SydB1974's ATA Build[*ATA]

[SydB1974]

I came home from work Wednesday to find a large box waiting on my front porch. Here's the obligatory first post of pictures of the box and unboxing!

 

The glorious box from Terrell:

 

Contents neatly packed:

 

Everything laid out on the floor:

 

I've been away from home for the last couple of days, and today is Saturday, which means I have to work most of the afternoon. So, I plan on starting to prep my work area tonight after work, then running out for some armor building supplies tomorrow....then, I'll start TRIMMING! Watch this thread for progress, and inevitably, I'll post my questions up here.

 

Doug

[TK_LEPER]

Nawce!!!

[SCtrooper20]

Nice to see another ATA

[Midnyt17]

That ATA kit looks really good. It's actually more "trimmed" than I expected. Have fun on your build.

 

Pics! Pics! Pics!

[SydB1974]

That ATA kit looks really good. It's actually more "trimmed" than I expected. Have fun on your build.

 

Pics! Pics! Pics!

 

It seems like a really good pull. Even the aerator sockets on the bucket don't seem to be too terribly thin. the fun will start tomorrow.....gonna run to a hobby store and a hardware store and get to work!

[SydB1974]

got started later than I wanted to...but am trimming right now. started with the chest piece. trimmed and sanded the edges. working now on the back piece. Pics to come later.

 

got my curved lexan scissors and exacto workin....tried both methods....scissor trimming and score/snap. either seem pretty easy to do with HIPS.

 

didn't quite get all the supplies today, but did find that my hobby store DOES stock Humbrol paint. tiny little tins!

[SydB1974]

alrighty! here are some progress pics. worked on both upper chest pieces tonight....front and back. I think I did pretty well with the return edges and trimming in general. I sanded the edges with some 220 grit paper and like the results so far. Did have a bit of a slip on the back piece with my exacto up by the neck, but sanded the offending nick down. Great confidence boost on the trimming front. Goal for this week....get all the non-bucket items trimmed and sanded and start bucket after that. the bucket seems to be the most intimidating part to me......especially the ear pieces. gonna leave a lot of excess to begin with on the ears and trim/shave from there.

 

straight on shot of front chest piece

 

a side view of the front chest trim

 

back chest piece straight on

 

profile of the back chest piece

 

couldn't resist taping it up and putting it on!

 

 

More to come and comments welcome!

Thanks!

Doug

[Tech151[TK]]

Looking good. As someone who just finished building an ATA with the aid of TKBondservnt, it can turn out to be a very nice kit. I'd suggest you line the inside of the shins and thighs with canvas to give it a bit more strength, especially in the returns. I've already had a small crack on my shins appear... grrr.

[Obievon[501st]]

I'd suggest you line the inside of the shins and thighs with canvas to give it a bit more strength

Did you use e6000 to glue the canvas on or something else?

 

Thanks

[SydB1974]

worked on some more trimming last night. Ab, kidney, and butt plate are trimmed. i think tonight i'll tackle the arms. I'll post up some pics later tonight!

[SydB1974]

Here are the fruits of the last couple nights of labor. a couple questions about the biceps. I know the finishing strip for each joint is supposed to be 5/8" wide. I've trimmed one of my bicep pieces down to a point where they'll fit pretty comfortably on my arm, but the joints on each side are about an inch on both sides. Is that acceptable? I haven't seen too many isolated pics of the biceps on some of the build threads to be able to judge.

 

[SydB1974]

Here's some more pics of the latest progress from the end of this week. Worked on the second bicep and trimming the ends of the forearms. then, i started on the bucket. I feel pretty good about the cut on the eyes.....I had no idea how asymmetrical they were until i started cutting and looking at reference photos. kinda freaked me out. got the teeth cut initially, but need to get some files and clean them up a bit.

 

Edited August 16, 2010 by SydB1974

[SydB1974]

Last couple nights labors included: fitting of the forearms, trimming ends of shins and thighs, filing of teeth, and assembly of faceplate and cap'n'back, trimming of one ear piece.

 

my first pass @ the faceplate and cap'n'back didn't really give a good spot for ear attachment @ the bottom of the ears. So, I ended up drilling a second set of holes to attach the cap'n'back. at first, i was kind of bummed, because i thought i had a good look going with the original holes. after attaching to the second pass at holes, and taking a long look, and thinking about it, i'm pretty fine with the second setup. realizing that every set of screen used armor had it's own individual quirks and "imperfections" helped me appreciate the work I put into my bucket. I'll take some pics of it this evening.....my batteries on my camera were kaput.

 

after assembling the bucket, i got to work on one of the ears. i'm gonna go with a screen style on the ears...i.e. the tell tale gaps here and there. i'm gonna spend some time shaving them down though, so it's not too gappy. the ear pieces so far are the more nerve wracking pieces to work on. the words "be careful....don't trim too much" keeps bouncing through my head.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Don't worry about the extra rivets, I know what you mean. The cap and back was a bit "wider" than the face (or the face was skinnier?) regardless, I popped a couple extra rivets in the well above the cheek tubes on my ATA, to keep it compressed and holding the shape I wanted. Once the ears are on, no one will notice.

[SydB1974]

Don't worry about the extra rivets, I know what you mean. The cap and back was a bit "wider" than the face (or the face was skinnier?) regardless, I popped a couple extra rivets in the well above the cheek tubes on my ATA, to keep it compressed and holding the shape I wanted. Once the ears are on, no one will notice.

 

Luckily, I used the bolts/washers Terrell included, so I don't have any extra rivets hanging out in there right now. After sleeping on it, and taking a fresh look at the bucket this morning, I really like how it came out. Should look pretty good once I get the ears shaped and on there. From there, I need to trim out the bottom a bit more to fit my melon in there comfortably, then reinforce the aerator sockets (picked up some Milliput yesterday). Would love to run some painting tests on my hand plates before I tackle painting the bucket, but our weather here may not be ideal over the next week or so for painting.

[SydB1974]

Ok....Here's the bucket sans ears.

 

Edited August 19, 2010 by SydB1974

[SydB1974]

Basic assembly on the bucket is DONE!!!! Ears are attached! Ended up with a bit of a high brow, which I don't mind at all. this kit will start out as a regular Stunt kit, but may end up going Sandy in the future (next year project could be AP armor as ultimate shiny Death Star TK). The brow could almost be 'Move Along' height. Actually VERY HAPPY with the results. Finishing the basic bits of the bucket was a great way to spend the last day of my 35th year on this rock, transitioning into year 36. Here's some pics!

 

[tkrestonva[TK]]

Looks good - and Happy Birthday to you, sir.

[jrenna]

Wow, Amazing!! Just surfing the forums checking out the diffrent kits and builds, Im still in kit shopping mode, This really gives me a first hand into what comes of hard work! Looks Awsome!

[SydB1974]

vacation has had me running around the last couple days, but finally got back to the build yesterday. trimmed/fit the shins. primed the handplates yesterday. I'm using the handplates as a test for using the Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel before painting the bucket. Since I'm off this week, and the temps and humidity are down (especially in the mornings) it's actually perfect. I just got done priming the helmet and then painting the handplates with the enamel. After sanding the bucket, I may run another coat of primer on it, just for giggles.

Edited August 26, 2010 by SydB1974

[SydB1974]

went ahead and painted the bucket today. now the wait for drying/curing!

[SydB1974]

Bucket is looking good after a few days of drying and curing. Still going to let it sit until Friday (7 days since painting). Glued my first piece last night to get a feel of working with E-6000. Went with the ab button cluster. Followed the advice from some threads here. First, I sanded the areas that would be getting the glue. Then I washed and dried the pieces to get rid of the dust from sanding. Applied E-6000 to the pieces using a popsicle/craft stick. I put down a line and then spread it out, like buttering bread. I let the pieces sit for a couple minutes, then put em together, and threw a few magnets on it. worked pretty well....the glue is a little gummier than I expected.

 

tonight I'm going to start gluing the biceps. I'm going to go with the "inner strip" method to join the pieces. I have plenty of scrap laying around, so I figure I'll put it to good use!

 

Back to the bucket for a sec.....I'm thinking about hand painting the traps and tears, but creating some stencils for them, so they have a neat/clean look. Actually, the grey I'll do by hand, but the stencils would be for the black outline and lines. I was thinking about using the sticky backed vinyl sheets that RC car builders use to mask and paint designs (flames) on their cars. Does anyone have experience with these sheets? I am going to get a piece and create a test template and do it on a piece of scrap material. If it turns out well, then I'll go ahead and do it. If not, TK-4510's decals will do the trick. I plan on using his tube stripe stencil anyway

[SydB1974]

went ahead and ordered TK-4510's decals and a few other items. the test didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. no worries though. work on the armor stalled last week, as my brother and his wife welcomed a new addition.....work will commence again tonight...prepping some pieces for priming, and going to get started gluing the rest of the pieces finally.

[kyle88]

Nw what do you use the E-6000 to glue? Sorry I'm a new cadet.

[SydB1974]

Nw what do you use the E-6000 to glue? Sorry I'm a new cadet.

 

yep....using the E-6000. it's a little like rubber cement...although it doesn't seem to spread quite as easily as rubber cement. But, it gets the job done very well.