Chef

I disagree Jim... It's a bit wibbly wobbly isn't it? What's that massive dimple near the ear? The surface looks a bit 'lumpy' or is that just reflections from nearby things? Not criticising your building skills here Greg, more the actual thing. If it's reflections, then Jeff you have my apologies, the lighting really isn't doing this justice. It just doesn't look very crisp. Just my own thoughts.

try setting your image tags with the same, either caps or lower case.

I've sent you a PM buddy. With regards to the brow... Extending it will probably come as a natural progression when you curve the top of the visor. I also think that because they have made the visor shroud so thick, that it has also taken out about 4-5mm of the brow as well. Remember the original ABS ones, only had the thickness of the ABS over it. This GRP one seems to have done away with the lip around the visor, and just made it a solid piece.

I do think they are one and the same..... it's a shame you've had to go through this process buddy, getting a bit of a lemon always leave a bitter taste in the mouth no matter where it comes from. Whether this will pass muster really is down to your GML (I know ours would have some serious issues with clearing this in it's current state). With some serious work, it can be made good. It all depends on how much work you want to invest in it. As Lou said, experience is priceless. If you put the effort in and made this a good bucket, then you'll have gained so much in terms of experience and confidence, that you'll be able to approach anything that the rest of your build could throw at you. As for the Fibreglass argument... I like it... I work with it a lot building body panels and stuff. It can be more frangible than ABS, but then that depends on how good the lay-up is. After all, they make car bodies and Crash Helmets out of the stuff, so it can't be all that bad! Some of the problems you are describing with your lid are purely down to bad lamination. The air pockets creating eggshell thin outer skin.... this means that there are areas of laminate that have not bonded to the outer surface, and these create weak spots. How serious the problem is in that lid is impossible to say because they have painted it. The area around the brow looks to be quite thin... I'd estimate that they've only put a 1oz lay-up on there... which is a little thin for my tastes... I'd go for at least 2oz, and preferably 3-4oz at the outer edges with 2oz across the main bucket. Wether there are any air pockets in the main bucket, you'll only be able to tell by taking the padding out. If you have cause to do this, you should see bubble like patches under the surface if they are there. Likewise, any dry patches in the glass (you'll see glass strands rather than a smoothish surface with glass pattern in), mean that there has been insifficent resin applied, and this creates an area of weakness.... The good news is that GRP (Fibreglass) is very resilient, and any remedial work is readily accepted onto the old surface. You can repair it and when completed, you'd be hard pushed to know where the repair is. As for it not looking as good as the one in the picture.... well, that's just shoddy workmanship. Anything made in GRP from a mould, should in theory be absolutely identical to the original. That's the joy of a solid mould. What goes in.... is what comes out. Here's a picture of a GRP lid that was the first out of a mould... (minus the lens and visor bolts). and here are a couple of others taken from the same mould after about 10 lids... If you want any advice on how to approach this bucket, then just shoot me a PM.

Choice is yours... I've had mine sewn to the bund, I've seen then velcro'ed to the bund, I'seen them sewn in their entirety to the bund...... I currently have mine velcro'ed to the inside of the armour (just so I can swap out my bund between the Scout and Snow Scout). All ways seem to be as good as the other.

http://forum.bikerscout.net/index.php?app=gallery&image=384 there you go.

I've hot glued mine.... and it's been firmly in place for years! Here's an excerpt from a bucket build tutorial I did... Next comes adding the lens. Cut the lens to the correct shape (There is a template for this...). Offer the lens up to the hole in the faceplate and push the area on the lens down into the bridge of the snout area on the faceplate. This will form the lens into a nice flush fit in the faceplate. This part is a swine on the fingers and you will get cramp! Whilst you are holding this bit in, put a big blob of hot glue in the bridge of the nose area and the bottom of the eyes. You'll need to hold this in place whilst the glue dries. Your fingers should be screaming blue murder at you at this point. When dried, you can remove your fingers and the lens will retain it's shape in the faceplate. You can then go around the rest of the lens and glue it in place. Making sure there are no gaps. You should end up with something looking like this....

Yeah, I'd avoid it and find a smaller set. SC is one of the bigger ones, and whilst it's possible. You'll end up cutting most of it out.

If you're prepared to put the time into it, then the rubies can be a perfectly good lid. It's not an overly complicated process, just a bit of a time consuming one. Because they are vinyl, they do warp pretty badly in the warmth, so they need a lot of reinforcement to cure the warping. They are a really good cheap option, and if you spend some time on them, you can make a really good useable bucket that will cost you less and look better than some of the kits that are out there. Here is a tutorial produced by the UKG's very own HeathrowTrooper (now based in the USA.... Our recon force for the re-colonisation) for you. http://website.lineone.net/~hollis_wood//trooper/avatar/TB-RubiesMod.pdf Good luck.

I'll get back in my box.....

Ahhhh, can't that chap on the Garrison forum do it for you? Is ECO his screen name? Here's his thread. https://www.ukgarrison.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=41601

What bit's need doing Marcel? We've just got a new TIG Welder at work, so should be good to go with aluminium welding. Just in case you get stuck.

There is no static burst requirement.... I have one, just because I use the system in my TK as well, should the need arise. But most people I think use just a standard Mic, with something like an Aker amp and speaker set up. No push to talk, just the usual VOX type voice activation. Mine is all wired (wireless is too posh), I run the system in one of the pouches and then run the mic through the back of the pouch, back up under the chest plate and into my suit. Up through the neck into the helmet.

Hi Jesse... I can't seem to find a specific pic of the bit in question, but here is a similar thing on the inside of my Storm Commando chest plate. If you imagine that strip of material being velcro, with the poppers through it, and the corresponding other part of the velcro with the other popper through it which is then sewn/glued to the under suit or vest etc... I find this set up to be pretty darn foolproof. If anything, the glue tend to rip the set-up from the armour before the popper/velcro comes apart.

I have mine attached via a pop stud / velcro patch on the top of the shoulder and an elastic strap around the bicep. Never had any issues with my set-up.

But that's the funny thing. It's not actually all that heavy, yeah, compared to ABS it's heavier, but it's not what I would consider to be 'heavy'.... but my own armour is all GRP and I can wear it all day without any ill effects. Only last weekend I did a full 3 day stint at the UK's busiest con. Not one bit of drama. But I completely understand people's fears of it, and the whole 'screen accuracy' thing. Hence the need to strive for more personally.

GRP is Fibreglass by it's other name. Glass Reinforced Plastic. Yes, it has it limitations, and it is heavier and less flexible than ABS, I actually prefer it as a substrate because you can make it very strong, and you get a real crisp detail on it. Here is a pic of my GRP back plate. Hey, IF I could afford a professional machine that was big enough to cope with these bucks, then I'd buy one in a heartbeat. But alas, I don't have the £5k + to devote to it........ yet.

Hmmm, looks like you've really got your work cut out on that bad boy. I'd say yes you do need to pull that faceplate out to match the helmet. You'll be better off trying to widen the faceplate, rather than trying to squeeze the main bucket in. You could do this with either some gentle heating or by adding in a brace, of say a bit of stiff wire. And the little dip, er yeah... I'd try and push that up a little. Again, GENTLY heat that area and use a flat block to re-shape it. There is a thing called a heating iron that some people use. I've never used one personally, so can't help there. The visor, a flat sheet does work. I use that on mine. You need to push the visor in at the nose section and get some hot glue on that bit to hold it in place. When it's stuck, you can just go around the rest of it and glue it in place. The last bit... if you're building your own armour, go for it. Nobody on here minds a good WIP'ing.

Did you see them wearing them in the movies? That should answer your question.

Cheers Jeff, that means a lot coming from you. I've done some more in HIPS now and it's a major success. Here's the Chest plate. I modded the buck a bit to make the raised areas a little more pronounced. New forearm. The buck for it. Knee. Belt and Thermal Det. The Det and Belt bucks are real dogs to get out, but hey, they're pretty crisp. Pleased with the HIPS result.

looking real sweet there buddy.

As you look at the dog bone.... there is a slight curve at the top, it then drops down to the two low bits at the bottom, with a greater curve between these two low bits. The slight curve should be uppermost. (if that makes any sense).

Well, get the boots done, and whilst you're riding that high of getting them finished.... bring out the sewing machine and do all the other soft bits! You'll never look back. Like I said, doing the actual 'armour' part of it is a doddle compared to the soft bits. We're always on hand should you have one of those "er.... where on earth does this go??" moments.

well, the best thing is start off by doing some research and look at what is involved in making the costume. Have a nose around these boards and see which bits you need, and which bits you feel capable of attempting. Putting the armour together isn't actually all that difficult. If you can put a blob of glue somewhere, then you are capable of assembling an armour kit. Simple as. Boots.... I suggest you read the boot tutorial (in the boot section) and just have a go. I advise everyone to try to make these. The tutorial is really good, and easy to follow. They are great to 'cut your teeth' on, and realise that you probably CAN do more than you think you can. You can probably find a base boot nice and cheap somewhere, and a metre of vinyl is peanuts, so even if you do make a mistake, it's not overly costly. Some of the soft parts can be a bit of a pain to make (well, a lot of a pain in all truth), so you may want to source them elsewhere. The thing to remember is take your time, do your research and ask questions.

yeah, I think the camel toe is definitely more about how far you take it under the crotch, rather than how wide it is at the top. I ended mine pretty much right under my plums, and whilst it is wide at the top, I don't really get the camel toe thing. You also don't really see the end. We'll grab a coffee at lunch or something. There's a couple of new scouts on their induction this weekend, and I feel like giving them a beasting!