So this is a project that has been on the back burner for a long time, but I finally found some time in between projects to finish her up. I wanted a replica that was as close to set accurate as possible, and Herocomm.com made that possible through their extensive research. I took the kit and lightly buffed the shells with steel wool to more closely match the shine on the original. Then I used the alpha blueprints to very carefully match the offset position of the moiré ring and the askew jewel hubs. I had another member here cut out a new midplate for me which was a hair larger on the out side so I could sand it down to exactly match the width that extends around the out side of the shell. I even included the little miscut next to the left hinge wheel. I then took the aluminum parts and brought down the shine with steel wool, added a few scratches with 600 grit sand paper, matched the dings in the control panel, and gave them a week long soak in lemon juice to give them that slightly aged patina. I filed out every single hole in the lid to get rid of the flash around the edges and soldered a rebent wire with sharper corners in place. The solder blobs were all matched as well as the solder blob in the bottom middle of the lid. I followed all the tips for custom mixed glue found on herocomm.com and installed all the parts. I also acquired an accurate stopwatch for this build. I chose to include a darker red siam center jewel as well as the midplate between the hinge wheels to replicate its look from the second season. Since the alpha was molded after the bottom shell sagged a bit, I added bondo under the velcro to create the appearance of a newer shell. I also used yellow plastic hubs instead of kit's aluminum ones. With that said, I'll let the photos do the talking:
Click here to see a video of it (Quicktime)
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I've got a static Rodd.com version.. I suck at building props, even from kits, but that one actually came out perfectly, one of my better-looking pieces.
. One was missing a hand.
