Tico's RS Props build

[ticopowell[TK]]

Small update for the night, got the shin elastics glued in, so I think they are done completely now. 

 

I plasti-dipped the back of the helmet with black, I didn't like how see through the plastic was so it should be a bit better now. I did 3 layers, if I need more I can still do more.

 

For those that haven't done it before, here's what I did. 

 

Step 0, Wash the helmet out so the plasti-dip can stick

 

Step 1, cover all the holes so nothing gets on the front

 

 

Step 2, cover the outside, plastic grocery bags might work, make sure to put tape on all the holes.

 

 

Step 3, follow the instructions on the can, do a fairly light first coat, then a decent thicker 2nd coat. The next pictures are after 2 coats.

 

Wet

 

Dry

 

Step 4, do a 3rd coat, and let dry. You will want to either remove the tape while it is still slightly wet (within an hour or so I'd say), or make sure to score the painted edges of the tape so when you peel it off it doesn't pull the plasti-dip off. My can said to wait 4 hours for the paint to dry. 

 

 

 

I got a little on the outside , but it will be under the dome, and under an ear, so I'm not worried about it. If you do get an excessive amount of visible black on an outer dome part I would try removing it with a paper towel, or sponge, or even a Popsicle stick. It's made to come off, so it shouldn't be an issue. 

 

 

There ya go, let me know if you have any questions

[ticopowell[TK]]

couple updates, had a shenanigan that I fixed, the bottom screw on the right ear decided to pull through.

 

Where it should be,

 

Where it is when I tighten it,

 

So I ABS pasted the hole, and since I could reuse a hole I drilled before the ear was fully trimmed I just had to drill one hole. Here is the final product.

 

 

I also bought a hardhat and have modified it a tad....

 

 

 

 

Now I can put the important bits in the helmet. I'm planning on using E6000 to glue the yellow mounting points to the inside of the helmet. I guess I could have plasti-dipped the inside after... oh well, forgot about the mounting when I did it the first time , Here is the approximate location (as in, it fits but I haven't measured at all)

 

 

I also finally finished the snap on the holster, and attached the holster to the belt.

 

 

 

I did try and fix that seam on the kidney plate, it's drying right now so I should be able to sand it down again tomorrow or monday, then it should be good to go for sizing, final trimming at the ab plate, and finally rivets installed  

 

Not sure what else is on the docket for the night, probably playing a bit of DCS, I might convince the wife to paint a little on the helmet, as you saw before I shouldn't be trusted with the fine details like that. I did get some vinyl stencils to use, so I might put those on tonight, idk. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by ticopowell

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You may be able to apply some ABS paste behind the ear to give a little strength to the area to stop it coming through again. I would maybe have put the screw back a little more central though, looks a little to much to one side.

[ticopowell[TK]]

2 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

You may be able to apply some ABS paste behind the ear to give a little strength to the area to stop it coming through again. I would maybe have put the screw back a little more central though, looks a little to much to one side.

I definitely added quite a bit behind the ear and left it there. I know ABS paste is weaker, and I agree it's a little far back, but without getting a new ear I didn't want to risk the screw pulling out again. 

[PhilBobTheFish]

That part of the ear will probably be covered by the s trim, so it should be fine.

[ticopowell[TK]]

The checklist stands at:

 

Fix weak shoulder elastic (not enough space to double up with what I currently have, so maybe order new ones or sew cloth strips or something. Maybe it's just the shoulder bells so ill look at those too)

Finish the kidney shim (Let dry, sand, polish... hopefully. It should be smooth enough to polish after this next round of sanding)

Add rivets/straps to kidneys and abdomen, waiting on kidney plate to be finished with shims. 

Paint all the rivets and screws that need paint (6 ab-kidney, helmet ears, thigh ammo box rivets, torso brackets)

finish helmet. (paint, install lens, start and finish hovi mics)

Talk to the GML

 

Getting closer

Edited June 22, 2020 by ticopowell

[ticopowell[TK]]

Alright, I did a lot of sanding, filling holes in ABS paste, sanding again, filling holes, etc... I now have 2 mostly done shims. They are fairly shiny and nice, but they aren't perfect. What do you all think? I tried to capture the shine, right on top of the not as shiny spots. There is a little different color there, some of that is from the NOVUS polish, the rest... idk, I'm guessing that the white ABS paste had some pencil marks or something else in there so it's a little off but most people won't notice. Here are the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well... I'm done with this for the night... I think. lol

[ticopowell[TK]]

Well, the wife had some energy and was able to paint the helmet a little bit tonight. I also painted the screws in the torso armor so they are now all white. 

 

Any feedback on the helmet? the paint is still wet and I know a few teeth go a little high. 

 

 

 

Is this too much on the tip?

 

 

 

 

We still are going to do one more coat, there are a few thin spots, but i think it looks great so far. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Great Paint work Caleb ! 

 I'm not sure if it's a light effect or my eyes ,or maybe both ,but it looks like there's a bit of paint between the white  area as shown  and ther's still a small paint detail that I would suggest to take off, just a toothpick with mineral spirit, no acetona, and it is.

 

 

looking good so far, 

[ticopowell[TK]]

Great Paint work Caleb ! 
 I'm not sure if it's a light effect or my eyes ,or maybe both ,but it looks like there's a bit of paint between the white  area as shown  and there's still a small paint detail that I would suggest to take off, just a toothpick with mineral spirit, no acetona, and it is.
 

 
looking good so far, 

I see what you mean, I attached a closer version of the photo. I think what we're seeing is just a shadow. And we'll touch up that edge too. Thanks!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

ok  thats cool my eyes are not.  

[ticopowell[TK]]

ok  thats cool my eyes are not.  

Don't worry, I saw it to, the coloring underneath the helmet makes it look funky hahaha

[ticopowell[TK]]

Well, I suited up again, I had to measure the shim to get it correct. I found that it likes to be angled a little bit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couldn't not put the helmet on :D.

The bottom part of the shim is closer to the front than the top. The pictures didn't show the shim being level like it should be height wise, but when it is it's angled back. I assume I should still cut it vertical so it holds the kidney plate level on the sides. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Wow  Caleb, you looks amazing!!  Great work.

 

About what you mention on the Shim , a closer photo with no Holster and belt could be useful , at least for me, to have a better idea of the issue.

By the other side, If I can make a suggestion, probably you have noted already.  There's small detail on the thighs  alignment as you can see in the following photo.  You can adjust the straps to align then better and  try to find a middle point where you leave the smallest gap and still walk without problems like armor bites.

 

 

Almost there Trooper , keep on doing a fantastic work. 

 

 

 

 

 

[ticopowell[TK]]

2 minutes ago, TKSpartan said:

Wow  Caleb, you looks amazing!!  Great work.

 

About what you mention on the Shim , a closer photo with no Holster and belt could be useful , at least for me, to have a better idea of the issue.

By the other side, If I can make a suggestion, probably you have noted already.  There's small detail on the thighs  alignment as you can see in the following photo.  You can adjust the straps to align then better and  try to find a middle point where you leave the smallest gap and still walk without problems like armor bites.

 

 

Almost there Trooper , keep on doing a fantastic work. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip, One side seems to always be lower when I wear them, as you can see the armor touches between my thighs and one is always pushed down. Ill double check the connection strap length and try and bring the right one up a little bit and see if that helps.

[ticopowell[TK]]

I got some more paint done. The wifey is going to touch up a little bit but I did all of the new paint today.

 

 

 

 

Please point out where I painted too much! I'm not 100% on where everything goes, but I think it looks decent. 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Here is a link to some photos which may help, Caleb:  https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/48335-quick-crl-reference-guide-for-your-ot-build-pics-notes-tips/?do=findComment&comment=673646.

 

One thing I did notice is that the top of the ear on the right side could come forward a bit if possible.  Ideally, the screws should line up with the rear line of the trap right above them and the top screw should be centered right below the line, (just as you have on the left side).  It may be the photo, but it looks like a gap between the face plate and cap is showing (yellow arrow).  Moving the top of the ear just a quarter of an inch forward would eliminate both issues.

 

            

 

Neither are huge issues in themselves (and Heaven knows the originals had their flaws lol) but for a more polished and symmetrical look this is something I would suggest if you feel up to the task. 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

For really wobbly black lines you could go over with a black permanent marker

[ticopowell[TK]]

On 6/27/2020 at 7:15 AM, justjoseph63 said:

Here is a link to some photos which may help, Caleb:  https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/48335-quick-crl-reference-guide-for-your-ot-build-pics-notes-tips/?do=findComment&comment=673646.

 

One thing I did notice is that the top of the ear on the right side could come forward a bit if possible.  Ideally, the screws should line up with the rear line of the trap right above them and the top screw should be centered right below the line, (just as you have on the left side).  It may be the photo, but it looks like a gap between the face plate and cap is showing (yellow arrow).  Moving the top of the ear just a quarter of an inch forward would eliminate both issues.

 

            

 

Neither are huge issues in themselves (and Heaven knows the originals had their flaws lol) but for a more polished and symmetrical look this is something I would suggest if you feel up to the task. 

 

The gap is because I loosened the screws to paint them, it's normally a lot closer. 

Also I've seen your comments on making the right match the left on the angle, but I have rarely seen that in the screenshots. 

Specifically

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a few that do have more of an angle

 

 

 

and this shot is split on angle vs vertical. 

 

 

But the real kicker for my RS armor is the RS helmet had it very vertical. 

 

 

 

 

I do appreciate your post, but I think Ill leave it for now unless it is not approvable. Also, I really don't want to mess with the ears anymore!

 

Also the guide you referenced again is very helpful, especially for my wife since she is doing most of the painting! She isn't going to study the helmet like we are, so having close up references is great!

[ticopowell[TK]]

Just making sure I have these rivets in the right spot before drilling holes.

 

 

Horizontal (picture reference) lines are 10mm from the edge, the far right is 20mm from the top, and the next are 52mm and 53mm apart. I measured from the kidney plate and transfered those across, and then verified that the ab plate marks matched the 52mm and 53mm distances apart. 

 

Thanks for the help. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, ticopowell said:

Just making sure I have these rivets in the right spot before drilling holes.

Hi Caleb, according to the reference that is usually posted, you're right. As a suggestion, place the Ab section rivets first ,( don't make holes in the kidney yet ) and then , align a remark the kidney's and  proceed.

 

 

 

 

Cheers  

 

 

 

[ticopowell[TK]]

Thanks Mario,

Next question, is it better to have elastic or nylon straps there? 

 

I know a lot is personal preference, but I figure it's worth asking. The kit came with elastic straps to connect the rivets together so if I use those Ill likely reinforce the snaps with nylon squares for durability. I plan on permanently connecting the kidney side and having snaps on the ab plate unless you guys recommend something else. I of course will use the split rivets (and trim them down by 1.5mm to fit them in the snaps) and snaps. 

 

Thanks!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

3 hours ago, ticopowell said:

Thanks Mario,

Next question, is it better to have elastic or nylon straps there? 

 

I know a lot is personal preference, but I figure it's worth asking. The kit came with elastic straps to connect the rivets together so if I use those Ill likely reinforce the snaps with nylon squares for durability. I plan on permanently connecting the kidney side and having snaps on the ab plate unless you guys recommend something else. I of course will use the split rivets (and trim them down by 1.5mm to fit them in the snaps) and snaps. 

 

Thanks!

Hi Caleb, I just can talk about what I have done:

 

1- I prefer using Nylon there, both sides, why, because It happened that when trooping , the elastic connection made the kidney overlaps the ab plate and viceversa , I changed to nylon and the connection stood firm 

 

2- I have placed an individual set of Snaps each side to leave the split rivets free to avoid then from opening or tearing the nylon.

 

I know there are more excellent solutions here in the forum but this worked for me.

 

 

     

 

 

 

[ticopowell[TK]]

2 minutes ago, TKSpartan said:

Hi Caleb, I just can talk about what I have done:

 

1- I prefer using Nylon there, both sides, why, because It happened that when trooping , the elastic connection made the kidney overlaps the ab plate and viceversa , I changed to nylon and the connection stood firm 

 

2- I have placed an individual set of Snaps each side to leave the split rivets free to avoid then from opening or tearing the nylon.

 

I know there are more excellent solutions here in the forum but this worked for me.

 

 

     

 

 

 

That's helpful, thanks!  Is there a reason you only did 2 straps? I assume 3 weren't needed. Also would it be beneficial to have a snap on each side? or would E6000 on one side be alright?

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

2 hours ago, ticopowell said:

I assume 3 weren't needed. Also would it be beneficial to have a snap on each side? or would E6000 on one side be alright?

 

I placed placed only two but it depends on you I think they worked for me. Snap or  Using E6000 on one side could work well.