MarxKnight91[TK] Posted July 17, 2015 Report Posted July 17, 2015 Excellent choice Starrfox. My go to has been white russians, cause..... the Dude abides, man. Oh and keep up the good work! Quote
Starrfox1 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Posted July 17, 2015 Hehe I didn't know so many troopers were so cultured in the art of consuming fine alcoholic beverages I will probably do some trimming today, I'm taking a half day to throw a surprise BBQ for my girlfriend's birthday - which mean ORIGINAL TRILOGY RIBS! (let your ribs smoke at 225 for the duration of the OT) - I'll probably have plenty of time to do the other shin halves, maybe some sanding. I'm hoping to at least get to the point where I can start doing some preliminary test fittings to determine how much material I'll have to trim... chicken legs are a curse, let me tell you. I don't even want to think about the thighs right now... OH. I got my holster from Gaz yesterday. I have to say, the hand stitching and attention to detail is ridiculous - I don't ever see myself needing another holster, it's as simple as that. Quick question: I may end up going to the hobby shop on my way home... what kind of paint do you guys recommend? I know that Humbrol and Testors are favorites around here, but is there honestly a difference aside from price? I'm not one to skimp, but if there's a definite difference between the two I want to make sure I get the right one. Thanks guys, more to follow! Quote
Starrfox1 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Posted July 17, 2015 edit: no return edge anywhere would a bit overkill since the sniper knee requires some, the ears, lol. May I should recant that statement. I think you know what I mean though right? The sniper knee as in the actual piece or as in the shin part that it attaches to? Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted July 20, 2015 Report Posted July 20, 2015 the sniper plate needs a bit return to give it depth. Check out a few build tutorials of that particular section and it'll make sense. Quote
Starrfox1 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Report Posted July 30, 2015 I feel bad because I'm not practicing due diligence and posting as often as I should... truthfully I've been a bit overwhelmed by my box of plastic and have trimmed very little since my last post. I did finally get 2 shin halves (left leg) and the sniper knee fully trimmed - it's nice to know that this armor is going to be snug on me (I HATE the idea of looking like a stick figure dressed in armor) but the thought of accidentally trimming off another good return edge has been extremely off-putting for me... Jason and Tony, my fathers, I have failed you :-( GOOD NEWS THOUGH: I borrowed a Dremel from my friend to assist me in trimming the rest of the kit. I have to stop by Home Depot or Lowes to get a set of bits/heads but I'm happy to have a power tool at my disposal. This weekend will most likely consist of me practicing on some of the scrap ABS I have from my shins and sniper knee, and hopefully I will get around to fully trimming the whole kit.... at least, that's the plan. Any tips from the masters regarding power tools and plastic? I'm sure I'll get a feel for it after I practice on some scrap, but if any of you have some recommendations for types of bits/heads, techniques, any sort of insight really, I'd really appreciate it. - Fox Quote
BIGDEAL[TK] Posted July 30, 2015 Report Posted July 30, 2015 I found a dremel too severe for trimming my AP. The best tool I used was a quality pair of lexan scissors and several grades of sandpaper. An exacto knife for straight edge score and snap, especially on cover strips. Quote
Starrfox1 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Report Posted July 30, 2015 I found a dremel too severe for trimming my AP. The best tool I used was a quality pair of lexan scissors and several grades of sandpaper. An exacto knife for straight edge score and snap, especially on cover strips. Man that's good to know - I was going to spend a bunch of money on bits... maybe I still will, but if you think score/snap/scissors is the way to go then I'm up for the challenge. I got a flexible metal ruler that should help with the straight scoring/snapping, also a few clamps to keep it in place while scoring. Quote
BIGDEAL[TK] Posted July 30, 2015 Report Posted July 30, 2015 I did the strips with hand pressure and a good sharp exacto BUT BE CAREFUL go slow and watch you dont slip. I found six good scores worked to snap, look at Dannys build thread for how to build a cover strip station - hes the strip master!! Quote
gazmosis[501st] Posted July 30, 2015 Report Posted July 30, 2015 Exact is work but are not heavy duty enough for me. I have always used a razor knife for control but when cutting the cover strips with a long straight edge, make sure to clamp the straight edge to the plastic sheet. This will keep it from wandering and screwing up the cut. Also, whenever a blade of any kind, you will be left with a very slight raised edge along the cut line. If you don't remove this your strip won't sit flush to the surface. Quote
MarxKnight91[TK] Posted July 31, 2015 Report Posted July 31, 2015 I started off with the lexans and they were good for big pieces, but I wish I had the confidence earlier on to use the box cutter for scores and snapping it. That's what i've been using for the finer trimming and detailing. It's worked like a dream. That being said, I was thankful for the dremel at the armor parties to make quick work of my TD panel and caps. I just didnt have the foresight to trim a bit of the pipe to make the caps fit a little better. Keep at it! I got my upper body snapped together and it's an amazing feeling being close to the finish line! Quote
Khazid[TK] Posted July 31, 2015 Report Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) The dremel is good for rounded corners for taking down additional return edges you want to scale back. For primary trimming the score and snap is by far the easiest way to go. If you do dremel, keep it on low speed. The faster it turns the higher the friction. At some point you are melting the abs and mot sanding/cutting. Edited July 31, 2015 by Khazid Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted July 31, 2015 Report Posted July 31, 2015 I've only used my dremel for shaving down my ears, as a drill to do holes for the kidney/ab, and drilling holes for snap plates. If I had a real cordless drill I would have put the dremel up a long time ago. For long straight cuts, get yourself a long metal ruler and clamp it down. I use my exacto knife to score and snap. On items with lots of curves, e.g. the chest plate, I trace a line with a pencil then follow it up with my exacto knife. I go back maybe 2 or 3 passes then follow it up with my scissors on the trim portion. I'm able to go along and pull off piece by piece of the material I'm getting rid of. I've been working on my build for months and you'll get more confident as you go along. If you make a minor mistake, it's nothing a little ABS paste can't fix. Quote
MarxKnight91[TK] Posted July 31, 2015 Report Posted July 31, 2015 I've only used my dremel for shaving down my ears, as a drill to do holes for the kidney/ab, and drilling holes for snap plates. If I had a real cordless drill I would have put the dremel up a long time ago. For long straight cuts, get yourself a long metal ruler and clamp it down. I use my exacto knife to score and snap. On items with lots of curves, e.g. the chest plate, I trace a line with a pencil then follow it up with my exacto knife. I go back maybe 2 or 3 passes then follow it up with my scissors on the trim portion. I'm able to go along and pull off piece by piece of the material I'm getting rid of. I've been working on my build for months and you'll get more confident as you go along. If you make a minor mistake, it's nothing a little ABS paste can't fix. This. Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted July 31, 2015 Report Posted July 31, 2015 Hey James, you didn't let anyone down my friend, just different strokes for different folks. As you've figured out, there's a learning curve here. Once you know what works for you, master it. The recommended tool list is for a reason, they've been proven to work and they're cost effective. To be clear I only use the dremel in areas I can't score and snap accurately. Scissors don't work for me as my hands can't take it. That's just me, papa Tony as I've been called..lol On another note, after building a couple of rigs I invested $100 into bench style belt sander. I can now literally cut and shape armor in seconds instead of minutes and hours. Is it for everyone? No. Am I recommending that everyone run out and buy one, no however, anyone who plans on building more than one rig, I highly suggest one. Again, as you become accustomed to the plastic and your crafting skills are honed in, how you choose to build your armor and the tools you use are up to you. Finally, this is note a race. Though we have our checkered flags out for ya, whether it's in two weeks or two years we'll be here to watch you cross that finish line. 1 Quote
Starrfox1 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Posted August 25, 2015 You guys are never going to believe this.... 2nd kit on the way. Got a pretty sweet deal on an ATA kit over on the RPF, looks like I'll have 2 projects in the works now.... In other news, building has been at kind of a standstill after I botched my sniper knee. I am pretty certain that I took too much off, so unfortunately I'll probably be looking for a replacement soon. I did get a new set of ears that look 100% better on my bucket, so I'm pretty happy about that.... but the monolithic box of white is looming over me more and more as the days go by. I think that my current AP kit will be turned into a Sandtrooper - I will be completing it before I start on the ATA. I really want to get a build party going here but everyone is so busy... part of me wishes I was patient enough to wait for the ANOVOS armor but I suppose this is what I wanted - armor, FAST. Anywho, just wanted to let my fellow people know what is going on. I will post some progress pics tonight, they won't be much but at least you'll be able to see what snail-pace trimming looks like Quote
Starrfox1 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Posted September 2, 2015 Disaster strikes :-/ Straight through to the bone. Take heed, fellow troopers, wear a slash proof glove Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted September 2, 2015 Report Posted September 2, 2015 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Sorry sorry to hear brother. Glad to see you still have the digit. Please wear your PPE folks. Get better James, see you on the front lines soon enough. Quote
68Brick[TK] Posted September 3, 2015 Report Posted September 3, 2015 YIKES ! ! ! That bites. But glad to see there's still 5 digits on that hand. Rest up. Yes ... PPE !!!! Wear your gloves and glasses folks! Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted September 3, 2015 Report Posted September 3, 2015 I HATE HATE HATE wearing gloves but even I suck it up when precision cutting with an exacto comes into play. Quote
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