TheLorelei[TK] Posted January 16, 2019 Author Report Posted January 16, 2019 2 hours ago, PhilBobTheFish said: There's probably three rooms, a garage, and an entire floor for this build. Glad to see it's coming to fruition though. Oh my goodness Rowan who let you in the house?? You're exactly right And thanks! I'm feeling the full effects of the 80/20 principle - stuck in that last 20% of work that's taking 80% of the time. Got everything glued as planned today though so that's something. 1 Quote
TheLorelei[TK] Posted January 18, 2019 Author Report Posted January 18, 2019 Yesterday I harvested my glued bucket face with much delight: Look at those lenses! *swoons* Then I moved one strapping connection point and glued down the kidney side of the elastic hinge (which is made of elastic glued to ABS strips like the ab/kidney hinge, but the ABS is on the bottom here). Aaand that's where the happy stops. I assembled my bucket to discover that I dislike the ears, the ears I spent so many hours on. They look different from each other. But how different is too different? Here we have our friend, Mr. Move Along: - sporting an eerily similar difference in thickness of the lower ears, and this chap in the front: with seemingly similar balance issues. You can see the right ear from even this drastic angle, while the fully visible left is quite thin at the bottom. And then Mr. Set for Stun (many thanks to starwarshelmets.com for curating all these!): which COULD be the photo angle, but still, the ears aren't identical. Lay it on me, y'all. Should I redo both ears? One ear? If so, which one? Are they fine as is? Specific suggestions greatly appreciated. Today I'll place belt snaps on the ab, start painting the cap, and do some fixing up of the belt rivets so I can glue the covers on. And yeah, I'll wrestle with the sniper knee, too. Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 6 hours ago, TheLorelei said: Aaand that's where the happy stops. I assembled my bucket to discover that I dislike the ears, the ears I spent so many hours on. They look different from each other. But how different is too different? Here we have our friend, Mr. Move Along: - sporting an eerily similar difference in thickness of the lower ears, and this chap in the front: with seemingly similar balance issues. You can see the right ear from even this drastic angle, while the fully visible left is quite thin at the bottom. And then Mr. Set for Stun (many thanks to starwarshelmets.com for curating all these!): which COULD be the photo angle, but still, the ears aren't identical. Lay it on me, y'all. Should I redo both ears? One ear? If so, which one? Are they fine as is? Specific suggestions greatly appreciated. Today I'll place belt snaps on the ab, start painting the cap, and do some fixing up of the belt rivets so I can glue the covers on. And yeah, I'll wrestle with the sniper knee, too. I'm going to share a little secret you, are you ready? Get a little closer to the screen so you can read this carefully. Ready? Ok here we go, shhhhhh quite, ok here it is...... . . . . . . . . . . . They don't have to be perfect, and were never meant to be 5 Quote
Frank75139[501st] Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 Personally it’s fine, but if your not happy with it fix it, your the one that has to look at it every time you put it on. The last thing you want is to be look at it getting all mad about it. Other then that do what Roddie says. Who knows if he’ll be doing reviews after elections but if he is he already made his comment. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 Looks pretty good to me, you could spend hours fine tuning, a little sanding here and there and only end up slightly better, I’d call it, then it’s onwards and upwards. Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 34 minutes ago, Frank75139 said: Other then that do what Roddie says. Who knows if he’ll be doing reviews after elections but if he is he already made his comment. Did I miss something? Who is Roddie? Quote
Frank75139[501st] Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 Did I miss something? Who is Roddie?Sorry he’s the guy we answer to in our garrison. Does all the reviews, I can’t keep track of the acronyms. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Frank75139[501st] Posted January 19, 2019 Report Posted January 19, 2019 BTW, it's GML, lol. I’ll forget again. I’ve got so many codes, numbers, and names floating though my head all the time the stuff that doesn’t get used that much gets pushed out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
TK-42775[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Don't let them hate on the low brow peeps Quote
TheLorelei[TK] Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 On 1/18/2019 at 8:38 PM, ukswrath said: They don't have to be perfect, and were never meant to be Hahahahaha, this did give me quite a laugh. Thank you, Tony. On 1/18/2019 at 10:41 PM, Bud Spaklur said: Furthermore, what is she even complaining about??? Not much, apparently. Your "secret compartment" comment was hilarious, btw! It's not that bad! On 1/19/2019 at 6:47 AM, Frank75139 said: Personally it’s fine, but if your not happy with it fix it, your the one that has to look at it every time you put it on. The last thing you want is to be look at it getting all mad about it. True. At this point it's just for my own sake (and Roddie's) which is nice to know. He's said end of January will be the end... so who knows. And hey, I didn't know you read my Carida thread! On 1/19/2019 at 6:58 AM, gmrhodes13 said: Looks pretty good to me, you could spend hours fine tuning, a little sanding here and there and only end up slightly better, I’d call it, then it’s onwards and upwards. Agreed! And I didn't want to mess with this right ear because it really is quite nice, just too different from the left for my taste... so I dug through my reject ears and found draft #3 which was super slim and nice minus a little gappiness on the back which everyone has convinced me is totally fine. You all win! And thank you so much, again. I've gotten a smidge more completed here and there. The belt snaps are on! I opted for nylon snap plates instead of setting the snaps right into the ab because they'd be easier to move and it'd mean fewer holes in my armor. To install, I laid the belt over the ab where I wanted it to rest and taped the middle to keep it high enough while positioning. Then I put loops of painter's tape on the back of the nylon snap plates and pushed the belt into place. Carefully unsnapped, put a piece of tape along the top edge, folded the snap plate back, peeled the rolled tape off the back, smeared on some E6000, folded the plate back down, clamped it up, and I was done. Also, I'm pretty sure the ab buttons are on correctly now. Ha. But @ukswrath , you commented on @A.J. Hamler 's build that the vertical plate could use trimming. Is mine too big, too? The ATA buttons themselves are quite large so I could only afford to trim the edges a few mm more before cutting into the buttons, but I *could* take those mm off. Anyway I trimmed the belt rivet covers down to 1" squares and hollowed out the backs to accommodate the rivets better, then centered those and got them gluing. So now it's this; center belt height is negotiable pending final fitting and I'll secure it in the center with Velcro if that proves necessary. The side snaps are at a good spot for it to hinge around, though. And I have yet to clean up the glue seepage around everything. I also did bucket things. Like I said earlier I picked an old ear as my new right ear, so moved ahead with painting the bucket details. My general stance on painting seems to be "we'll fix it in post" which worked shockingly well with Testor's on the traps (cleanup with a toothpick). (I will, however, be masking carefully for the tube stripes.) The vocoder didn't work out so nicely - wrong brush for the job - so I'll be wiping that and starting fresh. Yay mineral spirits. See that little speck of black on the bottom edge? Plastidip. I'm back at it again with the plastidip, y'all! So glad I saved the dregs of the can. Even when it's all dried and gummy, a splash of xylol thins it back to usability almost instantly. Why did I thin said dregs? Because I found out E6000 never really stops off-gassing when heated and I have some exposed in my bucket from gluing the lens mounts in. How much heating qualifies as "heating", I do not know, but troops on hot days don't seem like "cooling" ventures, and I'm far from interested in being cooped up with E6000 fumes. Also, I touched up the inside of the bucket with some Testor's and while I believe enamels can fully cure, the jury's kinda sorta out on the advisability of breathing right next to those for extended periods of time, too. I decided to seal everything in with a couple coats of plastidip for my peace of mind, if nothing else. Turns out the lens mounts look even cooler and more integrated with the plastidip wrapping up from the rest of the face! The lighting was sketch so I'll post pics of that later. There's an armor party on Saturday where I'd like to get some major fitting done. Other than more painting and a bit of strapping to be made, I think the big things are getting the cod and sniper knee on. Yeah, I'm still avoiding that knee... *side-eye* Quote
Frank75139[501st] Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 I’m an attache it’s my job to read everything and I’m stalking you. Jk, I try to help there as well but I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Coming along nicely, I’m sure some extra hands will be of help to get everyone sitting just right. 1 Quote
Pretzel Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Hey Lorelei! There is an armor party coming up locally for our garrison. Are you able to attend it? Link here: http://501stgarrisoncarida.org/forum/topic/16959-20190126-armor-party/?tab=comments#comment-258864 I won't be able to attend, but I am sure you will get some help from some veterans! Quote
TheLorelei[TK] Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 5 hours ago, Frank75139 said: I’m stalking you. Figured. *shrugs* But really, that makes sense, and as you know this thread is much more lively anyway so it makes for better (and more continuous) discussions if you stay over here so thank you! 5 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said: Coming along nicely, I’m sure some extra hands will be of help to get everyone sitting just right. Thanks! That's what I'm hoping for. Still trying to get as much done as I can before then, though... 4 hours ago, Pretzel said: Hey Lorelei! There is an armor party coming up locally for our garrison. Are you able to attend it? Yup. Mentioned it towards the end of my post - but apparently it was too much rambling for the mighty Preston to sit through. *sobs quietly* In general thanks for mentioning it though because I didn't have access to that part of the Carida forums before O.o I do now, fortunately. 1 Quote
Pretzel Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Not sure about Mighty.. Glorious I would say. But, Yeah I must of missed that lol. Glad you are able to see the Armor party now though! Quote
Frank75139[501st] Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Not sure about Mighty.. Glorious I would say. But, Yeah I must of missed that lol. Glad you are able to see the Armor party now though!Maybe legendary?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Pretzel Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Just now, Frank75139 said: Maybe legendary? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Even Better. Legendary. Also Side Note: When you get to the point that you need your approval photos taken, let me know! I would be happy to assist. I am also a Photographer. Photography Website Quote
Frank75139[501st] Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Even Better. Legendary. Also Side Note: When you get to the point that you need your approval photos taken, let me know! I would be happy to assist. I am also a Photographer. Photography Website One more reason why your legendary. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote
shashachu[TK] Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 Belt position looks great. I put a couple small strips of Velcro in addition to the snaps to keep it from sagging during troops. Quote
Harbinger[IPM] Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 Everything is shaping up nicely. Sniper knee plate looks harder than it is. Just do what Tony and I did and use a million clamps and you’ll be golden. Quote
TheLorelei[TK] Posted January 23, 2019 Author Report Posted January 23, 2019 23 hours ago, Pretzel said: Even Better. Legendary. Also Side Note: When you get to the point that you need your approval photos taken, let me know! I would be happy to assist. I am also a Photographer. Legendary it is! I would edit my post but we've already established that my mistakes will be here forever. And oh my goodness photographs would be great, thanks! I was just thinking about who I could ask to help with that since "dressing" everything to proper specs is so important... I'll PM you sometime if that works! 15 hours ago, shashachu said: Belt position looks great. I put a couple small strips of Velcro in addition to the snaps to keep it from sagging during troops. Thanks! Did you use adhesive Velcro, or glue it on with E6000? Wondering if self-adhesive is strong enough. 12 hours ago, Harbinger said: Everything is shaping up nicely. Sniper knee plate looks harder than it is. Just do what Tony and I did and use a million clamps and you’ll be golden. Former failures loom large. The angles seem too odd for clamps, though... what type did you use? Quote
Harbinger[IPM] Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 I bought a big bag of them from Home Depot. Here's what it looked like whilst clamped: 2 Quote
Rat[TK] Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 Oh look I've gotten caught up on one thread I've been following with great interest.Looking great Lorelei.Sent from my VK815 using Tapatalk 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.