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[Evad]

Happy New Year to the vode.  Progress has laid dormant over the last few months, and that's okay.  Everyone needs a break eventually.  So for now things are shelved, but with the New Year, and with winter in full swing, I'm just waiting until it warms up enough.  My local vod has stated he's getting some more free time coming once it does warm up, and we can start up again in getting our kits progressing.  I'll be sure to update on any new developments as they come. 

**Update**

Today I found out that my company's corporate structure has been 'restructured' which was just code for downsizing, and laying a lot of people off.  Sadly I was included that decision, and now I am out of work.  So we'll see how long before I'm able to afford to continue in this project.  Hopefully I can find something stable soon enough to get me back on track without too much need to recover first.

[Evad]

Test Fit #2

Finally got around to putting on my flight suit, flak vest, gloves, boots, and helmet for another test shot.  On my first test fit, I had an untailored flak vest and flight suit.  It was very baggy and needed to be adjusted.  I also didn't have a helmet painted at that time.  There is still some sizable work to be done, as I need to work on the length of the legs while wearing the boots.  Granted a lot of this will be covered by armor, but I want it to look neat and not so sloppy.

   

   

The neck seal needs to be adjusted (as after the tailoring was done, it was made too big), but can be fixed with just a movement of velcro.  My arms will have gauntlets covering the contact between the sleeve and the glove.  I'll also have some bicep armor as well, so that'll help as well.  The pants section needs to be adjusted (that much I know).  The Corellian bloodstripe is not able to moved up unfortunately by myself.  I might have to get someone to actually sew them in higher up the legs.

[aforklikeutensil]

Looking good.  Glad you're still making progress on this.

[Kol Varek]

Even with gauntlets, I still recommend tailoring the arms and legs so they aren't baggy. You'll need to do something about the butt pockets as well, unless you plan on utilizing a kama, which would help. If those are oakley gloves that I see, those will need a handplate or something to cover the logo. It's a good place at the moment, looking good!

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

Just found your build thread. There's got to be some Rancors near you to help out! Our Northeast section of the state has been jonesing for an armor party for quite some time now!

[Straka Zulu]

Just found your build thread. There's got to be some Rancors near you to help out! Our Northeast section of the state has been jonesing for an armor party for quite some time now!

Yeah, we need to get one organized! 

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

Yeah, we need to get one organized!

I just had another guy (who isn't on the forums) ask me if we could get one together. Let's see if we can really buckle down and make it happen!

[Evad]

Painting Advice

I'm at a stage with my bucket where I'm starting to do detail work.  I used Rustoleum for all the spray paint, but now I wanted to go in with a few brushes and some paint to do the accents.  I found however several painting issues that I documented here to see if I can get some advice.  I know I can use weathering to do a lot of touch up and hide the mistakes.  However I'm looking for other suggestions as well. 

 

   

   

   

I used oil-based acrylic paint to do the accents, and it seems to smear and bleed, and not stick too well.   The bloodstripe down the center also bled over into other areas, that I don't quite know how to fix.  The earcaps were done twice now, and the silver still bubbles up, the same silver I used on either side of the bucket where the segmented sections are.  Still not sure what to do about those either. 

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[Kol Varek]

If you ask me, best way to hide stuff like that is weathering  it looks good though!

[Evad]

Pre-Weather Painting

I decided the bucket needed one more bit of pre-weather painting setup before I start in on weathering.  Nothing like a deadline to keep you motivated.  Since I'll be attending the first ever MercsCon in just two weeks time, I want my bucket looking as good as possible for photoshoots during that time.  It'll also be good to have other vode be able to look it over and give me some advice on the spot. 

 

The black cheeks look pretty good, and this weekend I plan to utilize the tips and tricks I got from various videos about helmet weathering (including Mand'alor's) and get some weathering stock from the nearby art supply shop and sit down and do some weathering on Saturday and then through the rest of the week.  All of that I can do at home with just putting some newspaper down and not having to worry about fumes.  Stay tuned folks!

[Straka Zulu]

After seeing this in person at the AP, I am STILL amazed by it. 

[Kol Varek]

Vod! Great to hear from you again! Can't wait to see more, I'll see you at MercsCon!

[Evad]

Weathering

Over the last two days I put a substantial amount of work into what seems to be the most enjoyable part of the build thus far.  I wanted to make sure my helmet was ready for Mercs Con, and with only a week and a half away, I can see that I'm so much closer to done that I can taste it!  Utilizing a myriad of methods I've learned from videos, and some I created on my own I finally have a weathered bucket.  All it needs now is a clear coat and I'll be set to bring it along for Mercs Con. 

Once the clear coat goes on, and I glue in the ear caps after a final fitting, it'll be ready to be packed up in a padded motorcycle helmet bag to head down to Daytona.  Granted I still have all my armor left to do, but this was for the deadline. 

[Straka Zulu]

Wow!

Have fun at MercsCon.  Really wish I was going.

[Kol Varek]

Fantastic work!