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 Return of the Slade

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #75 on: Jul 16, 2018, 05:37 AM »
Good to hear you're ok,and  no prosthetics needed
Thanks :D

Another update: the recovery is going slower than expected thanks to my pre-existing back issues, but it is going. Hopefully no more than another week before I'm well enough to really get back to work.

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QMU 72| M.A.B.E.L. 77| Cabur Akaata 144

Havelock


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #76 on: Jul 16, 2018, 10:59 AM »
Pre-existing back issues: bad.  Recovery in progress: good.   :)  I hope you feel a little better very day, vod.

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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #77 on: Jul 16, 2018, 11:29 AM »
You're nuts Slade, glad you're doing okay though!

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #78 on: Aug 06, 2018, 09:17 AM »
Thanks vode, just wanted to pop in with an update. My recovery is going slowly but well, and my car has been replaced. Insurance covered everything, fortunately. Hope to get back in the saddle soon!

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Straka Zulu


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #79 on: Aug 06, 2018, 11:15 AM »
Good to hear, vod! Wish i could say the same.

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #80 on: Sep 15, 2018, 12:56 PM »
I yet live.

My recovery has and is going far more slowly than anticipated, due in no small part to me returning to work way sooner than doctor's recommendation. However, I am getting there, and have begun evaluating what I need to finish this baby up. Turns out the vest is recoverable, which is good, other than that, it's a matter of strapping up, repainting the helmet (or acquiring a new one!) and finishing up accessories like the crushgaunts and gauntlet-mounted weapons. Oh, and finding the missing third piece of the cod plate and paint the diamond :P. Anyway, here are some fresh pictures of the plates as they currently stand.






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Sep Ho'ban


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #81 on: Sep 15, 2018, 02:52 PM »
Welcome back again!

Tal Akaan


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #82 on: Sep 15, 2018, 10:56 PM »
Glad to see you back at it Vod!

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Havelock


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #83 on: Sep 17, 2018, 02:58 PM »
Welcome back, Slade, and looking great!

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #84 on: Nov 10, 2018, 08:55 PM »
Thanks guys, had a small hiccup in the recovery, but I appear to be well on the mend. Still not 100%, but Mercs Con has motivated me. The vest situation seems to be mostly sorted, I was able to repair my vest but I'll need to reposition velcro and may just swap it for magnets. I also realized when I had my missus take the pictures that either my posture was off or I velcrod the side panel closed crooked. Good news is, after some minor trimming to line up the front and back collar plates and even out the gaps between them on each side I have the torso plates about done! That balance between front and back collar plates has been a nightmare since the beginning, and today was no different :P.




As usual, I rely on y'all to point out anything I'm missing other than the overall alignment thing. In addition, I have nearly completed installing the magnets on my wrap-around shins, just waiting for the first pair on the right shin to cure before I put the second set on. I was also able to get my hand armor mostly mounted:



I'm waiting on magnets before I can mount the right hand's plate, though the knuckle plate is already bolted into place. From there, I still need to finish the cod piece mounting flap, the weapon mounts for the gauntlets (minimally, I have a set coming from the bossman that will undoubtedly be better), straps for the thigh plates and mounting the boot plates (and finding the boot plates :P). Oh, and I need to either strip and repaint one of my helmets or acquire a new one . My goal is to finish this and submit before New Year, though that might be too ambitious. Certainly I intend to be approved by Celebration.

In the meantime, I hope to be more active again!

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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #85 on: Nov 10, 2018, 10:08 PM »
G'day vod, looking pretty cool. I like your vests material, looks awesome, wearable trophy?
Your painting looks good too vod, got some depth to it too...very nice. The weathering / damage has variety to it too
Hopefully the recovery continues mate 👌🏻

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #86 on: Nov 10, 2018, 10:51 PM »
Thanks and thanks :D. And yes, re: trophy vest, Slade's always had a grudge against Trandoshans.

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Sep Ho'ban


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #87 on: Nov 10, 2018, 10:58 PM »
good to have you back again! again!

Looks like your ab may be a bit further away from your chest plates than your collar, but it's looking food overall.

I'd recommend blunting the knuckle spikes a bit.

Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #88 on: Nov 11, 2018, 04:08 PM »
Thanks! :D I need to weather the hand armor anyway, so I can take a dremel to the spikes while I'm at it. I definitely need to redo the attachment for the plates, anyway, as I had to reposition the collar plates, so moving the ab a bit closer shouldn't be a problem, and with my attention drawn to it I think it could do with a little more carbon scoring over that big ol' blaster mark. Don't recall if I mentioned and don't feel like checking, but the shabla paint lifted with the tape and I didn't want to repaint the whole thing :P. I'm considering magnets for the reattachement and ordered a bunch of them for testing purposes that should arrive tomorrow or Tuesday. Never done them for full on plate to vest attachment, but I figure it should be easy enough.

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Havelock


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #89 on: Nov 14, 2018, 06:14 PM »
This is looking great, Slade.  Looking forward to more.

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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #90 on: Nov 14, 2018, 10:11 PM »
Great progress! Sorry I haven't commented sooner. Life. And. Stuff. Ok, I don't have a good excuse. But great work.

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Armor does not make a Mandalorian. The armor is simply a manifestation of an impenetrable, unassailable heart.

Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #91 on: Nov 23, 2018, 05:16 PM »
Thanks guys, no real progress to report because of the holiday, but I did get most of the work done on a new vest. Just need to attach the shoulder flaps, nail down an issue of it folding and sticking out at the back of the neck and add attachment points for the armor. I ended up just remaking the thing because of some small weight loss and uneven hemming on the old one.

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #92 on: Jan 06, 2019, 12:25 PM »
Hey kids, papa Slade is still alive, still recovering and made a little progress!

So I started weathering on the crushgaunts, and as suggested ground down the spikes a little. I have to do final polishing on those with hand files, but if it isn't enough, please advise!





And I actually got around to making the flap for the cod-piece! I need to adjust the spacing a bit, and the whole of it is going to be attached to the groin of the flight suit so that it has that natural cod piece shade, but it actually doesn't look have bad as an armored loincloth either.


Then there's the thigh plates. Now these will be secured flush(ish) to the pants with velcro, and there will be holsters strapped down over them, but this is just for an idea of how they'll hang.



We're getting down to the wire here. I need to add magnets to the new vest (still) for plate mounting, because I've been waiting on assistance, then final attachment points to the pants for these parts, mounting the knees and boots, and finally weapon mounts for the gauntlets and a new/repainted bucket and I'll be there. That's only like 5 things, to paraphrase a 4-year-old I read about on the internet. Oh, and there definitely needs to be a weathering party on the soft parts, so I guess that's just 6 things :P. By the time I'm done, the boss will probably be done with my new gauntlets and I'll be retiring these ones anyway :D. Hope to have more for y'all in a more timely fashion next, now that the holidays are over. It's time to knuckle down and really prep for Celebration. I'm hoping to be re-official by then.

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Novoc Mereel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #93 on: Jan 12, 2019, 02:23 AM »
Glad to see you're back at it, mate!

Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #94 on: Feb 01, 2019, 08:15 PM »
Thanks! I'm getting there slowly.

« Last Edit: Feb 01, 2019, 08:33 PM by Slade Kel » Logged
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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #95 on: Feb 20, 2019, 09:42 PM »
Been in full Celebration mode of late, so I've actually made some progress. I have since failed three more times at making a vest, but the most recent was very close! Armor, however, has been going well. I had to remake my shins because I committed the sin of making shins before acquiring footwear, and my wrap-arounds don't fit over my new boots. NBD, though, I knocked out a set of shins this afternoon and just have to create detail pieces for the front and paint. We, ah, fabricated a paint hood in our living room that is working actually quite well, and leaves me hopeful for building a permanent one after the celebration hype is over.


It looks like crap, but the fan in the hose works wonders; within five minutes of painting the smell is gone unless you shove your head in the hood itself.

So, new shins:


Extremely simplistic, will have a shape like that on the front of the Wren Clan grunts on the front, probably made of sintra for ease of shaping and speed.

I've begun mounting magnets on my boots to hold on boot armor and keep shin plates in place (straps will hold them up, the magnet's for stability).


Question for my App Team compadres; those straps and rings, do they need to be removed or are they alright? At the moment, they're a useful catch for the lower edge of the shin plates but if they gotta go, they gotta go.


The hope is to finish this up soonish so I can hopefully get an application in in time to get approved for celebration. So, in that vein, to do:
  • Vest/attachments
  • Shins
  • Belts/Pouches/Holsters
  • Helmet

The helmet previously shown is going to be used, a modified TCW Deathwatch style from Stormtrooperguy's molds, done by Adamscottfm, aka Rabid Badger Builds which I am currently sanding down for repainting  :(

Edit: Technically wouldn't be a double post, but I figured I might as well add in here today's progress.

Basically two days of sanding turned the bucket in my profile pic and down in my signature into this:


I also took the time to actually dremel out the keyslots, because apparently last year I was strapped for time and barely even cut through them D:.

The aftermath! Yes, that's a pile of resin and paint dust in the background of the first pic, probably about an inch deep and three or four across



And beginning the silverification, feat. the interior of the hooptie hood, complete with lazy susan and the cardboard 'door'.



Sintra details for the shins, pre-shaping and pre-paint.



More to come, hopefully! Maintain an attitude of constant improvement, eh?

« Last Edit: Feb 21, 2019, 09:27 PM by Slade Kel » Logged
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Vhett Naast


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #96 on: Feb 22, 2019, 03:11 PM »
Nice work man! Nothing like sanding down a helmet to repaint, it's a good arm work-out  :P

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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #97 on: Feb 22, 2019, 07:10 PM »
Thanks! And yeah, definitely an arm workout, feeling the burn especially after hammering plates the day before. Slight progress in the meantime:

First layer of gold


And began gluing the detail pieces on the shins


Edit:
And weathering on the gauntlet armor!

Still need to do some weathering on the gloves themselves, but constant improvement!

« Last Edit: Feb 22, 2019, 07:56 PM by Slade Kel » Logged
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Havelock


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #98 on: Feb 22, 2019, 08:02 PM »
This is all looking amazing, vod!

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"Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness."  - Terry Pratchett
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Slade Kel


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Re: Return of the Slade
« Reply #99 on: Feb 22, 2019, 08:15 PM »
Thanks vod :D. I'm running into a slight hiccup on the boots; the left boot plate won't stay put even with the extra magnets on the sides (you can see the glue marks where they went in the pics above), so I'm going to try a few small tabs of velcro for reinforcement. I submitted a question to the Q & A board, but you wouldn't happen to have any insight on whether the straps and rings on the boots are approvable, would you? It wouldn't take much effort to remove them, but the straps do provide a nice cushion for the bottom edges of the shin plates. Now that I think of it, if they are a problem as too recognizeable I could make armor plates to mount over the rings.

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