Brattie's AP Build and Journey to The 501st

[Brattie[TK]]

hehehe Thanks..

 

Have to remind myself to get these pads for my Helm //

 

Ahh NVM.. ordered.. Laugh

Edited January 21, 2016 by Brattie

[Brattie[TK]]

Alright..  Topics for discussion please:

 

Interior Bucket Painting:

• what paint to use
• what paint not to use
• other tips and tricks

Bucket Electronics:

 

Fans

• How many fans is enough?
• Does Echo truly not answer PMs that often? (Kidding)
• Best positioning of Fans

Voice amps / Icomms

• Placements
• Is it worth it or can it wait
• Sound choices

Blaster Painting:

• What paint to use
• what paint not to use
• what glue to use when parts break from people touching things that aren't theirs even though they had been told to keep their tiny little fingers off of it and were reminded of the last time they got their hands on something that wasn't meant for them and how that broke and made someone really sad and it was very hard to fix.
• Possible items that could be used for the lenses in the scope
• Grip Weathering - is it worth it
• Speed tape (tin tape) used in ejection port (I love the look and may weather mine a bit to take away some of the shiny newness it has)
• (Still have some cleaning up to do etc.
• Etc.

Stickers / Decals

• Best way to help vinyl stickers adhere to hard plastic

 

Helpful tips for others:

1. When painting with Plastic paint remember to use an exact-o knife to cut around the edges before pealing off painters tape or try to remove painters tape while paint is still wet. This will help reduce the ripping of the plastic paint on your item
2. If you have painted your hard plastic container and you want to add "FLARE" through the use of Glow-in-the-dark Paint.. - fun and kewl btw -  Never apply over top of plastic paint as it creates pitting and bubbles and will peel off your plastic paint.
3. If you have a blaster, the most delicate part of it are the parts that stick out where small fingers want to play. Like the switch that doesn't move to turn the blaster from automatic to single, etc.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Brattie

[Scotty33[TK]]

I can help with a couple...<br><br>

I have Echo's fans and they are awesome. Two is enough and the bracket he makes places them close to the mic tips. His PM response can be a bit sporadic, but awesome product and reliable service, cannot recommend highly enough.<br><br>

IComm - I wish I had one. It CAN wait, but I find myself having to repeat myself to kids a bit. If your budget allows for it, then definately get one. The other thing I would highly recommend and wish I had is a hearing assist system. Ukswrath makes one which from all reports is excellent, but I think there are a couple of others available as well.<br><br>

Paint is most definately not my thing.<br><br>

Hope this helps!<br><br>

Edit: by '2 fans' I mean ONE of Echos sets, which comes with two fans.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Scotty33

[Brattie[TK]]

Hi Scott..

 

Thank you for your awesome &lt>br< response - teasing!!

I never thought of a hearing assist setup.. sounds like an interesting idea. I will def. look into it.

 

Why are you so against paint? I just think having the inside of your bucket black finishes it off and gives it that look of not being plastic.

 

Help is always appreciated. Thank you. If you have links or such where I can learn more about the hearing aids for troopers.. please feel welcome to post them.

 

[Scotty33[TK]]

Sorry, I wasn't clear, I'm not against paint, I'm just incredibly bad at it.<br><br>

Ukswraths system: <br>

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32487-ukswraths-stormtrooper-hearing-assist-system/'>http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32487-ukswraths-stormtrooper-hearing-assist-system/</a>

Edited January 22, 2016 by Scotty33

[Brattie[TK]]

No worries about the paint..

 

About the Audio system:

 

Which would you choose and why?

 

Option 1) SHA PCB (v1 speaker) with Black or White sleeve, 9v, Black or White mic cables, 91db Speakers with additional volume control

 

Option 2) SHA PCB (v2 ear bud) with Black or White sleeve, 9v, Black or White mic cables. No speakers, customer supplied ear buds

Edited January 22, 2016 by Brattie

[Scotty33[TK]]

Personally, I would probably go with the speakers, but the only reason for that is because I don't like having ear buds in my ears for a long time.<br>

If earbuds don't bother you (remember you could easily be trooping for a few hours), then I would say go with the ear buds because they would be better at cancelling out extra noise.

[Brattie[TK]]

hurm.. see it depends on the buds for me. Some feel comfortable and don't bother me, others would drive my ears nuts.

 

At the same time I like the idea of noise being cancelled out and being able to hear really well.

I think it's a safety thing as well. If out trooping it would be good to be able to hear what's going on around you without it being muffled.

 

I'll have to seriously consider this purchase when I get paid next and after I pay off my armor.

 

If I'm lucky the CDN dollar rebounds a bit by then and it's not such a hit as I'm sure his prices are USD.

[68Brick[TK]]

There's also Skyminers Environmental Audio Systems. He's in Ontario (CDN $) and his system works well. I use buds with mine.

[Brattie[TK]]

Hey Brad.. oo that sounds promising.. do you have any links to his stuff or where to purchase?

 

Is this him? - http://www.activearmor.ca/?page_id=4

 

He uses 3 batteries though.. I like the idea of a single 9V

 

The prices are similar as well.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Brattie

[68Brick[TK]]

Yup, that's him.

 

Oh, and the other stuff,

 

Various off-the-shelf paints will work for painting the inside of your bucket. Nothing industrial or commercial grade, as they may be strong enough to eat the abs. You never know what solvents etc are in those. I used acrylic satin black paint and it covered well. Brushed it on. If I scrape it bad enough it will come off, but it's easy to touch up. Some go the plastidip route, and others do spray paint.

 

Fans ... start with one kit like Echo's. If you find you need more ventilation, make a supplementary fan kit yourself, or purchase another kit of somekind. For placement, you want to ensure you've got air movement across your lenses or they will fog up. I think Echo's is set up to do just that so it would work fine.

 

Voice Amp ... this can wait as your budget allows, especially with our dollar as it is. you can get along pretty good with hand signals and speaking loudly through your bucket. That being said, you'll want to reserve some room in your chest plate for the electronic boxes and speaker that are required for these setups if you're going to get one eventually. I have to say though, these systems do add an extra level of coolness when you talk to the public in a stormtrooper kind of voice with a static burst. The smiles get even larger (inside and outside the bucket)

 

Blaster paint ... again, off-the-shelf paint works great. Michaels has it all. E6000 glue works well for sticking stuff on. It sticks well and remains somewhat flexible for some "give". You'll probably have at least 3 tubes of it anyways for armor assembly. I'm still looking for lenses for my E-11, but i've heard lenses from dollar store binoculars etc (or broken toys with lenses) work well. I'd weather your speed tape with some different shades of "metal" look paint from Michaels.

 

I have a feeling this thread is going to go "Hot" faster that any other I've seen.

Edited January 22, 2016 by 68Brick

[TK 2759[501st]]

As for voice or amp, most of us use the Aker... I'd suggest picking one up at some point if you wish to be heard... As for the environmental sound system, yes one of our Garrison members sells one. <br><br>

Re blaster breakage, depending on what broke, I've used a two part epoxy... I can also see uses for Bondo as well in repairs. Depends what broke mainly.

[Knockerbot[501st]]

Home hardware has tiny bar magnets.

 

Use Krylon paint with primer built in and use an acrylic matte finish.

[Knockerbot[501st]]

Fans, build your own, so much fun haha

[Knockerbot[501st]]

And if you spray the inside of your helmet overspray is a real bad issue so that why most of use use brush on plastidip. 

[xanthis02]

Later on you can invest in these so you can keep everything inside your helmet it's what i'm using when my ANOVOS kit gets to me

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31436-fs-ukswraths-hovi-mic-tips-with-speakers-crl-accurate-tips/

[Brattie[TK]]

BUILD UPDATE

 

Thanks guys... Not too sure about "plasticdip paint" It sounds interesting.. How hard is it to apply.. how forgiving is it. Being an artist I'm use to dealing with Acrylic paints and doing crafty kinda things so I tend to lean towards what I know.. and all this glue stuff.. It's going to be a learning experience..

 

That being said I return to the sad case of the broken switch on my blaster. Sniffles.

 

Someone that shall not be named and had been told to not touch what they were told to leave alone.. anyway.. broken switch..

 

Had to glue it but it was a fight as it's hard to clamp..

 

So I super glued first then JB welded.. not sure if it'll work.. picture below

 

I plan on cleaning it up good once I get it to hold for a bit. What a PIA I tell ya!

 

And per a request a while back for pictures with the back cap right..

 

 

I have it hanging as I'm going to start doing some worn paint areas and fixing up the speed taped area as well as continue the switch repair.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Brattie

[Brattie[TK]]

BUILD UPDATE

 

Alrighty.. a little paint..

 

Blaster weathering..

 

 

How did i do?

 

I basically looked at some stills from the movie then looked at the blaster and tried to figure out.. I'm a stormtrooper.. I'm walking/running around what would I scratch or how would my blaster get worn.. and then I put some scuffs there.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Brattie

[TK 2759[501st]]

Looking great so far!

[Brattie[TK]]

So Far? I think i'll do research more. Was advised to check film etc. So as not to make the same mistakes as others.. kinda scared me into not wanting to paint it anymore. chuckles.

[TK 2759[501st]]

So Far? I think i'll do research more. Was advised to check film etc. So as not to make the same mistakes as others.. kinda scared me into not wanting to paint it anymore. chuckles.

I meant everything as a whole, armour included...

[Brattie[TK]]

oo Thanks Dan.. just boots n stuff so far.. waiting for the rest to get here.. but yeah.. it's getting exciting I'm just so nervous about screwin' something up. Laugh

[Sentry71[TK]]

I like that you went with "less is more" - not too many blemishes to make it look overdone. Just enough to suggest good use.

 

Well done!

 

Only suggestion I would make: on the grip itself, coating that with a clear gloss. Original Sterlings had a glossy plastic grip.

Link to the E11 Blaster reference guide (painting section)

[TK 2759[501st]]

oo Thanks Dan.. just boots n stuff so far.. waiting for the rest to get here.. but yeah.. it's getting exciting I'm just so nervous about screwin' something up. Laugh

When in doubt, step back, take a few deep breaths, calm down, and take your time. If you are really in doubt, take a picture and post it here for help.

[Brattie[TK]]

Thanks Dan! I will remember that..

 

Gary.. MY goodness.. what an awesome thread!

Thank you!

 

By using that thread it spoke of the grip being a shiny black.. I didn't want to go full out black on it.. so I used some gloss sealer and did the handle.. I'll post a picture of the final for the blaster painting later.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Brattie