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[Ajoliveira]

I love the vest!

Awesome job! Keep on going Kat!

Any douth you might have, feel free to shot!

Have a nice weekend, regards,
AJ

[BioKat]

I quite honestly have no idea what these things are called. But we picked up several of two different sizes (along with some small metal caps to test out with the smaller size) to turn into explosives.

Unfortunately only one of the local places has them and they tend to carry only a couple at any given time, so we’ve been collecting hem whenever we find them and now have five of both sizes.  We need to sand down/remove the central ridges, figure out how to seal up the ends, and install something that resembles a button (hence trying out the metal caps) and then paint them.  We’ve got enough leather scraps around here that I’ll probably use some of them for the grip as well.

[BioKat]

So I just realized that I now have two pages of posts and replies!  Hadn’t really looked too closely and didn’t realize until I pulled it up and didn’t see my last post.

Thank you everyone for the comments and kind words.

Progress is somewhat slow right now - we are currently in ‘when will the snow end’ winter so all of the projects that need a well ventilated area (like painting, sanding, dremmeling, bondo/xtc3d, etc) are all on hold until this round of snow melts and we can get outside.   But small steps have been accomplished using other means.

I still don’t know what these are actually called, but I used an exacto blade and shaved down the middle ridges that had to go away. Yes, it would have been faster with a dremmel or sander, but again, no outside or masks for particles, so exacto it is.



I got the first five smallest done, and still have the five bigger ones left.  I’m debating adding the middle grips now or waiting until after we’ve figured out how to seal up the ends and add the end button. I might add some more snaps to things tomorrow and might stain some of the leather pieces, since that doesn’t have fumes.  Have to see how adventurous I’m feeling.

[Tom'yc Tolase]

I’m not sure if it’ll work, or if they even still make them, but they used to make little plastic discs for baby bottles. They would sit under (or in place of) the nipple and prevent leaking while traveling. It won’t fill the hole in the cap, but once you have a base, you can use whatever filler/putty you prefer.

[BioKat]

Cold and rainy weather today, so mopping outdoor work. But I was able to put the first layer of dye onto the holsters.


I picked up the dye last year at a stop at Tandy and used it to dye my bag belt as well.


I used a 1inch/25mm paintbrush to put it on. Usually I wouldn’t use something like that to apply dye, but I wanted to use something that would assist with the later weathering by having it go on unevenly to give it some texture.


I think it worked fairly well, since it looks a lot tougher than I would normally want. I also purposefully didn’t use the prettiest portions of the hide when I cut out my pieces so that they would have more texture to them to start with.  It was actually kind of nice working on something that I wanted to look worn rather than the pristine stuff I’ve done in the past.

I’m leaving them to dry overnight to see how much the color fades.  I figure one more layer should give it a nice dark red/brown color for the base.

And, no, I’m not going to be doing any weathering on these other than the slightly uneven dye. I plan to drag my dress form outside once I get things close to done and cover it with plastic before putting my whole kit on it and then weathering everything at once.  That way I get a nice even weathering over the whole thing rather than weathering everything separately and then having to go back and make the weathering match on all of the individual pieces. 

[Desago]

I am truly impressed with how this is coming along. Keep up the good work.
I know you are in the early stages of your build, but keep an eye on your plate spacing. if you are attaching the plates with Chicago Screws which I have done make sure your spacing is correct. the torso plates can be up to 1 inch with your frame I would say roughly 3/4 inches. The spacing around the diamond should not exceed 1/2 inch.
 

[Thanatoss]

Looking good.  I really like the mando flute / melee spike.   Are you going to put it in a holster?  Or hang it with a ring&clip?