freaking badass, man. don't be ashamed of your nerdiness, embrace it!

Awesomeness

Thanks for all the kind comments guys!! I am hoping that my aluminum dome and aluminum skins show up today, if they do.....i'll post tons of pics!!!!

Curse your metal body, you weren't fast enough!

I also just realized that there is no mail today.......what a bummer.

Tonight I got the coin slots painted and clear coated. It took some doing finding cans of Sonic Blue Pearl, but I managed after going to 3 different stores!!

So here's a look of the unpainted slots, and the two cans of paint I bought.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1324.jpg

Finally, I went and sprayed lighter coats of the blue on. I waited about 10 minutes, and would spray another coat on, and then did this three times. After the 3 coats, I then waited 30 minutes, and did a coat of clear. I waited 2 minutes for each coat of clear and placed two coats of clear on here and allowed to dry. I gave it 4 hours of dry time before taking these photos! I must say, I am very happy with the results.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1325.jpg

Now, it's time to remove the masking tape that protects the ends of the slots. If this tape failed me, then it would pretty much ruin my coin slots.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1326.jpg

so far so good.........
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1327.jpg

and finally, all of the masking tape removed!!!!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1328.jpg

Very happy with how this came out. Took a lot of time masking and prepping, but I think the end result in worth it. The only downside is I still think that this is a darker blue than I would like, however, I am keeping it for now, and will see what it looks like in a more natural light!

December 28th, 2011........what a day!!!

I came home to a big box on my doorstep! I knew what it was by the sender, but it didn't stop me from taking a series of photos!!

Here's the box as it sits...
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1329.jpg

I cut open the edges with a pocket knife.....
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1330.jpg

I open it up to find........another box?!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1331.jpg

Open the other box and reveal this round thing!!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1332.jpg

Now you can start to see the top of something....aluminum, and ROUND?
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1333.jpg

removing some of the packaging, you can see the 300mm dome!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1334.jpg

Here you can see all the pieces laid out side by side!!!!!!!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1335.jpg

Here is a shot showing how close the two domes are in size!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1336.jpg

December 28th!!! A day that is now a new holiday for me!!!

Melissa is pretty hot!

how do you know her name?

ROFL Shit just got real http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs/119810_o.gif

everyone has got their own unique hobby i guess

Lets get back to the Melissa thing.

:popcorn:

Today I told myself......"I will cut out some dome panels tonight"......however that just didn't happen. Before I dive into the dome, I want to make sure I know 100% what the hell I am doing, and I am just not there yet. So I took today's beautiful weather to sand and repaint my legs.

To start with, I used a thick sanding block to go over the runs on the legs. Gradually, when I could see the primer coming back and the run line gone, I would move to a different area. Here you can see what the leg looks like partially painted.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1348.jpg

After I got it to this point, I took some 1200 grit sandpaper, and sanded for awhile to smooth things out.

While this was going on, I figured it was a good time to go ahead and paint the middle leg and skirt as well. The painting of them went a LOT smoother than my main legs did the first time. I thought standing them up would give me an advantage the first time, however all it did was cause the paint to run. The paint on these two turned out fairly well, except for the skirt.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1349.jpg

While painting the skirt, I quickly noticed a problem. Because I layered MDF together, and never put a coat of filler or anything on it, all of the lines were starting to show through!!!! Fortunately, this is a very easy fix that just requires some wood filler and sanded. I won't have to do the whole thing, just the sides.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1351.jpg


Next, I laid the main legs on the same paper outside, and got them ready for paint. For these, really after the 1200 sanding, all I do is take a microfiber cloth and scrub them really good. This 'should' pick up any loose particles, but the real test of that will come once they dry. Fortunately, there are no bugs right now where I live (knock on wood).

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1352.jpg

And finally, a shot of when they are all painted. They look 1000000000x better, yes, I said 1000000000x. They are smooth as silk (right now) and have absolutely no runs, tomorrow evening, i'll flip them over and do the opposite side. After that, I want to give them about 2-10 days to fully dry before I clear coat them.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1353.jpg

That's it for today, it's one of those days where a lot was accomplished, and it didn't take very much time. Now that's a good day.

The mighty plastic cocks of R2D2.