fragarock's RS Stunt build - Not to scale

[Gwithian]

Fantastic job Frank I read "war and peace" quicker lol seriously a great thread and helpful fir new RS builds .... I wish I had seen this before I did mine

 

 

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[UncleBrain]

This is an awesome thread!  You're making me feel way better about my big brown box from RS arriving a couple days ago.  I'm way less confused at this point.

[fragarock[TK]]

Glad you guys are finding my build useful, even the mistakes. Without other people's build threads none of us would learn the skills to complete our kits so if I can help just let me know. I'm still figuring things out too, even though I'm nearing the end.

 

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[fragarock[TK]]

Here's the next installment of my helmet build. I cut and fit the S trim around the neck opening. Does this get secured to the helmet in an way? A couple drops of E6000? It seems like it could come loose in a few areas.

 

 

Next step was to paint. Here are the colors I used.

 

 

Started with the vocoder. Here are the pencil lines I drew to mark the paint boundary.

 

 

Then I painted around this line to set the perimeter and then filled in the are in between.

 

 

 

I let this dry and the next day worked on the gray ear bud things and teardrops under the eyes. Again I painted around the perimeter then filled in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next day I painted the traps. I thought it safer to let the other parts dry before I manhandled this trying to paint the traps as I was holding this in my lap and turning it in all directions to get the best angle to paint the lines. Also had to pull down the brow trim to paint those front traps. Once these were dry I trimmed around with thin black lines. Sorry no pics of that.

 

 

 

Painted the teeth. I left a small white gap at the top and bottom of each tooth. A lot of the reference photos were like this so I went with it. Did I get the corners of the frown correct where you have to paint the last tooth?

 

 

 

Another day went by and I painted the black stripes. At the tears and traps I used a template that I got from Trooperbay. it worked pretty well.

 

 

There were a couple spots where the paint bled under the masking template but once dry I just covered it up with some more gray paint.

Also used template on the tube stripes.

 

 

 

You can see my French Blue was pretty thin. I intentionally put it on thin to reduce the change of beeding under the masking template. I put (3) coats of paint on eventually.

 

 

When I removed the mask I found some bleeding. Luckily it's easily scraped away with an xacto knife.

 

 

 

 

Here's the completed paint job.

 

 

 

 

 

Next thing to tackle is the interior. I'm thinking about cutting the lenses out individually for each eye. May make a foam border around the lens, actually two foam borders with the lens sandwiched in between then bolt this assembly into the helmet so it can be removed with a screwdriver. What have others done to mount the lenses?

[Cricket[TK]]

The green acetate that RS provides is screen accurate, but I wasn't a fan of it.  I picked up a green welder's shield (181542 on Amazon), and cut it into a rectangle shape (one welder's shield yields two sets of lenses), making a notched area in the middle for my nose.  Then I pressure mounted the whole thing inside across the eyes.  The lenses are anchored by the ear screws- just put one hole in each end of the welder's shield and secure with a nut.  I left a gap at the bottom of my lenses to allow for air flow and reduce fogging.  

This mounting setup isn't nearly as tricked out as I've seen, but it's quick, easy, and it works.  

 

Oh, and the bucket painting looks great!!!  Nice work!

Edited March 30, 2017 by Cricket

[Chopper857[TK]]

i went with individual mounts, T-nuts held in place with E6000 and then covered with surgyu (think that's spelt right  )

 

[fragarock[TK]]

Hi Guys,

 

I've been working on my helmet on and off over the past week. Here's what I've done.

 

Started working on the lenses. Put a piece of paper behind inside the helmet behind the eyes to trace the shape. Then added 20mm extra around the trace lines. Transferred that to the lens material and cut out each one.

 

 

 

 

Another trooper (can't remember who it was....sorry) suggested using a hockey helmet repair kit to mount the lenses. So I ordered one and it comes with a receiver that I glued into the helmet. I had to shim these up to the correct height using some ABS scraps. Then cut a little hole out of each lens which you can see in the photo above. There's a bolt that goes thru this hole and mounts into the base inside the helmet. Pretty simple.

 

 

Once I had the lenses worked out I masked off the helmet and prepared for the plastidip coating.

 

 

Next I installed some rock climbing helmet pads. Ultimately I realized these don't do much as the top of my head doesn't reach the top of the bucket...even with the padding. So I may have to try something else, maybe a hat insert or something beefier. But for now I'm rolling with it.

 

 

Next I looked at my mic. I pulled out the metal wire piece that goes over the head leaving just the mic section. I simply used industrial Velcro and stuck it inside after gluing in the mesh over the teeth.

 

 

 

The rest of the voice changer and amp I put aside for later. Next I looked at the Ukswrath hearing assist system I ordered. I removed the ear pieces and bored a hole thru each side using my dremel. Here's part of the system which includes the small mics, control board, and battery case. The speakers are separate piece that plug into the control board.

 

 

 

This is the bit I used.

 

 

Here's the mic installed thru the helmet. I used a bit of E6000 to hold it in place.

 

 

Here's the inside installation if the mic.

 

 

To mount the rest of the hearing assist pieces I used Velcro, putting the soft side inside the helmet to limit scratches while putting it on. This is the control board which has an on/off switch and a volume knob. The speakers are mounted up higher in the helmet just below the padding. I had to do this as putting them too close to the ear mics caused feedback.

 

 

I wasn't good about photgraphing the rest of the install. Guess I was more concerned about cramming all the stuff inside the helmet. I also added Ukswrath cooling system which has (2) fans and a hookup to a USB power supply which I happened to already have. So I velcroed the fans into place, higher up in the bucket where they'd blow on my face. The USB power supply is mounted low in the rim of the bucket. The system also comes with a wired on/off switch which I guess I'll run down to one of my hands while trooping.

 

The other thing I crammed in here was the icomm board to which the voice mic would plug into. There will be a PTT (push to talk) wire that also runs down my arm to my hand so it can be turned on/off with the push of a button. There will also be another wire that feeds from the icomm to the amp which will get mounted inside the chest piece.

 

I still need to do a bit of wire management but I got it all to fit. As I was installing these parts I had to trim away more material at the helmet opening. I just couldn't get my big dome inside with some of these items blocking the way. So, I ordered a new neck S trim as the previous one I had cut is now too short.

 

 

I decided to see how everything looked on my mannequin. Here's the kit so far....getting close to being done!!

 

 

 

 

I do need to go back and trim more material off the top of the thighs. I think this will improve my mobility and add a bit of gap above the shins which looks better. Right now they look a little bulky sitting atop the shins.

 

Question: You can see the PTT cable coming out of the helmet. There will be this and the fan on/off switch. What is the best way to run these? Do you just slip them down under the shoulder and down the forearms? Do they go beneath the undersuit? What about the icomm cable to the speaker located inside the chest?

 

That's it for tonight. Let me know what you think. I feel like I could start the process of submitting for 501st approval. Seem plausible at this point? Anything look wrong?

[Cricket[TK]]

Good work, Frank!  Almost there!!!

 

Getting the padding in the lid just right has been a challenge for me and my little head.  At first, I padded the heck out of it all over, and it fit me fine- when I didn't have my armor on.  When I put on the armor, somehow it changed everything, and my helmet didn't fit anymore.   Gah!  While in my armor, the helmet suddenly was sitting too high on my head.  Closer examination showed that I had too much padding in there, even though I thought it was perfect.

I ripped it all out, and after lots of trial and error, I found that I didn't need as much padding as I thought.  I now only have padding at the forehead, back of my head, and one pad on the left and right sides.  I removed the padding at the top because I found that my eyes lined up better with the eye openings when there was no padding in there.  

[Chopper857[TK]]

Looking good trooper, having just gone through All the approval stuff myself recently just minor observations, knee ammo box rivet needs to be painted white, make sure your belt ammo boxes are right in line with the edge of your belt (got pulled up on that). Sniper knee plate looks like it might be low on the top edge but can't quite tell from photo. But this is just knick picky stuff assuming your shooting for centurion. Good luck mate

[fragarock[TK]]

Good call on painting the rivet heads. I totally forgot. I held off painting all those rivet and bolt heads until the end, figuring is scratch them up during the build.

 

Guess it's time.

 

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[68Brick[TK]]

Good Looking build Frank. I'd look into ditching the PTT cable and look into a wireless mic setup. They're cheap on Amazon and work well. You can then relocate your Icomm to your chest plate and free up some room in your bucket. You'll get dressed faster, not have to worry about hanging wires, and you'll have greater range of motion with your head.

 

BTW, are you shooting for EIB or Centurion? I'd recommend it as your kit looks good and TK's look their best when at EIB or Centurion levels of approval. Good Luck!

[fragarock[TK]]

Hi Troopers! Friday night I did a bit of work on my thighs. I took about 1/2" off the tops and made new return edges. Then I was painting the last few bolt heads and realized I was near, very near the end of this build. It kind of snuck up on me and I thought, "Well now it's time to take some pictures I guess". So I spent several hours Saturday cleaning up the holocaust that was my basement build area and my workshop. It had been about 7 months since I started modifying my E-11 and about 6 months working on the kit. I figure I spent about 2 hours a night for almost every night over those months. That was a lot of missed sleep but when you have kids that's when most of the work has to be done and looking at the photos my wife took for me today I'm really happy with the way this RS kit came out. Not to say there aren't some tweaks I need to make but I think my goal of building towards Centruion and with attention to detail paid off.

 

So, I'll submit my photos to my GML tonight and hopefully have a TK number soon. Here are some photos from today. As always, thanks for tuning in and for the support.

 

 

 

 

And keeping an eye on the kids while enjoying a beer on this unusually warm Michigan day.

 

[Gwithian]

That looks amazing Frank , awsome loving all the electronics in your lid and the painting of your decals <br><br>

Now how did you drink the beer with your lid on?

[Cricket[TK]]

Way to go, Frank!!!!!  Looks great!  Congrats!!!  

[fragarock[TK]]

Hi,

 

I'm making tweaks to the inside of my bucket. What's the best way to cut down the length of the various screws/bolts that keep poking me when I put on the helmet? I don't want to spoil the threads on the cutting process.

 

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[A.J. Hamler[TK]]

1) Mark them where you want to cut them

2) Remove them one at a time (so your helmet doesn't fall apart)

3) Slip a nut of the appropriate size onto the screw -- use a steel nut, not the locking kind with nylon like those inside some helmets

4) Cut the screw to length any way you want -- diagonal pliers, cutters, rotary tool with cut-off wheel, whatever

5) Use a file to dull any sharp edges at the cut

6) Remove the nut -- as you remove it, it will re-thread the screw

7) Replace in your helmet

8) Move on to the next screw and repeat.

 

A.J.

[fragarock[TK]]

Thanks for the cutting instructions A.J.. I'll give it a try.

 

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[fragarock[TK]]

Hi Guys and Girls,

 

How long should it take for the GML to review 501st submission photos?

 

I submitted my photos almost a week ago and was quickly told the review would be done by Friday. It's now Sunday and still no approval and no response to emails.

 

I'm trying to be patient but I don't like that I'm getting no response to my communications.

 

 

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[Chopper857[TK]]

did your GML go to SWCO might be a reason why ? ?

[Gwithian]

Good luck Frank, your armour is awesome

 

 

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[68Brick[TK]]

1) Mark them where you want to cut them

2) Remove them one at a time (so your helmet doesn't fall apart)

3) Slip a nut of the appropriate size onto the screw -- use a steel nut, not the locking kind with nylon like those inside some helmets

4) Cut the screw to length any way you want -- diagonal pliers, cutters, rotary tool with cut-off wheel, whatever

5) Use a file to dull any sharp edges at the cut

6) Remove the nut -- as you remove it, it will re-thread the screw

7) Replace in your helmet

8) Move on to the next screw and repeat.

 

A.J.

 

I'd add, finish with locking nuts and/or acorn nuts. Smooth round shapes in case your bump your head, or someone knocks your helmet. It happens.

 

Also, I looks like your chest plate is separating from your ab plate in a couple pics; you might need to add an additional strap to restrain them. You don't want your chest getting caught behind your ab plate.

 

Looking Good Trooper! Will you be applying for EIB or Centurion?

[fragarock[TK]]

I'd add, finish with locking nuts and/or acorn nuts. Smooth round shapes in case your bump your head, or someone knocks your helmet. It happens.

 

Also, I looks like your chest plate is separating from your ab plate in a couple pics; you might need to add an additional strap to restrain them. You don't want your chest getting caught behind your ab plate.

 

Looking Good Trooper! Will you be applying for EIB or Centurion?

Definitely going for Centurion. Just waiting for my 501st approval.

 

I was having issues with the ab pulling down too far from the chest but I tightened up the strapping. I know in my front photo it looks like there's a gap but it's just the shadow. I'll check it again.

 

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[fragarock[TK]]

Good news!! Just got my 501st approval. I am now TK 92111 ready to start my patrol with the Great Lakes Garrison.

 

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[Cricket[TK]]

Yeaaaahhhhh! Congrats Frank!

[68Brick[TK]]

Congratulations Frank!