Zugor’s WIP

[Zugor]

Sit back, cause this is probably the craziest build you will ever see. I started out buying a WTF Magma kit, it was second hand but untrimmed. After I received it I was really disappointed with the color of the plastic, it was orange not red......orange. Needless to say I sold it. If I have to paint it to make it look good then I might as well use the extra TK parts I have laying around right?

So I have Anovos, FX, WTF, MC, and unknown vendor parts. The red sniper knee and shoulder in the picture are test painted, they were black. 

Unfortunately, most of the black parts were overheated and they have this pitting over most of the surface. I decided to experiment with ABS paste and “painted” a thin paste over the affected areas like this.

Sanding down the parts seems to smooth out the streaks from the paste and makes for a fairly smooth part that is ready for paint. Essentially, I have to sand down the entire kit, which I think will be worth it in the end. 
I haven’t ordered boots yet, looks like Imperial Boots is the only option at about $75 a pair. I have a WTF helmet that isn’t in the picture and I am in the process of getting shoulder straps and hand guards.

[RAIDER[COTG]]

So like a Franken-Magma.  Interesting!  My guess is by the time you are ready to submit this, the CRL proposal will have been published (we are just waiting for pictures).  I would suggest following the text here in anticipation of the update:

https://forum.specops501st.com/topic/7111-proposed-crl-modification-crimson-stormtrooper-magma-trooper/

 

[Zugor]

Franken-Magma yeah, pretty much. I figure its gotta get painted anyway so why spend all the extra cash to get "red" plastic that has to be painted. Thanks for the link, I will keep an eye on it.

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

This is gonna be cool to see!

[Zugor]

Anybody have a good source for Red boots? I checked Imperial Boots and they only go up to size 13 and I need size 14. CABoots appears to only offer white. I suppose I could die a pair but not looking for more work to do at this point.

[Zugor]

I found this stuff called Red meltonian paint, says its good for shoes (leather, plastic, or vinyl). Anyone have any experience painting their boots?

[Zugor]

Does anyone know if these boots would be approvable? https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XPQQB9J/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

On 6/29/2020 at 3:56 PM, Zugor said:

Does anyone know if these boots would be approvable? https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XPQQB9J/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Peter, sorry for the lack of/late response to this. They would not be because there has to be a small U-shaped elastic section on both sides of the ankle.

How's the work on this kit been going?  

[Zugor]

Sorry I had to peel off this project for a while, had to build a new TK bucket because of a stain that developed on my old one.

Turns out if you spread a lot of ABS paste on parts they become brittle and snap off like On this back plate.

 

I have successfully extended my bicep parts to fit me. I had to shim them by an inch on each side.

I just need to sand them down to smooth.

 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

That is interesting on the ABS paste. I haven't seen that before but then again I haven't spread a ton of it over a large surface area.

[Zugor]

Sorry it’s been a while since I posted on this project. COVID put a crimp in my plans. I have been working on this and bought some used Anovos parts to replace the ones that broke. I also went an learned how to paint and bought an HVLP spray gun. I decided to put adhesion promoter on some parts yesterday and then put a grey primer over the top of that. Some of you are thinking that’s two primers and you’re right. My goal with the second primer is to get a consistent base color so the shade is consistent from part to part since the parts are different colors. Here are the parts layed out getting primered.

 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Very nice! That lighter primer base is going to make that red pop!

[Zugor]

I am as actually hoping for a black primer base to give the red some depth. I did pick a darker red, they call it “pull me over red” so we shall see. I did spray the parts with one coat of red yesterday but they definitely need another two coats and then the clear. I will try to get pics of the base coat up later today.

[Zugor]

Here are the parts primered parts painted with a first coat of red. I plan to hit these with another coat or two of red and then two or three of clear. I need to get the rest of the parts ready for paint first tho

 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

That red does look good, can't wait to see it with the clear on it.

[Zugor]

I have more parts ready for paint, unfortunately the paint store is out of primer. Hopefully they will have more on Friday. I am still looking for a boot supplier if anyone knows of someone let me know.

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

I used Imperial Boots for the red boots when I had bought a Crimson kits a while back, but then I sold it to someone. I know that IB had two different reds they were doing on their boots, a standard red and then a red that matched the WTF armor.

[Zugor]

On 1/4/2023 at 3:58 PM, IcyTrooper said:

I used Imperial Boots for the red boots when I had bought a Crimson kits a while back, but then I sold it to someone. I know that IB had two different reds they were doing on their boots, a standard red and then a red that matched the WTF armor.

I was directed to CrowProps by several people, they will cost a fair bit of cash but since there aren't any other options for a size 14 boot they will have to do.

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

On 1/8/2023 at 10:22 AM, Zugor said:

I was directed to CrowProps by several people, they will cost a fair bit of cash but since there aren't any other options for a size 14 boot they will have to do.

I'd say that based on that size alone, that is a very good choice!

[Zugor]

I have been trying to sand off the red spray paint from this WTF helmet. I have tried paint thinners, olive oil, brake fluid, and even eggs and nothing seems to loosen this paint that doesn't melt the plastic too. So I am sanding it all down  trying to get to the plastic beneath the spray paint.

I tried spraying primer over the unsanded paint but the primer flakes off.

I also sprayed these parts with adhesion promoter and flexible primer.

The belt is damaged a bit where I had to remove the rivets so I put plastic behind the belt to reinforce the area. The buttons will cover the damage but I have to find new ones because the originals didn't come off well.

[Zugor]

I finished assembling my shins.

I had to add shims to get them to fit around my calves and the cover strip ended up a bit wide.

You can see the shim in this image. Now all I need to do is make and install the magnetic closure parts and then I can paint them. I do still need to do a little trimming on the cover strips but I will do that after I have the magnetic closures in place.

[Zugor]

I have been sanding my helmet, trying to get the enamel spray paint off is turning out to be a big job.

The grey is the primer under the red spray paint. I am not looking forward to getting up into the mic tip wells or any of the other crevasses that are difficult to sand out.

I was using a palm sander but that was heating up the plastic too much starting to melt.

I may need to put some extra plastic behind the holes for the ears to give it a bit more strength. If I didn't need this for my magma trooper I would keep it as a distressed trooper.

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

That does not look fun at all. I know the not being able to use an electric sander all too well. I wish I had another helmet that I could just give you.

[Zugor]

19 minutes ago, IcyTrooper said:

That does not look fun at all. I know the not being able to use an electric sander all too well. I wish I had another helmet that I could just give you.

Yeah, I think I gave myself some tennis elbow sanding this the other night. I woke up and my arm was hurting pretty bad. At least I know it will look awesome when finished, though the road to getting there is no fun.

[Zugor]

I think I have the vast majority of the enamel spray pain off of the plastic.

There is a little left in the crevasses but hopefully the primer will seal it in and the urethane paint and clear coat won't effect it.

Here I have sprayed the face plate with one coat of adhesion promoter and two coats of flexible primer.

Now I will set this down and finish sanding the dome of the helmet. This way I can see if the primer will cause the enamel to bubble up or if I dries on like I hope it will.