Carlart Predator Backpack And Cannon Review

[Art Andrews]

I'll be watching this as I'm in the middle of refurbishing Jamie Hall's backpack right now and I'm going to need to do some paint work.

I am just going to tell you now... I am not the guy to be watching when it comes to paint. That is not my area of expertise and if I turn out something that is even remotely passable, it will be a miracle.

I'm reinforcing the broken area of Jamie's pack with epoxy resin and woven cloth to strengthen it.

I have been debating weather or not to do the same or just foam fill it and let that be it.

Jamie's backpack feels pretty heavy to me- I'm curious to weigh it and compare it to yours.

Mine is light as a feather. Granted, I dont' have any mechanics in it. I just have the basic resin arm mechanism that came with it.
 

On Jamie's backpack the clamshell cover is completely open underneath so that's different. I know the clamshell was made as a separate piece so you can either install the medkit or have room to add animatronics. Adding animatronics is also the reason why there is a separate cover plate that fits underneath the cannon platform. I think eventually I may be able to make the electronics small enough so the medkit will fit. I've been so busy with other projects I just haven't had time to work on it but I think it'll happen.

I don't plan to build out the full medkit. I just want to add some type of magnets to hold the cover in place.

Since you saw the original pack can you tell me if it was fiberglass? Just out of curiosity in the last pic of your first post is that an AT-ST?

Yup, it is an AT-ST top. The original pack was what appeared to be a hard rubber that was foam filled.

 

[TriLaser]

I am just going to tell you now... I am not the guy to be watching when it comes to paint. That is not my area of expertise and if I turn out something that is even remotely passable, it will be a miracle.

Send it to me, I'll paint it.      lol

 

[Honus1]

I am just going to tell you now... I am not the guy to be watching when it comes to paint. That is not my area of expertise and if I turn out something that is even remotely passable, it will be a miracle. Mine is light as a feather. Granted, I dont' have any mechanics in it. I just have the basic resin arm mechanism that came with it.
 I don't plan to build out the full medkit. I just want to add some type of magnets to hold the cover in place.

Haha! You can't possibly be worse than me- I really hate painting. Right now Jamie's pack is empty- the mechanics do add a fair bit of weight and I'm trying to simplify it and lighten it up for future builds. I'll be curious to see what you do with the magnets as that's the same solution I have. Right now there's a couple of metal angle brackets in there that the magnets attach to but I'd something a bit more elegant as well as being more secure.

 

[Art Andrews]

Just a note; I weighed the main body today. No medkit. No cannon. Came in just under 3 lbs.

 

[Green]

Would these fit on a bust ?

 

[Honus1]

Art, here's how the magnet system works right now. There's two angle plates that the magnets latch on to- one on the pack and one on the clamshell.

Did you know you're supposed to cut out the bottom of the clamshell so it's hollow? I need to ask Carl about the medkit so I can plan how I want to revamp the electronics.

 

[inkmonster]

Ive watched the progress of this since day one. Its been a long journey glad to finally see it finished. Looking forward to getting one myself gonna make me want to build yet another suit.

 

[Art Andrews]

Would these fit on a bust ?

I suppose it would depend on the bust, but I don't see why not. It is a 1:1 piece.

 

[Art Andrews]

Art, here's how the magnet system works right now. There's two angle plates that the magnets latch on to- one on the pack and one on the clamshell.

I like that layout!

Did you know you're supposed to cut out the bottom of the clamshell so it's hollow?

I didn't... and I spent a ton of time trying to make it fit! Doh!!!

 

[Art Andrews]

OK, so here is a decision I made that may seem a little sacrilegious; Carl added a ton of detail to the underside of the pack. While he did a great job and the details do match up with what MIGHT be under there, the reality is that there is no detail on the underside of the pack. There is just velcro and strapping. With that in mind and because I feel that it somewhat distracts from the original sculpt, I am in the process of covering over those added details. This isn't to take anything away from Carl's work. I just feel that with so much detail on the pack, your eye is drawn away from the original artwork.

Next will be reinforcing the insides with fiberglass. I don't plan to coat the entire inside, but a lot of the edges need attention as they are either already cracked or close to it.

 

[MEANGENE83]

This is a lot of work for what is a finished piece. Going to look great when it is complete.

 

[Art Andrews]

This is a lot of work for what is a finished piece. Going to look great when it is complete.

Definitely a LOT of work and the more I do, the more I see that I want to do. I suppose you could get away with just cleaning up the flashing and going straight to paint, but I feel like there are so many other things that are just crying out for modification and a number of problems areas that NEED to be addressed. I haven't talked to Carl yet, but when I do, my primary suggestion will be to cast these up THICKER. A lot of the problems I am running into is due to the thinness of the casting. Any deep corners are SUPER thin, to the point of cracking from the inside.

Again, the pack is really nice, but it definitely isn't one that you can clean up in 5 mins and go to paint.

 

[inkmonster]

I spoke to him the other day sounds like most of the problems were he used the wrong silicone and it tore early on. So he would have to keep tacking the silicone together and getting bad seams. The problem is being addressed hes making a new mold and making a better outer jacket for it too.

 

[MEANGENE83]

Instead of using fiberglass, couldn't you just mix up some Smooth on - Smooth cast 300 resin and slush it around the inside?
Might be easier for you....

Fiberglass resin is just so toxic and messy. (but very strong)

 

[Art Andrews]

Doh! Wish you had said something a day ago! LOL. Already started laying fiberglass (my first time) and while it is going to be a mess on the inside, it is looking like it is going to be pretty strong!

 

[ptgreek]

Nope .. adding 300 to already cured rotocasting resin wouldnt have been good if you were looking for a permanent "stick" . it would delaminate. a better solution would have been to hand rotocast some very dense rigid foam as a backing ..in this case the polyfoam was constructed as an adhesive ..it is urethane to urethane and would back it up well ..just enough to coat the surface.