Resin Vents

Got the resin vents that I ordered from Don's Place Ebay Store. A very nice chap in England who sells a few cast resin parts. Very fast turnaround!

This is the first pre-made part I have purchased. I just did not feel up to fabricating these babies by hand. I will probably splurge for some other tricky parts like the radar eye and the holoprojectors, and of course, the dome.

Outer Skin Test Fit

I got the inner skins glued in place and today at lunch I did a test fit of the inner skins.

It took a little effort to get the skins to fit up to the shoulder hubs, but I am very happy with the results.

Next, I am going to sand and prime and paint some test pieces of styrene to see how much I need to sand the skins. I want everything to be sanded properly before I attached the outer skins.

I am using the 3M VHB tape for Uline to attach the skins. Testing showed that it holds really well and I am looking forward to using something other than super glue!

Inner Skin Test Fitting

Trimming around the shoulder hubs for the inner skins. Really taking my time to get this right. I think I'll deviate from the club specs and put a rubber gasket around the hole to hide any irregularity. Plus, it will make that transition look a little more industrial. Thanks Greg for that suggestion!

I think I'll track down that industrial tape for putting on the outer skins. I think super glue would be too messy. Besides, I like the idea of peeling off a little bit at a time and getting it into position.

Details, details!

I got the skins trimmed out and I brought the body frame and skins to work to get some help wrapping them.

I went to Douglas Hardware and bought some strap clamps that I plan on using to assist in the wrap.

Today I used the drill press to drill the inside round corners of the door detail pieces of the outer skin. For some reason some of the pieces had center marks for the corners and others didn't. I used duct tape to make a jigon the drill press to do the pieces without marks. Worked like a charm! A few straight cuts and I'll be in business!

Back Outer Skin

Trimmed out the back outer skin. Thank you to whomever set up the files. Initially I thought they had been laid out in reverse, then I realized that they were made to be trimmed on the back side. It only took a couple of knife slips to appreciate the importance of that strategy!

I hope to get the front out skin trimmed at lunch time, that is if my trimming finger can handle it!

Inner Skin Test Fit

Trimmed out the front and back inner skins and did a test fitting. Amazingly, everything seems to be lining up! I need to put some reinforcements on the sides under the shoulders to give the side seams something to glue onto. I am thinking that four 3mm sheets glued together would provide more than enough purchase. I also noticed that even though I am not going to have the arm boxes, I do need some support behind there. I must have missed that step on Dave's plans!

I anticipate that the outer skins will be much more time consuming to trim, but I am going to go slowly because I do not want to do this twice!

Ankles Aweigh!

I think I am just about done with all three ankles, hallelujah! While they were a time-consuming pain in the arse, I really feel a lot more comfortable with glueing, filling and sanding now. I can take this knowledge and use it to finish skinning the legs, which I have been avoiding.

The ankles definitely need some more smooth sanding before I prime them, but for now, I am moving on to greener pastures!