Deathwatch

Thank you for the input! Much appreciated! I read that it takes quite some time to harden…but I feel better now that I know you guys had the same „imprinting“ problems. Will probably store the armor for 2-3 full months before buffing and weathering and hopefully this time will be enough…because I do not have the space to store all the pieces individually (I got a big box and wrapped the pieces in felt to guard against scratches).

Hello guys!! I ran into some snags with my clear coat… i clear coated with 3-4 layers of spraymax 2k clear and the spraying was done 2 weeks ago. The coat feels rigid to the touch…BUT as soon as a blanket lays on top of it the pattern of the blanket gets „imprinted“ on the parts (its very subtle and I cannot feel the pattern but you can see it if the light catches the piece at the right angle) the weather conditions should have been favorable…does it really need more time to cure (I read on car forums that clear can take months to cure)? What did you do with your parts? Did you store each piece separately? any ideas? Thank you!

Okay I see… I kinda like the look with the painted silver/gun metal recessed lines (see biceps part 501st crl) …probably will go with gun metal color and weather with black enamel wash… Shallow grooves are present in a pattern matching the photo. The grooves may be a matte black, metallic black, matte silver, or gray. If coloring is used, the shoulder bells, biceps, forearms, and thighs must match.

Did you use matte black for the recesses/lines on the shoulder/biceps/thigh too? I think chrome would be too bright for those lines…I was ogling gun metal like colors for those lines…what did you use?

Hello! I want to get the colours together and need some help with the silver panel lining color...what did you use? Airbrush or brush? Did you do the gloss black and metallic black and sealed everything with clear coat an then did the silver (and matte black) or did you paint everything and clearcoated everything? thanks!!

hello guys! I need your knowledge again… I sanded my pieces with 180 grits, used car filler, again sanding with 240 up to 400grits. At this point I have a very smooth surface. Alcohol rubbing to degrease… anf then I primed with spray filler 2-3 layers, wet sanding 600 grits Today I sprayed my black glossy color (rattle can) and got this result. From far It looks good…upon closer inspection there are these micro dots. did I do something wrong? Second layer seems not to change these dots… I wanted to seal the pieces with 2k clear coat..will this help with my problem? Flood the area with color again (but I have the feeling it won’t change a thing) or am I overly perfectionist??? sanding between color layers?? I’m open for comments 😜 https://imgur.com/a/ecLh1c2

I freestyled them…bur with his tabs as a guidance. @ChaosNow I know what I was missing!! Will glue some abs into the shoulders to make a raised area for the push button! Thx! 🙏

I could get the shoulders higher…as of now the metal is about 7mm higher than my undersuit…could increase that distance by bending the metal a little bit upwards.. Thanks!

Hello Guys! I am making progress and need some input: I have assembled the abdomen-barrel and made the shoulder connections (still need to address the "wayward-tusks")... Now to my question: which shoulder is better? the right one which is closer to the bridge and somewhat "higher" or the left (lower and further away)? And I need to install the biceps locks..(but I wanted to get the general position of the shoulder and biceps right first....) https://imgur.com/a/iB3CGDo Started the assembly of the right thigh using my rubber mat....which generates an awful amount of friction....(it IS an anti-friction mat )...I coated the backside with E6000 and glued left over spandex to it....hopefully this will alleviate the "friction" problem..... And I really like this look with the rubber mat Thanks guys!

hihi just to reassure myself: the thighs should go up to two fingers above the top of my kneecap...I'm 180cm...if I am not mistaken it means I have to take off about 8-10cm from the top of the thighs....correct?

Hi guys! I have the metal buckles/D-Rings for the shoulder strap/side straps....any idea how to fix them to there armor? Is gluing enough? I thought about putting longer screws into the shoulder strap buckle/ring construct -> the screws that are now holding both pieces together. My idea was to drill through the armor and the connect through the armor both parts with the same screws (picture with red circles)....I am just worried that it will set the parts in an awkward angle in relation to the plane of the armor.....any thoughts? Another idea would be to drill into the pice to create new anchor points for additional screws (blue circles in picture) -> those screws would go through the armor and the ruler strip into the metal piece....(I would need to source the equipment to drill holes into the metal pieces and cut screw thread into the metal buckle...) https://imgur.com/a/fjSrhum my "neck region" is quite irregular with a wider part/lip at the top....did you smooth it out with bond or just went with it? Almost completed my abdomen"barrel"....zipper is sewn in and velcro sewn to the spandex....now the velcro on the back plate is E6000ed.....tomorrow I will probably make the straps connecting abdomen and back plate. I JD-welded the underarm pieces together using the clam shell technique... ,will show a picture in the future (need to decide if I want to cut away from the forearm to increase range of motion for the arms....

Please send them to me too!! THX!!

Hello! A little update: Deconstructed the Jim Undersuit top -> Velcro has been sewn to the abdomen gasket pieces. now sewing on the spandex and zipper to complete the "barrel". I made the cuts to the backplate and started on the shoulder tabs ( I went with 2mm aluminium plate). Drilled away the material on the backplate where the rubber shoulder straps go....have to widen it a little bit more.... https://imgur.com/a/SPl8qwV That's about it....have a nice Sunday!

That would be wonderful! The thighs are the most hated part of my TK build and I want to do everything in my power to build a comfortable and usable suit of DT armour. And I think the rubber insert is the way to go And I can adjust the rubber if needed by cutting and inserting a new rubber mat. -> I think the plasticarmsdealer build using Chicago screws looks very good and durable.... But non the less would I like to take a peek at your build chaos...if you have pics on hand!! THX in advance! 2) another shoulder tab question: how much should the shoulder tab extend from under the bridge towards the shoulder bell....any good guesses/measurements?

Thx Paul! Yes I will probably cut 1cm less and go back for a second round.... I know about the rubber insert...but I kinda like the idea of the rubber insert....and it probably will allow me to get a slimmer fit...

@ChaosThanks for the reminder, that the backwings overlap the front armor sides...would have build the other way around..... I need to trim my thigh armours and painted in the parts I want to take off...please have a look if it looks ok...My hight is about 180cm. And I want to insert a rubber mat in the thigh armor pieces: I read that it is advised to cut out a section of the "glossy armor" so front and back-part don't bump into each other with every step...I marked parts about 1,5cm in with. The reference picture have no "openings" and the rubber is really an insert. Is my suggested cutout ok? I have seen others do it: ...so it should be ok.... Please have a look! Thank you very much! https://imgur.com/a/Xd8HxA7

Need Fitting aid for chest and back piece: https://imgur.com/a/9gnHqAi What do you think? I like that the neck part is not too far down. but is the back part "high" enough? (I remember Chaos telling Hector to move his back piece way up...) I taped the pieces together and have an overlap of about 2,5cm in the shoulder bridge area -> I thought about cutting away the overlap (and installing chaos collar tabs to better align the tusks. For the connection of both pieces I wanted to build a Mr Pauls Shoretrooper like shoulder tab... -> how much should the tab "reach out" from under the shoulder bridge? (rough estimate welcome ) Thank you!

Thank you! I thought as much...I thought that I recognised stitching in "velcro"shape on your "Strapping guide photos"....And as EVERYONE is saying that it is hellish hot in a DT it is probably a VERY good Idea to build it as washable as possible....

Starting off slowly by giving the armor pieces a good wash and scrub to remove the most loose fiberglass strands… I made a test run of glueing 2mm felt to the inside of an armor part… and lastly adding a abs strip to the underside if the abdomen piece for the Velcro->belt connection… warping of the ABS strip was done using a heatgun… I will probably use JB Weld to secure the ABS strip in place and use epoxy resin to fill the space between the abdomen part and the strip (esp. in the center area). The next step would be to insert the abdomen gasket pieces of the Jim undersuit. ->@chaos: did you glue the gasket fabric to your abdomen piece or did you make a „reversible“ connection with Velcro? (If I glue it in I can‘t take it out to wash…? Is this a problem??

Hi guys!! I just got my BBB from Jim Tripon (full kit) this will be an enormous undertaking…but the reward will be great! 😊 I already build a RS propmasters TK and hate the limited mobility…so I want to build the corset/barrel variant @chaos posted. will probably need your help in the future 😉