Recent content by Tron Paul

Jim at Stony Props

Don't use resin. Resin is a myth. It never existed.

I know I keep popping in with negative things, but hopefully you take them as constructive criticism. I've followed this thread periodically and seen the attention to detail in the pepping and smoothing. I would hate for the finish work to be lacking. Good paint/finishing jobs can sometimes...

Correct. In typical circumstances, you would see chipped paint at the edges and some places in the field on "accent coloring." You would also see evidence of wear and scuffmarks on the raised portions of the armor. Other than a few scuffmarks in open, flat areas of the piece, it would be tough...

So far so good. Make sure the paint layout is continuous from one part to the next. I've found that painting all the pieces at the same period of time can help with consistency. It may be hard to wait sometimes, but painting pieces at the same time can allow for more efficient work and a better...

Helmet looks legit. Most people make the helmet too narrow. Proportions look "right." Looks good so far.

I hear that. The weathering may be a bit too much for my preferences, but at least the pattern is consistent. Too many times people like to go overboard with the weathering which often results in unrealistic and random wear patterns. I like the fact that the pattern on the front of the chest...

Great weathering approach. In the video games, the color scheme on the Chief is usually the typical "military green" across the board. By adding slight variations and brown "grime" in the raised and flat areas, you've achieved a great effect. The drybrushing is perfectly subtle and asymmetrical...

Ravarkian demonstrated using a "foam buildup" method (http://www.405th.com/f21/ravarkians-foam-noble-6-build-wip-39505/index2.html?highlight=eva+noble) which allows for higher levels of detail without having to potentially go over the entire piece and resin/bondo for detail. I'm giving this...

I've seen people set things up for painting with wood glue or pva glue. Envirotex was suggested, but I'm not sure how well that works. Some people suggest using plastidip. Regardless, you would need to use a primer for your eva foam. Some aerosols eat away at foam. Always do a test like youve...

Can't tell from the last pic, but from what I see in the first few posts, the helmet looks great. My only knock is that the lights may be too bright. I can't tell whether the chestpiece lights will be okay given that con venues are often better lit and require brighter fx lighting, but...

Mikey: There is CRAZY amounts of info on the 405th. The hardest part is taking the time to go through all the threads and trying to find the answers to your questions. Your best bet for info are the stickies at the top of every forum especially the "New Member Sticky Index" at the top of the...

The problem with painting the entire helmet red is that white often allows colors (like red) to show through the white layers similar to a "bleeding" effect. By creating a white "undercoat" you'll be able to have the red "pop" better. I would personally shy away from painting the "detail" colors...

Since its been around a week or so without a real update on things, I should probably provide one sometime. Why not now? Progress has been on pause for the most part. Last week, it was announced that the party I was attending during the weekend was going to be an "America" theme party...

NAILED IT!!!