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[Jaa'det Otxoa]

Thanks Thaxos!

So I mounted a few of the greebs that I knew I wanted in certain positions (Custom support bracket, copper flamer brace, "Dart mount"
and then wasn't too keen on the original layouts... they seemed a bit too busy on top!

So I pulled everything that wasn't mounted and started to lay everything out again...

I re-positioned the "Distribution block" to the side of the gaunt behind the flamer mount and rerouted the cabling for the dart throwers and the repositioned activation switch through the upper part of the custom support bracket, then filled the open back portion with another Nerf greeb...


So do ya'll think this layout is better? 

[z2the4]

if I lie and say no, can I have them

[Thaxos]

That layout looks great.

No freebies for z2the4 

[z2the4]

That layout looks great.

No freebies for z2the4 

Well.. no girl scout cookies will be coming to your house, I will set up a blockade.

[Jaa'det Otxoa]

if I lie and say no, can I have them

HAHA....
                   no... 
Didn't your momma teach you it's not nice to lie???

That layout looks great.

No freebies for z2the4 

Well.. no girl scout cookies will be coming to your house, I will set up a blockade.

Thanks Vod, and no worries about freebies here, I worked hard to scrounge those greebs up, between rummaging through leftovers at yard sales and toy swaps and keeping track of the parts I replaced on my car that's some hard work!
(P.S. My wife is one of my stepdaughter's GS leaders, I'm sure I can get some cookies around z2the4's blockade! )

[Tracyn Ordo]

Those gauntlets are looking great man! As expected

[Jaa'det Otxoa]

I have updates!! 

So first just a quick update on the gaunts...
- What I did here:
1. Final layer of Bondo and sanding/shaping
2. Mounting the rear guard plate (and notching the cable guide to fit)
3. Sanding the logos off of the guard plate


 I was also trying to figure out how to mount the "distribution block" to the side, since it had a recessed lip with little surface area for the glue to grab on to I cut a piece of PVC and made a plate that fit into the shallow recess and epoxied the plate to the block:

Once dry it was mounted using PVC cement directly to the side of the upper clamshell! (Sorry, no pics  )
So this gaunt is pretty much ready for primer!

And on to the backplate...
So in my original concept I have a Biker Scout style pack, so I happened across this broom vac/dustbuster thing with some pretty interesting curves and shapes to it sitting in a "free pile" on my way to work, (hey, don't judge... I warend you this was a budget build! )
So I took the dust bin off and roughly chopped the side down to fit the curve of the backplate (Really rough, like almost not really close )
Well after many hours of shaping, mounting, remounting, adding bracing, changing bracing and greeb searching this is what I have!


The greeb on the right side and the fuel hose on the left are actually hiding the bolts that hold the center mounting brackets to the housing.
I still have to fill all the gaps with Bondo and glue the top cover plate to the housing, build the "targeting microcomputer that will be mounted on the right shoulder and run the wiring for it into the body of the housing before I can get this thing into primer...

So how's it look??    

[Niabi]

loving the look of the back plate vod

[Vlad Ordo]

Some genius use of freebies and a good eye too, looking great!

[Jaa'det Otxoa]

PROGRESS!!

Sorry I have been off of the boards for a while (between my folks being up from AR and getting the house ready for a week before they did! 2 Ren faires (one of which I won the cosplay contest for guys over 18 with my Jedi costume! )


But I have made some progress!
(These may not be in the exact order that they were done but you will get the idea! )

So the first is cleaning up the seams on the backplate/pack, I decided to hide all the rivets with Bondo...

Round 1:



And round 2:




I also installed the battery box for the "Targeting nano computer" that will be mounted on the right shoulder of the backplate...

First was to cut an opening for the battery box that was a little wider than and slightly shorter than the battery box:


Next I cut a cardboard box to protect the battery box and allow me to remove it from the backplate to replace the batteries and also maintain access to the power switch, then taped it in place under the fuel pack:


and with the battery pack in place:


Now, with the battery still in place I filled most of the void with expanding foam:
(This was all done prior to/during the bondo work! )

Next was all the previous Bondo work done...

Now you may ask "What is this Targeting computer you speak of??"

I'm glad you asked...
    ...This is it:

Well, the beginning of it anyways, this is the template on the box I'm using for the holes to be drilled for the LED's

And after the holes are drilled before being fitted with the light string:


Here's the light string after being shortened from almost 6' long!


But prior to wiring it up I had to shape the bottom to fit the curve of the backplate (it won't be glued in place in case I need to rewire it for any reason, I'll be using machine screws to hold it down):


And with the lights installed with hot glue:


Lights ON!


And a quick vid:

I also got some polyester dye and re-dyed the flightsuit...
            ...in a crockpot!!!


Think it came out pretty much exactly the dark gray/charcoal color I wanted:


Still have some additional progress on the gaunts with electronics for the LED indicators and the viewscreen, but sadly won't make my original Halloween night deadline (I'm not gonna rush just to get it done, i want this to be the best kit it can be!

So what do my Vode think???

Am I doin' alright with the ideas? Also, any suggestions on how to mount the backplate would be appreciated!!! Harness?? Velcro?? Magic??

[Jaa'det Otxoa]

Quick update...

Backplate pretty much ready for paint...

So here's what I've done since the last post: 
1. Mounted the "Targeting system micro computer" on the right shoulder including the "power converter" cable connection
2. Added detail to the exterior of the micro-comp including the connector for the data cables to the right gaunt
3. Shortened the cable to the  battery pack for the LED's in the micro-comp and soldered in a quick disconnect
4. Re-purposed the 2 little green "fuel cell" greebs I had on my flamer gaunt and turned them into cable/hose guards for the fuel hose and data cables

Overall shots:


Hose/cable routing:



Modified battery cable from inside:


I also filled the gap between the cable guards and the shoulder using Kwik Plastic:


Well, I think this thing is pretty much ready for paint! 

Time to finish up the wiring on the gaunts and get these suckers into primer! 

[UnFathomable]

Awesome work so far really like the electronics and the back plate! This thing is going to be awesome once its finished!

[Tracyn Ordo]

Smoothing out those rivets was definitely the way to go! It looks so much cleaner now

Everything else is looking good too

[Jaa'det Otxoa]

Thanks Vode!

Trying to get this thing done before the end of the year, most parts are ready for paint  just need to figure out the best way to mount the back plate (thinking a combination of a harness/velcro will be the best) and get the alignment where the collar plate and the back plates meet on the shoulder to line up so I can make the pieces butt together and then attach them with leather plates over the shoulder .

And some more electronic fun...

Worked on the right "targeting" gaunt a bit more and added some lighting...
Off:


On:


The reticle is based off of the one from my blaster's scope (been slightly tweaked to display a better kill shot on the target! ) and uses the same method for obscuring the image while the light is off (cut a piece out of the original T-visor from the J2P and mounted just behind the green lens)
A momentary pushbutton switch will be mounted where the hole is on the keypad and I am making a custom 3 AAA inline battery holder (since apparently nobody uses 3 AAA batteries in a straight line )

So, you like?? Oh yeah, any suggestions on the backplate mounting would be appreciated!

[Niabi]

1st. velcro

2nd.   love that gaunt vod