Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - still alive!

[terra1]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

yip i agree, its great to have all the current stormtrooper builds (and the boba fett builds) running alongside each other it defiantly helps keep me inspired and motivated during my build.

keep up the good work Korban look forward to seeing more

 

[Korban]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Hard at work on the armor pieces! I finished the biceps, hand plates, cod piece, and both thighs, but they may need to be rescaled yet. Sucks, because they took hours apiece. Gotta remake the belt as well, but that's cake. Just about done with the ab plate, too. My Smooth-Cast 320 arrived just before lunch, so I'm going to apply that to some of the finished folds and take pics soon!

It's been a week but my helmet's still vaguely tacky in some spots and stinks a little yet. Is it alright to commence with the Bondo step?

 

[terra1]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Hard at work on the armor pieces! I finished the biceps, hand plates, cod piece, and both thighs, but they may need to be rescaled yet. Sucks, because they took hours apiece. Gotta remake the belt as well, but that's cake. Just about done with the ab plate, too. My Smooth-Cast 320 arrived just before lunch, so I'm going to apply that to some of the finished folds and take pics soon!

It's been a week but my helmet's still vaguely tacky in some spots and stinks a little yet. Is it alright to commence with the Bondo step?

been keeping yourself busy then might start some armour once my builds cast.

should have cured after a week, do you think you maybe used to little hardener? mine felt a bit tacky (not wet just grippy feeling) 24 hours after applying the resin yet it felt firm enough so i went ahead with the bondo, then i forgot all about the resin as it became buried in bondo.

you could always re-coat it with resin mixed with more hardener, you would have to work quick as it would set fast but may help cure the previous layer, or seal it underneath.

thats what id probably do but i'm no expert, could dust it down with some talcum powder to get rid of the tackiness, couldn't do any harm i don't think.

 

[GoblinKing]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

looking good!

 

[hooper]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

been keeping yourself busy then might start some armour once my builds cast.

should have cured after a week, do you think you maybe used to little hardener? mine felt a bit tacky (not wet just grippy feeling) 24 hours after applying the resin yet it felt firm enough so i went ahead with the bondo, then i forgot all about the resin as it became buried in bondo.

you could always re-coat it with resin mixed with more hardener, you would have to work quick as it would set fast but may help cure the previous layer, or seal it underneath.

thats what id probably do but i'm no expert, could dust it down with some talcum powder to get rid of the tackiness, couldn't do any harm i don't think.

what he said

or before that,just try leaving it outside for a day (as long as its not raining obviously), UV light can help the curing process hugely.

 

[rosskow]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

what he said

or before that,just try leaving it outside for a day (as long as its not raining obviously), UV light can help the curing process hugely.

definitely dont leave it out in the rain, it doesn't do it any favours, i learnt that but my own stupid mistake i never meant to leave it out in the rain. on the subject of the sticky helmet i dont think i could add anything more do what been said.

your resin will get buried in bondo soon enough so i might not matter what its like but you could always do another coat of resin to seal is (yes im just re-writing what terra1 and hooper have said )

 

[Prosta]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

I'm near at the same stage. Was lucky enough to get a warm sunny day last Wednesday so left mine out. It did the trick and I was able to bondo yesterday. I think it takes weeks if not months for the smell to really disappear.

Hope the smooth-cast works out for you. Dont think I could face doing armor till lid is finished. Lots of sanding ahead.

 

[Korban]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! If anything, I thought I used too much hardener. I've been using what will be throw-away measuring spoons, and have been a little generous with the hardener after my first attempt too forever to dry.

The Smooth-Cast 320 arrived Friday, so I sat down and did some experimenting with it. Wow, they are not kidding about that 3 minute pot life. I'm definitely going with the 321 next time. I mixed 1/3 cup A to 1/3 cup B, thinking that to be a good enough amount to go through in short order. Boy, was I wrong. This is what I ended up with: a rock-solid lump in the bottom of my cup.



After that disaster, I cut the amount down by half. Still way too much. Now I'm mixing 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of parts A to B, and it's working great. The only thing is you go through brushes like there's no tomorrow.



I started slush casting the inside of pieces and it is SO much nicer! I still need to brush the edges, but at least I don't burn through brushes, and it comes out nice and smooth and relatively free of bubbles, unlike this...



It's truly awesome how quickly this stuff cures, though, and there are hardly any fumes when working with it, and none after 10 minutes of drying. It makes doing multiple, smaller passes that much easier. I'm also applying a coat of this to the interior and exterior of the helmet. There is absolutely no tackiness to this stuff even after 10 minutes, and it'll (hopefully) mask the residual fumes that were hanging around my bucket.

I did have it outside a few days on our covered balcony, but the weather's turned cold and has been very damp outside, so I'm sure that didn't aid in the curing process. Had I known about the UV light thing, I could have hijacked my bearded dragon's UV tube after he went to sleep.

Here are the two hand plates and cod piece with their first round of Smooth-Cast.



Aaaaand, I finally did what I've been putting off for over a week now: trimming away the excess fiberglass from the helmet, smoothing it down where it was obnoxiously bubbled, and getting ready to Bondo the piece.

I'm finally going to get some decent sanding discs... This is one of the cheapies that came with the rotary tool, and they really suck. Not even 10 seconds in and it shatters into piece. Glad I wear safety goggles when working with this!



Ahh, nice and smooth! Switched to the sanding drum and it went so much easier.



Just a little more work around the mouth area once I get some new discs to get in the tight spots.



Tomorrow it's time for some last-minute touch ups of Smooth-Cast on the bucket, then time to Bondo! Gotta get cracking on this piece and stop procrastinating. Again, thanks to everyone for your encouragement, feedback, and tips! As always, it's a never-ending learning process.

 

[Korban]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Also, for those of you considering Smooth-Cast, I forgot to put my respirator on, and moved my work area indoors. After a quick 15 minute session I realized I wasn't wearing it, but I couldn't tell until I thought about it. If that was regular resin I'd be dead from the smell. :lol

(Not saying to go inhale a bunch of the stuff, but it's a very welcome change!)

 

[pandamajik]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

It does seem like I'm going through more glue than I'd like. The brush on super glue gel works reasonably well, but can be hard to get enough on there so it takes, and the brush gets beat up after a bit and becomes hard to use up all of the glue in the container. I tried the "solid control" or whatever super glue gel where you squeeze both grips on the bottle to make it come out. That worked great and has an optimal time between exiting the tube and setting, but I had the opposite problem from the brush on stuff: it was hard to avoid using too much glue.

I just did some pep work for a helmet I'm working on (I'm was going to hold off on a WIP thread until I finish the body filler stage). I used regular white glue since it's really cheap. I apply it with a scribing tool that I have but I know a lot of people use toothpicks. It makes it easier to just put a think layer of glue on all the tabs. The only downside to white glue is that it doesn't dry as fast as super glue but I found that if you put only a thin layer on it dries within about 10 seconds of putting the tab to the other piece. This gives just enough time to put the pieces together with a bit of leeway time in case you need to reposition.

As a tip when you get to the body filler stage, skip the Bondo brand stuff and pay a bit more for better body filler. I picked up some Evercoat Z-grip for about $10 more than a gallon of Bondo brand and it's much better. It goes on smoother, sands easier, and I think the result comes out smoother than the Bondo brand body filler. Definitely worth a couple extra bucks for time saved for sanding.

 

[rosskow]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

just be sure that you apply your bondo thinly, you're better not putting on enough that putting on heaps of the stuff. thats just one of the many mistakes i decided to make, and get the filler to hardener ratio correct, nothing worse than having heaps of unhardened bondo left to pick off.

good luck with your filler-ing/bondo-ing

 

[Korban]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Has it really been 9 days without an update? Yikes! I've been slowly Bondoing away on the helmet. It's really not been a bad experience, and it's cool seeing the helmet start to round out a bit. I was also lucky to stop at Menards and find the gallon containers of Bondo on sale for less than $13 USD!

While the Bondo dries I've been working away at the rest of the armor. So far I've folded (and partially resined):

• Hand plates x2
• Biceps x 2
• Shoulder bell x 1
• Chest plate
• Back plate
• Belt (too small, have to redo it)
• Cod plate
• Butt plate
• Thighs x2 (these took ~4-5 hours EACH, and might have to rescale one )

My dad dug out an old metal frame in his office's basement, we put some 2x4"s on top, and I'm laying down a flat sheet on top of that that I'm going to use for the rest of my work. It'll give me roughly a 2' x 4' work surface that'll make mixing the Bondo a lot easier: I'll simply be able to fold and scrape it right off the table, and cleanup will be a cinch.

I'll do a good bit of Bondoing and sanding tonight and take some pictures.

 

[rosskow]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

its nice to hear that someone is still making progress and pushing forward with their build(s). look forward to seeing some picture updates to see your hard hours of work on the bondo.

 

[Prosta]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Looking forward to pics. Gotta get me some normal milliput. This white stuff is too hard. Takes forever to sand.

 

[Lord Magneto]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Great stuff man. Looking forward to reading more updates. I'm about to start applying bondo to my first piece. Glad to hear yours is rounding out.

 

[kdub8990]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

I agree with pandamajik, evercoat polyester filler is way better that bondo brand. Also, I use evercoat metal glaze for final smooth coats. (it's a lot thinner and sands really eazy, and same hardener for both). Work in small sections that you can manage before it gets hard. Rough all your work as good as you can with 80 grit then go over with 180 then prime with a good fill primer. Sand that with 180 grit again and re-prime. Sand that with 320-400 grit then you should be ready to seal and paint.
Hopes this helps. I've been an auto body mechanic for 20 years so I use this stuff everyday.

 

[jaycee9]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Looking forward to the end result. Good luck

 

[Korban]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Hey everyone, sorry for the radio silence! October and November have shaped up to be the busiest months of the year for me so far. To top it off, I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month. I'm happy to say i'm 29,100 words into my novel - the most I've ever written! After this month I plan on having a lot more free time, and will be tackling this helmet again.

Basically, I've done 1.5 coats of Bondo, and some sanding. I have another full coat of Bondo to apply, and lots, and lots, and lots... of sanding. I'm also going to pour more Smooth-Cast 320 to the inside of the bucket to cover up the rough fiberglass patches and give a smoother interior.

This cold weather hasn't really been encouraging me to get outside on work in it, either, but with my newly constructed work bench in the garage, well, I'm running out of excuses.

 

[rosskow]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

good to hear something regardless of progress, at least you've not abandoned it. i'll (and others im guessing) will be waiting for your return to your build

good luck with you novel by the way, 29,100 words :eek most i ever wrote was 7,000 for dissertation

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Re: Stormtrooper pepakura build by first-time costumer - fiberglass done!

Hi Korban, any more progress on your ANH pepakura bucket?