Teach-

I decided to drill out the recessed sections on the tube stripes and add a blue section underneath. I drilled them with four or five holes using a Dremel. I then used the same bit to remove the small amount of remaining material between the holes. Afterwards, I used two files to sand down the openings. I then used 400 grit sandpaper to clean up the openings. In order to drill the final three stripes at the rear of the tube, I removed the clamps that snap the front of the helmet to the back of the helmet. They have two small screws and are easily removed. I also hollowed out the inside of the helmet under the stripes so that eventually I can lay the blue underneath and have it lay flat behind the hollow stripes. I still have a little cleanup but they are 95% finished.

I wet sanded the Bondo on the chin extension and on the battery compartment and speaker. Wet sanding gave me more control over the amount I was removing. It's not perfect, but I'm happy with the way it came out. Thanks again for the guidance gmrhodes13. Here's a look at the inside of the chin extension:

Thank you, to both of you. Wet sanding not above 500 grit. Will do.

Back to work! I've used the Bondo glazing and spot putty to apply a few coats and sanded in between. Initial sanding is with a 220 and then I use a 1500 and 2000 grit. I'll forgo the 220 for the sanding in what I hope to be my last coat.

I'm not planning to do that at this time. Looking for basic approval so I can finally get out trooping...it's been a long build!

I continued with the chin extension work. I first filled the thin gap with Bondo putty. I filled a cleaned out icing tube so I could use the narrow end to get the Bondo into the crack. I've since sanded and reapplied the putty about four times. I found that smoothing the Bondo with a (gloved) finger caused less air gaps and made it easier to get a smoother sanded finish. Still needs a final sanding or two. I also dry fitted the black neck seal (car door edge trim). The chin extension met the original helmet at 90 degrees and the trim was going to have a hard time staying in place. I added a backing piece and then a curved piece of scrap to round the edge a bit and hopefully help the edging adhere to the curve better. That will get the same Bondo treatment as the rest. I also removed the aerators/hovi mix tips earlier in the process. They wouldn't snap out so I cut one of the tabs from the inside of the helmet. They both came out easily after that.

Chin extensions attached:

I continued modifying the Black Series helmet. I used a dremel and sandpaper to smooth out the top half of the inside of the back piece, I plan to cover the lower half entirely to hide the old internal speaker area. On the outside, I started filling the battery compartment and speaker with Bondo glazing and spot putty. I still have some more to do. I've done three coats and sanding in between so far. On the front half, I removed the black trim along the bottom edge. It came off pretty cleanly but the residual glue and bits of rubber I dremeled off. I then removed the vocoder by drilling holes all around the edge and then using the drill bit to "cut" between the holes. I sanded the opening of the vocoder space and made a template of the opening. I made a backing piece a little bigger than the template and cemented that to the inside of the opening. I used the template again to make a piece that fit into the gap of the vocoder. I left a tail on it which I heated and bent. That will be a part of the extension of the bottom of the chin. To make the chin extension, I added a small edge to the existing chin so I could glue the extensions on to them. I also added extensions to the tail of the vocoder piece. I then made templates of the chin extensions, cut them from some extra pieces I had, heated them, and bent them to shape. I also took a minute to dremel a new edge on the chin since I removed the edging. I then sanded the surface with 220, 400, and 1500 grit sandpaper.

Thank you for the feedback on the pre-approval forum. I made adjustments to the back of the lower legs. I cut the raised detail as suggested. The cut revealed the glue and support pieces I had used and they were an off-color. I used ABS paste (with a bit more acetone this time) and covered the edges. I then sanded them smooth with 220, 400, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper.

Working on these adjustments. Thank you gmrhodes13!

While my work continues, I posted the body armor on the pre-approval feedback forum. I'm looking forward to what I learn.

Bob Jozokos New England Garrison Granite Squad (in the future) 850 Armor Works Black Series helmet (still under construction) DarmansProps neck seal Keep Trooping gloves Keep Trooping boots 5’10”, 162 lbs Rogue One TK Help and encouragement from gmrhodes13, TerribleBen, Twelveravens, FN1313, Sly11, revlimiter, and DarthSaiyan8697 While I work on the Black Series helmet, I’m looking for feedback on the body. My build is here: Bob's ROTK 850 Armor Works Build Thread. Pictures below. Feedback welcome!

I finished attaching the edging I had to remove. First I reinforced them on the inside to strengthen them. As those dried, I found kman's HOW TO: Make ABS Paste. I cut a bunch of small pieces of the ABS I had left over and added acetone slowly as suggested. I applied the paste with a toothpick and then used a rubber spatula head to push it into the seam. Looking back after using it, I should have added a bit more acetone. It seemed to be the right consistency, but it was a little too thick and seemed to dry quickly. It worked for me, but I would have liked it looser so I could have gotten it into the seam better. The dried paste was pretty rough and not smooth at all. I used a 220 and then a 400 grit sandpaper to smooth the finish. It's what I had on hand. If I had a finer grit, I would have done one more round with that. Once I got the smooth finish, I used the XTC-3D to give it a glossier finish. Below are some close up pictures. You can see that it's not perfect. There are two pictures from a distance also and in those, the attachments and ABS paste look pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good.

Thank you gmrhodes13 for motivating me to figure out those lower legs. I was so happy to be through the bulk of the build that I rested too soon! I had saved the edging I cut off because I knew it was likely that I'd have to re-attach them. I trimmed them down and then cut the loose pieces and the edging on the lower legs to match and create the correct angle to reset them. I then added tabs behind the edging on the leg so that the new pieces had something to attach to. I then cemented them on. The next step will be making some abs paste and filling in the thin gaps that remain.

Yes., you are correct. It was a compromise I needed to make. The lower legs were too big for me. I took some length off from the bottom, but at a certain point I was losing the thinness at the ankle. They were also too large at the top so I had to cut them so that they could wrap around my legs. That meant losing some of the upper edging. I have been trying to figure out how to get the same look on the part that I had to cut...but haven't figured that out yet.