ukswrath[Staff] Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Wannabe Planet of the Apes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Today, I learned that a 5-foot fall is too much for a bucket. I was at an unofficial troop for a wedding, let the bride wear my bucket and hold my blaster, and as she was handing them back to me, I ended up juggling them, and dropped the helmet. NOOOOO!!!! There's now a crack under the left mic tip from the edge of the neck hole, up about 3 inches. I'll have pictures up tomorrow of the crack, and also some pictures of trying to salvage it. I'm planning on using some t-shirt fabric soaked in superglue on the back side, and if that's not enough, possibly some ABS paste in the crack and sanded down smooth then polished up. My first battle damage. ): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMonkey[501st] Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 That sucks - good luck Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khazid[TK] Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 (edited) Sorry to hear about the damage, but it sounds like your repair plan is on target. Edited October 11, 2015 by Khazid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukswrath[Staff] Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 BUMMER! Sorry to hear that brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylverbard[TK] Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 ....death trooper.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakoTuesday[501st] Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Cav Trooper? ABS paste and some extra ABS on the inside should fix that up. I had to do some minor repairs when I was shaping my calf/shin armor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 With the rubber trim on, it doesn't look so bad... I know it's there, but hey, it's pretty much under my chin, so no biggy, right? And then you take the trim off... Holy crap, that looks bad. So, I taped up the outside with blue tape, and painted a glob of ABS paste on the inside from well beyond the crack all the way to the inside edge. Once that has a chance to dry completely, I'll take the tape off and see where I'm at. If it's down to a hairline fracture, I'll probably say good enough, and go with it. If there's some elevation differences or more visible cracks, I'll fill that in as well as possible with ABS paste, then sand it smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 ....death trooper.... NO! I'm not becoming a zombie because of one little crack! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylverbard[TK] Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Yikes...that's not a crack. That's a frigging fault line...5.0 on the Richter scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khazid[TK] Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 If you can get ABS Pro-weld from your local hobby store, you could use that on the front to finish sealing the repair. Then buff out with sandpaper and novus polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukswrath[Staff] Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) Enough to make a grown man cry Nice recovery Josh Edited October 12, 2015 by ukswrath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 If you can get ABS Pro-weld from your local hobby store, you could use that on the front to finish sealing the repair. Then buff out with sandpaper and novus polish. Yup, I'm going to have to do that. A trip to the hobby store tomorrow afternoon is in order. I was able to take off the tape and reattach the neck trim before heading to work tonight. The connection with the ABS paste on the back is solid, but it's VERY visible from the outside that there's something wrong. It's in no danger of splitting more, so structurally it's good... but it looks bad. What's funny, is this is the THIRD thing that has gone wrong with the face plate that my first instinct has been "better buy a new one"... but then I stick with it and I can make it look pretty good without replacing it. Just goes to show, or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMonkey[501st] Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 The speed rivets gave me some trouble. I've never used them before, and don't exactly have the right tool for the job, so I improvised. I used a big pair of pliers that could fit around everything, covered the outside edge of the rivet with a couple layers of tape, and another layer on the jaw of the pliers, but it wasn't enough to keep the pliers from marring the rivet. Hopefully a layer or three of white enamel paint will be enough to make it look not terrible. I used Tony's measurements on the outside edge, 10mm on the ammo pack, and 6mm on the thigh, and then wrapped around to the inside, pulled as tight as I could, and marked where to drill on the inside thigh. Squeezed on the rivet on that side, and a little E6000 over the knee, and that's done. On your thigh ammo belt, how much did you cut off to get that curve on the bottom? I noticed on my kit that the belt was a square and I'm unsure how much I should cut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 I used a spray paint can pressed up against the first ammo block, and just traced it for the bottom quarter, and then ran a straight line up from there. Super highly technical. (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 I think you can recover it. ABS paste is pretty versatile. Just need to take your time sanding and polishing to blend it it. Luckily, it's not in a highly visible area but when it's your armor, you'll always know. Glad nothing broke off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 So this is the last picture of my helmet before it was broken... The bride is wearing it. (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukswrath[Staff] Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Well on a positive note the bride looks awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 And... recovered to about 95%. After one application of ABS paste to the outside, and some minor sanding a day later: The next application of ABS paste: That's been sanded down and hit with Novus 3 and 2. With a flash, you can just barely make out the scar. And then, only if you're really looking for it. And from a foot away at a common picture-taking angle... What crack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Superb! I have a drawer full of scrap ABS to never run out of material for potential ABS paste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakoTuesday[501st] Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Nice repair! Glad to see the abs paste worked for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 So I just made a couple more fixes to my armor. No pictures, because I'm a slacker. I'll get pictures later and post them. - Added velcro to the front of my boots and the inside edge of the calf plates. That'll keep the left knee plate from riding up and pinching my knee cap. I have a 3 mile parade coming this Saturday, and I REALLY want to be able to walk the whole thing without having to keep my left leg permanently bent. - Added straps from the bib-style neck seal to the duty belt that holds up my thigh armor. Because it's a long bib, it has a tendency to ride up and end up sticking out all over outside of my chest and back plates. These two straps on the front and back should prevent that, and keep it down flat around my torso. Building is never done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr1203 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 What grit sandpaper did you use for your helmet repair, Josh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kredal[TK] Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 300 (or 320) to get the dried ABS paste down to the rest of the helmet, then 1200 to smooth it out before using the Novus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukswrath[Staff] Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 300 (or 320) to get the dried ABS paste down to the rest of the helmet, then 1200 to smooth it out before using the Novus. Wow you went from 300ish grit to 2000 then to polish, you're good. I would have went from 300, to 600, to 800, to 2000 then Novus lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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