batninja

It's different between MC and SC (MC's is a smaller-diameter tubing). Per instructions from SC, I found the hosing he uses in the pool section at Lowe's. It's 1 1/2" in diameter: http://www.lowes.com...hose&facetInfo= Not sure where MC found the stuff they use...

I did the 1 1/2 width for the bicep and shoulder armor, until I found a source for the 1 3/8". Search eBay for "35mm black elastic". You'll see sets of suspenders in that width. They're all overseas, so there will be a wait, but at least it's accessible.

For the same reason, I've always wondered about the 1 3/8" inch elastic for the shoulder and biceps. This is not a standard elastic width. It seems to me that they would've used more economical approach instead of deconstructing suspenders made in China. I don't know; is 35mm a standard width for elastic in Europe/Asia?

My helmet will have a wireless headset, paired with a receiver in the pouches, enabled by a push-to-talk cable running to my glove. The wireless receiver will be connected to my Aker amp, along with a tiny MP3 player looping the BSN 'chatter' file. No fans for me. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the bucket!

It's funny you mention that, as I was just searching for 1 3/8" (35mm) black elastic. And of course, the only thing that came up in my search was suspenders.

That's good info! Maybe I'll give that a shot...

Here in the States, it's Presidents' Day, so we have the day off! A fact I discovered after waking up at 6AM and driving 45 minutes to an empty office building... Anyway, I decided to start the painting process. The first step was modify an old patio table to a paint stand (with a 15" Parsons table leg and an old plastic bowl): Using Rustoleum Automotive Enamel paint, I finished the first coat on the back part of the helmet: I'm pretty pleased with the results so far. VERY high gloss and I can't see any noticeable paint runs. Later this afternoon, I'll hit it with a second coat, and maybe a light third coat tomorrow. Once both pieces are painted, I plan to use 1000/1500/2000-grit sandpaper to wetsand the surface. At that point, I haven't decided what to use to polish. I've got Novus polish, but not sure if that will work for enamel paint. I've also thought about standard auto polish (i.e. Turtle Wax), and heard that (believe it or not)...floor wax. Thoughts?

Did some more filing tonight: Looks good to me! I have a few more pieces to file, and then I'll tackle the next step: rounding the cleaning up the edges of the armor pieces!

Let me see what the SC versions look like, but I'll keep that offer in mind!

I'm wondering if this would be a good time to correct the chest armor connection width as well, since we appear to have enough visual evidence to support it.

I used an X-Acto knife along a metal ruler to score the 1 1/8" width of the plates. After I traced the coin for the upper arc, I used a Dremel with a cutting disc to get it close, then switched to a sanding drum to whittle down to the pencil line. Then I sanded with a couple sanding sponges to clean up the arc.

Everyone is doing it, so here I go... I received my armor kit last week, and after inspecting all the pieces, have decided to dive into the project. I have about a month before All-Con in Dallas, and I've got a lot of work to do! The first thing is contact SC to get new thigh boxes and detonator housing; I'm a larger guy, and those particular pieces are scaled a bit smaller for MC. I'll post pics of the size differences when the SC pieces come in. I spent the day prepping the resin pieces. Sanded, printed and painted: You'll also see the chin cup from my CB lid (I'm using spray paint, and decided to test the chip cup first) and my new snout mount. Over the last couple nights, I started filing the strap holes on the armor pieces. MC uses a Dremel to mark the holes, but I wanted to clean them up a bit: I still need to run a high-grit sanding sponge around the hole edges, but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! More to come...

And the finished product; a perfect fit!

Outstanding work! I'll be tackling this project in a week or so...

Well, the plate is cut, puttied, sanded, and primed! I'll do some minor sanding and then hit it with the final grey!

In this pic, the area circled: It seems 1 1/2" wide, which makes sense if they used the same fabric for the drop box straps. The Lancer specs do not mention a standard width yet. Thoughts?

And I definitely agree that the chest armor connection webbing is narrower. As a matter of fact, it looks (to me) to be the same fabric as the 1 1/2" webbing for the drop boxes. I think I'm going to go as close to screen-accurate as I can, and simply hope for the best for Lancer inclusion. Even if I'm denied Lancer status, at least I'll know I'm right.

Lazy Sunday project... CB's bucket kit includes a two-piece (upper/lower) snout base, as seen in the pics above. And the one included in my MC armor kit is too short for the CB lid. So I decided to make my own plate for the snout. The greeble I'm using is from don_jarr on eBay. The plastic is from Evergreen Scale Models (available from a few hobby stores, but none in my area, so I had to order a sampler direct from the manufacturer). The base plate is .060" and the layer plate is .040". The width came out right at 1 1/8". As luck would have it, I had a coin (from a local car wash) that is 1 1/8" in diameter! Once the glue on the plates has dried, I'll use the coin to mark the upper arc of the snout. Walking Dead is coming up tonight, so more updates later this week..

Sorry about that; I meant 'buckle', not clip. The Lancer specs (at this time) specify a buckle to close the belt, instead of the Velcro method. I intend to use Velcro unless it disqualifies my Lancer approval.

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but based on the screen caps provided...if I decide to use a Velcro closure instead of a clip, am I disqualified from Lancer?

I haven't seen one of these threads in awhile, and not wanting to resurrect a dead one, I thought I'd start a new one... While waiting for my armor and helmet to arrive, I bought a box from Lowe's and started to dress it up a bit. And today, a friend surprised me with a new addition: So let's see yours!

I recommend Novus plastic polish: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/novus-plastic-polish-kit-plastic-polish-and-scratch-remover-8-oz/448PN7100.html?utm_source=Shopping.com&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping.com+Campaign

My new helmet arrived last week, and I gotta say I'm extremely impressed with the craftsmanship on this piece. It's constructed of fiberglass, very lightweight, and pretty much ready to paint right out of the box. Of course, I couldn't wait to get started, so I've already replaced the hinge bolts with the black version of the accurate ones (had to drill and file the square shaped holes). I've ordered another set of the grey ones as replacements. Here are some camera-phone pics; I'll take more later when I have decent afternoon lighting. As posted in another thread, here is a size comparison shot of it next to the smaller KS kit: The bucket is large enough to fit onto my head without even having to raise the visor! And it also comes with all the goodies, including a fiberglass chin cup with strap, decal set, screens, visor, bolt covers, and snout plate and greeblie. Overall, I'm extremely happy with the kit. As soon as my MonCal armor arrives, I'm taking this baby to a auto painting shop to have them color-match the ABS. As I mentioned before, if you decide to buy this kit, make sure to have him include tracking with EMS (even if you have to pay for it). I was able to track it all the way to my post office, and it arrived in less than 2 weeks!

CB helmet is at the post office, MonCal armor ships this week, LW helmet kit en route, as well. Maybe I will be the first!

Nobody from Star??