Dart's RS Props Armour and Helmet Build

[Dart]

So, like a few others (including our illustrious DL), I took the plunge and picked up some RS Props armour. I also have a helmet of theirs that needs building so that'll be here too. Not gonna rush this but I will be building to Lancer specs. 

I will likely update this every 2 weeks, so hopefully I'll get this done sooner than later.

[Dart]

First bit: the belt. It comes as a flat piece that will need to be heated and bent, but today's goal is just to get it in shape. 

The pieces in the kit are all roughly trimmed so I've busted out my lexan scissors, a pencil to mark the lines with and a foam sanding block to help finish the edges after using my 4-in-1 rasp (my favourite tool evar!)

First pic is just after I did the first round of cutting. Don't ever try to cut the exact shape right away because you don't want to accidentally cut too much off. 

The second shot is my marking lines. I take a pencil and find the natural corner and make a line. Due to the nature of this kit, the belt is rather wonky, so I have to make the best of it. I trim close to the lines, but not right up to them.

Third shot is a good reason why sanding sponges, or foam sanding blocks, are really useful for cleaning up edges. The bottom part of the photo shows what things look like after using my rasp to get the plastic down to where I want it, but it leaves a rough edge. The top part is all nice and smooth because I used my sanding sponge. It wraps around the plastic and cleans things up nicely. 

[Dart]

Soo, the belt looks 95% donezo (first pic). Just needs some holes and heat and bending.

Next up: the back plate. I should also mention that I was kinda surprised at how thick the plastic was on this kit. There's still some thinner spots, but for the most part, it's a good 1.5mm thick. Also, I didn't realize that the back plate was so contoured at the bottom. So used to seeing armour that was flat across the back. Makes sense. 

Third pic is just me doing my second cut on the bottom of the back plate. I've used my handy-dandy pencil to trace the line so I can cut near it.

[Aradun]

This is great Dart! I bet you finish yours before [MENTION]Chopper[/MENTION] .

When you heat bend your belt, give these spots a good look. My RS belt cracked in two of these spots after about three troops and I just used abs paste to mend and reinforce the joints. They’re pretty thin and prone to cracking.