FoxTrooper Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 So I have this set of armor. One thing that recently came to mind is how brittle the plastic is to nearly all the parts. In fact, most of them are cracked in certain spots. I've had this armor set for about a year. I only trooped in it once during Anime St. Louis, where I showed it off to the 501st (who are regular guests there). They really liked my suit! Though one of the guys told me that my helmet is problematic (brittle plastic, mis-shape here or there, etc), and recommended I get a new one. So now I'm in the middle of finding a pre-built helmet, eyeing a couple sellers. In fact, I think I'll replace my armor set entirely (I'll hang on to some parts, like the shoulder bells. I love those). Anyone else ever had a problem with brittle plastic armor? What can be done to save any of my armor? Who offers strong plastic parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dart Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Do you know who made the armour? Most, if not all, of the scout armour vendors use ABS which is not brittle and will last a good long time. Did you have to paint the armour? If so, maybe it was made from HIPS which can be brittle if it's too thin. Any photos you have of the armour might help us help you identify the maker. Worst comes to worse, if you have to wear it, you can always cover the inside back with truck bed liner. That stuff dries rock hard. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 pm me for a "pre built" Alt cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxTrooper Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 On 5/30/2019 at 3:15 PM, Dart said: Do you know who made the armour? Most, if not all, of the scout armour vendors use ABS which is not brittle and will last a good long time. Did you have to paint the armour? If so, maybe it was made from HIPS which can be brittle if it's too thin. Any photos you have of the armour might help us help you identify the maker. Worst comes to worse, if you have to wear it, you can always cover the inside back with truck bed liner. That stuff dries rock hard. I know exactly who I got my armor from. It was made by the infamous Cucblack. The armor actually does look good, for the most part, but most of the parts easily cracked. All my armor parts were primed and painted. The paint job was done with an airbrush. That stuff scratches off quite easily, though. I can take some pictures of all my armor tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Ah ok. CucBlack's armor is made with very thin HIPS, which, as Dart said, cracks easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxTrooper Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 Here's some photographic proof to what's been going on with my armor. To start, here's my belt, which is the worst offender of the brittleness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxTrooper Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxTrooper Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 More of my helmet. My maker didn't build it up, but the construction wasn't perfect, as the mask doesn't sit perfectly with the bucket. Also look at the paint scratches, especially the rotation tab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 On 5/30/2019 at 3:38 PM, FoximalFox said: Anyone else ever had a problem with brittle plastic armor? What can be done to save any of my armor? Who offers strong plastic parts? So, this may not be the best news, but, given that your armor is built from thin hips, you're constantly going to be fighting cracking and breakage. Even if you reinforce the cracked portions with fiberglass, it's likely going to just crack in the adjacent non-reinforced places. Most scout vendors use ABS plastic, of varying thicknesses. Having seen a number of the armors out there, I'd say that Studio Creations, Mon Cal, and RS Props have the most durable armor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxTrooper Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 55 minutes ago, Chopper said: So, this may not be the best news, but, given that your armor is built from thin hips, you're constantly going to be fighting cracking and breakage. Even if you reinforce the cracked portions with fiberglass, it's likely going to just crack in the adjacent non-reinforced places. Most scout vendors use ABS plastic, of varying thicknesses. Having seen a number of the armors out there, I'd say that Studio Creations, Mon Cal, and RS Props have the most durable armor. Yeah, I figured I'd jump on the RS Props bandwagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenyone Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 I've done quite a bit of droid building using HIPS. My suggestion would be to stay clear of epoxies, glues and fiberglass to make repairs on HIPS styrene. They all seem to eventually separate from the HIPS. I'd use a product called SciGrip #3 to solvent weld the cracks back together. Probably by using a small hobby paint brush to get it onto the cracks. Work quickly and hold the cracked pieces together for a few minutes for the bond to be made... Then after that sets up for a couple of hours I'd go back and make some reinforcement patches from thin HIPS styrene. Maybe 1.5mm / 1/16" thickness to go behind the cracks in the armor. You can try and heat it up (heat gun) and make it conform to the contours of the back-side of the armor piece being repaired. Once you have a nice fitting reinforcement patch, solvent weld it all into place using more of the Sci-Grip #3. Go easy on the SciGrip solvent. It's thin like water. So it will run everywhere and distort HIPS if you use to much or get it in places you did not intend to. Just a few drops behind the patch then figure a way to clamp it down for an hour or so. Once it's set you can go back and brush more of the solvent on the seams to get an even better solvent weld. https://www.amazon.com/Evergreen-Polystyrene-Plate-Set-White/dp/B0006O5IBG/ref=sr_1_19?keywords=1.5+mm+styrene&qid=1559506085&s=gateway&sr=8-19 https://www.amazon.com/Weld-Acrylic-Plastic-Cement-Applicator/dp/B0149IG548/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=scigrip+3&qid=1559506548&s=gateway&sr=8-3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.