Phasma Build

[magpie]

She arrived!





I'll need the cape, a different set of gloves, and probably different boots for comfortable trooping (and to get the right lift to get the 6'4" height), but otherwise everything is there.

Proper work on her will have to wait, though, since respirators are hard to come by at the moment and I am not going to start sanding fiberglass without one. I figured I can start working out the strapping and what trimming might need to be done.

I may have jumped right into the deep end with this one, but it should be fun!

[carpe mindiem]

Awesome!!

[Lidocaine]

Awesome!! Just stay away from trash compactors and you'll be fine!

[DStep]

Yes, you got it!!!

[CadBane3]

Woohoo!!! Excited to see this one!

[jj49]

NICE!

[1nfern0]

So cool!!! I can’t wait to see how this comes together!

[magpie]

Phasma got a bath this past weekend:



Gave me a chance to look her over and see where some bondo will be needed:





She’s also got quite a bit of scratching and fine pitting:



So the next step is to invest in some filler primer and then sand her down with 400 grit, before following up with a wet sand at 2000. Need her glossy smooth if the chrome is going to look as it ought. That’s going to have to wait for a while though, since I don’t own a reusable respirator and now is the wrong time to be hunting one down.

[1nfern0]

Would a bandana work? Not ideal, but might be ok for sanding if it’s in a ventilated area.

[magpie]

Would a bandana work? Not ideal, but might be ok for sanding if it’s in a ventilated area.

My understanding is not with fiberglass. The stuff is nasty, and deeply uncomfortable on the skin, much less inhaled.

[magpie]

First layer of filler primer applied. Next I need to sand, re-coat and sand some more. Going to start with 400 grit and see where that takes me.



I have two pieces with a bit of damage. I assume some bondo first, then sanding will help that? It is a bit of a ways off, but also need to decide whether I attach greblies before or after the black base coat and chrome. I am leaning to before, but advice would be welcome.

[Lidocaine]

I really like Jims kits and have 2 currently. For small cracks a little bit of CA glue with some baking soda. Larger stuff a boat repair kit would do the trick. Bondo is pretty inflexible so I'd be worry about it cracking with any sort of movement.

Have you lined the interior of the kit yet? A plasti-dip spray really helps keep the raw fiberglass covered.

[magpie]

Thanks! Both cracks are small, and one is in the yolk which needs to be flexible, so I will go the CA and baking soda route. Haven’t lined the interior yet. I was going to do that after all the spraying and sanding, since I wasn’t sure how the plasti-dip spray would react with any stray filler primer.

[magpie]

Had my first go at sanding this morning, fully kitted up to be on the safe side, given that it’s fiberglass.



Very quickly ran into the need for some advice. Anyone have thoughts on the best way to deal with some of the finer details when it comes to sanding? I stared with Phasma’s finger armor, so the two pieces that raised the question were these:



I’ve an exacto knife that I used to clean out the grooves so the detail wouldn’t be lost with the filler primer, but what’s the best way to sand/clean all those nooks and crannies? I’m not to worried about the finger armor (which is why I started my sanding there), but particularly for her helmet I want to make sure I get it right.