Sith'ari's Elite Novatrooper APPROVED 12/28/10

[bscheff[501st]]

So I finished the gold... I think it turned out pretty well. I put on two clear coats last night so I will remove the tape and get some pictures of the finished product up tonight or tomorrow.

[bscheff[501st]]

Here they are. Turned out pretty darn good... Even if I do say so myself.

 

 

[izzi[TX]]

Nice! Now give them a nice coat of future shine to help protect the clear coat that is protecting the gold!

 

(That's a joke)

 

-iz

[lunar lord]

sparkle sparkle

[izzi[TX]]

Updates?

 

-iz

[bscheff[501st]]

Updates?

 

-iz

 

I will take some pictures tonight and post an update.

[lunar lord]

yay

[bscheff[501st]]

I will take some pictures tonight and post an update.

 

So I ended up spending an evening on the couch with my better half, watching Ironman 2. I will be working on my gear tonight so I will be sure to get a few pictures. But since my last update I have completed the left bicept, trimmed the right one as well as the right forearm.

 

**A word of caution for any would be Novas: trim you gear first, making sure all the pieces fit together nicely THEN paint. I fit all the pieces I intended to paint on myself and didn't feel they needed adjusted for size. But I didn't trim them down to fit each other. Fortunately I have not damaged any paint makig them fit together, but I would advise that you cut first, match edges, then paint then glue.

 

I got excited and after deciding the length was good I started painting.

[bscheff[501st]]

My first finished piece:

 

I had to use the dremel to sand out most of the return edges. Just couldn't fit my pipes in otherwise:

 

Here are my forearms. As you can see they are all painted.

I trimmed the upper inside edges to allow for easier bending of the arm.

Nothing major, just a lil angling. I havent glued them yet, I will do that this weekend when I can open the garage:

 

Here is my left thigh. I am debating on trimming this to give it a more screen accurate look. I left my Snapple bottle next to it, to give you some scale:

[izzi[TX]]

Mmmm.... Snapple....

 

-iz

[lunar lord]

looks good so far

[bscheff[501st]]

Spent some time out in the garage this weekend and I have made some nice progress I glued my right bicept, both forearms and both thighs! That makes the completed armor list:

Hand Guards

Left Forearm

Right Forearm

Left Bicept

Right Bicept

Left Thigh

Right Thigh

 

Now I just need to join the calves and build the helmet. Then it's on to the torso. Once that's done then I can move on to the backpack and blaster.

 

 

[izzi[TX]]

That is awesome!

 

You'll be 501st approved in no time! Remember, that you only need the backpack for approval, the blaster is actually optional, so build that last so you can put approval photos in sooner. (Just take your photos for the roster after you build the blaster.)

 

-iz

[bscheff[501st]]

I have a couple questions:

 

Are the thighs supposed to cover my kneecaps or rest just above them?

 

How do you get the ear pieces that wrap around the bottom of the helmt to stay in place on the bottom? Glue, or another bolt?

[izzi[TX]]

Are the thighs supposed to cover my kneecaps or rest just above them?

Rest above them.

 

How do you get the ear pieces that wrap around the bottom of the helmt to stay in place on the bottom? Glue, or another bolt?

Up to you there. Screen accurate buckets have a screw at the bottom.

[bscheff[501st]]

Does anyone use hard hat suspension in their bucket? I am not sure how to install it. The directions with the kit just say to glue the clips in it and then snap it in place, but it doesn't want to snap in. I haven't installed the clips inside the bucket yet, but I tried to snap the suspension to the loose clip and it wouldnt work. Not sure how they fit together.

 

Anyone? Pictures would be awesome.

[izzi[TX]]

I'll see if I can get a decent pic of my FX helmet's suspension system this weekend for you.

 

-iz

[bscheff[501st]]

I have constructed my bucket. It is the Armor Master with the new dome. As you can see it still needs all the lil extras: lenses, mic tips, chin thingy mabob, screen etc. I put it next to my eFx for scale.

 

I also added shims to close the gap between my ab-plate and kidney-plate. I used loop velcro on the inside of the kidney and ab plates and then put hook velcro on the shim so it holds the two together. The seam is not as tight as I would like it to be, but as I am losing weight I didnt want to make a permanent attachment. I will be able to tighthen this up and if things go according to plan, remove it eventually.

 

I tried installing the hard hat liner tonight... But no dice. the clips came unglued when I tried to snap it in place. So much for 3500lbs of strength. Or I am wicked strong lol. But really, I couldn't get it to work. Debating if I want to try it again or just put some padding in there.

[bscheff[501st]]

Just attended my squad's armor party. Everyone was really cool and very helpful. I am even more excited about getting this done and trooping now.

 

Had a slight issue with my "butt plate" wanting to sit too low. But I am just gonna have to work around it.

[lunar lord]

looks good so far =D and any armor party pics?

[bscheff[501st]]

So I had a slight setback last night. I was out in my shop trying on my gear and when I put on my bucket, the top popped off and fell to the floor. I used plastic weld to put it together so I was kinda surprised to see it came apart.

 

I sanded the lid and inner bucket and re-glued it. Hopefully it will hold. Anyone ever have issues with plastic weld not holding? Maybe I forgot to sand it the first time. Maybe I used too little glue. Hard to say.

 

Anyone know some best practices for plastic welder?

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

did you use the abs glue in the can? or the devcon/permatex plastic weld?

[bscheff[501st]]

Devcon "Plastic Welder."

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

Wow, I've never had a problem with that stuff. A number of things could have caused that. Not using enough, not pre-sanding the glued area. Did you clamp the entire thing? I put the face on first and clamped through the eyes while holding the sides until it was completely dried (that way there are no gaps), then I glued on the back and had to hold it until dried. I hope that makes sense.

[bscheff[501st]]

Status Update:

 

My boots came in the other day. I went with the Bass Amsterdam. They aren't as shiny as I would have liked, but we will see how they look after I get some polish on them. I also have my Under Armor in hand. I heard from my pouch maker and he said they would be shipping today, so I will post pictures when I get those.

 

I still need a pauldron and to construct my backpack. As far as my armor is concerned I need to complete my rigging system, glue my shins, finish my bucket and then paint the shoulder bells and bucket. Then I need to polish out all the scratches and stray glue that happened during the construction phase.

 

It seems like a lot, but I also have a lot of completed pieces, so I estimate I am about half way there.