HWT Pack build

[Caligari[TK]]

Well, here I go...first build thread ever, heh.  I took a bunch of pictures when I put my Anovos kit together but didn't really feel I brought anything new to the table so I never made a thread.  I pretty much followed ukswrath's build exactly to build my TK, and I'll be doing that again for my HWT pack: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/30034-hwt-backpack-build-part-1/    I've been scouring all the other build threads I've found here and jotted down some other great ideas so hopefully I can pull this off.  I bought one of those cool HWT patches so now I need to earn it.  Thanks to everyone for sharing their builds and ideas and giving such great advice!  I'm sure I'll need even more advice before I'm through.
 

I guess I'll start with what I've done over the last few months while I researched everything...I bought lots of supplies and materials:

 

I've made a few templates to help me cut out things like the faceplates and pestered Tony with a multitude of questions so I guess I'm finally ready to get things started.  More to come soon! 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looks like you are almost ready to go, Rick!!  Always a pleasure to welcome another HWT to the ranks!

[magni[TK]]

Great choice Rick! Amazing the peer pressure a patch can do! Glad to see the HWT ranks will grow by another. Good Luck!

[CrookKnight[TK]]

Great to have another HWT join the ranks.  Make sure you post all of your progress.

[Caligari[TK]]

Small update...based on feedback from justjoseph63 I've replaced the thin red cup with a thicker tumbler:

 

And my cone template experiment worked out beautifully:

 

 

I also bought another sheet of black ABS for my box faceplates (instead of artboard) and I think I'm going to use thicker ABS instead of the sign material for the back of the boxes so there's more material for the dry wall screws to grab onto. I've also ordered one of the thicker oil pans to see if I like the look of it better when I get to the assembly stage.

Lastly, I realized I didn't include my non-pack items in my first post so here's some other goodies I've acquired.  I'll be replacing the canvas ammo pouch with a third leather one soon so they match better.  I mistakenly went off of the TD requirements instead of looking at the HWT...oops!

 

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by Caligari

[kman[TK]]

Nice score on the cups!  Where did you get them?

 

Also, can I ask what juice (or whatever) the juice top radio dials came from?  I haven't hit the grocery store yet, but I struck out at home.

 

I need to find a store where I can pick up some black plastic sheets, too.  I prefer actual final colors to paint, even if I'm painting it all anyway, so scratches don't show.

[Caligari[TK]]

I got the cups at the local dollar store (Dollar Tree) and my black ABS from TAP Plastics.  TAP has stores in CA I believe, but not sure if they're close to you or not.  I like their ABS because it has a cool pattern on one side so I'll hopefully get a neat effect from it.

I've gone up and down the isles of all of my local grocery stores measuring lids (much to the dismay of onlookers, lol) and couldn't find any lids/caps that are 2.25" in diameter.  Tons of 2.0" and a few 2.5" but that's it.  I think the 2.0" caps look nice in the template I made for my photobox faceplate so I'm just going to go with that size.  I'm going to use perscription bottle lids since they are slightly thicker and have deep grooves on the edges that I think will look better after paint.  I might also glue a 1.75" cap from Pure Leaf iced tea bottles on top of the perscription lids to give it more character.  Or I might fashion a flat ring (or find a big washer) to add to the lid instead so it matches the CRL photo better.  The 2.25" lids look a little cramped and the 2.5" are definitely cramped with the way I drew up my faceplate, but I could always adjust the sections to accommodate I guess.  If 2.5" works for you I found almond/peanut/etc. jars with great lids at many stores.

[kman[TK]]

I've gone up and down the isles of all of my local grocery stores measuring lids (much to the dismay of onlookers, lol)

 

LOL, been there, done that.  I spent over 2.5 hours in the Container Store the other weekend, trying to find the perfect boxes.  And now I need to go back, since I've revised all the measurements that I'm looking for... *sigh*

[CrookKnight[TK]]

Nice score on the cups!  Where did you get them?

 

Also, can I ask what juice (or whatever) the juice top radio dials came from?  I haven't hit the grocery store yet, but I struck out at home.

 

I need to find a store where I can pick up some black plastic sheets, too.  I prefer actual final colors to paint, even if I'm painting it all anyway, so scratches don't show.

I have a good source for the black sheets.  I order them online from amazon.  I just started using them and they are great.  Plus they are a little thicker then the "For Sale" signs so it works perfectly for the bases and covers on the 3 boxes.  I also used this material to frame out the radio.

[kman[TK]]

I have a good source for the black sheets.  I order them online from amazon.  I just started using them and they are great.  Plus they are a little thicker then the "For Sale" signs so it works perfectly for the bases and covers on the 3 boxes.  I also used this material to frame out the radio.

 

Link to the plastic sheets on Amazon?

[CrookKnight[TK]]

Link to the plastic sheets on Amazon?

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XR9WC8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Caligari[TK]]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XR9WC8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nice!  That looks textured like what I got at TAP as well. Different thicknesses too is a plus.  I've been getting my white ABS from Amazon, should have looked for black.  Though the .060 I got at TAP (.060 is the thinnest they have) was around $30 for a 48" x 96" sheet.

[Caligari[TK]]

Work has been a bear lately so I haven't gotten as far as I'd have liked, but I've made some progress here and there.

I received my Bavarian Autosport oil pan, so now I've got both options to see which I like better.

 

I also came across different tumblers at Walmart, so I'll explore using these as well.  Though I like the patterns on the sides of the white tumblers, these would allow me to stack a few of them together (similar to what JustJoseph63 did).  They are a bit narrower, so that will mean a different cone too so we'll see how it all pans out.

Finally, I've been playing around more in PhotoShop making my box plate templates and decided to combine them (and add a few tweaks) so I could lay them over both oil pan shapes and see what things looked like:

 

I extended the side tube a little on the Bavarian mockup so it hangs down more similar to the Wedco (and screenshots).  Also, the radio box on these have 2.5" knobs which I think will be too big, so I'll probably go back to the 2.0" lids I found.  If anyone can point me in the direction of a brand/product that has 2.25" lids I'll give those a shot too.

[DinoIgnacio[TK]]

Amazing work man! I'll be following this closely!

[Caligari[TK]]

Well, the holidays and some family health issues slowed me down some, but I did manage to at least get my faceplates laser cut out of ABS like I had planned on.  I think they came out pretty good.  I love rounded corners so this seemed like a good approach.  I also hope going with unpainted black ABS on top of painted black substrates will give the pack some interesting textures without deviating from the CRL.  The pattern in the ABS should work well for weathering too.

 

RADIO:

 

ARCH BOX:

 

VENT BOX:

I used the wrong radius on the outside corners of the vent plate so I'll have to manually cut them down to match the corners of the pop-it container better.

 

BUTTON BOX:

I cut out two versions of the button plate to see which worked better.  I'd like to try using the plate with the cutouts because I think that will give the buttons a slightly recessed (and more 'assembled') look rather than just gluing them on top.  I can also work in some actuation later if I want to.  If it looks bad I'll go back to using the solid plate.  I went with smooth white ABS for this plate since it will be painted with the Silver Fox grey and to add more texture variety to the overall pack.

 

BOTTLE COVER:

I know most folks just tape off the section on the wipes bottle and paint this area black, but I thought adding a thicker plate material would look nice and again give it more of an 'assembled' feel. I used the thicker sign material so it will wrap around the bottle easily and also went with multiple versions again to see which looks the best.  The plate on the left is my original design based off of Tony's 1.5" x 6.5" dimensions outlined in his build thread.  The middle plate is 2.0" wide to match the new horizontal dimension provided in Joeseph's excellent NOTE ON HWT PACK SPECS post ( http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/40081-tip-note-on-hwt-pack-specs/ ).  The last plate on the right uses the new dimensions outlined in that post ( 2.0" x 5.5" ) exclusively.

More to come soon I hope!

[kman[TK]]

Very nice!  I don't suppose you'd consider selling the plates as a kit?

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking GREAT, Rick.  Outstanding job on those ABS plates.  Makes me think I need to build a new pack!

[magni[TK]]

Awesome job Rick! Plates look great!

[Pull_and_Twist[TK]]

I can't get over how good these look. Job well done.

[Caligari[TK]]

More things have come up to delay me, but I think I'm finally back on track.  Here's a few updates from the last month or so I didn't have time to post:

I re-cut the plate for my vent box to have the correct corner radii:

 

I then decided to make a paper template I could put underneath the plate to make sure I spaced out the vents evenly:

 

I made 1/8" spacers out of craft foam and double-back taped them to the template:

 

This would have worked out pretty well, but after test fitting the plate/template with the vent panels I also laser cut out for consistency sake (no pic, sorry) it dawned on me that I should just laser cut the spacing slats into the vent panel cover and be done with it:

 

Viola! This worked out beautifully:

 

I want to give the flaps a little more elevation so I also cut out some spacers out of the 1/8" artboard material that I will later glue onto the slats of the plate:

 

Finally I also decided to just laser cut the artboard covers for the arch box and button box to match the radii of the pop-it boxes:

In retrospect I should have cut out the screw holes on these (like I did on the bottle plate) but I can always do that on future designs.

 

Now onto trimming, gluing, and painting!

[magni[TK]]

Glad to see you're back at it Rick!

[Jamiehill72[501st]]

I'm getting ready to start on my pack, just building out the materials list.  I'm heading down to Orlando for a couple weeks and am going to start ordering things when I get back.  

 

We should plan a pack building party next month.    Maybe see if we can get a couple more Orcas to join in.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Always great to see new HWTs join the ranks!  If I can be of any help finding supplies for your build or costume, just let me know.  (I know of a LOT of inexpensive supplies like leather pouches, etc.)