Retrofire

When I sat down to being sanding I noticed this damage. The inside seam was pretty big and I had to use a larger amount of Bondo to fill it in and I believe that the chemical reaction caused the ABS to soften and melt in. I'll have to fill this in and sand it smooth. I'll go with another type of filler material that won't damage ABS. Possibly squadron green putty.

Thanks very much for the insight I really appreciate it! I have a lot more to do before I even get to paint starting with a ton of sanding both inside and out as well as some trimming.

So I take it I should not use Kylon oh bald one Thank you for the information! I've seen the results of Krylon on the Shadow Scout Jedi_Paramedic was working on for his son and that stuff scares me. I'll look for the duplicolor you mentioned. Correct me if I'm wrong but it should be a gloss white exterior and a gloss black snout outline correct? I'm going to paint the interior flat black.

Drama....ugh the best response to drama I can think of is a fully charged turbolaser battery.

I been thinking about how I could get a nice finish on this and that makes sense. I just don't know how I could apply it as I don't have the equipment. Is there another way to accomplish a finish like that without using a rattle can? That's helpful to know. Thanks!

Thanks Tim. I'm enjoying working on this lid. I learned and was taught so many great techniques here that I wanted to take this on and try something new. I am always game for advice from ya'll since you guys know your stuff and I'm just a learner!

Thanks Mickey! There is much more work to be done. Do you know what material the KS is made of? It doesn't have the rigidity of ABS and cuts like paper using my lexan scissors. I plan on using the pics of your RS as a reference for my reno. For example, it looks like the visor has a return edge around the lip on the KS and I think I need to flatten this and square it up like my Altmann's. I need to do some more research. Back to the books (and pictures)!

BONDO! I wanted to clean up the seams on the interior. Why? Because I don’t like seams:) I also added Bondo to visor area and filled in a couple of dings on the top When I was working with the visor it seemed that the sides didn’t match so I measured and it turned out that one side was one centimeter larger than the other. I made a template by tracing the shorter side and used that to sketch a new cut line. My plan here is to take small slivers of material using my lexan scissors as I learned here that it’s easy to remove material but hard to replace it.

So after I finished building my armor I found myself needing another project to feed my OCD and I found a nice KS helmet in the trade forum and have decided to give the old OCD reno treatment. I started by firmly yet gently separating the faceplate, visor, and main bucket into parts. It came with a DVH snout and the 3M helmet bolts and I bagged those and set them aside for later reassembly. They’re too nice not to reinstall! The lid still had remnants of the old foam and hot glue that needed to be removed. I pulled off as much as I could with my fingers and an X-Acto and then used a heat gun on low to warm up the glue. This made it easier to scrape off using a chisel blade. I had to work slowly as this material is way more sensitive to heating than my SC armor was. I don’t think it’s ABS. HIPs maybe? I also started to look over the helmet and square up the cut lines. I penciled in a new line on the top part of the bucket and trimmed it square.

Thanks for update Chef I appreciate it. That's going to really help this Detachment and it's good to hear that it's going to be addressed this year.

Nice work Brian! You look ready to mount up and chase some rebel scum! Looks great my friend I hope you have a TKID# in mind since I'm sure you'll be approved in no time.

I agree with you Blitz but the Lancer spec indicates a white rivet for the belt. I know Mickey is on point and it's silver but the spec calls for a white one. It's time for the Command Staff to take up the CRL(s) issue and get these items corrected. I'm not saying they're not busy but this really needs to be added to the 2016 agenda and get fixed. Folks working towards a basic or a Lancer approval shouldn't have to redo work because the CRL(s) either here or on the 501st main aren't accurate that's not fair to them. We need to lead the way on this and get our CRLs up to date and fix this problem.

Wow! Ask and you shall receive! Thanks brother! I'm painting the inside all black as well but got some bondo/sanding to do before I give it a coat. Picked up a lens from Trooperbay but much work to do before then. I guess I should start a thread. Thanks for the pics they're a great reference.

I did it a little at a time and worked my way up over a year and a half or so. Todd is right on point and while we love SW it's making a difference in people's lives that really makes the difference. Think of it as a really cool way to "pay it forward". When I first started I was going to be a Stormtrooper (TK) and I read this article about how a little girl fighting cancer was visited by a garrison and she asked the trooper if he would escort her to her chemo session when he did and waited till she was done and escorted her back. I saw this picture and I was all in: I've since become a Scout as that's my forte' but it's the people (here and in public) and the smiles that keep me hooked. We're philanthropists in armor

Jeff is right. the Lancer spec (http://forum.bikerscout.net/index.php?showtopic=12081) defines a WHITE rivet under item #8 "With a 50mm (2") white cotton or nylon belt secured each end of the hard belt with a single white rivit." We as a detachment really need to get these discrepancies cleared up and bring both the 501st page and the det pages current for CB and TB.

Bring on the pics! I'm renovating a second hand KS that I bought here so I'm interested in how your bucket is progressing.

I'll bet all the Detachments are having that problem Daniel. SpecOps, White Armor, and Blizzard all direct their members to the CRL's on their forums. I would almost think it would be better for the main 501st site to caveat the CRLs there with something like "This CRL is for reference only. Most current CRLs are maintained at the Detachment level and found via their forums". I agree about the confusion and I was confused as well until the folks here directed me to use the CRL located here. Not sure why it's so hard to get the 501st CRL updated to current standards. Maybe a question for the Det head shed?

That's an understatement! I love the Pathfinders! This is like the best Det in the history of ever!

Welcome to BS.N Scott! It's great to have you with us. If there is any way we can be of help please let us know!

Oh Good Lord what has Grif wrought?!?!

I'm 5'9" 170lbs and the SC worked for me with minor mods. I love my armor! The armor fits smaller scouts just fine. Here's a thread where BlitzJager has a picture and he's 5'6" or so: http://forum.bikerscout.net/index.php?showtopic=15258&hl=&fromsearch=1 I did some mods to fit the armor closer to my body shape and I talk about those in my build thread but they're not hard by any stretch. The soft armor is where the sizing really counts for obvious reasons. You want the vest, cummerbund, and flight suit to fit you comfortably and look good. The armor is relatively easy to modify with a pair of lexan scissors and a heat gun but cloth isn't as easy so you want that stuff to fit.

Thanks Todd. Yeah I got a 20% discount on my TB bag.

Haha! Thanks for the compliment Nick. Those words sound familiar.....I said them exactly when I looked at Panda's thread . I was like what the heck did I just get myself into? There is no way I could do something epic like that. Yeah I'm an aero engineer but that doesn't mean you can't make it look as good if not better than we did. You're doing exactly what all of us do and that's read and research the armor and building techniques. You CAN do it my friend we were all where you are and it's the folks around here that helped me along. If you noticed my build thread you also saw all the input and encouragement I was receiving while building. Ya just gotta jump in and we'll be here to help you every step of the way cause that's what troopers do.

Most folks I know go with the KS or SC kits due to the long wait times at MC. I love my SC kit. Jeff really does an excellent job with it and continues to upgrade it based on feedback here. It ships fast and his customer service is top notch. That's not to say that MC doesn't do good work the kits I've seen are nice it just takes awhile to get it.

Did you add any padding to your knees? I was thinking about adding some padding around the edge on the bottom as they cut into my legs. Even with the Velcro loose they still begin to get sore after wearing them for a bit. Any ideas?