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[bh1138]

I may have to give that a shot. How do you usually heat it?

[Hondo Karr]

I use my heat gun. A blow dryer works fine too. It doesnt need to be super heated just warmed.

[bh1138]

Sounds good to me. Thanks, hopefully this should move things along.

[bh1138]

So I had every intention of working on my DE-10 this weekend, but I saw my Rohlan scratchbuild this morning and I figured after moths of sitting there with half a coat of bondo, bit deserved some attention. My general process has been bondo, sand, spot putty, sand, repeat, and I'm making sure to be careful and use thin layers to fix imperfections rather than amplify them. I think it's starting to look a lot better and each time it gets even more smooth, so I'm pleased with where this is going. 



Tonights last coat of bondo is curing as I type.

[Zophar Ptay]

Progress :-)   i got done painting done today.  Hoping to sand some on my bucket tomorrow.  Going to have to strip down the paint u just laid on one of my shoulders    used an old can and it started clumping, then i dropped the can right onto the wet paint and gouged it.  Doh!

[bh1138]

Mark the day! I have finally gotten to a point of satisfaction with a helmet!  Granted, there are a couple of divots and runs in the primer coat to clean, but I'm very pleased right now. Just to clarify, the dark splotches are a combination of a thin coat of paint and the lighting, not uneven surfaces...






I'm not totally sure what I'll do for the small spikes on the back yet... any suggestions would be welcome. I'm also still working out how to attatch the quick release hose fitting to the cheek.

[Ref Al'drann]

My coupling is just screwed right into the cheek of my helmet rather than glued. That way if it snags or gets bumped by something, it pops out and doesn't break a hole in my fiberglass helmet.

[bh1138]

Today I finally made a long overdue addition to my costuming supplies and picked up a $13 heat gun from harbor freight. My main reason for this was be to redo my armor plates. I've picked the "low cost" and "high quality" options from the list of three, but unfortunatley I can never get the plastic totes I use to hold their shape to my satisfaction. Today though, I cut out a new chest piece from PVC and shaped it as a test. It works perfectly, so I suppose I'll be making this out of the equivalent of 6mm sintra from now on. I'm really happy witht the change though, as it is more durable and retains its shape.

[Niabi]

Nice Vod

[Wandering Spirit]

lookin' good

[bh1138]

Okay, I'm out of school and I'm back at it again. I swear, I AM going to finish this kit this summer. We broke out the PVC again this evening and, with the aid of a skill saw I didn't realize that my dad owned, I finally cut out the ab and thigh plates. That just leaves cod, knee and boot in the way of new armor pieces. I plan to shape the new ones with a heat gun tomorrow (the thighs nee to be opened wider and abs curved in) and at least sand if not paint them. I also picked up some industrial strength velcro at the hardware store, so I'll be attatching them as soon as possible and I'll keep making updates here on any progress I make.

[Thaxos]

Link is busted, can't see photo.

[bh1138]

Thanks, it has been fixed. unfortunately I haven't got any progress, as I'm now wrapping up a second day of unfruitful and frustrating searching for my heat gun. I may just go get a new cheap one from harbor freight...

[bh1138]

Progress!:D I still havent found the other heat gun, but they're on sale for $15 at harbor freight, so I caved and bought another one. with that I shaped some plates today, sanded them, and dremeled a bit larger of a groove in the chest plate. I started to do my brown primer/undercoat, but I ran out pretty quickly. That one is a very easy fix though.

[bh1138]

And more progress! I finished the undercoat, put on some rubber cement, painted my other layers, and scraped away the weathering.



I also found a red that is darker and a better match for the vest


Then I did my first ever blackwashes. They look better in person, at least in my opinion, but there are a few pictures of various parts having been washed.




And finally, I put some industrial strength velcro on the chest piece. the other side will be sewn to the vest tomorrow.

[bh1138]

Only the chest armor is actually velcroed for now, and I did find a couple of sizing and and comfort issues, but either way, it feels awesome even just wearing part of the costume. Hopefully the rest of the vecro will be on soon and then I'll make the remaining armor pieces. Then I can figure out how to move in this thing... 

[Niabi]

Looking cool vod

But i would move the gut strips up closer to the chest plate

[seugtai]

^ I agree.

Your doing a great job building the pieces, keep up the good work!

[bh1138]

Thanks for the encouragement! I've been tinkering with bits and pieces of this throughout June, but I haven't done as much as I'd hoped. That being said, I have finally gotten my helmet to a degree of smoothness and symmetry which I'm satisfied with!  I'm planning out how to imbed the air hose fitting into the cheeks, but I think I may soon have a finished helmet build



I may still tweak that bottom curve on the back, but still, it's come a long way.

[bh1138]

I've got a bit more progress, this time a belt and pouches. I didn't take pictures of my process, but I used BatNinja's method and adapted  it to my own design. So here are the only pictures I do have, the finished product.







It ended up sagging a bit when I put it on due to the lack of layers that'll be there in the full costume.



At the moment, I plan to use similar methods to make the rest of the leather strapping on this kit, so that will probably be the next update I post.

[Thaxos]

That belt and pouches looks excellent!

[Tracyn Ordo]

I like that a lot!

[Ref Al'drann]

Gotta say, I'm jealous that your belt is better than mine!

[Niabi]

Very nice belt vod

[Ængus]

Question, it's that all paint on Sinatra? Or leather / vinyl glued on top of Sinatra???