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[Havelock]

Those gauntlets look great, vaar'ika!  And I think the new cod will work out much better for you, so good job on that, too.

By the way...have I mentioned I really like your color choices?   

[Shammah]

Color looks fine. Just don't get your gaunts too close to the rest of your plates like by picking your nose or something and no one will know!

[Kryamla Redalur]

Following with interest

Btw, I think the new cod looks nice!

[trashcanmando]

I dig the gauntlets.  Nobody will notice the color difference between the gauntlets and other plates.  Even if they do a little asymmetry always makes things more interesting IMO.  Keep doing little bits at a time and you'll be done before you know it.

Color looks fine. Just don't get your gaunts too close to the rest of your plates like by picking your nose or something and no one will know!

  Glad to hear you guys don't think it'll be noticeable! Honestly, if someone can manage to pick their nose with gloves and a buy'ce on, they have my respect. 
I'm really shocked at how fast this is all coming together, I pretty much just have the helmet, weapons, attaching plates, and a few finishing touches to do! Just gotta keep chipping away!

Those gauntlets look great, vaar'ika!  And I think the new cod will work out much better for you, so good job on that, too.

By the way...have I mentioned I really like your color choices?   

Vor'e, ba'vod! I tried the cod on with the sash belt today, it's much improved.
Haha, thank you, can't imagine why, but I really love your paint scheme too! 

Following with interest

Btw, I think the new cod looks nice!

Thanks and welcome aboard!!

Finished up the gauntlets! I came up with a few different closures I could use, and these were the ones that seemed most plausible:



It's pretty simple, hook side of velcro one each side of the gauntlet, and a rectangle of cloth with two more strips of soft side velcro. Not very fancy, but it holds 'em on well!



They fit perfectly over my flight suit, they don't move side to side like I was worried about at all. The black strip turned out wider than I was imagining, but it's on the inside of my arms so I'm not concerned. I'm keeping my eyes out for a better pair of gloves too, but these work alright for now.



And there they are on me! They feel super cool, I'm just itching to be in full kit for the first time! I had my problems with these, but they turned out and I'm really pleased with them! The stick on velcro ripped right back off the painted plastic, and still came off a patch of unpainted plastic, so I gave them some help with more E600, since it worked with the hinges. Just want to add a little more to seal around the edges of the velcro, and I'll be all set!

[trashcanmando]

Okay! It's been a month, but I finally have more progress! (I'm not even necroposting wow I thought it had been a lot longer)

I finally got my soft parts weathered:



It was really fun once I got into it! I tried to do some burn damage on everything first, but apparently I keep picking the most fire retardant materials, so I just got some melting marks.... I put most of the flight suit dirt on the legs, and then didn't do hardly anything to the flak vest. I bleached almost everything just a tad, and I think I'm going to hit the flight suit again for a better difference between the flight suit and flak vest.

And right as I'm typing this I remember that I was going to take some thread and make some patches look like they'd been ripped and sewn over again. Ah well. I can do that when/if I bleach the flight suit again.

I got some new gloves too, they're a lot better than the ones I had! And also nearly impossible to do any significant burn damage to, which was disappointing cause I wanted it to look like I'd grabbed something that was on fire. I'll probably take a woodburner to them sometime soon.



There was a logo on the back of the hand, but I managed to melt it until it wasn't recognizable. I'll do some more damage there too once I manage to find the woodburner.

And I finished my beskad! Enlisted the help of a friend with a fully equipped shop. It's made entirely of one piece of plywood, 18 inches long, with scrap leather that I just glued on and is drying.



All I have to do is make a sheathe for it- either just a simple metal ring, or a PVC rectangle that leaves most of the blade exposed.

Also, since the CRLs only require one weapon, I'm moving the blasters to the 'eventual upgrades' list. I'm not really all that excited about them, and I don't really need them. I'd love to make a Rey-esque staff, though, but I'm not sure when that'll happen. For now, I'm just going for the bare bones I need to apply.

Also, my helmet has been ordered and should ship out and arrive this week! I got one of the anklebiters from Dha Bral, and I'm really excited to finally have a bucket!

I added a status update to the first post on this forum, to keep better track of my progress and what I still want to do. But so far all I have left is:
-get more pouches and make a sheathe
-finish work on helmet, pad, visor, and paint
-attach plates to flak vest
-finishing touches on weathering

And then I should be in the clear to apply and can start on upgrades! (Nearly all of my upgrades are some form of weapon ahaha)

[aforklikeutensil]

Shaping up nicely.  Nice work burning off any logo on those gloves; I never would have suspected they had one.  Keep at it!

[Shammah]

Those are the same gloves I use for fall yard work including the burn pit, so I'm glad they don't burn well. Nice work on the weathering. I just made a couple of pouches for the new sound system so I'll bring the old ones with me on the 17th. Sounds like you've got some good ideas for a sheath. Ever done any leather work?

[trashcanmando]

Thanks Fork! They look even better after I attacked them with a woodburner.

Oooh score! What kind of pouches are they? I've, uh, dabbled in leatherworking. In middle school, with no tools besides a scissor and high hopes. Somehow I still have all my fingers.

I'd love to do an actual PVC sheath, but I'm booked like the library of Congress right now and am impatient to just be in full kit for the first time. So we'll see, whether my impatience or perfectionism wins out.

[Og' Reh]

That's a tough fight! I have the same one, but impatience is appeased a bit when I try out and measure new pieces...

That's a great looking armor Vode. I just looked through your WIP and found some ideas I could use, so thank you and keep up a great job!

[trashcanmando]

Thanks! Yeah, if I can actually force myself to start the sheath, I'll get excited about it and have to finish it. Happy to be of any help!

[Havelock]

Well, get to work on that sheath, then, Vaar'ika!   

[trashcanmando]

Well, I would love to, ba'vod, but LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!



Obviously, I'm dropping everything to work on it. I already sanded down all the ear pieces and had a go at the bottom rim.

And that's where I run into problems. Sanding was the obvious first step, and then I'm going to fill in the arrows with bondo, but I have no idea where to go after that. And how far down to the rim do I sand? There's a pretty sizable lip and I assume it all goes, but I've never so much as held a finished helmet.



Other questions: Do I need to use primer before spraypainting? I haven't used primer on anything else (which I'm hoping won't come back to bite me in the butt) but if anyone thinks the extra step is advisable, for the helmet, I will do it.
Do I paint and then assemble or assemble and then paint? I would assume paint, cut out the visor and keyslot, and then assemble, but I really want to be sure. My usual technique of 'dive in and then do damage control' isn't going to apply here.

Also, has anybody ever assembled a Dha Bral? I'm not entirely sure how to go about it. The pieces all bolt on, so I guess you drill the hole in the helmet itself, push the screws in, and screw the... circle bit on. (Do I know anything about hardware? Nope. I don't.) Maybe I'll just wait until my clan gathering in ten days.

Final questions- what type of welding visor replacement did you say people typically use, Havelock? I know it's back in the forum someplace, was it #5? And what's my best bet to glue the keyslot and visor in? And what do folks use for padding?

[Kryamla Redalur]

Sand it down to the lip on the helmet, you want it to be smooth.

I would recommend primer

For painting, it depends on what you want to do for each piece. I have a M5 helmet from Dha and I trimmed out the key slot hole first, but painted all of the pieces (actual key slot, ear caps, range finder,etc) separately since they were going to be a different color than the main color of my helmet. Also, don't forget to trim the visor too! If you're nervous about it weakening, leave a little bar at the bottom to help with stability.

You'll need to drill out a hole for the ear caps to go into but it wasn't hard. Just find the right size

For a visor, I use one from t-visor.com but others use a wielded visor from harbor frieght or Home Depot or something, and then get window tint.

Hope that helps!

[trashcanmando]

That helps a ton, thanks!  That should keep me busy for a while. Do you remember what you used to glue in the keyslot and attach the rangefinder?

[Shammah]

I'll never forget the day my first buy'ce came in the mail. First off, if you don't own a Dremel now's the time to get one.

1. The very first thing you'll want to do is wash everything with warm soap and water. Makers commonly use a releasing agent when casting parts to help the parts come out of the mold easier (protects the mold). That will not hold paint any easier than it held the mold. Sanding will remove it to some degree, but will also contaminate your sand paper.

2. Yes, take that rough bottom off (remember the part about a Dremel? ). You may want to wait on cutting out the T-visor. Looks like you have some work to do (Bondo, sanding) and that will add strength to the helmet until you're almost done. My helmet was cast in a way that I could leave some of the curled over area on the bottom lip that I use for a locator to hold my visor in place. Not sure about yours. My favorite clean-up tool is a bastard file for rough stuff and a single cut mill file for finish work.

3. Once you're done priming and sanding (outside only) you can cut out the T-visor. Keep the bits you cut out because I've got a little trick for bracing the lower part of the T area. Cut off a 1/2 - 3/4" wide piece that's long enough to go from side to side behind where you'll mount the visor. You may need to cut some spacers to get the depth right. Anything you attach with adhesive should be done with a 2-part epoxy; ear pieces, spacers, whatever. Always think 2-part epoxy when sticking things together (not to include parts with screws like your ear caps(?)). Do yourself a favor and don't try to clean up the wavy bit inside the T visor area for a clean fit of the visor. Gaps will allow air to move around the visor (ventilation for fog-free trooping) and they really aren't very noticeable even when you know they're there.

4. Once your bracing is installed, paint the inside of the helmet with two coats of flat black. I can't stress how important it is to wait until everything's dry before the next coat of paint. Use painters tape to mask the inside of the helmet and shoot at least two coats of silver (I used aluminum) paint on the outside.

5. It's really important to get a real shade 5 visor. Most companies only carry shade 3, there is a difference: you will never see my nose or any other feature no matter how bright the sunlight or photographic flash. There are a lot of people who sell "shade 5" (note the quotes), however, they can only be found (reliably) at your local weld shop for about $20 - $25.

Sorry I got a bit wordy, I'd hate to see this go wrong for you. Two things though: 1. take your time, this is the fun part. 2. Almost anything can be repaired... but warping, never leave your buy'ce anywhere hot (car, sun room... oven ).