic about trimming because with the caps pressed on all the way it ends up being a little shorter than that. I pressed each side on a bit at a time until it measured 7 1/2" then marked it at the edge of the cap. Upon gluing, I can press each side to just cover these marks making the TD the right length.I will be making my own belt clips at a later time to be installed prior to final assembly. Now it's time to work on the forearms. Cover strips for the arms are 15MM. This means when trimming each half, the cut needs to be about 7 MM from the finish strip ridge molded into the forearm. Anyone who has assembled RS before will tell you that this is easier said than done. Finishing strip ridges on ALL the parts are FAR from straight. To accomplish this, I get a straight edge and position it on the outer edge of the ridge.You can see here how the ridge goes from thinner to WIDER to thinner again. I found a path along this edge I was happy with, clamped it and traced the line. I then measured 7MM in from that line to achieve my final cut line. You can see the heavy flare out on this piece. I was able to razor cut the straight parts with no fear of cracking since there were no curves to contend with.Another RS mystery: Why is the inside half on the right forearm so much longer??? Who knows!!??I repeated the same process with the left forearm. The backsides of ALL the clamshell parts do NOT have this finish strip ridge. Trimming like this will only be done on the ridge for now until the owner comes over for final fitting on all parts. Then the rears will be marked and cut to size. Onto the thighs!!! The same technique was used to get the cut lines on the thigh ridges except because the finish strips are 20MM, the mark was made at 10 MM on both halves. More markingThese next two pics are to show what I do to avoid the open "V" that I see an many troopers' return edges. I leave this bumped out a little, then I can fine tune the final fit once the main seam has been established.Nice, even return edge seam that will be evened up after final gluing. top of left thigh.Once the front seam was established, it was time to tackle the notoriously uneven right thigh. With the bottom of the thigh covered by the power pack, it isn't really necessary to make the bottom flush. However one needs to make sure that where the bottom ridge angles upward to the finish strip ridge end up even. The top, however, is a whole different story.  This uneven...ness, was documented in the film in a couple scenes. I can't imagine that the Empire would really build their armor this way so I will attribute this to rushed costume assembly in 1976. With the help of some trimming and a hobby iron, I will trim this down and create an new return edge that will come close to matching the other half. I have the new return edge marked and my cut line marked. I will do the return edge first them trim the return edge to match the other half.I am pretty happy with the final product and will fine tune the trimming once all is glued up. I rough trimmed the shoulder bells next.And that is all for now.

[gazmosis[501st]]

More progress...YAY!!!!!  Anyhoo..........I trimmed up the underside return edges on the shoulders. After looking at what seemed a thousand screen grabs, I trimmed up the edges as well.  These may look HUGE but the camera likes to make these look bigger than they really are.I can now finally glue something!!!!!!! But I need to trim it out first...the ab button plates.The small plate was straight forward. The middle plate, however, needed to be trimmed to match the slight curved contour of the ab plate itself.  Button plates after trimming is done.A little glue, tape and 24 hours and I am happy with it!. I will save painting the buttons until almost last. Too much still to do with the ab sectionPics may be slightly out of order. I will report back upon more progress

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Nice work Steve. The top of the thighs, I  wondered about that. I see a lot of builds with extra material. 

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Nice work as always Gaz. Fun to follow along too. 

 

-Eric

[gazmosis[501st]]

A little more progress was made. I decided it was time to start marking and/or installing some hardware. Since we are going for Centurion right off the bat, I started with the two male snaps on the lower butt plate.Next it was time to mark and drill out the side split rivet placements. RS Props was nice enough to actually mold the locations into the ab plate. The middle one is a little off center...no big deal. I re-measured, marked and drilled it. The Kidney, however, does not come pre-marked. No big deal, just line it up with the ab.I marked the horizontals............Then measured 10 MM in to mark the vertical. I then drilled. Connecting strapping and split rivets will be applied later

I then flipped the ab plate over and installed the male snap in the upper right corner. RS does mark this one as well!!!

I decided to switch gears a bit and cut out the rivet covers for the ammo belt. This inspired me. A little while ago, I created a "How to" thread for making replacement ammo belt rivet covers by heating a dime and slowly pressing it into scrap ABS.  After doing this, I realized what good snap plates these would make. The snap fits perfect and it sits in the recess so there will be no metal/glue contact when glued into place. So I decided to make some snap plates.After my head cleared from all the fumes......I switched gears again to focus on the Thermal Detonator. I already cut out the control panel and end caps earlier. I needed to make the clips. A fellow trooper, Officer Javier Esqueda, donated the 1 X 1/16 aluminum he had left. (Thanx, Butch!!!) I began by clamping the strip in place on the detonator tube supplied by RS. The pipe they supply you with is roughly 67 MM O.D. Pipes this size in gray are just not available here in the states. They do make a comparable size in acrylic tubing if anyone is ever in need and doesn't want to go broke ordering the right pipe from overseas.

ANYHOO!!!!!!

I positioned the control panel so I could bend the clip to its proper place. I didn't see this coming because on my last RS build the clips were pre-purchased. When bending the clip around, the tube was very weak and began to bend making the curve of the clip inaccurate. I decided to bend it around a smaller, more rigid pipe.Once I had the proper bend established, I needed to create the bend that goes over the belt. You cannot just bend it down or else there will be no room for the two halves of the belt to fit in. I clamped a small piece of wood and bent it over that.I got to a point that I could not bend it further by hand so into the bench vise it went.After a little tweek on the bend, I was happy with the way it sat on the pipe. I then cut it to the length I wanted and put the tiny bend on the bottom to keep it away from the armor. On to the other one to make a pair and wouldn't you know it..........I messed the top bend up and when I tried to straighten it...SNAP!!!!!!!!   UGH! Luckily, Lowes has this available. I calmed down and made another one and nailed it!!!I sanded them a bit to give then an even look. I can now begin to assemble the TD. First I needed the proper screws. I found 4 flat slot bolts. I needed to grind down the heads to give them the proper look.I then hit them with a sharpie to blacken them up.After consulting some reference photos, I marked/drilled the screw locations. Why didI wait till now to do this? I have had bad experiences with the clips creasing at the hole locations during bending. The holes create a weak spot in the metal.

Anyway, I transferred the hole locations to the pipe and drilled making sure the clips ended up right against the outer caps. I used nuts and lock washers to ensure nothing comes loose in the future,Once the clips were installed, I was able to glue the outer caps on. These caps fit REALLY well. Because of this, If you don't drill an air relief hole, the air pressure inside will blow the first cap off while pressing the second one on.  Once those were on, I glued on the control panel and applied a couple rubber bands to squeeze it down. I taped it so it doesn't move and we have a finished Thermal Detonator!!!!Major build day coming in a couple days!! the armor's owner is coming by the Gazmosis school of TK armor building. More pics after that!!!

[Seeker[TK]]

Beautiful!!!

[gazmosis[501st]]

Thanks Arturo! That means a lot coming from you.

[Opi Wan[TK]]

Verry clean Build! Top!

[gazmosis[501st]]

It was time to bust out the sewing machine. We are not using the screen used metal bracket harness system. Instead we are making a suspender harness and using snap plates and nylon webbing to hold certain parts together. We will be using the all the correct rivets in their locations seeing as we will be going for Centurion.Nylon webbing is easy to heat seal the ends to prevent fraying, but elastic needs to be folded over and sewn at the ends....something I just like to do.  Here is the completed suspender system with adjustable straps. Snaps will be applied to the bottom then attached to the inside of the Ab plate. Once the armor's owner gets here, we will be measuring for a cross strap that will be sewn between the straps to prevent any slipping off the shoulder problems. A small snap will be added for easy on/off. the strap is also a good place to hang the Aker from.  Anyway, smaller pieces of nylon were cut for installation of snaps to then be applied to connect the butt and kidney sections.I made these straps small to keep the kidney from wandering away from the butt plate similar to what the metal brackets would do.With the sewing machine out and being finished with the black pieces for now, I figured it would be a good time to change to white thread and make a belt!!!   With my daughter's help, I took a measurement around the ab/kidney combination. I gave a few inches for overlap and planned my attack. I am still not 100% sure of the outside material of the belts. I had read/heard that it was twill. I went to the fabric store to buy this and although it did have the telltale diagonal pattern in the fabric, it wasn't prominent enough. I resorted back to white denim. the pattern here was much bolder. The inside 3 layers will be standard canvas/duckcloth, and the outer layers will be denim. You can see the denim on the left and the duckcloth on the right.The total length of the belt was 44 inches. Using a straight edge, I measured and cut 5 pieces of material. This process cannot be rushed. Unless a spray adhesive of some sort is used, the material will just not stay together well enough to sew too many layers at once. I first pinned/sewed two inner layers. Then I pinned/sewed the third layer of duckcloth together. The only thing left was to sew the demin on the outside and inside. This too needed to be pinned. Once that was done, I added some Velcro to keep everything together.Later on prior to mounting the ammo belt, I will need to trim the stragglers and seal the fabric from further fraying. I will post pics of that as it happens. I will move back down in my dungeon to continue with the armor parts. I installed the functional crotch snap with the split rivet. Previously, I had trimmed the forearm and remaining bicep as best as I could until these parts needed to be fit to the owner. He arrived, put on the forearms and we squeezed them until they were comfy AND he could get his hand out without too much effort. We then marked the common line where the parts overlapped to trim equal parts off both halves. Once again, I used a straight edge to connect these marks and cut off the extra from the biceps and forearms.I set the forearms aside to deal with the bicep. With the excess trimmed off, the edges fit together ok, it was the top and bottom edges that needed help.  ENTER.....THE HEATING IRON!!!!! I massaged the bottom edge till the halves matched up.Now to do something with that top half.With a little love....one side done. The other side had its issues as well including a fold over.BLECH!!! What a mess. Some time and patience later and it was acceptable.I realize that's a lot of return edge up there. That will be reduced upon completion of the bicep. I needed to switch gears. I decided to glue some snap plates on the ab for the suspenders to attach to.With the ab drying, It was time to install the snaps on the suspender straps.  I never just punch or cut a hole in the nylon. It can become weak and fray. A simple solution is to heat up a nail and melt the hole sealing it all around.Once that is done, I can go ahead and install the snap.The finished suspender harness.Now it's time to build some forearms!!!  With the excess trimmed, I needed to break out the heat iron to even up the edges.Grab my pile of 15MM strips that were cut a while ago.Once I had my inner connecting strips cut to size, the edges need to be eased down. When using a razor knife as I do to score the plastic, it creates a small raised edge along the cut line that can mess up your gluing surface by not allowing the surfaces to completely touch. Using the edge of the razor blade, I steadily draw the blade across this edge shaving off the raised lip.You can actually see the tiny, thin plastic "hairs" that come off.  Once I am ready to glue up, I wipe down all surfaces with rubbing alcohol to remove any oils and dirt. These may seem like a lot of steps with standard E6000.......if I was using E6000.Yes this will be my adhesive. With this, you get ONE SHOT to get it right. First, I clamp my connecting strip in place and mark the center line.This mark will remind me #1, which side to apply the glue, and #2, to keep the glue away from the center line. You want MINIMAL IF NO squeeze out when using CA glue.  Deep breath, glue applied and strip in place. I will leave the clamps in place while I set the other strip on the other half. Once connecting strips are on both halves, I can join one half at a time. The same procedure was used with the outer cover strips. A finished Forearm YAY!!!!!!Just as an extra measure of strength, I will apply E600 to the inner strips.The same procedure was done for the left forearm...and we have a pair now!!!More later.

Edited October 3, 2013 by gazmosis

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

Not that much to say, you're doing amazing work!!

[gazmosis[501st]]

Thank you Germain!!

[Seeker[TK]]

I second that! Next time I need an RS built, I'm going to send over to you.

 

Approved!

 

[gazmosis[501st]]

More pics........................

There have been as many ways to hold up the thighs as there are species of bugs in the world. The garter system seems to be the most reliable for avoiding any mid-troop wardrobe malfunctions. The originals used WIDE elastic glued to the inside of the thigh fronts and formed a loop that the garter was passed through. I am going to avoid the loop, and sew the elastic directly to the garter. The garter was made from soft nylon web and adjustable straps and a main clip.The thighs will be measured and glued on after the final fitting. I still had the sewing machine out so I sewed up the crotch snap. This is something that is going to be pulled and tugged on. The cut ends of elastic fray easily which is why I fold it over and secure it. I took this down in the dungeon and gave it a couple snaps. Elastic just doesn't melt like regular nylon web so I hammer a nail through it to make the hole.Snaps installed and placed in the armor.I should call this my ADD build because I jump all over the place so often  , anyway, I thought I would tackle the inner and outer drop boxes. They are formed without much depth so measuring accurately all the way around was critical.I used the hobby scissors to cut off the vac table flare at the bottom, then placed it on the belt sander to even things out.I made sure to sand down the inner box to sit close to even with the outer box.I will attach them to the belt after building it. I jumped around again and decided to glue the bicep straps on the shoulder bells. I marked their location as a guide. Then I set them in place and set aside to dry. I will glue the strap the the attachment button will be sewed onto later.The armor's owner came by again. We began our progress by addressing the ammo belt. First, he drilled out the rivet locations in the ammo belt itself.The center of the fabric belt was located that belt was placed on this center mark to mark the rivet locationsBefore we rivet this in place, we need to install the snaps that hold the belt to the ab plate. RS forms the belt snap locations in the ab so finding the snap locations is.....well......a snap!  These locations were drilled out and the snaps installed.An important tip with RS, TM, and now NE armor is to make sure the belt is centered over the vertical line on the cod not the button plate!!! This line is slightly off center. It is centered on TE, ATA, AP, and AM. Noting this, we marked and installed the first snap. This allowed us the stretch the belt over and mark the second snap location.We pulled it tight so that would eliminate any sag on the belt in the future. The the ab attachment snaps installed, we could now rivet the ammo belt to the cloth belt. Washers were used to ensure nothing would come loose later.With our time short, it was now time to send the owner to get on his undersuit lowers so we could measure out his thighs and grieves. Up to this point, I knew the owner was thin but I had never seen him without pants.     He has big legs. This was going to present a challenge. RS was not designed for legs as big as his. First, We taped up the front to keep that in place.He turned around and we squeezed to halves together to mark a common center on the overlapping parts. I always like to leave a little "growing" room so that as he ages and may gain a few pounds, he will still be comfortable. Although there was plenty of overlap at the knee, the thigh top was another story. It barely overlapped. It is supposed to overlap by at least 2 inches on both sides. Just made it. The same procedure was done with the grieves which came just as close!! With everything marked, the owner needed to leave. This left me with ability to continue.  I already had the fronts of the thighs and shins trimmed up. I could now glue them together. First the inside connecting strip.First a quick alcohol wipe down, Then the same procedure as before; clamp the strip in place, mark the center to avoid glue sqeezeout, and apply the glue. Connecting strip in place. The same was done with the other shin and the halves were joined. The cover strips were measured out and cut. I agled the corners slightly with the dremmel.Then glued it in place after a quick wipe of alcohol.I like finish off the return edges to look nice and clean.  NOW THE DREADED SNIPER PLATE! UGH! These never fit right. At least not in my experience. Mark it and trim it first. Part of the problem is that there is more gluing surface on one side than the other. It always seems that the sniper plate never just "fits". It seems it needs to be held and clamped and forced to fit. Well, this one was no different.  IN FACT...it fit SO poorly, it actually began pulling the E6000 away even after the 24 hour cure time.. This inevitably would pop off and something had to be done about it. As you look at the shin, the sniper was well adhered to the left side that had the most contact surface. I pulled the right side away, removed all the glue, and came up with a solution. If the sniper won't fit to the shin, I will make the shin fit to the sniper. I grabbed the heat iron and slowly heated the inside of the shin and pushed it out.This allowed me to custom fit the inside of the shin to the sniper plate providing me with all sorts of gluing surface.I glued her up and now all is well.Breathing a sigh of relief now that the sniper issue is solved, I moved onto the main body clamshell. Installing the split rivets was the first thing. I melted holes for the rivets. I chose not to go with elastic on the sides. I installed the straps on the kidney first. Then I placed the kidney and ab together at the seam and was able to press into the hole on the ab for the final rivet location.I don't have a split rivet setting tool so I use a large screwdriver to separate the "legs" of the rivet and hammer each side flat.  I joined the ab with the same method and I am half way there.I then installed the straps on the right side that allow the trooper to get into and out of the armor. The main body is almost done. Some button paint and a finished belt, and we are golden. OH! I did sew a nifty cross strap between the suspender straps to keep them from falling off the shoulders. This will also serve as a place to hang his speaker off of. SQUIRREL!!!!! SOMETHING SHINY!!!! I jusmped around again and did the final trimming on the shoulder bridges.With the glue dry on the bicep strap on the shoulders, I was able to glue in the straps that will attach them to the strap that connects the back and chest. Now this may make some of you cringe....but the owner did not want the biceps to float freely. He wanted them attached so I will be gluing a strap to the inside of the shoulder that will hold the bicep in place with a snap to the bicep.I need the owner here to determine a comfortable height before I can glue them onto the shoulders. Now I moved back to the legs. I need to get the shins finished with the rear strips glued into place. With that done, I moved back to the thighs which are now secured both front and back.OMG!!!! YOU DIDN'T EVEN UP THE BOTTOM OF THE RIGHT THIGH!!!! Um...powerpack.  I trimmed the sides down and marked the rounded corners with the thermal detonator.  That's as far as I have progressed. More as I get farther.

Edited October 9, 2013 by gazmosis

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

Proceeding very well and very fast! It's good to see a build handled like that, it has become quite rare these time and it's pleasant to read

 

And nice trick with the (dreaded) SKP, this part is really a piece of sh*t to fit!!

[gazmosis[501st]]

I cut out the ammo pack with the razor knife, then shaped it with the Dremmel. The ammo pack is very thin. And although it bends easily, it looks best on the thigh if it conforms to the different angles created by the ridge at the bottom of the thigh. Time to bust out the heat but first I needed to clamp it in place to mark exactly where I wanted the bends to happen.I needed the pack to bend along specific locations. If you are not using the edge of a heating iron that only heats the line that it touches, you need to force the plastic to bend at a predetermined point. To accomplish this, I clamp strips of wood along the line of my bend location.I GENTLY heat the back.I have the torch on the lowest flame possible so I can focus the heat as close to the bend line as I can get. I wave the flame at this point. NEVER STOP MOVING THE HEAT SOURCE!!!!!!  After doing this in all my locations, we have a form fitting knee pack. looks and fits nice. Now to attach it.I will use the cap or speed rivets provided by RS. I place the head of the rivet in the desired location and mark it. I drilled out my marks and transferred that mark to the thigh on ONE SIDE ONLY!!!I will install one side at a time, similar to the cloth belt on the ab plate, so I can pull it over and ensure a snug fit. You should have a setting tool for these cap rivets. The tool's end is concaved so to fit the rounded head of the rivet.The rivet itself is two pieces; an head and a stem. When hammered together, the stem mushrooms within the head holding it, and whatever you are riveting, together. When hammered properly, the base should be flat and flush and head should be unmarked and rounded. With the one rivet installed,  I pulled the pack around tight and marked the other side. I drilled out the location and set the rivet.  It looks nice.It was, however, the tiniest bit loose. I heated the one side of the seam at the bottom of the thigh until it touched the knee pack. I glued it and clamped it. It should be secured. I could now go back to the belt. Why elastic was the material chosen to hang the drop boxes with I will never know. Must have been what was at hand at the time. I would personally use white nylon. I didn't have any and the elastic was supplied with the armor so I used it. I am using pop rivets to attach this. I need to mark the holes in the elastic then transfer those marks to plastic and drill it out.I made sure the box lines up with the belt end and set the rivets.Same procedure with the other box.I glued and taped the drop boxes to keep the halves together until the glue cures. With the drop boxes done I was able to finally install the rivet covers on the belt front.snap plates installed on the chest and back.I believe I am in a position to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I need to get the leather to make the holster(S) next.

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

Love the Sponge Bob' pants !!! ^^

 

It will be over soon if you keep that cadence

[gazmosis[501st]]

Love the Sponge Bob' pants !!! ^^

 

 

Thank you! I actually get yelled at if I DON'T wear them to troops.

[gazmosis[501st]]

That light at the end of the tunnel is shining bright now. With the snaps in place on the chest, I can go about attaching the shoulder bridges. As we know there is little glue surface for something that gets bent, caught, and stressed as much as shoulder bridges do. I cut slivers of scrap material and glued it into the recesses underneath.I suppose I could have used E6000 to glue these in, but I opted to use the 2 part plasti-weld. Time was short on this day and the plasti-weld has a 5 minute set time. A little mixing, a little clamping. It worked well. Now.....The next step was something that has been a nemesis of mine for some time. I have been told in the past that I didn't connect my shoulders close enough to the shoulder bridges when in fact it was the shoulder bells pulling out from under the bridges. In the past, I have installed snaps under the bridges that attach to the white strap. This didn't leave much room for the second snap to attach the bell, though. With the large snaps that RS provides, this was going to be an issue. My idea was to combine the task using the snaps. First, with the bridge strap snapped to the inside of the chest, I marked where the shoulder was going to be located and stitched the shoulder strap to the bridge strap. I then stitched the snap half to the bridge strap. I cut down the white elastic for the grieve closure to get a couple short pieces of elastic. After sealing the ends of the elastic, I held them in place while marking the snap location. I then sewed the other half of the snap to the elastic and superglued it to the underside of the shoulder bridge. I only glued the ends to allow for alittle movement of the shoulder/bridge straps.I then re-installed the shoulder strap and tested it for range of motion. It worked well and should not pull out or pop off. With all the crap that is going on in the Legion forum, I became stressed. Painting helps lower my blood pressure. AB BUTTONS!!!!!!My weapons of choice. The Humbrol French blue speaks for itself. The testors 1138 gray I alter slightly. A while ago after deciding I was going to handpaint all my details except when asked to do an ESB helmet, I wanted to find the right shade of gray. (NO BOOK REFERENCES PLEASE! LOL) ANYHOO!!! I dabbed a little 1138 onto a sheet of Trooperbay's Dave M helmet decals. It was too light. I added a little gloss black until the color matched perfect. I now do this with every fresh bottle I buy. Onto the buttons. First I traced the circles around the buttons in pencil.This allows me to control where and how big each betton should be. If I don't like it, I eraseit and start over. Once the pencil mark is in place, I have a visual reference to follow rather than just relying on the button shape itself.  The Testors paint dries quickly so I was able move on to the blue right away. This was good because Humbrols take a long time to dry and I wanted it to sit overnight. Ab buttons done.

Edited October 16, 2013 by gazmosis