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MRCE mods without painting the whole bucket


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Well guys, I've recently started to see what the rest of you see when you see fx armor with an MRCE bucket... the problems.

 

After ordering a new neckseal and new ab buttons (and considering a new chest piece), I've gone to town on the bucket. The mods in total took about 8 hours in total to do for me at least. I put new lenses in first. The old ones had window tint on them which was coming off making it impossible to see. I put a hard hat liner in while keeping the existing padding where I could. The hard hat liner makes it so I don't need that pesky foam on the eyes.

 

Here's a pic of that... I'd strongly suggest this mod. It's cheap, easy, and makes it so you can move your head quickly without it moving about on you. I didn't think this would fit in an MRCE, but it does just barely:

 

photo13.jpg

 

While I painted my whole MR clone trooper bucket to make it a shocktrooper, I really didn't want to invest that much time into the stormtrooper bucket. I'm sure like many of you, the idea of repainting something that already has a nice finish is a bit daunting. I'm no pro by any means, but I think these came out great! Like other people have already done, I filed out the teeth so the holes are bigger, and repainted the frown. There is the extra tooth drilled out now, and the frown is extended. The ears weren't replaced, but modded instead so I wouldn't have to repaint. The only problem is, unlike other people who posted how to cut off the excess ear part, they didn't really show exactly where and how much. Also, even after cutting off the plastic tunnels that the old screws went in, the ear didn't really want to be pushed down flush with the bucket. I did the best I could, and screwed down the ear with the three screws and bolt set up.

 

After that I used caulk and filled in the gaps between the bucket and the ears that were left. If you wait two hours, you can paint over this caulk with model paint, which I did with a glossy white, making it look a lot better. I also used this same tester's white to paint over the caulk that covered the seam where the frown is. The caulk unpainted gets dirty very easily, and it starts to show. You can use abs polish to get it off if need be as well.

 

If any of you, like me, were a bit over confident when drilling out the ears from the inside and drilled straight through the ear cap like I did, using the caulk technique to easily mold it to the shape of where you drilled through is a breeze. Simply paint over it and no one will be able to really tell. The ear that had the hole in it is the second picture.

 

So there you have it! Below is my modest version of how to mod the bucket without repainting the entire thing. I will be raising the brow a bit here soon, but otherwise she's done. Again, it's no TE or anything, but I'm really proud of what I've made an MRCE look a lot better without having to overhaul it.

 

photo11.jpg

 

photo10.jpg

 

photo12.jpg

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This was the way to mod the MRCE I was hoping someone would post. So caulk, then gloss white paint on the ears and the frown seam?I'm afraid to cut the ears too. Any tips?

 

 

Follow this guy's tutorial first:

<a href="http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=3176" target="_blank">http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=3176</a>

 

Now, what he doesnt show is where to tape off other than the top of the ear. My mistake was that I took that much off the whole circle part of the ear AND part of the straight stem below it. Problem is is that once you get to the stem, you will have a gap there if you trim that too much. That happened on my first ear, the one on the right. Thing is though, it looks better than the second ear i did (on the left) because it made the ear thinner. If you don't trim that part off, it will look nicer, but won't be as slender.

 

Either way, it doesnt matter... you WILL have gaps no matter how much you cut off the ear. Screw the ears on the bucket first. DO NOT USE A DRILL TO DO THIS. Use a screwdriver. Your ears while tightening them may buckel a bit from the pressure. This means they are too tight, loosen up a bit. In order to get rid of the slightly uneven cut marks and the cap which allowed you to see behind the ear I used white glossy caulk to fill it in. THEN take a wet paper towel immediately and run it over the groove with your finger so that you pick up all the caulk except for the cualk that is between the ear cap and the bucket. Already you should be able to look at it at this step and say "wow" because it looks SO much better filled in. This is when i took a tooth pick and lightly put some caulk on the end of it and filled in any holes that were caused by bubbles or uneven application. Now that the caulk is filled on both ear caps (front and back), let it dry for about 2 solid hours. You can do it earlier, but hey.. better safe than sorry. Take Testers brand model paint.. the glossy white kind, and with a small brush paint over the caulk that's between the ears. DO NOT paint the abs plastic or you will see a difference in gloss rather easily after it dries! ONLY paint the caulk itself. It's not dire than you do this, but lemme tell you.. after a couple troops, somehow all sorts of dirt, most likely simply oils from your hands, gets on the caulk and makes it look dirty. By painting the caulk you will now be able to perminately be able to have a shiny white bucket.

 

The same process basically for the seam in the frown. Fill in the whole seam...doesn't matter how much you use really, just make sure it gets in the groove. Take wet paper towel, and clean off all access then after it dries, paint it.

 

ABS polish will get rid of any accidently dried caulk that may get on you bucket! This is great if you happen to accidently let some dry over a decal or something like I did.. comes right off :).

 

So there you have it. A friend in my local garrison might be doing these mods soon. If so, ill take pics as i help him out so people can see the entire process. I didnt want to paint the whole bucket either, and this options lets you do that and get the similar results you would have if you had used bondo :). And since I didn't have to rebuy decals or buy white paint for repainting it.. I not only saved time, but quite a bit of money.

 

Some tips on cutting.. the electrical tape is best as it not only provides good contrast to the white ear, but is tough enough so that if your knife slips it may stop an unwanted cut. REMEMBER to go slow! Once you press hard enough, the knife will cut through the abs like butter and could cut your hand! I'm a graphic designer, so I'm used to using these, but I've seen countles people chop off parts of their fingers because they got to comfortable using these knives! Do what I DIDNT do, in that you should cut and check constantly to make sure you don't cut too much of the ear. If you do however, don't worry.. my right ear had a large gap and the caulk filled it in perfectly. It sounds more intimidating than it is. EVERY mistake I made was because I got too confident in what I was doing (drilling through my ear cap for instance...).

 

It's going to take you a few hours. It took me a whole afternoon and night to complete this.

 

Materials you'll need:

 

Hard hat liner

Sticky velcro

Smitty lenses

drill and drill bits

x acto knife (hobby knife)

electric tape

caulk white glossy

caulk gun

Six 4 mm countersunk screws (though it's not what i used as the countersunk screws at Lowes arent long enough. I used machine screws with the same flat, bolt-like end).

6 washers

6 nuts

Testers 1138 grey paint

Testers White paint

Testers small model paint brush

Small files (Lowe's sells a set for 16 bucks that's perfect. Has 6 files of all different types of shapes)

One toothpick for fixing caulk small holes.

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So the caulk will look better painted than say just white silicon?

 

Yes it's much brighter painted and is more glossy. Basically I helps it make it look like the mrce's abs plastic.

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I cant honestly tell where the silicone starts on my helmet its that good match. How it would react to dirt I cant say though.

 

 

Cheers

 

It looks great for a while. Problem is there's no way of cleaning it and for some reason dust and dirt are almost attracted to it. After a while a suble color change is evident. Painting over it with latex not only looks better and stays that way, but it also acts as a way to make it more glossy to better match your abs bucket. Trust me, it works :)

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What brand hard hat liner did you get and where did you get it? Also, what number testors white did you use? Thanks man. :D

 

 

Hey, no problem.

 

I got the white hard hat from here and just ripped the part that I showed you from it. I had the hard hat with the bill dremeled off in my AT-AT Driver bucket before I put padding inside it.

 

http://www.aosafety.com/diy/head_main.cfm

 

The Testors is #1145

 

Good luck! Can't wait for the brow to be done :D

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TA3202 said:

Well guys, I've recently started to see what the rest of you see when you see fx armor with an MRCE bucket... the problems.

 

After ordering a new neckseal and new ab buttons (and considering a new chest piece), I've gone to town on the bucket. The mods in total took about 8 hours in total to do for me at least. I put new lenses in first. The old ones had window tint on them which was coming off making it impossible to see. I put a hard hat liner in while keeping the existing padding where I could. The hard hat liner makes it so I don't need that pesky foam on the eyes.

 

Here's a pic of that... I'd strongly suggest this mod. It's cheap, easy, and makes it so you can move your head quickly without it moving about on you. I didn't think this would fit in an MRCE, but it does just barely:

 

 

 

 

Great Job! I'm going to do this to mine, one thing though - isn't the liner in back to front, the sweatband should be at the front.

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Great Job! I'm going to do this to mine, one thing though - isn't the liner in back to front, the sweatband should be at the front.

 

Yep it fits your head great that way and is very comfortable :). It you do it the other way than you can't see as it blocks you lenses :). Try it out! Works like a charm.

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Ok...back to the tube stripes. You said you kept the ones it came with? I thought those weren't 501st approved.

Also, are you raising the brow for the "move along" TD style and do you just pull it off or is there more to it?

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Ok...back to the tube stripes. You said you kept the ones it came with? I thought those weren't 501st approved.

Also, are you raising the brow for the "move along" TD style and do you just pull it off or is there more to it?

 

It's 501st approved because I've seen countless MRCE and other buckets for that matter with tube stripes the same color. I'll do them one day, but honestly, I don't like the toy blue as much. And hey, they approved me! So I guess it's all gravy. ;)

 

While I'm by no means trying to recreate the move along trooper, it will be raised similarly to his yes. No don't just pull it off bud :). There's super glue every once in a while. SLOWLY pull off the black brow from one corner to the other, and use a hobby knife anywhere where it seems to snag from the glue. There was only one spot on the right center that I had problems with.. but it still came off with some love.

 

Just be sure to go slow. Pictures tonight!

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Here is my process of the last part of my MRCE no paint mod!

 

First draw a line with pencil where you want to cut. Take a thin piece of cardboard and put it between the dome and the face plate so that when you cut off the plastic, it will hit the cardboard.. not the face plate. Cut out a curve so that it fits the ear cap:

 

IMG_0418.jpg

 

Take a hacksaw and very slowly start to make a groove towards the middle of the bucket. Be sure to work towards the ear but not get too close as if you hit the plastic you may make an unwanted groove or something with the metal saw. We'll take care of the last part of the dome later:

 

IMG_0419.jpg

 

Once it's cut.. snap it off at either end by pulling.. you should have this:

 

IMG_0420.jpg

 

Take some wire cutters and cut the rest of the curve:

 

IMG_0421.jpg

 

Now, put the rubber strip on the bucket and glue it to the side of the bucket on the ends, and other various spots.. not the whole length:

 

IMG_0422.jpg

 

Oh NO! What's this?!?!?! It's a little dimple mark from the mold that was hidden by the brow! Oh well.. you know the drill. Caulk it! Put some caulk on some thin cardboard you used for the protective piece and use it as a straight edge to smear it on flat. Wipe clean with paper towel. Paint after 2 hours of drying with Testers #1145:

 

IMG_0424.jpg

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Very nice man. I am..as we speak drilling the ears out. I'm scared to death I'm gonna go too far. I just bought the angled hand drill so the battery isn't quite ready and keeps dyin' on me. I guess I can always mold the hole later if I do go through right?

Oh by the way...are the flat head screws on the sides of the ears painted or did they come white already?

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Ok very small hole in one ear..but I can fix it no prob. Everything else went smooth. Next I have to get the glossy caulk and fill the holes and my chin seam. :D

 

 

Great job :). And you have to paint the screws... they come standard silver :).

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Helmet looks great. Where was something like this months ago before I hit my MRCE with drills, dremels, and sand paper. :lol:

 

Oh well, I need the practice.

 

Did you say you were going to change out the tube stripes? If you are, it's really easy with a Magic Eraser, hot water and 5 minutes of light scrubbing.

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Helmet looks great. Where was something like this months ago before I hit my MRCE with drills, dremels, and sand paper. :lol:

 

Oh well, I need the practice.

 

Did you say you were going to change out the tube stripes? If you are, it's really easy with a Magic Eraser, hot water and 5 minutes of light scrubbing.

 

Awesome, now I can have a total redo of the bucket without painting it white again :D. It won't hurt the white finish will it? (IE: smear the blue all over the white) This thread is turning out to be pretty useful! haha :D Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to upgrade them and post when I do.

 

Darryl

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just got rid of my tube stripes today.

 

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser as said above. Took about 10 minutes of furious scrubbing, but they come off and leave the nice glossy MRCE untouched underneath.

 

It does get blue all over the place, but that wipes right off.

 

I'm caulking my frown crack tomorrow. Definitely going to use your 1145 Testors over it after it dries a while. Thanks for the tip.

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