Shredder - TMNT - My first build ever!

[Vince]

Best looking shredder design IMO. I was wondering what the cartoon design would look like done up in reality and it translates wonderfully. Amazing job, I cant wait to see this completed.

 

[The Ronin]

You can bondo inside if you have a respirator, and no other living things in the house. I can't stand wearing mine unless I absolutely have to, so I usually do resin and bondo work outside.

 

[89Forever]

@Vince - Thanks man. I hope to get some pictures up tonight. I found out that resin doesn't cure well after dark, so it should give me some time to post.

@Ronin - I hear ya. PPE blows. we don't get a whole lot of air movement in my area, so i either have to string out an extension cord & fan or go outside and use the PPE anyway. the PPE is well worth the hassle.

 

[The Ronin]

@Vince - Thanks man. I hope to get some pictures up tonight. I found out that resin doesn't cure well after dark, so it should give me some time to post.

You can mix your resin a little hot by adding a few extra drops of hardener to make it cure faster. Beware of warping the hotter you mix it, though.

The reason it takes longer to cure is because of the temperature drop overnight.

 

[89Forever]

You can mix your resin a little hot by adding a few extra drops of hardener to make it cure faster. Beware of warping the hotter you mix it, though.

The reason it takes longer to cure is because of the temperature drop overnight.

I was afraid to add more hardener as i don't want to run out before my resin does.

As for the temp drop, what was supposed to take 2 hours, was still wet 6 hours later; and its not like its cold here. i thought about taking a blow dryer or heat gun to it, but i didn't know what kind of negative results i'd get. would it be okay?

 

[The Ronin]

I was afraid to add more hardener as i don't want to run out before my resin does.

As for the temp drop, what was supposed to take 2 hours, was still wet 6 hours later; and its not like its cold here. i thought about taking a blow dryer or heat gun to it, but i didn't know what kind of negative results i'd get. would it be okay?

Heat gun on a low setting or a hair dryer are fine, but tedious. I personally like leaving resined pieces in the car on a hot day. If they aren't rock solid in a couple hours, then you didn't mix your resin right. I'd still guess that you didn't mix the resin right if it's wet 6 hours later. At the very least the resin should feel like an old gummy bear.

You can usually go 1-3 drops extra hardener per ounce of resin mixed to get it to cure faster. Much more and it'll turn into gelatin really quick. Extra hardener can be purchased for cheap, so using it up before the resin isn't a big deal

 

[89Forever]

oh it was sticky, just seemed like it took 3-4x longer. as soon as the sun came out, they hardened right up!

 

[DestinedAnarky]

Awesome. Can't wait to see it all finished. Keep it up, man.

 

[ultramantaro]

will be looking at this thread .. excellent pep work man .. love the helm .

 

[89Forever]

Heat gun on a low setting or a hair dryer are fine, but tedious. I personally like leaving resined pieces in the car on a hot day. If they aren't rock solid in a couple hours, then you didn't mix your resin right. I'd still guess that you didn't mix the resin right if it's wet 6 hours later. At the very least the resin should feel like an old gummy bear.

You can usually go 1-3 drops extra hardener per ounce of resin mixed to get it to cure faster. Much more and it'll turn into gelatin really quick. Extra hardener can be purchased for cheap, so using it up before the resin isn't a big deal

i added extra hardener and still got gummy pieces this morning. Although I think it has more to do with the fact that my cup melts half way through. i might need to find a different container.

 

[The Ronin]

i added extra hardener and still got gummy pieces this morning. Although I think it has more to do with the fact that my cup melts half way through. i might need to find a different container.

Yeah... Usually the directions will have a list of containers NOT to use.

 

[89Forever]

so i was using these thin semi-opaque cups made of #6 plastic. the new cups i use are hard clear plastic but also #6. the clear cups have given me no issues!

 

[Vepo]

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress as I'm very tempted to create one of these myself for next years Japan Expo here in Paris.

 

[GammaGreen]

This looks really freakin' good. Can't wait to see more.

 

[moose]

i just wanted to let you know that your death star pokeball shirt is beyond awesome.

also your shredder looks great.

!!

 

[LDJosh]

very nice! I love the shredder choice!

 

[89Forever]

I got a few pictures uploaded to G+:

Forearm armor

Chest

I split it into 2 halves (front & back). The waist is a bit small, even for my petite girlfriend. I'll be adding some padding and manually spreading the bottom half. I am hoping the padding will be sufficient to keep me from having issues with the chest plate poking into my ribs.

Also, Since i have split the torso, i'll need to hide the cuts/straps. the top is easy as i will be wearing shoulder armor. To minimize the recognition of the sides, we decided i needed a cape (which is consistent with the original shredder). Because this is a blue/gray/silver paint scheme, I got blue cloth for a cape. However, the purple (from the original shredder) looked pretty nice, So I picked some of that up as well.

Unfortunately, I made a bad decision early on. This entire build was actually under scaled. when i blew up the skirt, it required legal size paper. Not having any, i went with standard 20# paper. This weekend I discovered that unless i was going to stand there and hold it for an hour per section, there was no way i would be able to make it work. Even if i did, it wouldn't look good. So with 48 hours left until SDCC, I will have to rebuild it from scratch.

Currently, the upper & lower arms and chest are done. the helmet is painted and only needs the embellishment glued on. The left hand is primed and will be painted and added to the glove to night. Shin guards still need some sanding, filling, and finishing. And of course the skirt needs to be started.

My goal is to get everything above done and to get the skirt printed, cut, glued, fiberglass the inside and get a solid coat of resin on the outside. then tomorrow night i can fill & sand, prime, and paint and add Velcro and elastic to everything that needs it.

 

[Welmanshire]

i haven't gotten to the Bondo stage yet. maybe tomorrow if the holiday doesn't interfere. i thought it was fumeless. good thing i have a balcony and a face mask.

Bondo is certainly not fumeless, ask my Girlfriend. Apparently she isn't a fan haha!

The Build is looking good man.

 

[89Forever]

well i decided i don't like using Bondo anyway. it dries really hard so sanding is time consuming. and its not sooth.

trying other things such as Spackle and wood filler.

I know what its like getting yelled at for fumes. lol. thank you for the compliment.

 

[redbridge1]

I am so loving this build,keep up the good work!!