Roger's Jimmi's Armor Build Thread

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

Yesterday I unboxed my armor from Jimmi! The quality was better than I expected. The flexible fiberglass was even more flexible than I expected. Nothing at all was damaged in transit, even though the box with the bucket was slightly crunched in transit.

 

I tried on the under suit and it fit perfectly. Was cool seeing it tagged with my name.

 

In the first post I must call out those that made this possible. First was Kenneth Jones in Garrison Tyrannus. After Beck passed away he said he wanted to buy my armor as a gift and asked what I wanted to be. Beck and I talked about me doing Deathtrooper (he used to make jokes that I could be Jabba or the Rancor Keeper!). Ken didn't blink an eye. He set up a goFundMe and other 501st people contributed to the cause. I am extremely humbled by the generosity - honestly, to the point of tears at the moment. I know Beck would have been proud of me trooping for other kids like the 501st did for him (he was very close with Wayne Ellyson, Ken Jones, and Paul Childs). Ken spent 5 weeks making Beck armor from a Battle Buddy while Beck was in the hospital the first stay after his diagnosis. Beck had lost so much weight that he could fit in it (he was down to 45lbs). The day that Ken delivered it was a day I'll never forget. The picture of Beck standing in his armor next to Vader and another Stormtrooper and the pride and joy in his face is one of my treasured pics. He outgrew it before Halloween, but he got to wear it and show it off to all his friends. My wife and I have decided that when we are ready, we will mount a plaque in the case with a message from us and from Ken and we will give the armor to another kid with cancer with the instructions to pass it along when they outgrow it (and that they add their name to the plaque). So, I'm overjoyed with the armor and the start of the build, but it's bittersweet because I wish my son could be standing next to me in person on my first troop - though I know he is there in spirit.

 

Thanks again to Jim, the 501st, and all my new friends. I'll make you proud!

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Very exciting...!

[Woodo007[TX]]

Good luck on the build roger. Sure u will do beck proud ✊ï¸

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ukswrath[TX]]

Very cool. Excited to see this kit

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Very much looking forward to your build, sir.

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

Here is the FB Live of the unboxing.

 

https://www.facebook.com/rogergwyatt/videos/10212450123920818/

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

Got some work done on the bucket and put the lace covers on the boots.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Glad to see your build is still going.

 

I have Jim's complete kit so you if have any issues/questions give me a shout. I may have come across the same issue. I did make a few modifications to my build after my first troop in it. I will troop this weekend so I will have a chance to see if my mods worked or if I will need to go back to the drawing board.

 

Best of luck with your build.

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

I primered the bucket yesterday. I used high-fill primer and only have a couple of scratches to fill/sand out.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Ahhh prep work! That one step that when done correctly and patiently, yields the best result. Looking good Roger!

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

Sorry for not posting updates in a couple of weeks. Having a family crisis. Hope to be back to the build in another couple weeks and then I'm going to put the pedal to the metal and complete it.

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

I'm back and getting moving on the build. Tonight I got 6 parts primed, 4 sanded. I'm using DupliColor Filler primer to take care of the minor scratches. Once I'm done, I'm going to do a skim coat of bondo to fill the pinholes. Hoping to start color painting by the weekend.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Great news about your progress! Slow and steady when you start painting follow the instructions and give it time to cure.

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

The humidity is just crazy (89-90%) and obviously not good for paint curing. So, I'm going to turn a steel frame I've been working on into a temporary, mini, paint booth. Then I'll just bring the parts inside to cure. Otherwise, its going to be September before I can start color painting.

 

So, it's going to be hanging plastic on the inside of the frame. Tape in a house air filter and connect a fan to exhaust the air. It should cause the overspray to catch on the filter and not fill up the garage with paint.

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

[ukswrath[TX]]

Lookin good Roger

[nanotek[CMD-DWM]]

Love your work! I especially like the makeshift paint tent.

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

Got the clear coat on the bucket.

 

 

 

This last one was just for me to compare the chest piece to the helmet. Both need polishing, but I'm pleased with them.

 

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Looking nice and shiny

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

So now I've got chest plate, back plate, hand plates, belt pouch covers, ab plate, biceps pieces, and one shoulder bell clear coated. Still have polishing to complete, but it's getting there. I had to basically redo the ab plate because there were too many pinholes. So I hit it with bondo and sanded it out. I'm sanding the thighs now. I have to bondo the greeblies on the shin.

 

Before doing the shins, I'm need to sand and fit the front joint. Leaving the back joint open for velcro. One of the shin pieces has a thin spot that I need to put a small dab of fiberglass on the backside and then fill the crack before priming and painting.

 

The forearms need some fitting and will glue them up before painting.

 

I picked up 5V USB fans to go with my USB power pack. I also have 5V LEDs that I will be wiring up for the helmet. I'm experimenting with a remote fan and piping to deliver the air throughout the bucket. We'll see how it goes.

 

progress is being made....

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

I polished the bucket really good in prep for adding the semi-gloss and flat. This is how a bucket shines!

 

 

to get all of this done. I built a polishing stand. The foam wedges the helmet in place so I can take my DA Polisher and go to town on it. Thought I would share the complicated design.

 

 

Color sanding the back plate and I have rebuilt the busted tusk light. They are heading back to paint tonight. Going to mask off the areas for the semi-gloss black. I know there has been lots of back and forth on the question. I think the side pieces of the snout would be semi-gloss. The hose would be flat.

 

I saw a post where an actor said the whole kit was gloss except for one part, but I think that gloss snout would cause glare and semi-gloss will tone it down without making it blend with the hoses.

 

JMHO ...

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Nice and shiny!

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Looking good Roger

[ukswrath[TX]]

Looking nice Roger

[rogerwyatt[501st]]

So I decided to resend to get rid of the orange peel and ended up hitting some color. I repainted and re cleared it and then finish sanded and buffed with the DA polisher. Here is what I got now.

 

 

 

 

 

Much better now.