LVLAsian's Imperial Surplus Praetorian Build

[LVLAsian]

Chest Time



I know I can just use stickers for the pill holes but rather just carve them out





Wanted to do the same Mod I did with my FOTK (pictured Below) to make the chest lines pop out more. I followed UKwrath's mod over on the FISD Forums



One side down

[LVLAsian]

Because I'm an absolute glutton for punishment, went for the assembly I forgot is unforgiving but rewarding at the end

Note you don't have to do this like the chest seams in my previous post... but makes smaller details stand out more so why I like doing it

Take your time... and get some good files and music for this part...


What's nice is the resin part fits very nicely around the center detail so all you have to do is trace around the resin part


Post marking and drilling holes for easier to cut.


It won't fit absolutely perfectly so go slow sanding around, don't want to overdo it and make a huge gap. To glue it, I used CA glue and kicker. Best way I found to do it is "tack it" on the corners (One at a time) and then go around the part.You can always sand it down to make it flush but again don't have it sticking out too far.


Applied CA glue on the back and after that cured, JB weld to reinforce it

[LVLAsian]

Back to the Ab

Did a test fit and marked the edge of where the chest meets the abs to see where to cut it. I measured about half way to the edge of where I marked it to cut to make it shorter as it rides way higher than a FOTK.




Post Cut


Moved to body filler the edges next after cutting the top off a bit and sanding... and more sanding


Took another page from Ukwrath and used Nylon bolts for the Ab boxes. Did my own take by 3D printing a mount for the box to be glued onto the box itself



Hole drilled

Nut and washer to hold it on


All done

[Shikkakku]

Excellent progress so far, keep it up!
This will be a great guide for those who use the Imperial Surplus kit.

[LVLAsian]

Excellent progress so far, keep it up!
This will be a great guide for those who use the Imperial Surplus kit.

Thank you!

Also if anyone needs the files I uploaded it here for the Ab boxes

https://www.printables.com/model/109308 ... box-mounts

[LVLAsian]

So updates will slow down a bit because I entered the ever so fun stage of filling, sanding, look for defects and filling, sanding, look for defects and filling, sanding, look for defects... and Thanksgiving break is coming to a end.

Sprayed some filler primer to look for any thing that pops out




Sanding post painting after next day





So important step in my opinion, flex the Yolk/Back a bit but not hard. Just try simulating how much it might bend while wearing it or putting it on. Check if any cracks might form as mine shows a small crack right at the edge. Better to fix this now than have it grow much larger later.


Pro tip, use painters tape or whatever tape you have to protect the cover strip details to avoid getting spot puddy everywhere for the forearms. Makes it way easier to sand as the objective is to get rid of any gaps between the cover strip and forearm.

[LVLAsian]

Quick Update, fixed the issue with the cracking on the Yolk/Back.

Issue being there was a "air pocket" where glue/abs paste didn't get into support the body filler above it.

Cleaned out the problem area then filled it with JB Plastic Weld and sanded it down. No more cracking









Sanded it down after curing after a full day.




Misc Update, opened up the pill hole on the shins too

[LVLAsian]

Slow update as I'm back to work and have a con to goto this weekend, fixed up the forearms with body filler and filler spray. Almost done with them

[LVLAsian]

Back messing around as I don't have much to update

Decided to test different colors for the primer for the Red I'll be using

I plan on using dupli color cardinal red for the base coat. The primer coats are rust-oleum colors I have on hand. I tested a White, Black, and Gray





It's hard to tell from the photos but the black made it way too dark for my taste and white or gray might be the best color.... will be sleeping on it but leaning towards gray.

[LVLAsian]

Don't have a ton to add as the weather has been either rainy or too cold to do anything

Guess I was too conservative with the superglue as the forearm greeblie is lifting on the edges after flexing it a bit to test it. Went back and re glued and sanded to fix this.




Otherwise started painting some parts dark gray on the armor to catch any mistakes which I realized I forgot to make the hip pouch box seamless... oops