Verdan's Mk VI build

Verdan · Jan 2, 2014

Yesterday i run out of paint brushes for the resin, so decided to take a look at the helmet and get the dremel going. Having removed the supports, cut away some of the excess FGcloth and tidied up, i test fitted for the first time. The results were upsetting. Having spent so much time on putting it together, even removing all of the lip around the rim still meant an extremely tight fit. I managed to get my head in, but then really struggled to get it off again. I thought i was going to have one of those comedy visits to the hospital

As such, i'm now faced with the option of starting a fresh, or finding someone with a smaller head who's built too large, or someone selling them. Until i decide which, i'm going to leave it to one side and finish the other parts, moving onto the bondo stage and dealing with parts like the boots which don't rely on anything else.

After having slept on the problems, I cut away the edge of the helmet and it now just fits. I can easily fit my head in once it's past my ears so am considering cutting them off or I might just add some thin foam for comfort and leave it at that.

I've also reorganised the working area, setting up to contain the dust from sanding and later the spray paint (might do this outside weather depending). It's a good job I did since as i cleaned up I also found the bondo spreader.

RobotChicken · Jan 2, 2014

Verdan said:
I can easily fit my head in once it's past my ears so am considering cutting them off

A helmet's not really worth cutting off your ears…..

morkar78 · Jan 2, 2014

[\kidding mode] Are you sure you need to cut them...maybe just a little of sanding would be enough... [/kidding mode]

you job looks good so far

Verdan · Jan 3, 2014

It's only a little blood and they hardly do anything more than hold up my glasses....

Seriously though, there are two trapezoidal shaped areas on the helmet that can be removed to make a bit more space, but that will be a last resort.

Going shopping for primer and a decent rasp later today as the set of files i have are just clogging up with the resin/FG. I think i applied too much, too thick, so i've not got pitting all over and will have to get some of the detail back

RobotChicken · Jan 3, 2014

You can clean your rasps with a wire brush rather than buy new ones each time they get clogged.

Verdan · Jan 3, 2014

Dont worry, i bought a set of wire brushes also, but i wanted a rasp with a more coarse cut so it wouldn't get clogged as quickly and would take more of the material away with each stroke, reducing the amount of work for me.

I'm about half way through the smoothing work on the helmet. A quick layer of primer showed up some areas i need to pay more attention to, but i should be finished by the end of the weekend with any luck.

Note to others, the chin strap should be reinforced before sanding the top of the helmet. I didn't realise how much i was pushing down on the piece and managed to cause a small crack. Easily fixed, but more easily avoided to start with.

TheCaptainBacon · Jan 17, 2014

This looks really good, it seems like you are making fast progress. I don't see any warping, and the fiberglass job looks pretty clean. Keep up the good work!

Verdan · Jan 18, 2014

Thanks for the confidence, the warping isn't as bad as i'd thought, though i have already run out of bondo and just realised that the shoulders and calf pieces are far too big so will have to be re-done

The helmet is basically complete. I'm having trouble sanding some of the detail so will concentrate on that later, but i've made a start of the cod-piece and chest. The latter is time consuming more than anything else, but the cod-piece has warped on the front so might need a bit of wood or something glued in place to reshape it, a couple of layers of FGcloth and then hopefully it will hold in place.

As for putty, is there a UK variant people favour? I'm wanting to get the helmet and chest complete before the end of March when i go on holiday. It would be a good milestone.

Mstruvmgc · Jan 19, 2014

Something you can do about your ears if you have not already tried is get a balcalva, those head covers with the face hole in them. It will bring your ears closer to your head and whatnot.

Build is looking good so far

Verdan · Jan 22, 2014

Cheers, i might give it a go.

I've got two days "working from home", which actually means i get my job done in about 5hrs, meaning much of today was bondo/sand/work/bondo/sand/work...

I have great respect to all those who have made a full suit. Having gone through the Pep stage, i thought that was a pain, but now i realise that sanding is probably the worst bit since you constantly find imperfections, your hands ache from leaning into the sandpaper/files and the dust gets everywhere. I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end.

For those in the UK, i do NOT advise getting the Halfords Knife putty. It pours itself out of the tube, meaning you have to close the lid instantly or get a mess everywhere, it starts to become like bluetac almost instantly, so while you were putting the lid on the putty you put on the parts is drying out, and to top it off, it takes ages to set hard enough to sand it down. :angry

JayOneSeven · Jan 22, 2014

Verdan said:
For those in the UK, i do NOT advise getting the Halfords Knife putty. It pours itself out of the tube, meaning you have to close the lid instantly or get a mess everywhere, it starts to become like bluetac almost instantly, so while you were putting the lid on the putty you put on the parts is drying out, and to top it off, it takes ages to set hard enough to sand it down. :angry

Most of the spot putty products are vacuum sealed in the tube, which creates negative pressure and causes them to want to ooze out of it. It's so the oxygen can't enter, otherwise it'd harden in the tube.
I commend your progress though, you've done some beautiful work with glassing the helmet. I always find that to be the most difficult part! I can't wait to see the bondo job you've done!

Verdan · Jan 23, 2014

Thinking about it that way makes sense, but very frustrating. By this morning the putty still hadn't really set solid in some places, so I just scrapped it off and started again with body filler. Much quicker and better result.

After a long time of promises, here is the knife I made. I keep forgetting to photo it. No camera tricks, the blade really is thinner at the handle than the tip, and the handle is wonky. There is little i can do about it with the tools i have, but i'm happy with it as is so will do some final sanding and paint it.

Here's the shoulder piece. Far to big for my arms, even if I go to the gym it won't help. I also can't see any way of cutting them to craft a better fit, so will probably just bin them and start again.

Finally the helmet. I'm still having some trouble with small detail areas, so suggestions welcome. I've got much of the rest of the helmet really for smoothing, but these two sections are giving me a headache

angel62sir · Jan 25, 2014

Nice continuing work on your suit dude, cool about London in July, if your ready gimme a shout I'm sure we can sort something out.
As for the detailing all I can suggest is dremmel away and file and sand it until your happy with it. I've been working on my suit for over a year and I'm still not happy with it.

JayOneSeven · Jan 26, 2014

Aww man that sucks. Spot putty really is a life saver, it makes builds much faster to complete, and much smoother looking in the end too! This is the one I use, and most people on here use. If you can find some (it's really cheap, like $4) then definitely grab it. It cures for me in about 5 minutes flat, ready to sand. Super easy to apply and to smooth down.
That being said, the progress looks great too. Shoulder piece is nicely proportioned by the looks of it.

My suggestion for small detail areas is don't be afraid of taking your exacto knife, or any other blade, and scraping away some stuff like a razor. Remember you built it up, if you go to deep you can build it up again! You won't ruin it

But the straight blade should give you that real 'crisp' and sharp edge you're looking for. Just take small steps!

Verdan · Jan 27, 2014

Cheers, but it doesn't appear to be available in the UK unless I want to pay £25 ($35~) for delivery.

I'll keep searching

Chernobyl · Jan 28, 2014

Verdan said:
Cheers, but it doesn't appear to be available in the UK unless I want to pay £25 ($35~) for delivery.

I'll keep searching

There are similar products available at B&Q or Halfords. That's where I get my filler products from.

That said, I'll dump a shopping list for you, of all the products I've managed to source during my time armouring in the UK. Bear in mind that these products have all been used by me, so they're tried and tested for their ease of use, ease of working and value for money:

5Kg White Fibreglass/Layup Resin (with hardener). I usually get the 1Kg resin batches myself, which is more than enough to get a torso piece hardened. However, it's more cost-effective to by the 5Kg batch for a saving of £46 (£80 if you buy 5x1Kg batches individually, as opposed to £34 for 1x5Kg batch), and 5Kg is almost guaranteed to cover an entire set of armour without issues.

David's Isopon P38 Car Body Filler (with hardener). If you've got a local Halfords, go grab some of this. It's easy-sand, so you shouldn't have a problem with getting it nice and smooth.

I hope this list will be of use to you.

Verdan · Jan 28, 2014

Cheers, I've already gotten a 25kg batch of Resin from EastCoast, so should have plenty for finishing the full suit.

As for the filler, i've persevered and it seems to be getting better, so it might have been just the start of the tube, or user error.

Finally: detailing, scrapping away with a blade has been BRILLIANT

I spent about an hour today with a blade and the helmet, and found it easy to do an am really happy with the result. I put another layer of primmer on just before dinner so once that's dried i'll take some photos of the change and post it up.

glasscutter · Jan 29, 2014

For the little pits, those could be a result of how your mixing the Body Filler. I had a lot of those little pits in my daughters helmet in the signature below. After building I found they were caused by stirring the body filler to mix. It should be folded together on a plastic sheet using something flat. Check out this link for Bondo/Body Filler tips: http://bondo.com/tips Specifically the video "TECH TIP - MIXING BODY FILLER".

Verdan · Jan 29, 2014

Face-palm.

Yes, i'd been stirring the bondo in plastic cups, causing problems for myself. I can't believe how much your photos look so similar to my own work. Sounds like i might have to go back over some areas with another layer of properly mixed bondo then. Luckily i have another day off work this week and a couple of free weekends coming up.

Thanks glasscutter.

Motion26 · Jan 29, 2014

JayOneSeven said:
Aww man that sucks. Spot putty really is a life saver, it makes builds much faster to complete, and much smoother looking in the end too! This is the one I use, and most people on here use. If you can find some (it's really cheap, like $4) then definitely grab it. It cures for me in about 5 minutes flat, ready to sand. Super easy to apply and to smooth down.
That being said, the progress looks great too. Shoulder piece is nicely proportioned by the looks of it.

My suggestion for small detail areas is don't be afraid of taking your exacto knife, or any other blade, and scraping away some stuff like a razor. Remember you built it up, if you go to deep you can build it up again! You won't ruin it But the straight blade should give you that real 'crisp' and sharp edge you're looking for. Just take small steps!

Amen to that, spot putty is great! I spent a lot of time detailing, smoothing out and repairing areas on my helmet using that bondo putty, I high recommend it as well.

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