Who made that man a gunner?

[Buccaneerbrawler]

So begins the process of becoming one of the cool kids with armor. I was actually surprised to see that there are 6 individual variants of the gunner CRL. I’m planning on doing the original, blowing up Alderaan, imperial gunner and my bib hopefully should be completed soon. I’d love to have this done for the Ren Faire, but we’ll see what happens.

[Buccaneerbrawler]

Shaping is coming along nicely. I remembered to hold onto my scraps this time for supporting the jawbone as recommended on the IGC detachment forums. I’m really nervous about screwing this up, but I guess that comes with the territory. The jawbone “shelf” is probably my biggest concern at the moment.

[Maulevolent]

It’s been a few years and my kit was a salvage mission I took from someone else, but I followed this guide for most of it:

http://imperialgunners.com/tutorial/jaw_assembly.htm

I do recommend doing the lens last once everything else is molded, shaped, and finished.  Attach it to the dome and “ears” leaving a small gap between the lens and shelf for ventilation and fogging purposes.

 

 

[Buccaneerbrawler]

Aside from a few touch ups that need to be done, the antenna is installed!

Edited September 6, 2023 by Buccaneerbrawler
Spelling error

[BFKN]

Almost there!

[Buccaneerbrawler]

So, I did a thing tonight. The upper part of the helmet is based off a WWII naval helmet that has a widows peak and this particular spot is a straight edge on the visor. It still need to be cleaned up and leveled, but it’s progressing along. I’ll be picking up the electronics for my com box soon and once that is installed along with the greebles, I can call that piece done.

[Buccaneerbrawler]

WIP Wednesday! So with much butthole puckering, I have started the final shaping of my jawbone. I’m still convinced that things are going to go HORRIBLY wrong but we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. Next step is to trim out the inside (my face needs to fit somewhere in there) and then permanently attach it and hit it with bondo(?), putty(?), and then sand it down flush and repaint it with a high gloss black. I can feel the ulcer growing as we speak. Wish me luck!

[Buccaneerbrawler]

WIP update! Well, if you read the post on Facebook, you know what’s happened. For those who don’t, I used some plastic weld putty to attach the “shelf” to my jawbone. This was holding and setting up well, or so I thought. I removed the tape, everything was holding together and the following morning, the whole lower jaw had fallen apart. I was devastated. But, we carry on with our builds, right? So a few dabs of E6000 later, and we’re ready for the putty stage. As we speak it is currently setting up on the helmet, but here’s the jawbone before the putty. I’m definitely going to have to air out the workshop from that stuff.

[Buccaneerbrawler]

I did a thing. Unfortunately, I ran out of daylight, so I’m going to let it dry overnight and hopefully the weather will cooperate for the next few days so that I can get the gloss on. Honestly, this was the most nerve wracking thing I’ve done (call me over dramatic) but I feel accomplished with the work done today. 

[Buccaneerbrawler]

I haven’t updated in a while, but here’s the dry fit of the top of the helmet and my bib in progress.

[Buccaneerbrawler]

Do you know what this current stage and Phantom of the Opera have in common? I’ve passed the point of no return. The rivets are in and the com box is on for placement. I need to place that on and install the mounting bolt and drill a hole for the electronics. It’s almost there and I’m feeling accomplished. Thank you to those of you who have been pushing me forward while making this and Ezra for your words of encouragement and motivation. Believe it or not, they’ve been a huge help.

[Buccaneerbrawler]

I’m so glad that I had an extra light kit for my com box. I pulled the switch out of the connector port and for some reason the blue led completely burned out as a result. Once the humidity drops outside, I’ll take the helmet out and spray on the final layers of paint and install the com box and permanently attach the visor lens.

[Buccaneerbrawler]

Who made that man a gunner?

I did, sir. He’s my cousin!

Welp, here’s version two (of six) of the Gunner. I’m awaiting the shipment of my bib to finish off the ANH version that I want to do. But in the meantime, I’ll be satisfied with the ROTJ look.

[Swiftcloud]

This is awesome! I can’t wait to see it in person! Great job brother!