My adventures with Ol' Sparky

[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Oops. Just double checked the CRL, and saw that I added an extra space on the panels for the center piece with the cutout rectangles. Also just realized that the reference photos have beveled edges on the inside of the rectangles, but not on the CRL.

 

Oh well. The extra space has been filled in with polyflex, and I'm sticking with the beveled edges: the polyflex really helps get them looking good, so I'm sticking with it.

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Just a rough fit to see how it all goes together. A little bit of trimming is needed for sure. At least I can now see that my approach seems to be working.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

I decided the rectangular areas of the front pieces of the center band were too big. Nothing a little polyflex, sand paper, and elbow grease can't fix. Have I mentioned how much I love polyflex?

 

Left one is old size and still needs fixed. Right one is the new "box" after using some small strips of ABS and polyflex. Still needs some more smoothing with the sand paper, but it looks much closer to the shape it's supposed to than it did before.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Been trying to figure out how I'm going to put it all together and hold strong. Not sure ca glue, or e6000 would be enough for the stress points. Someone recommended ABS cement. This stuff is messy, but holds strong.

 

 

 

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[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Depends on the pieces and as you said how much stress is on them. On my armor, any part I knew didn't need to come apart I used abs cement. Others just use e6000 and they get away with it fine. I like knowing mine will never come apart, but that can also be a bad thing. If my armor was not made from abs, I would never use anything but e6000 on it be because it is so thin.

[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

I was recommended this, or ABS sludge. I'd imagine the sludge would work too, but $7 for a can of cement, which I know for sure will work, was more cost efficient at the time than a $15-20 can of acetone, and a Mason jar to make sludge, which I wasn't so sure it would work for this particular part.

 

 

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[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Ya, I like sludge for a repair, but if just aiming to stick two pieces together, abs cement makes so much more sense.

[01Hawk[TX]]

Coming along nicely!!

[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Slowly, we make some progress.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Got a bit messy putting this box together today. Ain't nothing I can't clean up before painting. Used a drum stick for the antenna.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Cleaned up and painted the OII box, antenna, and big black box today.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

For the little connectors that the tubes connect to in each side of the pressure gauge, I took some little pvc angle connectors, cut them apart, glued them to some Eva foam. Once they are screwed into the piece they attach to, and have the tubes connected, I can squeeze them together closer so they look like what they are supposed to.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Threw everything I've got so far together to get an idea on how it all fits. Had to extend the frame by 4 inches, and make two new big tanks that were about two inches longer.

There are some potential issues with the size, but hopefully it will work itself out as I finish everything, or if the sizing is off, hopefully by only a small amount that will only be noticeable by me.

 

This thing is heavy AF, btw. Guess it's a good thing I've been getting back in shape lately.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

After too much time off from working on it, it's back to work today, and the pack is getting closer and closer to being done.

 

There are a few spots where my measurements were off, and things are a little crooked or off center. Fortunately, when the pack is being worn, those parts will be completely unseen, so I'm not worried about it. The frame is also a little wider at the bottom than the top; I think it will be obscured enough by everything else that it should be unnoticeable when all is complete and together.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Wow. It's been awhile since I've worked on this.

 

Tank pack still needs some work, but I'm taking a break from it and moving on to the armor. Since mounting it to my back will require the armor to be properly fitted in order to get the mounts correctly.

 

So, started finishing up the elbow and knee gaskets, so I can fit the armor accordingly.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Made the first cuts in the armor today. Started with the arms. Still need a little tweaking to get the forearms sized right.

 

Not gonna lie, I had serious doubts about my home made gaskets. Now that I have seen them in combo with the armor, I'm quite satisfied with them.

 

 

 

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[DeathMOS30[501st]]

Looking good so far keep up the great work.

[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Got one of the shins sized and taped up. I need some feed back before I start cutting for the seams. Does this look correct?

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Im like a kid with a BAD case of ADD. I still have the tank pack to finish, started painting and assembling the incinerator, got the arm and lower leg armor painted, got the thigh armor put together and waiting for cod and butt area in order to determine sizing, and still have the body to get out of the box. Yeah, I'm all over the place on this thing, but I'm getting closer to getting done every day. I missed my original completion goal by 3 months, but I am pretty sure I'll have this done before the temperature drops too much to be able to paint.

 

The helmet was looking good until I went to paint the black lines. I got some vinyl model painter tape, which is great due to flexibility for the curves and what not. Unfortunately, I did not have a good seal at the edges, and paint bled through in various spots. The places where it had a good seal had nice crisp lines. In the process of touching up in areas where there was bleed through, I held the spray paint a wee bit too close, and too long, this getting some runny droops on the face. Not a huge deal, just sanded it down, taped off all the black, and put a fresh coat on. Now I have to let it cure for a few days, sand it with some 1500 grit, do some minor touch ups where the black paint came off with the tape, then it will be ready for a clear coat, add the visor, some helmet pads, glue the silver aerator tips on, and then it should be done. Without zooming in, the helmet looks pretty good in the photos; once you enlarge it, you can see the paint runs on the face.

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

And the bucket is done. Would have liked for it to be shinier, but it's good enough. If I keep messing with it, I risk going beyond my abilities and screwing it up, whereas if I leave well enough alone, it will suffice.

 

 

 

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[DeathMOS30[501st]]

keep up the good work

[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

You ever have one of them "Doc Hollywood" moments, where it looks like you got "extra" parts? Yeah, I'm having one of them moments...

 

Do I have these parts labeled correctly? What is the one with the question mark?

 

 

 

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[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Hit a major milestone today!

 

It's time to clean this thing up, fill a few holes, and then Dr. Frankenstein's monster will be ready for paint.

 

 

 

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[CT Mac]

Wow, nice work on the tank! How much does it weigh?

[Darth Pleatsalot[TX]]

Thank you. I have no idea how much it weighs, as I do not own a scale. My best guess is somewhere around 10lbs (yeah, I'll be needing a chiropractor after trooping in this bad boy).

 

Once the painting is done, and she's completely assembled, and safe to travel, I'll have to find a scale somewhere to find out.

 

My biggest concern is that I don't know what kind of plastic the tanks are made of (it's not ABS, HIPS, or whatever else is used for building armor). It is no friend to paint. So it is going to take several coats of paint, and then several coats of a quality clear coat to protect the paint.

 

There are so many parts to this thing, and it all has to be put together in the right order for everything to end up where it needs. I'm so hoping to have it down in the next two weeks, or end of October at the latest.

 

 

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