Barcoder[TK] Posted June 13, 2015 Report Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) It's high time I start documenting my build, now that I have officially begun work on this long, scary & exciting journey... (Stay tuned for progress pics) Edited June 13, 2015 by Barcoder 2 Quote
Mayday73 Posted June 13, 2015 Report Posted June 13, 2015 Look forward to following your thread here as I will be be taking the same trip once I can get my hand on a kit, good luck and stay calm 1 Quote
Pencap510 Posted June 13, 2015 Report Posted June 13, 2015 Following with interest - my build should begin next month 2 Quote
Barcode Posted June 13, 2015 Report Posted June 13, 2015 It's high time I start documenting my build, now that I have officially begun work on this long, scary & exciting journey... (Stay tuned for progress pics) Your cramping my style on the name there Peter.... lol, j/k. Good luck on this build mate. I'll be tuned in for sure. 3 Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Your cramping my style on the name there Peter.... lol, j/k. Good luck on this build mate. I'll be tuned in for sure. Ah Ha! So YOU are the reason I couldn't use "Barcode"!!!! LOL Edited June 13, 2015 by Barcoder 1 Quote
TK-Sonic[TK] Posted June 13, 2015 Report Posted June 13, 2015 Good luck on the build, will be following your work. Also in the process of getting my hands on this suit. 1 Quote
Zaphod[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Report Posted June 14, 2015 I'm also waiting for my kit to arrive next month. Post lots of pics ease. The Bravo group will be following your build with great interest. Good luck! -Pete 3 Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the words of encouragement; I have a feeling they will be needed. We shall start with the obligatory "big brown box" picture (it came in 3 boxes, but am still waiting on box 3) Edited June 14, 2015 by Barcoder Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 Trimming is almost finished. (thankfully I had TONS of help on that.) I can offer no advise on trimming as I hardly did any. lol The chest. The back sections, The ab section with all the little boxes! Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) The neck seal, belt & buckle & the soft pouch for the belt The belt boxes. The forearms, The shoulder bells. The shins. The biceps. (**Note-the parts are not in order. I just arranged them for the pics.**) Edited June 14, 2015 by Barcoder Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 The dreaded TD. The thighs and knee caps. The cod and butt plate. The spats. The "greeblies" Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 I did a rough fit of the TD, just to get a feel for it... ...it almost ended with me in tears. lol. I will be leaving this to the last, after I have gotten used to/experience working with PlasticWeld. I have never used it before and am not rushing it. 1 Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) As it has been a while since I've worked with ABS, I chose to start work on the smaller pieces. (Build up the confidence a bit, as this kit is a little intimidating.) I will admit, I kinda missed the scent of sanded plastic! I trimmed and fitted the spats. I will follow in Randall's footsteps and try using snaps on the clips, instead of velcro. Edited June 14, 2015 by Barcoder Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Posted June 14, 2015 Moving on to the Ab boxes... (or as I was calling them, the seven little "ears".) The process reminded me of fiddling with my TK ears. Not nearly as frustrating, just tedious. As I will not be doing the edges seamless, I wanted them to sit as flush as possible. Once they are glued, they will sit perfectly. (Side note-I got a little over-confidant with my trimming skills and took a gouge out of the side of box. Just had to sand the whole thing down again; no harm done. Careful, the sides can be a little thin...) Quote
camprandall Posted June 15, 2015 Report Posted June 15, 2015 Wow, those spats look much better than ours did! I wonder if they improved those parts. It was about impossible to get the seam to line up perfectly while keeping the top edge flush. Looks great! As it has been a while since I've worked with ABS, I chose to start work on the smaller pieces. (Build up the confidence a bit, as this kit is a little intimidating.) I will admit, I kinda missed the scent of sanded plastic! I trimmed and fitted the spats. I will follow in Randall's footsteps and try using snaps on the clips, instead of velcro. Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Posted June 16, 2015 Wow, those spats look much better than ours did! I wonder if they improved those parts. It was about impossible to get the seam to line up perfectly while keeping the top edge flush. Looks great! Thanks Clint!! I did some fiddling/sanding to get them to do what I wanted. (No improved parts-Alpha) Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Posted June 16, 2015 My first experience with PlasticWeld went very well! It hardly smelled at all and wasn`t too bad to work with. (Using J-B Weld plastic bonder.) Spats are glued and sanded. Glued the ``easy`` side of the biceps. Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Worked on sanding & fitting the thighs and shins. I sanded down the return edges on the insides. This really helped the parts to lay flatter & closer to the seam. (Which will come in handy when I have to do the seamless parts.) (Left side has been sanded down.) Also took a stab at sanding & fitting the box on the thigh. Edited June 16, 2015 by Barcoder Quote
Barcoder[TK] Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Posted June 18, 2015 Just working on the biceps. (In hindsight, I should have glued the butt joint first, instead of the "easy" tab side.) This isn't going to be fun...Notched backing stripsGot a nice, snug fit.All the little clamps in row, doing their thing...I attempted to glue the biceps together last night and experienced my first round of frustration. I will admit that this kit can be a tad overwhelming; definitely felt it last night. I am sure there's more to come! Chin up, as they say! Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 Wow wasting no time, great job Peter 1 Quote
camprandall Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 I will admit that this kit can be a tad overwhelming; definitely felt it last night. I am sure there's more to come! Chin up, as they say! Yes, indeed! You'll get through it though. As for your comment about the detonator, that's exactly how we felt. I didn't do the JB Weld on that stuff because it's much harder to sand and the det has so many little corners to smooth out. I think applying bondo in all the cracks with a finger to keep the excess to a minimum would work great on that because it doesn't undergo the torque of the rest of the suit and shouldn't have any issues with cracking. I can't imagine trying to sand jb weld in all those little crevices and have it come out looking smooth. 1 Quote
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