Jump to content

MACHINE's Sandy Armour Rebuild (WiP)


Lozzer86
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi Folks,

Those of you that have been following my roller coaster of a Field Pack build will no doubt have seen my badly fitting armour :)

As promised, here is a new thread dedicated to getting my armour up to code and ready for inspection.

First things first.... Unlike my T21, my Bapty or my Field Pack, I bought my armour off the peg (sort of), from a reputable supplier. I would have liked to build the whole thing from a kit, as I have massive respect to all of you that do ! But I just do not have the time to allow it.

To be honest, I'm very pleased with the quality and the initial weathering. But I'm an odd shape. I'm 5' 10" and 16st, so no lightweight. Even after supplying the manufacturer with my exact measurements, it's a little 'snug' for my liking.

Particularly if I want to (for example).... breathe, or walk instead of wobble.

6 months it took to arrive and I'm not going to be sending it back for minor adjustments I can make myself. So I've decided to strip all the parts down to their individual panels and re-strap, re-shim and for some parts.... re-work.

6 months is a long time, but it's been in the planning for a year already.

So I've learnt many techniques, seen thousands of build photos and read hundreds of submission threads.

Time to make a start.... Straight out of the box and onto my ample frame....

28qyg4h.jpg

We have a number of immediate apparent problems.....

The shins do not close, the back of the thighs are pinching, the butt plate doesn't seem to fit right and you can park a small car between the Ab and Kidney plates !

Moving up..... The chest plate doesn't cover the top of the Ab plate, the belt is too high, the Pauldron is so tight it's choking me.

It also sits too high, so that when the helmet is on I can't see out the eyes ! Forget about moving about. I can only describe it as putting your legs into 2 long tubes and clattering about 'Mummy' style. NB. Might make a good Halloween costume.

On the upside, the arms are a good fit.

I also liked the weathering :)

But for me, 'Grubby' doesn't make a Sandy. So more weathering is necessary.

Anyway, I've got my work cut out !

So, one piece at a time, I start dismantling the parts.

Removing all the machine screws and prizing apart key glued areas until I have a box of components.

dy6ds2.jpg

Here's is my first attempt at the reassembly, ready for testing...

nvsbpg.jpg

Getting better !

So here is a list of mods that I have done so far, starting from the top down....

Lined the helmet to actually fit my fat head.

Removed the overly long and extremely dangerous machine screws holding on the ears, cut them down, refitted them and covered the exposed ends with some hot glue.

Fitted new green lens and added mesh grill.

30das0m.jpg

29vkpag.jpg

My apologies that some of these pictures are coming out rotated. It's an iPhone / upload thing.

Helmet..... FIXED.

I'm having my Pauldron 'opened up', to fit comfortably around my neck seal. That will sit flatter on my shoulders :)

Reworked the chest plate, heated and bent the top tabs front and back.

Added elastic on both sides between front and rear plates.... FIXED

Separated all sections of the 'clam shell' mid section.

Re-strapped all parts and added new, even shims both sides.

Added a pair of black braces. I now have a comfortable pair of plastic pants !

Mid section.... FIXED

Thigh and shin adjustment and trimming.... Cut out sufficient sections at the back to stop the pinching and enabling better leg movement.

After a few attempts, I can walk around like a human. Much improved over the scooby-doo style 'Mummy' impression is was doing before :)

I still need to close the gap at the back of the shins, as they don't fit over my boots too well.

I've got some 1mm abs turning up for that. So that's it !

It's time to start some serious weathering to go from 'slightly grubby' to hardcore Sandy !!!

Here's my boots, shins and pouches after playing with the paints for a few minutes....

23hx191.jpg

More weathering on the pouches;

ibam4h.jpg

2qlv58p.jpg

There's more progress to come, so I'll pop up more pics as and when :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Baron :)

Yes, I'm working across the whole kit and will be adding and toning down to balance the weathering accordingly.

It will be slightly heavier weathering at the legs to more accurately represent the effects of trudging through the dunes !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So last night I turned the volume down on the boots and shins :)

2yudkrn.jpg

I also found out that the Acrylic paint used on the weathering is no match for some moist toilet tissue !

I fully expect that I could get the armour and boots back to an unpainted state with enough sheets and elbow grease !

Good to know ;)

Here's a before and after comparison...

2ujtd7n.jpg

The 'after' looks a bit more yellow only because it was taken inside last night. But the difference is quite significant.

Thank you Andrex !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the new weathering much better. The old one had a little bit too much of a "rusty" touch for my personal taste.

I wouldn't stress it too much at the moment though. As long as you don't seal it you can always go back and change it (which I have done a lot). I use "Sterilium" (a fluid to keep your hands sterile) to rub off and lighten any weathering and it works like a charm. It actually looks more naturally if you're repeating the process a couple of times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It must be the alcohol in the hand sanitiser !

That makes a lot of sense ;)

I've dropped a message to someone that might be able to give me some pointers.

The thing I'm finding about weathering (and this makes a lot is sense), is as you say, you can't just hit it once with a paint brush !

You need to apply, rub away, apply, rub away.....

As much as I like the heavier weathering style (and I really do), it did look a bit like the boots from a Dewback herder :)

Rubbing away at the weathering did make a massive difference. I'll get the rest of the armour weathered tonight and go through a box of toilet wipes over the next few days !

There's lots of discussion about weathering and 'does this look OK' type discussions, and I know it's really down to personal choice.

That said, I want to stand comfortably between my new trooping buddy's and not look like I fell over into a pile of Banther poodoo :)

Thanks for your advice and support everyone ! It's truly appreciated ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's what we're here for, bro :) Just one final word to the wise; you might want to ask the buddies from your Garrison which exact colors they used (if you haven't already done so) because it's cooler when it looks like you're all coming from the same dirtpit :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We are aiming for completed armour photo's THIS WEEKEND !!!!

So excitied :dance:

I'm just waiting for my Pauldron to come back from the ISD (He's making it fit my fat neck) ;)

Then I'll grab all the photo's I can with the wife's DSLR.

Lot's to do still....

Have to finish up the Field Pack and weathering, which will happen tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...