Duke's Custom Reach Suit Pep +photos!! *COMPLETE*

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Update:

I have ALL my armor pieces DONE with Bondo!!!

They have all been sanded in every place with 120 grit, then dremeled to bring out the details and hand filed to true up edges and corners. I'm going to skip doing another coat of Bondo with 220 grit. Since I found spot putty so cheap I'm just going to cover them fully in spot putty and sand with 320 grit. To confirm this I went ahead with one piece.

Behold! A thing of beauty!
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I have a gauntlet! She's ready for painting. I'll be spot putting and sanding all week to get the rest of the pieces to this stage and then it's off to painting.

I think I'll upload a picture of each piece once I get it to this stage. I really like the effect sanded spot putty gives.
 
No comment..


Progress!

A little belated as this was all done last weekend. But as promised here is a photo of every piece that is done being shaped with Bondo.

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I ran out of spot putty so without wasting time I got started with primer.

Made a cool little contraption that came in handy. I was worried my pieces might fall off the hook while painting (which it did) so I filled a box with towels, put it on a table, covered it with a trash bag and put it underneath the painting hook. Lol This way it wouldn't take fall damage or roll around in the dirt.
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Here's the only before and after I'll show with the primer. I'm pretty happy with the results. Zoom in on that bad boy!
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The weird discoloration at the bottom I think is because my primer may have froze at some point and it started spitting out powder. I should have shaken it longer. It cleaned up just fine.

Till next weekend everyone!
 
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Progress:

I don't even know where to start with this weekends update. I guess I should tell you I've primered everything. Then realized that I should make sure it all fits on my body as comfortable as possible before I do any painting.

I was so scatter brained though, jumping from one piece to the next. I think what I'll do is once I have one piece done I'll show you what it took to get there.

First up, was the nuts and bolts. Biggest surprise with this suit came at the checkout stand after I bought all the nuts and bolts and washers for this suit. 75 Dollars worth! That includes some that are just aesthetic, some that hold the straps on and some that hold pieces against other pieces.

I went with bolts because these pieces feel heavy. I went to with three head sizes small medium and big to give a range so it all doesn't just look the same.

I will not be very mobile and if something falls off I will most likely not be able to get it back on. I weighed my armor pieces (without helmet). Just the barebones, no paint, no bolts, no padding, weighs 22 pounds. Doesn't sound like much now but it's gonna be tough to get around.

Here is how I planned out the bolts I needed.
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And here a list of what I bought, excluding the aesthetic bolts.
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My first piece attached!
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Just a single bolt straight into the armor of the undersuit with Eva foam to fill the 3/4" gap between.
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Moving on down I got the forearm, done the same way. Originally going to use the web straps, but bolting to the undersuit gives me the most range of motion.
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Next up the boots, no longer resembling crocs hopefully! Boot is three pieces bolted together setting on top of an army boot that has a 2.5" heel lift. (shin just for comparison)
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Here is the handplate, two bolts are aesthetics and the middle one will hold down the elastic band using a fender washer which is how it will stay on my glove.
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(haven't updated my time yet for this weekend. I did a bunch more stuff too, just not photo worthy yet. See you tomorrow)
 
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22 pound!!!! wow, that is a lot of weight. And you are going to be adding a lot more w/ paint and underlining foam. You are going to need a good harness system otherwise you'll need a good chiropractor in stead. Everything look great PerniciousDuke!!! Just fantastic!!!
 
Dirtdives - Yeah, there will be probably 7 cans of spray paint, a few little spots of foam, lots of nuts and bolts, wiring, batteries, the motorcycle gear under suit, my helmet. It could possibly weigh 40 lbs when I'm done. Considering army guys wear 60 lb packs and I'm no where near that in shape, it will be a lot

Progress:

Did a little Monday night assembly. Biggest accomplishment was creating a checklist of things I need to do before I'm ready for paint.
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I started with the straps. Assembling them to buckles, cutting a hole for the bolt and fire sealing all the edges. Here's what they look like. I'll have a total of 16 on the suit almost all from the waist to shins.
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The way I fitted them.. I assembled just like you see the two coming together, except no safety pin. That spot will eventually be sewn. So I attach the bolt ends to the armor, then I adjust the female buckle where I want and safety pin the strap so it doesn't move.


Then a short two hours later I have my first piece suspended by buckles! It's hard to see (and that's the point) but the armor belt has two buckles going up to tactical suspenders. And then the motorcycle shirt is worn over top without interference!
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Really unflattering photo, but just for you guys I chose to share. :p
 
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Dirtdives - Yeah, there will be probably 7 cans of spray paint, a few little spots of foam, lots of nuts and bolts, wiring, batteries, the motorcycle gear under suit, my helmet. It could possibly weigh 40 lbs when I'm done. Considering army guys wear 60 lb packs and I'm no where near that in shape, it will be a lot

Progress:

Did a little Monday night assembly. Biggest accomplishment was creating a checklist of things I need to do before I'm ready for paint.
View attachment 252197

I started with the straps. Assembling them to buckles, cutting a hole for the bolt and fire sealing all the edges. Here's what they look like. I'll have a total of 16 on the suit almost all from the waist to shins.
View attachment 252198
The way I fitted them.. I assembled just like you see the two coming together, except no safety pin. That spot will eventually be sewn. So I attach the bolt ends to the armor, then I adjust the female buckle where I want and safety pin the strap so it doesn't move.


Then a short two hours later I have my first piece suspended by buckles! It's hard to see (and that's the point) but the armor belt has two buckles going up to tactical suspenders. And then the motorcycle shirt is worn over top without interference!
View attachment 252199
Really unflattering photo, but just for you guys I chose to share. :p
Like seeing someone work with a sense of organization. I’m one of those make it up as i go people. Which usually hurts productivity in the long run. Still anxious to see some painted pieces.
 
Like seeing someone work with a sense of organization.

Unfortunately as beautiful and concise as the list is.....there are several things missing. Like eating/drinking......bathroom breaks.......social interactions.......unforeseen interruptions and delays due to miscalculations and a bevy of any number of the aforementioned type of distractions.....Then of course there is Xbox time.....Those 11 hrs will turn in to like 18-20 in the blink of a eye....provided you skip the mid day nap.....or sleep altogether........Don't get me wrong....having a list is great....something I also could never adhere to nor formulate properly, so the seat of my pants method is the way I work as well.

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I'll be honest SI3RRA 117 it was because I was starting to get Really discouraged. I actually even convinced myself that I wouldn't make the con. I was running in to so many this-before-that problems. Get set up to do one thing then realize I had to do something else first.

I'm back on track though for the con. I originally wanted to be done with painting this month so I would have a full month to assemble and do lights. I switched gears and decided I needed to assemble before painting but I still had the "finish painting by end of month!" drumming in my head.
 
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