Well, here I come with the step-by-step of assembling the GA's Fiberglass JP.
First of all, I got the JP from a second hand on Ebay, but what I was told, didn't come with all the things you see here, specially the styrene backing plate and greeblies, and I got it just like in the second pic.
You need to buy a 2" PVC pipe for the "core"; 2" PVC pipe coupler (just in case, which I used); 5'X 3/4" PVC pipe for the frame and thruster dowel; 3/4" wood screws; 3/4" PVC pipe brackets; 1/8" or 1/4" thick styrene plastic at least 20" X 20" for the backing plate, or buy two of the thickest plastic signs you could find; phillips and flat tip screwdrivers; hammer drill with bits; dremmel tool with fiberglass cutting wheel; a hot melt Glue Gun and plenty of glue sticks; "Great Stuff" foam filler; nylon strap (aprox. 36", or the lenght you need to use for the belt strap; military buckle and strap set (2) or use the same kind of strap for the belt and buy the plastic buckles at Walmart; fiberglass cloth and resin; Bondo Glazing Putty, Bondo Auto Body Repair Kit; lots of sandpaper of different grits and lots of Cryoacrylite ("Crazy Glue", "Super Glue", etc.) in Gel formula recommended but not necessary...and lots of PATIENCE.
The Rocket assembly came separate from the body, and the body didn't have holes at all. The inside of this JP is really rough, with a lot of Fiberglass resin and fiber hanging around, so be really carefull while working with this (trust me when I say that, I was looking like a wrestler with half of my fingers covered with Band-Aids after dealing with it). Use leather gloves for safety and goggles.
I suggest at this point that if you have the straps and buckles, its better to have them already assembled and ready to put. This is in case if you already have a method of harness system, which I'm using the same one as in BradleyFett's website (the old military radio harness) but with plastic buckles, which are better and easier...less bulky. As of the light beacon, if you have one from
BKBT, or either a resin one...you'd better install it
NOW to the JP body, making a drill hole and screw it from the inside before installing the frame. It should be already painted (if you decided to do it that way for accuracy), and masked completely.
At this time you should cut the 2" PVC pipe in a way that could fit inside in between the top and the bottom, and that you could rotate that pipe inside with no problems, but really close enough so it could touch the bottom and the top of the body and fit snug while rotate, but not too much, and cut a space at the bottom so the nozzle dowel doesn't interfere with the core, but should basically touch each other, but not too much. Do the same with the 3/4 PVC pipe and cut it in pieces according to the "Obi-Wan's Jedi Academy" website
http://www.jedi-academy.com/fett_jet pack4.html But this could be not exactly the same sizes, so you have to figure out the best way and measures to fit in this one, cause the lenght of the two bottom pieces that connects the middle and the bottom pipes were too long to fit inside interfering with the thrusters dowel, so I cut like an extra inch or two of what it says.
I had to buy an extra 3/4" pipe, cause the result was too short to the sides, and too long from top to bottom, so I cut the horizontal pipes large enough, so they could pass the corners from the back edge of the JP which helps in case that the brackets give up for the weight, and the thruster nozzle dowel was too short which should extend at least 1 3/4" - 2" from the side holes to the outside. For this, you'd probably have to assemble the frame inside the JP once you assemble the core.
With the drill and a "door knob hole" bit, aprox. 1 1/2" - 2" diameter, open a hole centered where the rocket assembly should fit, and a little snug. Use a 3/4" drill bit and make the holes on the sides for the thrusters dowel. Once is cut and sanded a little bit, verify that the 2" PVC core fits with it, installing the core first and then the rocket assy. Probably you have to sand down the r.a. bottom so it could fit in the PVC pipe, which I recommend to do this first before you make the hole on top of the JP body and test it with the nozzle dowel. If it fits, proceed to lay the nylon strap around the core, most likely to the bottom area just above the thrusters dowel. We will continue with this later on...
NOTE: The following three pics were taken before I noticed that the frame and dowel measures were off proportion, except for the vertical posts of the frame (up and down pieces).
Make 4 drill holes around the PVC core top with the r.a. already installed. Then proceed to use wood screws to secure the r.a. to the core. Rotate as practical which will finish where the gap at the bottom will be facing up. Install the thruster dowel and center it. I had to use the 2" PVC coupler, based on my mistakes the first time, and the r.a didn't fit correctly in the core. Remember that the inside of any PVC pipe is different from the outside, that's where the problem happened here.
Now if you figured out the way to assemble the frame, insert the two strap and buckle assemblies to the top horizontal piece, one in each side, before you glue the frame together.
Make 8 drill holes in the core, already pre-aligned and tested, so you could screw the brackets to secure the frame to the core. This holes should be slightly smaller than the screws, so the screws could fit snug in the holes.
Once this process is made, frame already assembled and r.a. snug in place, apply Bondo Glazing putty around the r.a. so it has no gaps in between the body and the r.a.
After that, glue the tank tops to the body using "Crazy Glue", and once is hardened, proceed with the Bondo Glazing Putty around the caps to get rid of gaps.
Once this is done and wait a couple of days until it dries up, and proceed to sand these areas really good and smooth.
Continue with the body:
Cut leveled the edges of the body using the dremmel tool in the back of the body, which is supposed to be flat and curved (specially in the area close to the r.a.), but be careful with the bottom, that the space in between the panel and the frame doesn't interfere, or you're gonna have hell trying to close the JP. Install brackets around the edges inside the JP body, but you'd probably want to use a hammer to bend a little the brackets that goes in the sides and the bottom (sides are more open, while the bottom ones are like a little closed). Install these brackets the best way you can, and measuring the distance and the angle really carefully, which I used a Glue Gun for this job, after trying with the Super Glue with little or no sucess.
Once it dries up, proceed looking for the styrene or piece of plastic you'e gonna use for the closing backing plate. Lay down the whole JP back facing down on top of the plastic so you could trace with a pencil or marker the shape of the backing plate. Once is traced, cut the shape, and remember to leave at least an extra 1/2 inch left outwards in all directions, specially in the sides and top...you'll notice why later on...if you cut it too short, it will leave a big gap, and we have to try to have the least or smallest gaps possible around the JP body around the sides.
Now, measure the size and distance from the buckles in the frame to make the holes you want in the panel, so you could pop out the buckles thru them. Do the same at the bottom (if applies, depending on the JP harness method).
If you're using any kind of foam filler like "Great Stuff" (which is not exactly necessary), use it just to secure the frame to the core and the body of the JP, this is just to have a sturdy support to the frame from the body, but do not use too much, specially at the bottom (which I made the mistake of doing it), that now i have no way to move the bottom strap.
I did the whole inside with this and now the JP is so heavy. Leave it at least a day or two to dry up and remove the excess foam. It can't pass the level where the panel goes, cause if not, it won't close.
Using the Glue gun or Super glue (whichever method is easier for you), apply the glue to the brackets and quickly but carefully close the back, inserting the buckles first thru the holes before closing. Remember that once this panel closes, there's no way back.
Once it's dried and securely closed, use the dremmel tool and cut the excess plastic, trying not to get from the Fiberglass of the body. Once is done, sand all surfaces, specially around the gaps, and clean it good with a damp cloth or even a brush.
Proceed to prepare the fiberglass cloth and resin. (Note: If you've never worked with Fiberglass resin or car body work, look for help or someone who knows about fiberglass.)Cut the fiberglass cloth to the size needed, and following the FG resin instructions of course, and prepare the resin with enough hardener as needed. If you don't use the hardener as per the instructions, you'd have wet resin on your JP for days, maybe weeks (I learned the hard way). Apply the cloth and resin to close the gaps around the body, and let it dry for about 2 days. Once dried, use the dremmel tool to cut the excess FG filaments and resin from the body, and sand it smooth.
Proceed with the Bondo Repair Kit, applying around the fiberglass work you just did couple of days ago, and make it really flat and smooth as possible. Be advised, this Bondo could dry REALLY, REALLY FAST! Don't use the quantity of hardener it says in the instructions, so you could have enough time to work with it, but still dries up really fast, not more than 2-3 mins. Prepare and use just little at a time. Once it dries up, probably in the next hour, proceed to sand it again smooth.
After all this process, tape up (mask) the straps, which you could have done this earlier after closing the back panel, and prime the whole JP with automotive filler primer, specially Grey color. After that, just sand it and paint it as you go.
Nozzles:
For the nozzles, I didn't use the ones that came with the JP kit, but I used two air fresheners that cost me like .90¢ each. All I had to do is to dissassemble them and sand the outside really good with a fine grit sandpaper, which you need patience.
Once it's used, I take the bottom and cut the excess plastic around and use the very bottom of the a.f. with a hobby knife. The top I just have to pop it out and invert it with the inside out (little tip showing upwards) secured with Super Glue and cutting the excess plastic so it doesn't extend up too much to interfere with the nozzle "balls".
Once I cut the bottoms flat and sand them really good, I inserted these bottoms inside the mail nozzle, with the bottom facing out, creating an "original and realistic" look to the nozzle if you see it from the outside.
Apply the bottoms snug and use Super Glue to leave it fixed to the nozzle inside, and closing any gaps around the piece. Cut two pieces 1/2" long of 3/4" pipe used for the frame, and sand them flat where you just made the cut and around with a fine grit sandpaper, to erase the letters (if any) in the PVC pipe and have a surface that the paint could stick to. Apply these pieces to the stud coming out from the nozzle balls applying Super Glue. Once you're done, just prime them and paint them as you want.
You could make this JP lighter and easier to ship, if you create a way to install the r.a. as a non-permamnent placement, using some kind of "locking-pin" device system from the rear of the JP, and some kind of brackets from the inside of the JP as to attach the buckles or whatever you use as a harness system...that is your option.
Hope this guide will help everyone who has one of these (GA Fiberglass Jet Pack).
Robert