DarthBiscuit's R1TK Build (Jimmiroquai kit)

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A lot more sanding but hopefully will solve some pin hole issues. I do tend to add blade putty a little thicker, it can shrink when drying so by adding a little more it does help fill in those pesky holes and scratches  

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

A lot more sanding but hopefully will solve some pin hole issues. I do tend to add blade putty a little thicker, it can shrink when drying so by adding a little more it does help fill in those pesky holes and scratches  

What grit do you sand putty with? Wet or dry?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, DarthBiscuit said:

What grit do you sand putty with? Wet or dry?

I always sand wet, helps the sandpaper last a little longer and doesn't get clogged as quickly. I normally use a 240 grit wet & dry on spray putty and blade putty (if needed), apply primer then a light hand sand with 600 grit. Everyone has their own way buy this works for me  

 

 

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

5 hours ago, DarthBiscuit said:

I went putty-crazy today! Slathered it on and scraped at it to fill/cover everything (hopefully).

 

Around the oval was bad, so I wet sanded to 400 and applied putty.

 

The chest was definitely noticeable and unacceptable, so I pretty much sanded and reapplied putty on the whole thing...

 

I'll sand the putty tomorrow, more lightly than before and with 400. Hopefully that way will keep it smooth and let another coat of gloss white adhere evenly!

And you thought you'd just spray 2X straight on it

 

Welcome to hell hahahaha Keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel tho. It's all worth it for a smooth, glossy finish! Enjoying all the progress! You'll be done before I am at this rate haha

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

If anybody (namely ME) wasn't sure if filling the pinholes was necessary, check this out! It's upsetting that they happened in the first place, but after wet sanding to 400 today, there's no doubt in my mind that it was the right choice. Hopefully spraying gloss white tomorrow goes well...

 

I also wet sanded the barrel to 220. I've decided to trim another inch off the back, since the gap is only about an inch when I put it on (and don't hold it too snug).

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Well worth the extra work

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I trimmed about another inch off the barrel. The gap, while wearing, should be able 2" now.

 

Setup for painting (again)!

 

And it went well! I can still see some pinholes, but that's really just with close inspection, when I'm looking for them. I think they'll be fine, but I'll definitely have to look them over once they're dry.

 

Then I propped up my barrel and belt halves and taped the ammo boxes on. Does this look right? The CRL doesn't have spacing/placement, but the pics I've seen look like this: the center boxes are just past the edges of the center panel, the next boxes are centered between the small notches (under the side panels), and the outer boxes are centered on the big notches. This keeps the spacing between them about even, and I think they look right. Is there a specific spacing?

This will help me figure out how much to trim off the rear half so it meets just short of the outer boxes.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks pretty good to me

 

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

20 minutes ago, DarthBiscuit said:

Then I propped up my barrel and belt halves and taped the ammo boxes on. Does this look right? The CRL doesn't have spacing/placement, but the pics I've seen look like this: the center boxes are just past the edges of the center panel, the next boxes are centered between the small notches (under the side panels), and the outer boxes are centered on the big notches. This keeps the spacing between them about even, and I think they look right. Is there a specific spacing?

So my logic was to use the two medium boxes with the raised top ridge and work off those. I measured the center of the belt and made a mark, then placed the right box where it goes from the reference image, then measured that distance and duplicated it on the left side, which wasn't quite centered. Then I measured the width of the two smallest center boxes and subtracted that from the distance between the two medium boxes, then divided what was left by 3 to get my spacing. For the last two biggest boxes, I just replicated that spacing from the edge of the medium boxes out.

 

Hopefully that all makes sense! MATH haha If I get a chance, I'll try to measure where mine landed, but it might vary slightly suit to suit.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

@gmrhodes13thanks! Do you just have a library of screenshots?? Lol! Actually...what if each suit's forum had a thread where we just post reference pics for future use? Consolidate them all into one place (for each costume)!

 

@TheRascalKingI think I'm following your measurements lol! I'll definitely get good measurements once I go to actually mount them, that way I can place the outer boxes and space all the others evenly off of them. I'm still waiting for your R1TK progress... 

Edited August 13, 2020 by DarthBiscuit

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

18 minutes ago, DarthBiscuit said:

@gmrhodes13thanks! Do you just have a library of screenshots?? Lol! Actually...what if each suit's forum had a thread where we just post reference pics for future use? Consolidate them all into one place (for each costume)!

Gallery section for all costumes is in the top menu bar https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/

 

Rogue One section is here https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/category/28-r1-tk-reference/

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

28 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Gallery section for all costumes is in the top menu bar https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/

 

Rogue One section is here https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/category/28-r1-tk-reference/

Oh damn how did I never find that!? Thanks!!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

52 minutes ago, DarthBiscuit said:

Oh damn how did I never find that!? Thanks!!

I've asked for the gallery tab to be put in a more prominent place as many don't see it  

 

nag nag @Sly11

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I taped and clamped some pieces together to get an idea of fit and mark the rear belt half and the side plates. My wife walked out and just stared at me before going back inside lol.

 

The gloss white on the chest and back are much better than they were!

 

Then I setup the barrel for priming. I poked some toothpicks into the cardboard to keep it from falling off when I turn it. I might keep that method when spraying gloss white, since it didn't obstruct the spray too much.

 

There must have been a lot of debris floating around, because it's not a very good coat of primer, but it's good enough to wet sand to 400 tomorrow.

 

In between sprays I marked a few pieces for trimming.

 

I think it all worked out! The shoulder bells look more symmetric now, the rear belt half should overlap the front half just short of the outer boxes (what? lol), and the side plates shouldn't pop out under the chest and won't extend all the way into the center.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Looking good and I think the belt boxes look good. I hate all the little pin holes in my armor and after numerous coats of glaze I still did not get them all.

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I wet sanded the barrel primer to 400 today. I also noticed the interior edges may have been too rough, so I sanded them to 220. I still see quite a few spots that need putty, which I'll do tomorrow.

 

I also washed the side plates and belt halves. It looks like I don't need to putty them again, but I don't want to spray primer right after washing so I'll prime them in a couple days.

 

Since I finished those pieces, I thought I'd take a look at the chest, back, and shoulder straps. I'm going to velcro them together tomorrow and figured I could plan it out. Turns out, one of the straps has a big old crack! It's probably what I tried to patch up before, but didn't hold up. It's only open when I bend it, and it's at a spot that may be covered by the chest plate. I'm not sure if there's a good way to repair it, especially since it's already gloss white. Any suggestions?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I've used JB weld on a few cracks and it's pretty solid, also sandable. I would try to grind a V into the crack to give something for the JB weld to hold on too. I just find the JB weld holds better than a fibreglass fix. 

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I applied a bit more putty than I expected to the barrel, but hopefully this helps me get a smooth gloss white on the first try!

 

And then...I played with velcro to secure the shoulder straps to the chest and back! I split my 2" velcro in half, put soft on the straps, hard on the plates, and then added extra velcro straps for strength.

 

It looks great and holds perfectly! The chest plate looks a little high, but I think that's mostly the camera angle (it looked fine to me), but I can shift it down 0.5-1" next time.

 

I tried getting a pic from the side, but it was difficult and didn't turn out. The plates are level across the bottom! And the gap is reasonable, but we'll see once I fit it with the barrel...

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

Wet sanded the barrel to 220. I tried not to go too hard like I may have done on the chest that made it end up so rough. I already saw a few spots that I missed, but I'll have another chance to putty before gloss. Tomorrow I'll satin white the interior.

 

And then I primed the side plates and belt halves. I can already see the spots where the Dremel got away from me, so will need to fill those some more and sand them more gently. Tomorrow I'll wet sand them to 400.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just occurred to me are you using a spray putty, it is a lot thicker than a primer/filler and can really save some time fixing smaller holes and scratches.

 

I prefer to get it in tin form rather than spray can as you can really apply quite quickly and it is also works out a lot cheaper, I use a cheap home electric spray gun as it will apply thick compared to normal auto spray guns, I think it cost me @$25 on aliexpress .

 

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

4 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Just occurred to me are you using a spray putty, it is a lot thicker than a primer/filler and can really save some time fixing smaller holes and scratches.

 

I prefer to get it in tin form rather than spray can as you can really apply quite quickly and it is also works out a lot cheaper, I use a cheap home electric spray gun as it will apply thick compared to normal auto spray guns, I think it cost me @$25 on aliexpress .

 

I'm using this Bondo glazing & spot putty. I spread it on by hand (putty knife), then prime, sand, and putty again. I just couldn't justify getting a whole system to spray putty just for this one project...

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by DarthBiscuit

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just now, DarthBiscuit said:

I'm using this Bondo glazing & spot putty. I spread it on by hand (putty knife). I just couldn't justify getting a whole system to spray putty just for this one project...

 

That's what I use as a final fill for larger spots after spray putty but you'll find the spray putty will cover and fill more compared to primer and is a lot easier to sand than the glazing putty  

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I sprayed satin white inside the barrel, which only needed a few coats. I'll apply putty tomorrow to a few more exterior spots that I noticed.

 

In between coats, I wet sanded the belt and sides tp 400. Looks like most of it's good, except the 2 Dremel cuts near the notches. I'll apply some more putty tomorrow.

 

Since I finished so quickly, I figured "why not start the next set of pieces early!" So I cleaned off the shoulder bells and biceps and noticed that it looks like they were scrubbed with a wire brush!? So many scratches! THIS is why @gmrhodes13 recommends spray putty, I'm sure that would've been super helpful today! I spread a bunch of putty on these pieces and scraped them thin. Hopefully wet sanding with 220 in a couple days smooths them out...

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

I touched up a few spots on the barrel, but then saw LOTS of pinholes on the belts and sides! Thankfully I caught them now. I decided to smear putty on them like I did for the bells and biceps yesterday. Some primer pealed off as I smeared the belts, but not the sides. It must be just due to the specific primer... I'll inspect closely after wet sanding to 220 tomorrow.

 

I must've ordered the combat-tested armor from Jim cuz these pieces HAVE SEEN SOME SH1T!! I'm glad I smeared putty on them and didn't just try to fill a few spots, cuz they NEEDED IT! I wet sanded them to 400 and you can see how bad it was! Hopefully the extensive putty prep yields a smooth finish...

 

Do ABS suits require this much prep, or is it mostly just trim-to-fit?

 

At least now I'm ahead of schedule!!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You will find that the thinners in the blade putty will react with some primer, usually when they are on thicker areas, depends on curing and weather too, hence why it's normally used as a final fill