Daryl's Denuo Novo TLJ FOTK build

[daryldoak]

So I did a test to see if I could just sand off the forearm trim lines, and be able to keep the proper TLJ shape (as described in a post I made above).  So I carefully sanded with some 80, followed by some 220, and the results look really promising:



After additional fine sanding, and then polishing, I think this is going to work great.

[daryldoak]

Ab glueing complete:





These seams are ready for abs paste.

Next up was the shoulder bell tabs:



Question: Anybody have tips on how much to overlap the inner chest and back?

[daryldoak]

Glueing the right forearm:

[daryldoak]

Right forearm glueing complete, left forearm glueing:



I also bought the supplies needed for the next phase of my build:



Acetone to make ABS paste.
White spray paint for the resin greeblies.
Various grit sandpapers for prepping the ABS surfaces.
Headlight polish for the final step of the seam hiding process.

[daryldoak]

Worked on getting the forearm polished up where I sanded off the trim lines.

I had already sanded with 80 and 320 to get rid of the lines.  Not a great picture, but here is where is was:



Today I sanded with 400, 1000, and 2000, then I remembered I have Novus scratch remover, so I polished with some Novus 3, followed by 2.



I’m really happy with how this turned out.



This was practice for the rest of the seam removals.

[CadBane3]

Yeah, man, looking good! Coming along nicely.

[daryldoak]

Spats glueing:

[daryldoak]

Glueing the boxes on the forearms:



And last to be glued, the back to the inner chest, but I’m still in the planning stage here, no glue, just magnets:



I think the width of the pieces dictates where they will meet:



I tried it on with just magnets and I can get my head thru, so that’s good.

I guess I’m going to have to fix this seam also on the return edge:



Before I actually glue, I’m gonna need to make sure my head will still fit thru once the outer chest is attached.

I’m going to review lots of reference photos for this part.

[daryldoak]

Time to bite the bullet and glue the inner chest and back:





Started cuttings for a batch of ABS paste:

[daryldoak]

Painted the arm and leg greeblies:



Then attached the clips to the forearms:



And the biceps:



I think I trimmed too much return edge from the inner chest shoulder:



Since I was worried about having enough space for the shoulder plate support tabs and strapping slots, I glued some little bits to both sides to fill the gap.  Then trimmed and sanded:



Then I sanded the lip caused by the overlap on the shoulders, to prep for ABS paste:



Decided to tackle the ab seams first, so I taped off the area to prevent any spread and applied to the left side:



I used a toothpick, which I thought would help get it into the seam, but turned out to make a messier application:



So on the right side I used a popsicle stick, which was much easier to work with:



Next, I applied the ABS paste to both shoulders:



I’ll let this dry overnight and then try some sanding tomorrow.

[daryldoak]

Did some very rough sanding on the ABS paste.

Results look good on the ab side seams:



I think those are good to go for finish sanding and polishing.

The shoulder seams are going to need more work due to the overlap:



So more rough sanding and then probably another coat of ABS paste

[daryldoak]

Glued on the leg greeblies:



Started polishing the side seams with Novus 3, by hand.  Going well, but it’s tough work.




I think I’m going to get a headlight polish kit with a drill attachment.  Gonna need it for the shoulders for sure.

Been working on the shoulders.  Wow it’s been frustrating.  ABS paste, sand, and repeat.  I’m still not 100% happy, but I think I’m going to call them good enough and move on to polishing.

[daryldoak]

ABS paste, sand, polish, and repeat, again and again and again….

Getting closer…

[daryldoak]

Added the fabric and gaffers tape to the chest and gaffers tape to the biceps and shins pill holes:







Next I decided to Frankenstein my v1 R2Dan functional metal holster onto the base of the Denuo Novo non-functional resin holster.  I started by cutting the “metal” part of the resin off of the base, which turned out better than I expected:



Think this is going to work pretty good:



Then I added filler to correct issues with the cutting process.  I also had to shorten the base by about 1/2” since the v1 metal is a bit shorter:



And added white paint:



The white really brought out the imperfections, so the base is going to take more filling and sanding.

More to come on this later.

[daryldoak]

Continued working on the holster.

After a few filler and sanding cycle, it was ready for paint.  After one coat:



Looking good:



In order to install the hardware, I had to buy the Torx bits.  Then I added the center hardware, and found they stick out the back too far:



So I dremeled them off drilled the holes in the base and thigh, and then did the final install:





I’m happy with how my “Frankenstein” R2Dan metal + DN base turned out.