DarthBiscuit's R1TK Build (Jimmiroquai kit)

[ticopowell[TK]]

My anh abs armor was a little more than cut to size and glue, but not much more...

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I sanded the putty on the barrel, sides, and belt to 220 today. Hopefully the gloss coats tune out smooth...

I thought about priming the bells and biceps, but air quality is really bad due to a huge fire nearby so I didn't want to deal with ash and debris. 

 

I hope to spray gloss white on the barrel and satin black inside the side plates tomorrow.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I decided not to let a 34,000-acre fire 9 miles away stop me...I sprayed gloss white on the barrel today. I kept my garage door mostly closed and didn't end up with too much ash inside. Application went well, just trying to get all the angles. Some spots underneath where it's resting on the box won't be sprayed, but maybe I can touch them up another time.

 

I haven't decided how I'll get the buttons or side stripe... I think I'll order some detailing masking tape for the stripes and spray gloss black. I don't have gloss gray, but might try satin gray and a gloss clear. I don't have any spray blue, but I do have a blue paint marker that I'll try... I probably won't worry about those details for a while.

 

I also sprayed satin black inside the side plates.

 

In a few days I can E6000 snaps inside the barrel, and then figure out the suspenders!

 

Tomorrow (fire permitting), I'll spray satin white inside the belt halves and prime the bells and biceps!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

When adding snaps inside just make sure you remove any paint and rough the area with some coarse sandpaper, will help adhere more. 

 

Looking good

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

Sprayed satin white inside the belt halves!

 

Figured out that I could use my helmet stand to hold the bells and biceps for priming!

 

A bell fell off once, but since I'll sand the primer off anyways, no biggie. I'll have to be more careful when I'm spraying gloss white...

 

Finished early and decided to put snaps on the suspenders... No issues! I was able to trim the leather with a razor and punch holes with the tool the snaps came with.

 

Tomorrow I'll sand some spots in the interior of the barrel (an awesome tip from @gmrhodes13) and E6000 some snaps in! I'll also size some elastic straps to hold the back closed. Maybe I'll even wet sand the bells and biceps to 400!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I actually fitted snaps and strapping before painting, this was for two reasons, one to make sure I didn't scratch paint afterwards fitting the strapping and the other so I could hang the armor up for painting, I have a set of snaps with elastic and wire added to them for painting purposes  

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I actually fitted snaps and strapping before painting, this was for two reasons, one to make sure I didn't scratch paint afterwards fitting the strapping and the other so I could hang the armor up for painting, I have a set of snaps with elastic and wire added to them for painting purposes  

I did think about that, but for some reason didn't do it. I think I wanted to paint the inside before gluing snaps in, and needed to prime before painting the inside or there would be gray inside too... Maybe I'll try that for the thighs, since I don't know of a good way to prop them up except for hanging from snaps...

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I think a big reason was also that I didn't have everything sized right to test fit it all, so I can't glue snaps on yet... I just don't have the space to work on the full suit, so I'm doing pieces at a time.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

So I spent over an hour trimming my elastic and webbing, poking holes, and setting the snaps. My soldering iron made it quick and fused ends together as I cut. Using the snaps is a little more difficult than I wanted, since the elastic is a thin material, but they still hold tight once snapped. I'm putting 6 snaps on the barrel side so I can tighten the elastic, if needed. I actually think the elastic strips might be too short, so I may have to make longer ones if these don't work how I planned. The middle snaps are how I plan on attaching the trauma plate...

 

I only have enough magnets to reliably hold one side in place, so I spread E6000 and set them on. I'll check on it over the next 24 hours, but hopefully they cure in place...

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

With the elastic you will find there are two types, one is a lot thicker and stronger so some times you may have to double over the thinner elastic to give you the extra strength. 

 

It's a time consuming job but gotta be done  

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

With the elastic you will find there are two types, one is a lot thicker and stronger so some times you may have to double over the thinner elastic to give you the extra strength. 
 
It's a time consuming job but gotta be done  

I was thinking about doubling it, but I can't salvage the snaps I already used so I'll have to order more. Thanks for the tip and reassurance!

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

The E6000 seems to have cured well... I stuck the opposite side's snaps on. Hopefully no issues while curing too!

 

There was some satin overspray on the exterior of the sides and belt halves, so I wet sanded them to 800. I dried them off and allowed some time to air dry, but I can see a lot of pinholes in the gloss black, possibly ones I didn't fill, but maybe some residual moisture... I'll see how they look when dry, but I'll prepare myself to wet sand to 800 or 1,000 and spray gloss black again in a few days.

 

I also wet sanded the bells and biceps to 400, and wet sanded the overspray on their interiors to 220. I see a few imperfections to fill, but not too bad! Hopefully no pinholes...

 

Tomorrow I'll E6000 snaps into the barrel for the suspenders, spray gloss white on the belt halves, and putty the bells and biceps.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Looking good so far. Not sure if you considered it but will you be able to close the back of the abdomen by yourself or are you planning on having assistance when putting on and taking off your armor?

 

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

38 minutes ago, 11b30b4 said:

Looking good so far. Not sure if you considered it but will you be able to close the back of the abdomen by yourself or are you planning on having assistance when putting on and taking off your armor?

 

I'm hoping to either lift it over my head and slide it down, or step in and pull it up.  I'll find out today if either of those methods will work 

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I pulled the clamps and magnets off and the E6000 seems good!

 

In response to @11b30b4's question, I was able to step into it when the snaps are set to the tightest. It was snug when pulling up, but the elastic stretched fine, and I can loosen the snaps if needed, especially once I put the undersuit on.

 

The sides looked BAD. I wet sanded to 1,000 and I'll spray another coat of gloss black tomorrow.

 

I also got some gloss white on the belt. Pinholes, still... But my notch fillings worked out unnoticeable!

 

I fitted the barrel with the suspenders and E6000'd the snaps on. It was a pain getting the magnets to hold right, but I think it's all setup right. I'll check on it tonight, but hopefully they cure properly and I can wear it tomorrow!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work

[Sly11[Admin]]

Very clean build so far Dan, keep it up

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I sprayed some gloss black on the side plates again. They look better, but still have some imperfections. I'll see how they look while wearing, maybe it's isn't noticeable.

 

The bells and biceps required a bit of filling...

 

The E6000 and snaps worked great! I snapped the suspenders on and stepped in to pull the barrel up. I started taping off the buttons and used a paint marker for the blue. They look pretty good with 2 coats, but I'll do another coat or 2. I'll finish taping tomorrow and spray the gray.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

So I taped off the barrel stripes. I used a pro tip from @gmrhodes13and sprayed gloss white first, so if there's bleed, then it's white! I did just a couple passes with gloss black, gave it 30 minutes to dry, and peeled off the tape. The right looks great!

 

As I peeled the left, some paint from the tape stretched with it. I decided to leave it and will try to touch it up after it fully dries. No bleed though!

 

Then I wet sanded the putty to 400 on my bells and biceps. THAT took a while. Hopefully the gloss comes out smooth...

 

Tomorrow I'll spray satin white inside the bells and biceps. I'll also finish taping the barrel buttons and spray gray.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

Something I want to confirm: do I have the right part taped off for the gray spot above the buttons? From what I've seen in Rogue One pics and WIPs, it's just the tiny rectangle that's gray. Not many pics are close or high quality enough to tell...

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

6 minutes ago, DarthBiscuit said:

Something I want to confirm: do I have the right part taped off for the gray spot above the buttons? From what I've seen in Rogue One pics and WIPs, it's just the tiny rectangle that's gray. Not many pics are close or high quality enough to tell...

 

Appears you are correct, but does look a darker grey if you compare on the bottom image, could be a shadow

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

Appears you are correct, but does look a darker grey if you compare on the bottom image, could be a shadow

Oh that almost looks black...

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I taped over the blue buttons, sprayed gloss white to fill the gaps, and then sprayed gloss smoke gray on the buttons and rectangle! I didn't realize that some other R1TKs made the rectangle blue, but going off of images and discussion with gmrhodes13, it looks between gray and black, not blue. The CRL does not specify.

 

I also sprayed satin white inside the bells and biceps.

 

While the buttons dried, I taped over the left kidney stripe, sanded a little to 1,000, and sprayed gloss white. So far there are no paint reactions!

 

Tomorrow I'll stick velcro on the side plates and belt to test fit everything that's done. Then I can also fit the cod and butt plates to figure out how much to trim!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good. I also noticed blue in the rectangle from a few threads but I think that was before other references became available. Grey or black seems to be the way to go, still haven't seen a definitive image so I'd stick with grey for the time being.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I spent today sticking velcro on everything that's done! I think it all fits together well! The satin black on the side plate interior rubs off onto the barrel, so I think I'll put some soft black velcro inside. I stuck a few squares around to hold the belt halves in place.

 

2 issues with the back... I guess the plate's too low, since the mesh shows through. I might be able to raise it a little by putting velcro on the suspenders so it stays high. Otherwise I guess I'll need a black undershirt. Also, the suspenders stick out a lot. I'll pull off and move down the barrel's rear snaps so the Y split is under the back plate.

 

Does this look like good placement for the cod? I'll trim some off the top so it leaves a gap below the barrel, allowing for movement (I'll snap it on with elastic). I'll trim some off the bottom of the cod too. I'll post tomorrow where I plan on cutting.

 

Does this look like the right height for the butt plate? I can lower it a bit, but I'll need to trim a lot from the bottom and sides. I'll post tomorrow where I plan on cutting this too.

 

I figured I'd check the thighs while I'm wearing everything. THEY'RE HUGE!! I'll cut the back open and figure out how much I need to cut off, but probably 2-4"... I think that much will require moving of the cover strip too...

 

I'll also need to shorten the thighs too! I can barely bend my knee when I hang them at this height. Probably need to trim 1-2". I'll cut the back open first to judge how much from the top. I'll have to cut the groove back into the cover strip too.