Chef

Terry's got it.. The Aker amp is very popular and works perfectly. A lot of others (myself included) use the ROMFX with it's built in static burst. There are other units available, but their names escape me at the moment.

you could mount some brackets with a stack of rare earth magnets attached to them so you can just pop your hump on and off. My only reservation with a removable hump would be the potential for it to get knocked off at a busy con.

If he's offered a replacement... I'd say take him up on the offer. Obviously you'll need to send your original lid back, but I'd only do that once the replacement has arrived and you're happy with it's condition. Cracks like this shouldn't happen in fresh GRP laminate, unless it's been stressed.

Really a laminate shouldn't crack like that unless it's been subjected to some serious abuse (which you would see evidence of on the box if it occurred during shipping). If this isn't the case, then it's an issue with the lay-up. To repair it... You're best off using Fibreglass. You can get some resin and matt pretty cheaply. If it were me... I'd "V" out the crack on the outside of the lid with a dremel or similar. I'd then fill that channel with a little bit of white Gel Coat. You can either use a smidge of Gel, or you can get a filler. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/370816913933?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&limghlpsr=true&lpid=101&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=101&ff19=0 When this is dry, it can be sanded and flatted back to create the smooth surface again. I'd then lay up a couple of layers of Mat across the back of the crack. You don't have to span it by much, but you do need to go over it by about 10-15mm each side. By just gluing it, you will leave that bit liable to cracking again. And it will.....

The image of when the chap turns around with Han is a screen flip. If you look at his tank stripes, you'll see that they too are on the wrong side. This happens quite a lot throughout the film. Greeblie orientation. There are screen grabs to show both tabs up and tabs down. Of the ones I've been able to gather, tabs down (as is shown in the blu-ray walk around) is the more prevalent one, but people here seem to favour Tabs Up and as such the majority are going with that. There is no stipulation within the CRL as to the orientation of the rectangular greeblie, as long as that sits on the left as you look at it.

Definitely real suede. Whilst faux suede has its place, it is noticeably different in person. It doesn't 'grey' out over time in the same manner.

I've never suffered this personally. Where I have seen it, it has been due to a combination of thinner vinyl, and the top of the boot opening being too wide. But as has been suggested, a good solution would be either a large patch of velcro, or a couple of poppers in the top section of the boot, and corresponding bits on the leg of your suit.

Yeah, we think that this was another "during production' mod, after a potential costume malfunction. A damned interesting find non the less. I love these little snippets. But I don't think it's considered to be 'de rigueur' in terms of scout construction. If you look at this picture from the MotM exhibit, courtesy of Waksho... You can clearly see the black over clips, but I've also annotated to little bits behind the detonator, which I suspect are some form of extra fixing that went behind the detonator. What the clips are is still up for debate. People have speculated ALICE clips, but I think they are not the correct size/shape for that. Or tool belt clips, again the same issue of size arrives. Up to now, most people have custom made theirs.

Yeah. As Sean says you can get a Two-Pack paint in a rattle style can, so you don't have to have all the correct spray guns, compressors and the such like. It will be more expensive than the air-cure acrylic style paints, but the finish will be better and more hard wearing. The preparation method for both is pretty much the same. Making sure the surface is clean and free from grease and dust. The warning about keeping solvents away is probably the biggest one to take heed of. Any silicates or silicone based products anywhere nearby will be an untold nightmare. No hairsprays, greases, lubes or otherwise. They'll either cause wrinkling, orange peel or fish eyes. All of which are a ball-ache to remedy. You can use a high build primer if the surface is poor, but a good GRP (Fibreglass) lid should not require one. I used to make GRP Lids with a white Gel-Coat that required no painting what so ever (barring the snout...). The Gel was sufficient enough to just flat and polish as if it was a paint. But feel safe in the knowledge that GRP is very robust, and if your paint finish does go a bit 'pete tong', then it can easily be flatted back out and re-painted. Annoying... yes... End of the world... No.

As above... Any automotive style paint is suitable for Fibreglass. To be fair, it's pretty stable with most paints, but a decent paint is always best. You can use 'rattle can' style paints, but make sure you use the same brand primer and top coat otherwise you may suffer rather nasty side effects. A 2k (Two-Pack) paint system is much better because it has a catalyst hardener in it rather than being air-cured. As with all paint jobs, preparation is 90% of the finish. Use a decent wet and dry paper, say about 400/600 grit to flat your bucket in preparation for primer. Give it a hit of primer and let it cure. Flat this back with some 800 and give another coat of primer. Always check to make sure any indents, rough spots or imperfections are removed at this stage. It makes the top coat much easier. When all cured, hit it with the top coat and let it cure. If the finish is good enough at this stage, you can just polish, sit back and marvel at your handiwork. If not. Flat with a bit of 1200 and re-shoot with top coat. As with everything, take your time and don't rush it.

You can either use something like the Makita drill, tool belt holder... or you can custom make some of your own out of a thin strip of aluminium or plastic.

Paint is an incredibly fickle thing. Some paints like a single thick coat, and any further coats will always wrinkle no matter what you do. Some have to be very specific to the primer and lacquers you use. They react horridly to slightly differing brands, even though they should be compatible. Some as Jim has pointed out have a very specific shooting window, and anything outside this will either cause it to wrinkle or not cure at all. Some (when making moulds...) react really badly to resins, even though there isn't anything in them that should! I find the rustoleum range of paints to be the worst you could possibly use. It really is difficult to work with and reacts to absolutely EVERYTHING. I found out the hard way and welded my lid sculpt to the mould, destroying both in the process. Krylon is a decent paint and is reasonably simple to work with. Although I prefer to use a 2-Pack system. Being a chemical cure, you are less dependant on temperature and humidity as factors when spraying (although you should aim to spray around the 20 degrees centigrade and less than 80% humidity where possible). Newer more modern paint systems are getting better. I tend to flash off each coat in my little home made paint booth (just a cardboard box with a hole in the bottom that a fan heater pushes warm air into), as this both speeds up the curing process and the subsequent spraying times. to avoid peeling or wrinkling, it is best to flat each coat with some wet and dry and then wipe the entire surface down with special 'panel wipe', which is essentially a very weak 'acetone style' cleaning solution. It removes any grease or silicates from the surface. Make sure you don't spray anything like SILICONE, be it in hairspray, greases, WD40 (fish oil... but just as bad), etc anywhere near your lid. That WILL cause fish eyes and all manner of other problems. Preparation is 90% of the key to a good paint finish.

yup, it does.

Looking nice... I'd put more vac holes in around the recesses. You really need it to pull down in those places otherwise the detail will look weak.

with anti-fog (and this is going to be your best solution to your issue), apply it and leave it to dry. To stop it smearing, or remove the smears... when it's dry, use a very light polishing motion with a lint free cloth. You will get rid of the smears, but leave the anti-fog on. And with the heavy breathing, ever considered making dodgy phone calls late in the evening??

I think you'll need to paint it black... hehhehehehe. But yes, that should be fine. nice print.

I'm not sure it's the StarFortress vest. There is no hard and fast rules to say how the vest should be, but from these pictures from my tutorial below... We can deduce that the sleeves are padded with a single area of padding, the closure is 2" up the back, the neckline is very wide extending almost (in not under) the shoulder bells.

Well done on your build bud. Those belt clips, whilst not on the Lancer specs, are Screen Accurate and you should be congratulated for putting them in. Your pouches are a little on the large side, 7x7x2" yes?? They might need to be scaled down ever so slightly. I'd go for 7 high, 6 wide, 1.75 deep. But everything looks pretty good on you. When it comes to your Lancer submission, remember we'll need close up shots of most of the parts. Nice job bud and good luck with your Approval.

I think the basis of the scout above is actually camouflaged and weathered.... Rather than white with weathering. When it comes to weathering the key phrase is "less is more". Think where dirt would naturally gather, in the creases and corners. High spots would tend to stay clean. Look at the screen grabs from the films and see how much they had. Just don't go spraying it completely black, otherwise you'll be in Storm Commando territory.

Sorry, wasn't being clear enough. When I said the main bucket, I meant just the rear helmet part, not including the faceplate or visor. Is this being constructed as a single part item, from a split mould or Silicone jacket mould, or is it being made in two halves (or more) that are then joined post lay-up. Are the moulds being bagged with resin transfer or is it simply going to be a wet on wet lay-up? As for construction method, are they going down the Gel-Coat, tissue, CSM layers method or something else?? These things are incredibly important to know when it comes to GRP lay-up as differing methods create a number of differing issues as I am sure you are aware. And the thickness is also incredibly important. A 1.5-2.0mm Lay-up (assuming that is the thickness of the original ABS) isn't going to be all that strong or resilient to cracking. And getting it right with consistency should be perfectly simple enough for a skilled laminator. That's what makes them a good laminator. I've built enough racing car bodies to know that. And been around some serious talent in the laminating world (way beyond my meagre skill) to know that is reasonably easy to achieve. I'm not trying to have a go.... But what I have to stress to people is GRP isn't about what is on the outside. It's about the construction method that makes the final product. A single gel-coat followed by a hastily applied wet on wet single 300gsm matt can result in a perfect looking item on the outside. One that will be eggshell thin, full of air bubbles and prone to cracking at the merest hint of rough treatment. Hence me wanting to know.

Can I ask what lay-up technique and materials you are using for your lids? Resins, mat types and thickness (number of layers), etc. Will the main lid be constructed as a one piece, or multiples joined post lay-up?

We shall call it the Phoenix Suit. Well done bud.

You may want to bring your rear straps in a touch. They do sit pretty much under the thermal detonator, and this helps keep them level and sit a bit more evenly on the side of your thighs. if you look here... You can see what I mean. Yes, I know it's a promo shot, but it also doesn't have it's TD in place and you can see that the straps join right at the back. The buckles are decorative. I would give your pouches a little more, just to give them some 'body' and bring out the box like nature of the pouch. Obviously not too much... You don't want it stuff like a Christmas turkey.

That bund looks much better. Top job.

You can get them from DonJarr on eBay. But I am sure there are some guys your side of the pond that make them also.