DarthDadio

It's a real exercise in patience. The part that gets me is having to rip things apart to redo them. I've redone the arms about 3 or 4 times trying to get a better seam that's not gaped or split. The good news is I am moving past these issues now.

Day 15: More gluing of inner shims and cover strips on the shins and thighs. Also moved on to working on the torso. So far the abdominal plate and kidney fit without any trimming. Started setting snap tabs. I will need to trim the cod and butt at the crotch.

I found clamps for $0.99 at Home Depot the other day and bought 10. Wish I had picked up more. I am running into the same thing where I am reworking strips because of gaps.

I followed this thread for my boots and they turned out great. I've been wearing them around the house while sizing up my armor and wearing my compression pants (It's a great look). So far they've held up and with no signs of cracking for flaking. The elastic shows black when it stretches but that is only when I am putting them on. I have a few marks from the shin armor and boot scuffing but that's a good thing.

Trimmed the return edges and sized the shins. Glued more internal strips on the forearms and thighs. Added the male sides snaps to the snap tabs I am making. Finished the detail work on my bucket: added padding, cleaned up paint, installed lens and mesh, and installed hovi screens. I am roughly down to the following things on my todo: - Sizing, trimming and gluing back of thighs - Sizing and trimming torso parts (butt, kidney, ab and chest) - Strapping for torso and arms - Make a garter - Sewing belt - Finish sewing neck seal - Install cover strips on forearms, calves, thighs - Make TD clips and assemble TD I have a pretty busy week ahead of me so I am not sure how far I will get. I'm estimating another two weeks to finish.

Day 14: Working on the legs today while I get the arms put back together. Also going to be working with the torso for the first time. It's all starting to come together. While I am still researching in the forums I wanted to see what ya'll would say. What is the verdict on return edges on the calves and thighs? This is what I have noted so far: Bottom of calf - no return edge Top of calf - minimal (1/8")? Bottom of thigh - no return edge? Top of thigh - minimal return edge?

Good thread. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your progress. Jump over to the Centurion and/or EIB forums and check out the pictures. One of the pictures shows the return edges and will answer your questions.

Day 13: Glued a lot of strips today. Touched up the paint on the inside of the bucket. Started making snap tabs.

Day 12: Friday night lights again. My daughters last home game (she is in the band) and she is a senior. My wife and I have been going to games for eight years now (my oldest son already graduated) and it's our "date" night. When I got home I glued the second half of the shins onto the internal shim I placed on the first half. I like how clean this worked out. When I was working on the forearms I was attaching the shim to both halves at one time and the joints are all messy. I'm re-gluing the forearms today. But first I need to score some more magnets and clamps.

Finished off the night by gluing strips to the inside of my shins. I have decided to slow down my E6000 work. Haven't been please with all of the results so far and I keep having to rework things.

Finished painting the bucket.

Thanks for the feedback on the frown. I checked the frown reference images and EIB applications and then modified my frown a bit.

Day 11: Reworked the left ear a bit this morning and I am planning on playing with the right ear at a later date. Had another lunch time painting session. Laid down all of the grey on the tears and traps. Touched up the painting ears a bit. Next step will be to paint stripes on everything. I love the hand painted look.

Day 10: Busy evening. Trimmed fronts of calves and thighs. Had to re-glue a shim on the inside of one of the forearms. Spent the evening running around the house wearing my compression pants, imperial socks and my white boots. It was really funny when I had to answer the door.

I'm not satisfied with the ears or how the face fits on the bucket. Also have an issue on the left side where the E6000 has broken free between the cap and the back. Couldn't fit by bucket on my head last night but I am attributing this to loosening up the right ear so I could remove the trim for painting. I might need to break it all down and reconstruct it. Not trying to be a perfectionist but it should at least hold up to normal wear and tear. Finished up last night by gluing more internal shims on the forearms (I was doing one side of the forearm at a time). I will be cleaning up the wrists tonight and adding finishing strips. Started to paint a bit more but gave up quickly because I was tired and the lighting was poor. I put everything away, sat down to watch some television with my family, and fell asleep within 10 minutes. Long work day, cub scouts, and lack of sleep.... I should have extra time tonight.

Thanks Andrew. I have been around the block with Testors paints before. If you don't take your time then you end up with crap.

Lunch painting was successful. All of the black outlines are done and some of the grey interiors. Cleared all the painting cob webs and really got into the grove. I am hand-painting everything without masking for now. I will use a template for the tubes when I get that far. With the rain and humidity I need to allow it to dry before I paint any more. I might just stick to painting at lunch and stick to trimming and gluing at night. Still cannot believe how much fun this is.

Day 9: Take your bucket to work day. I brought my bucket to work so I could work on the painting and get a bit further along. QUESTION: The mic tips don't have a flat surface to rest on and seem loose when with the screws tightened. What are some solutions for firming this up a bit? I am thinking about putting some kind of shim behind the mics.

Day 8: Installed mic tips, glued some inside shims into the forearms, and worked on more painting on the bucket.

Feedback from TG on the line in the chin: "yes the line is normal, as is the dimple in the eye. I get a lot of questions about the eye too."

There are 4 long flat head, 2 short flat head. These go for the ears. Then there are 3 rounded philips head screws to connect the back to the face. All screws should have a washer and nut.

To finish the day I started a little bit of the painting.

Ugh, the ears have been challenging. The right ear has been far more challenging than the left. Primarily trying to eliminate the gap. Right ear Left ear The other issue seems to be that my brow want to creep down.

Day 7: Football and working on my kit. It's a good day. So far I've glued the cover strips on the biceps and now I'm working on my bucket. Drilled the screw holes and cut out the frown. I put tape over the holes I shouldn't drill. I didn't want to make a mistake.

One of the things I read about painting the inside of the bucket black was the residual smell sticking around for a long time. With the paint I used there was a strong smell at first but it quickly disappeared. My wife, who has a super sensitive sniffer, said the smell was still there but was not bad for just having painted earlier in the day.