Jedibrain

Took me a while to get some paint on it, but it looks good! This stuff leaves bubbles as it cures, but only really noticeable in the very thick areas. So I did go over it with some of the bondo glazing putty and sand it back. I did about two rounds of that and it was good to go. As a note, it was my first time using that bondo glaze stuff, and I like it! No pre-mixing, and it sands very well. Greenyone, believe me, I wish I didn't have to fill it. We need to let these CGI designers know how to anticipate our costume construction! They made all the clones seamless! The nerve! :) -Brian

Hey folks. I thought this might be worth a post. I followed the typical back/tank assembly advice, creating the slots in the backplate and then adding tabs to the inside of the tank. To glue it on, instead of fiberglass or bondo, I used something else. This stuff: I got familiar with it when I made my RC kit. Its a two part methacrylate, which is sort of like epoxy but a different chemistry that makes it less brittle. It bonds directly to the plastic, so it is not just filling the gap it is actually bonding them together. It sands very well, and has held up great on my RC kit for 3 years now. No pinholes, cracking or spalling. So I thought I'd give it a shot for this. After I got the tank trimmed as close to the contour of the backplate as I could, I started assembly and worked the mixture in place. Lots of sanding later, and it looks pretty good! I've got a few curing bubbles to fill in. Going to try some spot putty for that. I"ve never used it before but I'd like to try it, and since it doesn't have to be structural I think the spalling will be a non-issue. A couple of good things about this devcon stuff - its strong, and its light. The tubes are 2.75 oz each, and i used just under 4 for all the gaps, and welding down the tabs. So that is around 11oz, minus whatever got sanded back off, which was a fair amount as you can see. SO probably around a half pound of weight is all I added this way. The bad stuff - its NOXIOUS. You have to use it outside your house, at least in the garage. And you must wear a respirator. Otherwise you'll be seeing stuff, and not in a good way. Its also kind of expensive. $6 a tube if you find it locally, but you can buy 10 packs on ebay for about $35. I used 4 tubes on the back, probably another tube and a half on the biceps, and I haven't done the shins yet. So a 10 pack may be just enough for this kit. Anyway, hope this was a helpful alternative. Good luck! This seems to be the hardest part of this kit. So I'm hoping to get it out of the way as fast as possible. -Brian

Dye test. So what do you think? Undyed at the top, then two pieces that were dyed brown. After that I cut them in half and did black. I think the blacks are too dark. Thoughts? Brian

Any chance on getting the pics updated in this thread? i think im going to have the exact same problem. Brian

Yeah that makes sense. I am just sitting here wondering if, anatomically speaking, I'll be able to get my foot through there without making the shins larger in diameter than they'd otherwise need to be. The RC CRL (try saying that 5 times fast) had an option for the chest and shins to be non-seamless because a lot of folks couldn't get them on otherwise. This CRL seems to have no such variance. I'm probably worrying too early. -Brian

So I just got a Kashyyyk trooper kit from another guy in our garrison who decided not to build it. I'm doing some research. I'm curious how you guys make the shin armor work without being stupidly oversized? Since it needs to be seamless, that seems to imply you need to be able to get it on over your foot/heel/shin (too bad our feed don't flex as far as some action figures!), and then be able to push the boot up underneath it. Just holding the pieces together, to get over my size 13 feet I'm thinking I'll have to add at least an inch of shim on both sides and bondo over the gap, then pad the inside so it doesn't wobble on my shin as I walk around. Seems like non of the WIP threads had that much of an issue, so I'm wondering if I am looking at this wrong. Advice appreciated. -Brian

So, new Kashyyyk WIP here - are these WW gloves in production now? I need a set, and was preparing to make my own but at the prices on the WW shop I'd prefer to buy them. -Brian

Where did you go for your armor set? 3d printed PLA armor scares me. But maybe tha TV is all that is out there right now. Thanks, Brian