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[Second Son]

I have missed so much in this post but seeing this kit nearly finished is really exciting! You're looking incredible, man. You do some seriously stellar work! 

Thanks Vod!  I renamed my main WIP thread because even though I got my stripes, I'm never going to be 'finished' building and upgrading.

Little post-let, I had an opportunity to do a little invasion for a local Cub Scouts day camp (See You at the Movies!). My local RL and 501st compatriots asked if there were any folks willing to help, and your friendly neighborhood Armored Space Maniac said, why not? While it was so, so hot out there was at least some shade and the kids had fun so that's a win. I got to practice working a crowd and let me tell you, kids are a tough crowd because they are constantly hopping to either side of the line of "wow you're really real! Tell me about your star ship and have you met Boba Fett?" and "so how exactly do you lay down the layers of paint? How may hours of work was it to make that specific prop?".
Oh, and "Can you take your helmet off? Can I see your face? I'll trade my lunchables for your blaster." 

Keeping character and answering real world questions and finding the right line is a thing to watch out for, and I'll have to do some homework and get some stock character answers put together.
Pics for posterity.
 Found some Space Wizards!
I missed tucking my cinch straps away so I have random red ribbons flapping. I definitely think I need to update my kama to wrap more to the front and make it fuller too.

 This is maybe a third of the kids that were there.
I made some little Iron Heart tokens and put them on cords so the campers could wear them as pendants or maybe turn them into keychains.

My jetpack harness is not ready so I had to skip it, which was a little diappointing. I debuted my boot knife&sheath, throwing knives, my prybar, and my reloads (checked with Ruus first!), and carried my prototype blaster maintenance kit in one of my cloth belt pouches to gauge the weight,  and they all worked out great. I kind of ran out of space on my belt so one of my original belt pouches got left behind. Not sure if I will keep the other one. Maybe switching my holsters to a drop-leg style (using the reload holders as the belt anchor) will free up enough space to keep them. I'll use the next couple times I kit up to fine tune the layout as I build towards my Privateer application and beyond.

[Second Son]

After two troops and seeing the kama in action, I decided I'd add to it a bit. I finished up some leftovers from the original piece and mounted them with some snaps so they can be removed without much trouble if I end up hating them. The split should also let me alter my pistol holsters to drop-leg without getting in the way too much.

Space Grime, of course.



I also put in some time on The Monstrosity.





Gonna add some brown grime and a sling for this, and as long as it gets good reviews it'll be part of my Space Piracy equipment.

[Fenn Beviin]

Love me some good space grime.

Blaster looks good! To match the level of detail in your kit though - I would suggest tossing some greebs on in.

[Second Son]

Love me some good space grime.

Blaster looks good! To match the level of detail in your kit though - I would suggest tossing some greebs on in.

 
My other weapons are very plain, so I was trying to match that level, but the point is well taken. I may have gotten closer to the cartoon line with this one.
A few surface-mounted details or carefully added grooves / reveals might add enough visual texture without damaging my simplified, 'gun-shaped block' aesthetic.
A brown wash will also help tone down the yellow's  'punch you in the eyes' brightness.
Thank you for the feedback.

[Fenn Beviin]

Yeah, even just adding some extra detail sintra pieces with cut grooves, open spaces etc. would work well!

For added detailing on some of my own blasters, I actually just glue on wood craft sticks cut into certain shapes. Works great! You just need to seal them or sand them first so that the texture is smooth when painted. Cutting PVC pipes in half and adding end half circle caps out of sintra works well too - that's how I did some detailing on the Montross blaster rifle I made.

Wood craft sticks:


Half PVC pipes:

[Second Son]

Thanks for the suggestions, Fenn - I added a little bit of detail by filing some panel lines in, but I don't think I'll go much further. I also laid down some brown space grime, concentrating on grooves and touch points like the power pack receiver, grip and foregrip. I did a little bit to knock down the yellow but I didn't want to make it go away. The good thing about building up a little at a time is that you can always add a bit more.


Funny story, I was doing some extra image searching to see where I could add some little details and in my search for Westar Carbine I found that someone else had already made a similar small-frame pistol and bullpup looking carbine variant!  Good stuff from five years ago.

EDIT to avoid the dreaded 'double post'
I got a wild hair and decided to do a speedbuild prop to help meet my breaching tool requirement - so I made an interpretation of the OG shin tool "anti-security blade" which sounds cool and like it does something to over-ride electronic locks. I think maybe the little wheel on the side and the knurled rod allow adjustments of some sort.


Back when I was just making a mando and hadn't decided to pursue Space Piracy, I made my right thigh pouch with two little tool pockets behind it - so my breaching tools have a home.


Keeping my incremental progress going.

[Fenn Beviin]

Neat! Love the additions of the tools for the pouch

[Second Son]

Neat! Love the additions of the tools for the pouch

Thanks Vod. I wish I could say I planned it out completely, but it turned out pretty cool anyway.

I was left unsupervised with the laser cutter at the office today....


I'll spend a bit more time sanding the surfaces and then hit them with some black+metallic, then maybe a light blackwash and a final dry brush of silver to pop the edges back out.
I've got some little tool pockets on my left sleeve that will do just fine for a few of these, the rest can live in a pouch or on a little key ring.

EDIT to ADD:   There was some finishing and filthing. Sleeve pockets are just right for them. 




Next up:  Rank bars.
Got some pushbutton swtich covers, I'll be making some backers for them soon.


Having too much fun making accessories.