11/27/2016
I trimmed a few parts yesterday, just so I can tell myself I started, and noticed a few thin areas that I'm likely going to need to reinforce. Overall it's mostly good, but it gets very thin on occasion and easily cracks/tears because of it. I'll probably run some JBWeld inside the return edges on pieces that take torque when putting on or removing the costume such as the the chest plate and shoulder straps.
Otherwise, making steady progress!
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11/27/2016
I used files and rolled up sandpaper on the back pice to get the cut outs nice and clean.
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11/27/2016
I'll backtrack here a bit and cover some stuff I've already done.
1) Weathered my Rob Kittel belt. This game me a chance to experiment with the airbrush.
2) Stained my MP56 pouch. Mine had a dusty yellow look to it so I wanted to give it more red. I used some brown leather dye.
3) Dyed, weathered and seam ripped my gloves. These are the White Eagle $10 gloves a lot of people used initially for TFA gloves. They are a great budget option as they are only missing the pads.
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11/28/2016
So I finished the ab piece last night and I have to say that I LOVE how BSP handled them. There are the diagonal boxes that are part of the armor and they are made separate to hide the closure, which also makes it much easier to get into because it's from the side, not the back. So one side gets glued down and enclosed permanently and the other side (my right) opens towards the back with velcro. The seam is barely noticeable.
Loop velcro on inside of diagonal cover piece.
Hook velcro on shim attachment glued to inside of ab. I cut off the raised piece (but left the shelf) and instead glued a backing shim to create some depth so that the velcro stack doesn't cause a much bigger gap.
Permanently closed side
Glued edge of opening side
Velcro side of opening side
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11/29/2016
More good progress yesterday.
I assembled the thermal det, which was a bit awkward, but was manageable with a heat gun. You have to bend the flat piece into a tube and attach the caps. I found it worked better for me to cut off one of the indents on one end so that it came together better and then I backed with abs to help it keep a cylindrical shape for assemble. I decided not to bother bondoing the seam since that's hidden anyways because it's where I riveted it to the belt armor.
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11/29/2016
I also did a dry fitting of the torso. I'm happy with everything except I haven't yet figured out the best way to deal with the collar. If I glue it in back, I worry it won't secure neatly in front unless it's anchored somehow. If I secure it in front, I likely can't get my head through. I've got a message out to BSP in the meantime while I figure out a solution.
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11/29/2016
I also received my backup shirt today. I'm pretty happy with it as a fallback. I'm having a custom one made so if it doesn't arrive by the premiere, I'm sure this one will work just fine.
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11/30/2016
I haven't studied the Shoretrooper as well as other suits I've done at this point, but I've noticed just a few small things so far.
- The recessed black area in the eye is missing (but we already knew that)
- The shin straps are molded into the armor. Easier to build and can be disguised with the weathering, but less accurate.
- The forearms taper too much. The proportion of width of the elbow end to the wrist end is too dramatic. It's hard to even get them on if it's glued on both ends.
These are all nit picky things of course. I'm pretty certain a good build and weathering job will make this thing fantastic.
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11/30/2016
Made a bit more progress last night. I glued the recessed vent like pieces to the back armor. I also got the hip armor placement figured out and glued the velcro and leather, prepped the boxes, etc.
Back vents. I plan to run a finger tip of bondo along the edge to hide the transition.
Belt box prep for chicago screw attachment.
Leather and velcro attachment for hip armor placement. The leather is velcro'd on too in case I don't like the arrangement.
Velcro placement for hip armor attachment
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11/30/2016
So today, if you hadn't heard, it was discovered that the base paint used on the armor is Montana Gold - Sahara Beige. Well, I got lucky and found the stuff in stock in town and decided to give it a try. To me anyways, it's definitely far preferable to the ivory both in color and quality of paint. This stuff can be handled in an hour and fully cures in 6-8 hours, depending on temperature. That greatly improves my situation because waiting for Rustoleum to cure for 72 hours when it's cold in the garage means a minimum full week to paint. With this stuff, I was able to paint the belt parts with two coats of black, add liquid latex for chips, and then add two coats of the tan - and then assemble! I probably rushed it a touch as I left a light fingerprint on a box, but in general it worked very well and I love the coloration of it.
In this shot, the ab is not yet painted. I just wanted a fit test and everything is working out really well. I can also sit, which I was unsure of with the thigh armor. Loose velcro and leather for the back flaps probably helped. I'm also using a short box for now as BSP is supposed to send the long box that wasn't included.
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12/2/2016
Today was another great day of progress! A lot was spent trying to identify the blue color that best goes with the beige and I think I've landed on Montana Gold Himalaya with black washes. I know that someone found out the true blue color today, but it involves two different automotive paints that are hard to get so this will work well. Here's my sample.
I also finished the forearms, biceps and shoulder bells today. It's really cool how BSP designed these as they go together very easily. I added a finger smudge of bondo glaze to hide the glue edge a bit, though it really isn't necessary due to weathering.
I decided to attach the collar by gluing it to the back place and then velcroing it to the front. It seems to hold pretty well.
Lastly, I did weathering on the hand plate and am really happy with the result! Hopefully the whole armor comes out this way. I used latex paint chipping + sanding + filing + brown/yellow/black washing + airbrushing.
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12/6/2016
Ok, sounds good.
I had a few days of family and armor business there but I'm ready with a pile of stuff.
First up is the big color test. I know they've identified Halford's Nordic Blue + grey down and dirty + something else for the main blue, but for those of us who either don't have Halford's or don't want to custom order paint, I landed on Montana Gold Himalaya Blue as my base blue color. I think it worked pretty well! Here is a color chart comparison and then a dirtied comparison and then the chest armor with the blue applied.
From left to right:
* Montana Gold Denim
* Montana 94 Azul Barceloneta
* Montana Gold Himalaya
* Rustoleum x2 Spa Blue
* Krylon Sky Blue
* Montana Gold Mt Everest
Dirtied up Himalaya Blue
Full chest armor with Himalaya
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So here's how I did the shins. BSP recommended cutting a slot out for the buckle to make it look inset so that's what I did and I'm pretty happy with it.
The back piece sits inside the two halves. I decided to just glue everything because I can fit my foot through without having to open it. It will make for quick dressing.
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12/6/2016
The biceps and forearms are very easy to assemble. They work a bit like a jigsaw puzzle so no cover strips to glue on.
I ran a thin line of bondo glaze down the seam to smooth it a bit, though it really wasn't needed probably because of the weathering.
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12/6/2016
Here's how I did the chest/back/collar connection.
Velcro! (note that later I switched to magnets for the straps and it works much better)
Again, BSP makes it fit like a puzzle. Easy places to hide Velcro. I love this armor!
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12/6/2016
Paint and weathering! For weathering, I used a number of effects.
1. Paint chipping. I did some paint chip effects by putting liquid latex over the black and before the beige. You just dab a little with a brush in small amounts and then after the beige cures, just scratch it a little and rub it with your finger. Comes off like rubber cement and leaves a natural looking paint chip style behind.
2. Filing and sandpaper. I really like sandpaper for edge wear and lightening the top coat in spots (using 300 grit or higher) and I really like filing to give that effect of rubbing up against other equipment that doesn't wear as evenly.
3. Black/brown wash. I used about 50/50 black and brown with a touch of yellow and a good bit of water so that it didn't over dirty. This is where I also realized that 220 grit is a bit too high for sanding because the wash showed a few areas that were clearly sanded and needed to be corrected.
4. Airbrushing. This is my life saver. It allows me to not be too crazy with the wash and get some really cool grungy darkness and spatter. It's my first time with it, but after playing around I got the hang of it. It's my new favorite tool.
A bit of everything.
Final results.
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12/6/2016
I also painted the brown areas on the back release amounts of those. I just love the look of this kid!
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12/7/2016
So more progress last night. It's so exciting just 10 days after getting the kit to be down to a small bullet list of todos.
Here's how I'm attaching the biceps. I'm doing the white elastic trick, the same as the screen suits.
Screen suit
My attachment. It's glued to the shoulder bell so it just loops through the bicep and velcros. I was going to use snaps, but the position isn't adjustable and I wanted it to be.
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12/7/2016
Also got a good bit more weathering done.
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12/10/2016
Ok, now that I'm through the big rush - time for some more updates!
Shoulder straps (I would eventually add snaps for speed of suiting up)
Template for the red helmet logo. I simply traced around the sticker BSP included and used blue tape. I then used the airbrush to paint it on.
Attached the back cylinders with GOOP
Pringles can assembly
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12/10/2016
The BSP kit was missing the long box so I had to fabricate one. What I did was make a custom box extension to use over an existing short box and then made a new short box.
I attached the long piece with elastic so that it can move (like the screen suits) and also allow for sitting.
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12/10/2016
There may have been a few other small steps, but I'm basically there now. I'm going to be making some tweaks after suiting up and walking around for the first time.
- Cut off and glue down the buckle and back piece of the shoulder straps and attach the connecting strap with magnets. This is because it's hard to get them on just right with the velcro and I really don't want to rely on someone else to be able to get ready. The straps don't do any real work anyways due to the underlying elastic strap. I also ordered rubber shoulder straps because I think they look better so those will go on probably next month.
- Adjust the belt attachment a bit to make it easier to put on. That pouch attachment going front to back is the only complicating thing. It's workable and holds fine, but it makes for confusing assembly.
- Get a new lighter helmet. I absolutely love the BSP one, but it's very heavy - far heavier than my ANOVOS FO TK fiberglass was. I'll try to get used to it, but I was having upper back pain after 20 minutes of walking around with it on.
Here are my near final pics. I have a custom Shoretrooper undershirt coming in a few days and my pants are being adjusted since these pics to take in the crotch and the knees. Final pics should be coming around Tuesday.
Baggy bottoms! This will be fixed in a couple days.
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12/10/2016
And here are some random close ups of some of the weathering. The camera really washes it out.
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12/13/2016
A few more updates to post. I was really not super happy with how difficult it was to place my shoulder straps when dressing myself so I combined a couple of approaches from other members. I glued down the buckles and back pieces and then used magnets to snap the straps into place. I wouldn't trust them if it was structural, but the real work is done by the elastic T shoulder straps anyways so this works fine. Way easier to get ready!
I also cut the strap on the ammo pouch and added snaps to the pouch and strap so that I could attach it in front instead of attaching it in back. That was the last piece I needed assistance with so now this costume is very easy to get on without any help. Woo hoo! I haven't worn a costume like that since my classic TK two years ago, and this one is much easier.
