Acrylikhan

Thanks guys! I still need to get the chest armor started and finished. I'll hold off until that's completed before doing any revisions on other pieces. But since we're discussing it.... Here's the buck I made with a casting on it... I can only add about an inch or so length... and not really too much I can add to the sides for depth. ... maybe 1/2-inch at most. I'm at my maximum for width. The dimensions of the buck are Length 9.25" x Width 7.125" x 3.125" depth. These are pretty big already. I think the padding on the vest is making them look a little small, too. To account for padding, I might need to add an inch to each dimension. Darn my genetics! We'll cross that road soon enough. Mad: :lol: ... well, I had to be me! Thanks!!!

The bicep armor pieces kept sliding down, as was the forearm armor.... so I think I need to get the chest armor completed and then fine tune everything.

Thanks darthnova!! Although I would like your opinion on my vest. Are the vest sleeves too long?

Looks Great!

I've had a chance to look at the still on a HD television: The gray area looks like wear damage. It is too irregular in shape to be a decal, and each one on each trooper is slightly different even though it is in the same place. The black line is consistent for each trooper, similar to that Biker Scout Detail on the tank. It follows the "seam" line where the main tank meets with the side hump and follows that contour line all the way down and back to the armor. Looks like very thin car stripping should do the trick.

I was getting reference photos of myself this weekend to start cyphering the torso armor. I'm starting getting an idea of where the shoulder bells are, and see how everything should look. I also wanted to make sure that I will have overlap on the cummerbund too. I did find a few problems that need to be fixed: 1. I need a balacava that has better coverage for a longer neck. I didn't realize how much of a giraffe I have until I saw the photos. My wife was helping me out but still there's skin showing. 2. The collar has to be extended up to compensate for my neck, and a velcro sealing flap need to be installed. I will have to figure something to hide the zipper too. Giraffe neck syndrome. Any ideas to help out on this would be appreciated!! 3. I need to put elastic straps on the cuffs of the wrists to keep the sleeves from crawling out from my gloves. 4. Elastic straps on the pant cuffs wouldn't hurt either. They too tend to crawl out of my boots. 5. I have to remove some of the exterior pockets. I wanted to keep them some of them to keep my wallet and keys on my person, but the ones that show will be removed. The chest pockets I'm keeping because they will be hidden. 6. The waist area of the flightsuit is a little too baggy. Either I will have it sewn in, or add more velcro so that the straps can tuck more material inward. My vest/cummerbund will hide this, so I have two options either way. I had to buy an XXL flightsuit, so I could sit, and talk in a normal voice. Now, I have to compensate for all the extra fabric. 7. Hmmm... some padding in the knee armor would add to the comfort level! Sorta cuts into the shin area. Ouch! 8. My armor pieces will need velcro anchoring onto the flightsuit. They kept sliding down while we were taking pictures. I am worried about the bicep armor sliding down off of the vest/cummerbund sleeve. I think once the chest armor is completed, and I get the t-strap system in place to attach the shoulders and the biceps together, it should work out. I got the belt with the off-the-hip boxes hung and strapped in. Looks great!! Oh, yeah, the helmet worked out GREAT! I may need to put some anti-fog/shaving cream on the interior of the lens. great air circulation, and I could hear out of it extremely well. I'm still cyphering the audio hookups. I may have the speaker mounted into the chest after all. It's pretty close in there. So without further hesitation:

yep, even with me going slightly mad scientist with the Dremel, it repaired nicely. Now... to figure out the whole strap and snap business, and I'll be rockin'!

And so, painting and curing has come to pass: The knee armor is complete! Yet another item to check off the list. Next target: The Torso Armor! (and maybe the boot holster too )

oh man! I want a pair! Take your time... I still have to trim, shape, and finish my armor. I understand the table being full!

Are we going to have to add a gauntlet extension to it that matches the gray and brown camo material of the jumpsuit/bodysuit? and that ribbed greeblie at the end of it? I agree... great find Ross!

A little more work needs to be done. I got the pieces trimmed, and started the process of putting in the slots for the one - inch straps. I cut the sections, and then carefully bent the tongue of plastic inward to make the channel. I re-bonded it in place with a styrene/bondo cement cocktail, and then backed it with a little more for strength. I have to do a little finishing on the sides. I got a little carried away with the dremel and the file. Most of the damage will be hidden by the strap, so this is more cosmetic work for my own idiom. (yeah, one is slightly larger on the bottom. It's supposed to be like that due to my alien genetic makeup.) Tomorrow, I'm finishing up the cosmetic work, and the painting them with good ol' Fusion white! Lessons learned: I will be improving the buck for the knee armor. That is an immediate given. The MDF is great, but I because I'm able to pull roughly 28-inches of Mercury on the vacuum pump at work, some of the extremely minor impeefections are showing in the castings. No biggie because the parts are being painted. On the to do list I will add the strap channels, and smooth out all the rough edges. Also I think I've got the right shape the knee is supposed to be in. I will add walls where the parting like will be. All in all, this was a tricky part part to sculpt. But the results are fantastic!

I want to go, really badly!! But I will be in Ireland and England for two weeks through the con.

Congrats Bikercop!

Yes. I will be adding those during trimming. I haven't forgotten them!

Update. SUCCESS!!!! It was hell getting them off the frakin' buck, even with a ton of talc!! I had to make some score lines and to help flex the parts off the pattern! I am a little surprised that you can see some of the layers from the MDF! Pretty funny! A think a quick sanding with 320 to 600 should do the trick. Then some nice paint on top. You can tell the difference between the two casts.... check it out. Notice how crisp the lines are! There was a somewhat loose connection in the coils, but a quick tighten fixed that. I let the plastic cook a little longer, too. I need to trim and cut out the holes for the elastic. More to come! It has been a awesome today!!!

Got the plastic. I had some heavy problems trying to cast a part. I think part of the heating coils might not be heating up properly, and I could not get a good seal for a vacuum. I have to double check everything tomorrow. This could take an extra day, or two. Most of the details I am looking for did show up in the casting. If I could have a gotten a good seal for a vacuum, they might be crisper. I think a temperature may offer more stretch from the plastic. None the less, it's a good part to try for fitting. I gotta practice my trimming skills, too! Lookie, my cardboard mock up from a few months back! Hello, old friend! Once again, you help me in my hour of need. Judging from some of the stills, the knee armor is sitting accurately on my leg. I think the boot-to-knee armor distance is also close. Then again, I could still trim at least another quarter of an inch from the bottom. If I load an elastic strap, it will sit right smack in the middle of the back of the knee joint. The fit is great! We'll try tomorrow. If not, there still next week. Very good day, even though the pull was so-so.

Not sure if it moves like a TB helmet. It certainly looks like it should. I am considering modifying mine to do so. Not sure if I'm going to go through with it... yet.

Final Buck photos: Next posting - the cast parts. Hopefully, they'll turn out great!

You have got really good eyes! Yes there is a slight x-shape, but I don't think it will be too visible. I still have more body filler to add to a couple of areas. I think I toned it back quite a bit from what I had before. I don't think my final part will be this extreme. I still need to see what it will look like once I cast the first part. I can make changes things if it doesn't look good. As for why the part in the second picture is in this x pattern: It could be a result of the elastic pulling the part when the knee flexes, or they had problems during forming (couldn't get the part off the buck, the buck might have been two separate pieces, and one shifted, the buck was in need of repair). The original parts were made from styrene, and styrene is pretty flexible. I'd say the best explanation is the knee flexing and the elastic pulling. I do see your point.

Time for an armor progress update. Since I'm logging overtime through this past weekend, I've been hacking away at the knee armor buck. I wish I was home working on this among other things... but a I trooper's got to eat, and fund the project. So what's new? Just a few things. I glued the top and bottom halves together! And I started putting in the "grooves." I have to start laying out the boundary lines between the part areas and putting in some "slopes" so that I can get the plastic off the buck after casting. I've got a lot of scrap MDF that I had trimmed from the part and some bondo that I'll use for that. It's looking very good. I keep coming back to the MOM pictures, and movie captures. They give me more hints to what needs to be done next. I keep coming back to this picture... it's says a lot. I think it's the perspective. I am seeing a bit of shadow from the lower side panel into the trough between it and the lower center panel. As the lower panel recedes back, it somewhat blends into the trough. I made the ares straight flat, so I will have to make a bit of an angled ridge to get that effect. The blending the lower sides and the upper sides should be no problem. I think it will very easy to create the smooth transition. I still need to round some of the corners over a little more. The top part I feel is complete, except for adding the slopes. Now it's time to flesh out the details. More to come.

That greenish yellow hue looks really good! What did you do to get it that color? EDIT: OOPS! Found it in the tutorial! d'oh. Move along... Move along! nothing of consequence in this posting....

Congrats darthNova!!

Thanks Man! Great seeing ya at the meeting this weekend. Wife says, thanks for the cookies. Mad, We are neighbors! Right? Just different time zones..? I know how you feel. I think my wife would be upset if she had to keep coming over your place to get me to come home. Not a armor god... yet. I've got too many people to thank for getting my rear in gear with info, pictures, and comments on my work. I'd give credit to the pantheon of elders of BSN. (Madphisto is one of those elders. ) Thanks!

The server threw a rod an hour back... I think it's up and running now. If there's a dead picture, bear with me...

More bondo work to smooth out the bottom. I'll need to make a template so I know where I have to cut. The lower "shelf" is one complete surface now. It should make the plastic easier to remove. I hope.... I have to put round over some edges and add some flaring angles. Then I will glue the top with the bottom, and the carve in the troughs. getting there... getting there!!!!