RS Propmasters ESB TK slow and steady build in Portland, OR

[Infern0[TK]]

I’ve been pretty busy with house projects this summer, but trying to get the hang of patching up the holes in my abdominal and kidney plates with ABS paste in my spare time.

 

Its definitely not as easy as I though it would be, but I’m guessing I’m doing something wrong too, so I’m hoping to get some advice!

 

I tried using a thicker paste, but after sanding it down, I found that there were lots of little holes in and around where I’d put the paste - it had nearly turned into a honeycomb! 
 

Now I’m trying with a thinner paste and just filling slowly layer by layer, but still getting the honeycomb effect… also looks like even though I’ve been careful about cleaning it, some dirt go into the abs, darkening it a little, so I’m concerned that it won’t really blend that well (maybe from sanding?).

Any thoughts on what I could be doing better to avoid the holes and the discoloration?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Worst case I’ll clean it up as best as I can and then just put rivets back intro the original holes… might not get Centurion, but at least it’ll be wearable! 

 

Update to my TK to-do list:

 

- Glue pouch for phone and cable management system to chest plate (or maybe abdominal plate) for sound system

- Remove top two rivets on ab and kidney plates, patch hole with ABS paste, sand and polish, correctly place rivets ~20mm from top, and midway between bottom and top as per reference, and paint rivets.

- Replace thigh ammo belt with new ammo belt with corrected corners, paint new rivets

- Replace current left abdominal strapping with less screen accurate but more handy webbing and velcro

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I find several thinner coats of ABS paste helps to reduce the amount of holes, takes longer but is less work, the thicker and deeper it is the more air bubbles seem to foam, I guess that's the thinners drying inside and it's confined when the outside forms a skin.

 

Some times you are just left with holes when you sand and I apply a little bondo/filler then paint to match.

[Infern0[TK]]

59 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I find several thinner coats of ABS paste helps to reduce the amount of holes, takes longer but is less work, the thicker and deeper it is the more air bubbles seem to foam, I guess that's the thinners drying inside and it's confined when the outside forms a skin.

 

Some times you are just left with holes when you sand and I apply a little bondo/filler then paint to match.

Fair enough. Slow and steady and thin it is!

[Morgi[Staff]]

vor 13 Stunden schrieb 1nfern0:

Any thoughts on what I could be doing better to avoid the holes and the discoloration?

 

Regarding the holes in the ABS paste: When I was filling up the thigh gaps it helped me to press down on the paste. You can find how I applied ABS paste on my build thread here:

 

 

 

I hope this might be helpful!

[Infern0[TK]]

5 hours ago, Morgi said:

 

Regarding the holes in the ABS paste: When I was filling up the thigh gaps it helped me to press down on the paste. You can find how I applied ABS paste on my build thread here:

 

 

 

I hope this might be helpful!

Wow you did awesomely with yours! I’ll definitely copy what you did. I also found that a toothpick was the best sized applicator. 
 

thanks!!

[Morgi[Staff]]

vor 1 Stunde schrieb 1nfern0:

Wow you did awesomely with yours! I’ll definitely copy what you did. I also found that a toothpick was the best sized applicator. 
 

thanks!!

 

So glad to hear that! I'm looking forward to seeing your results! 

[Infern0[TK]]

Definitely having luck going one layer at a time, just going very slowly!
 

Trying to finish up house stuff this weekend so my garage can be (relatively) dust free again.

[Infern0[TK]]

Progress report:
 

After a few attempts now, I’ve still been unhappy with the patching I’ve done. Color never matched quite well enough, and the patching looked pretty obvious, even from a distance, so I decided to leave it be for now, and finish up the build for at basic approval.

 

Because I decided to do strapping on both sides of the abdomen/kidney, I figured I would just e6000 the rivets in for now so I can remove them later if I want to have another go at patching the holes and moving the rivet placement.

 

 

I still needed to sort out the thigh ammo pack though, and get the replacement matching the color of the rest of my armor. I found that a light coat of Rustoleum Gloss White got it to just about match (I know, Rustoleum has its issues… I’ve actually been using it a lot this year and had good results). In hindsight I should have done a clear coat over top, but that can always come later.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Finishing up, I made a little pouch for my phone (voice changer) out of some scrap canvas and glued it to my chest plate:

 

Finally: added a little extra padding in the abdominal, butt, and thighs to get it sitting better, and took my submission pics. I think it looks pretty good. Abdominal plate could definitely be trimmed down a bit in the future - I’ve lost more weight this year from health issues so it’s even bigger on me than it was last year - but I’m pretty happy with it, and it got basic approval a couple of weeks ago!

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by 1nfern0
Fixed links?

[TheSwede[TK]]

Congratulations  Be sure to request Trooper status https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/16-501st-trooper-status-requests-include-link-to-your-501st-profile-in-your-request/

[Infern0[TK]]

9 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

Congratulations  Be sure to request Trooper status https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/16-501st-trooper-status-requests-include-link-to-your-501st-profile-in-your-request/

Done! Thank you for reminding me… knew I’d forgotten to do something

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks trooper

[Infern0[TK]]

38 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks trooper

Thank you!!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Congratulations Trooper ! 

 

You may want to check our Advanced Tactics Program (EIB and Centurion Level) 

 

 

 

 

 

[Infern0[TK]]

1 hour ago, TKSpartan said:

Congratulations Trooper ! 

 

You may want to check our Advanced Tactics Program (EIB and Centurion Level) 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you! I’m definitely keen on going for EIB at the least. Not sure how much work will be involved to get there yet though… I built the kit with the requirements in mind, but not everything went quite to plan.

[revlimiter[Staff]]

Just read your whole build thread. Congratulations on basic trooper!!! I think you can get EIB easily.

[Infern0[TK]]

1 minute ago, revlimiter said:

Just read your whole build thread. Congratulations on basic trooper!!! I think you can get EIB easily.

Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to read it. It’s been a journey!

[giskard8[Staff]]

Congratulations Trooper!

 

A waste if you are not applying for EIB!

[Infern0[TK]]

3 minutes ago, giskard8 said:

Congratulations Trooper!

 

A waste if you are not applying for EIB!

Thank you and ok, ok I’ll definitely apply when I get the chance to take the pics  We’ll see if I get approved or not… 

[Infern0[TK]]

Since I’m approved now, any chance of someone having a spare FISD patch? I have a flight jacket in need of one, and I’m happy to trade for a garrison patch. 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Way to go Garrett!  Looking forward to seeing your Expert Infantry submission!   

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Beautiful job on your build and congratulations 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Nice work Garrett, congratulations.

[Infern0[TK]]

@ukswrath, @justjoseph63, @Sly11 thank you so much for all of your help and support getting this far!! Def will start putting together my EIB submission. Should I wait until my blaster is finished, or go for it without blaster?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A blaster is required for EIB and Centurion its only optional for basic approval

 

 

[Infern0[TK]]

11 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

A blaster is required for EIB and Centurion its only optional for basic approval

 

 

Roger that. Thank you!