my new metal armor

i've started (well, almost finished really!) working on the metal armor i picked up from here last week. it's made by durasteel, a regular on RPF, and is very nice! i'm quite happy with the purchase.

this is what it looked like out of the box:



the first thing i did was cut out the display slots:



and now the disclaimers... these photos were shot under cheap flourescent lights in my basement, so the colors are all funky. it really doesn't look so canary-like in person!

next i masked off the areas where i wanted the silver to show through and sprayed it all yellow



more masking, then the lighter green layer went down:



the plate on the left is from my current armor.

i'm getting a metal backplate made to finish the set, but in the mean time i'll be keeping the collar and back from my plastic stuff. i'm trying to keep the colors similar so that they will look OK together.

anyway... next came some darker green and some black misting. from there i peeled off the various layers of masking fluid, misted it again, did a light black wash to dull down the paint, and started the fine scratching.

i'm holding back a little on weathering until the decals arrive.



in the pic above, the new stuff is on the left, and the old stuff is on the right.



i strayed from mom-accurate on the codpiece. the weathering is a hybrid of the aosw and mom styles, since the mom suit is dentless.



this is a closeup of the first section that i've spent some time scratching up. i actually liquid masked a bunch of the scuffs on this part, since i wanted to make sure the lighter green showed through ok.

and while they aren't metal, i also finally painted the vac formed knee armor i've had around for months:



the shoulder in the middle is from my existing armor... i used that as a color reference in the basement. since the lighting down there sucks, i wanted to have something that was a "known good" color to compare to.

wow thats some verry nice looking stuff

Durasteel armor is what I too have....I still love it!

Steve

****... looking mighty good!

Wow! You really didn't waste any time, I really admire that (I had my armor sitting in a box for a couple years). Great job, the armor is looking nice!

What are you going to do with your old stuff? :hint: :hint:

Awesome paintjob!

Originally Posted by MaxPlague

Wow! You really didn't waste any time, I really admire that (I had my armor sitting in a box for a couple years). Great job, the armor is looking nice!

yeah, drew said that it looked like some of his earlier stuff. i'm definitely the impatient type with this sort of thing

thanks for the kind words folks

this is pretty exciting for me. i got my other armor pre-painted, but i've been itching to do a set for myself. i have a lot of fun doing the layered weathering. i've always had a strange sort of compulsive habit of peeling paint, so this just plays into it so well!

i've had a lot of questions about the old armor... it looks like the line forms to the right

Great paint job. Enjoy your new aluminum armor, and be sure to share some pics once you get in on your vest. Oh ... btw, where are you getting your back plate? From DS?

Originally Posted by Gator Fett

Great paint job. Enjoy your new aluminum armor, and be sure to share some pics once you get in on your vest. Oh ... btw, where are you getting your back plate? From DS?

yup. he and i have been mailing back and forth about details. the plan is that i'll send him my collar and he'll make the backplate and make sure they line up nicely together.

Nice work.. Gotta love the metal armor.

Brian, looks fantastic! I can't wait to see it in person tonight!

Hey... I wonder who painted that old stuff....

looks awesome!!

i had my first time out in the new armor!

of course, i got what i deserved for not trying it out first! the belts were sized to fit around/over the codpiece. the new stuff was smaller than the older armor, so the belts were much too big and kept falling down.

otherwise though it's coming together nicely. the knees are a bit too orange, so that needs to be toned down, and the shoulders are way too shiny. but in generall i was pretty happy with it.

the weight was no concern... it didn't feel any worse than what i had before.

You bought the armor pre-made (but not painted) from "durasteel"?

How much did it cost and do you know what kinda of metal (and what thickness) is it?

Originally Posted by SaberMaker

You bought the armor pre-made (but not painted) from "durasteel"?

How much did it cost and do you know what kinda of metal (and what thickness) is it?

whoah ancient post. this thread is 3 years old. Prices def have changed since then. If it's metal armor you are looking for speak to Wickedbeard. Nice guy and great armor. He even does gauntlets in metal.

Originally Posted by xfettx

whoah ancient post. this thread is 3 years old. Prices def have changed since then. If it's metal armor you are looking for speak to Wickedbeard. Nice guy and great armor. He even does gauntlets in metal.

durasteel's stuff is different than anyone else i've ever seen... i don't know if he's still doing it, but it was/is smith forged metal, like medieval armor. museum quality stuff but at a hefty price. for the chest, collar, shoulders, back, cod and kidney i paid $1300 unpainted.

honestly, it's not very practical as it weighs a ton. all but the back is aluminum, about 1/8" - 1/4" thick, depending on the area. the back is 18 or 20 gauge steel with welded details for the straps.

it also took a LONG time to get... 6+ months from paid to received with little to no contact. he's been banned from here and the RPF. take that as you will.

Brian, I never knew Drew charged you that much for your armor.

Originally Posted by Gator Fett

Brian, I never knew Drew charged you that much for your armor.

I got some of the stuff second hand and some from him direct. The back plate was $300something from Drew, the rest was the second hand lot.

I have no idea what D. charged originally, but at the time I was looking for it the used stuff was going for $800 - $1200 depending on the sale.