My Zam Project Progress

[ItsThatGuy]

I love 'em! Putting that brown leather strip there was genious! Great idea!

My only complaint is the toe and ankle guards weathering is too heavy in some places, making it look painted and not weathered. Hope that makes since.

 

[JDFett]

Ya...actually i had just put the rub and buff on and wanted to take some shots...hadnt had a chance to buff it in

with the leather strip...glad you like that...i actually wanted to sort of match the shoe color with a hint of purple...when you see it in person it really can look like very dark purple but matches the boots nice...all the colors are coming together and working well with each other... the shin guards are funny cause in the bright light they really take on a more purple look but in the shadows they come out with more of the burgundy color like the VD and the movie...so im real happy with the way it's coming together...a real movie looking zam i think

 

[MaulMaus]

That's really coming along!!!

You'll have to tell me how well the leather weld holds down those leather pieces... (Notice, I'm letting you be the guinea pig here! j/k )

 

[sl tk8456]

Cracking

 

[JDFett]

That's really coming along!!!

You'll have to tell me how well the leather weld holds down those leather pieces... (Notice, I'm letting you be the guinea pig here! j/k )

i tried giving it a little pull the next day...noway thats coming apart without some serious yanking on it...using that stuff to glue leather to leather is really strong

 

[MaulMaus]

Cool... That is most likely how I'm gonna be putting down those purple thingies...

 

[JDFett]

it helps a lot with the strength of the seam if you use some high grit, like wet dry sandpaper, to rough up the area to be glued first...just be careful cause you dont want the sanded area to show past the seam. also paint the shins(if you plan on doing that) after the whole leather area is constructed. I also used Duco spray adhesive to hold the pigskin to the shins...seems to be working quite well

 

[MaulMaus]

Okay... I'm confused (I'm blonde...I'm allowed to be confused! ) You painted the shins after you put the leather on them? I guess I don't understand what you painted....

 

[JDFett]

well the shins are covered in pigskin...after the shins are covered and the edge applied...i used leather paint to paint them instead of dye...the reason was

1. the pigskin i used was very inexpensive and was a darker skin tone, therefore i had to mix a lot of variants to get the color i wanted,

2. The dye just wasnt doing what i hoped for and was a lot harder to manage over a dark colored pigskin

the leather paint i got from turtlefeathers.com, they also sell a spray to cover the painted surface to make it water proof and sealed

(BTW dont worry about the blond moment, Jamie's blond too...hehehe...she doesnt have too many of those...but every now and then...HAHA she is actually a pretty smart girl for a blond...)

 

[MaulMaus]

I think I've been insulted... Good thing you're covering you're tracks there though.

But now I get it... you waterproofed and sealed it... that's what the spray was for! Aaahh... I bought my last batch of dye from TurtleFeathers... Yep. It's a never ending process. :facepalm

 

[ItsThatGuy]

Laura, don't worry, I'm blond and polish! I got you beat!

The more I read JD's post, the more I didn't understand, so I was right there with you.

I am going to dry that Dusky Lavender leather you suggested first...and if that doesn't pan out, I will let you know!

 

[JDFett]

okay guys....

here is what i did....

cut out a piece of leather pigskin...sprayed the back of the skin and the shin both with the duco spray adhesive....then wrapped the shin with the leather piece....pressing around the details on the ankle and wrapping the excess under the bottom and over the top...

I then took another piece about 2 inches wide...sanded the edge where i planned on placing the raised "lip" or trim piece at the top of the shin...put down some leather weld glue and slowly worked my way down the length of the top...I had to put a small seam in the middle near the point at the top because i couldnt get the fabric to make the turn. seam is barely noticable.

after i let that dry...i put more leather weld on the piece i put down so when i folded it over and glued it to the inside of the shin it would provide more glue holding the whole trim piece together...(this whole concept is pretty much the same method cal did, with the exception of the sewing...i used the glue instead of stitching)

the excess was again glued to the inside of the shin...I also covered the top inside with a finished piece...not that it would be seen much but i figured it offered a nice finished touch in case she is walking and someone looks down...they will see the leather instead of the inside of the shin...

after that was done....i used leather paint...1 part lilac to 2 parts burgundy(that worked for me with the leather color i had used...may not work for others if the color is not the same) The leather paint is acryllics...but made specifically for leather so it wont crack or chip...i then sprayed the whole shin with a acryllic sealer from the same place for waterproofing and to seal the paint....

that was the process for the shin piece only...the ankle and toe armor is obvioulsy done with silver leaf, pewter and spanish copper rub and buff, and the tooth i did with regular acryllic paint...white and yellow mix to get the bone color and a brown for the detail...

the other leather section was just another piece of pig skin cut out to follow the stitch line in the side of the boot and extend from the toe to the top of the lace area...I then stitched a darker constrast strip down the center of that and glued the whole piece to the lace area of the boot with leather weld..

any questions?

 

[MaulMaus]

I'm sure I'll think of some smart-alec question sooner or later... just give me some time.

The more I read JD's post, the more I didn't understand, so I was right there with you.

Good... I'm not the only one! It's all his fault then!!

 

[JDFett]

Our Kentucky flintlock replica came in today! I went to HD looking for some good parts to construct the scope and the side mounted greeblie thing...found some workable stuff...will post stuff once i get started on it...

 

[sl tk8456]

JD if you contact Ian TK7903 on these boards, he does wicked greeblies and scopes.
He did Beckys for me (Langsuir666)....but if you're skilled to do em yourself, cool

 

[JDFett]

depending on the price it may be an option(as this homemade version cost me about 7 bucks)...

here is a quick mockup of my progress...

some spare parts i got at HD....

first i used the bevel washers for the front...rub and buffing them.
I then had to make an adjustment for the next piece from the pvc coupling i grabbed...dremelled details and some rub and buff later...

the next part was also a piece of pvc coupling...i had to put some pc-7 epoxy on it so it hasnt been sanded to its final shape, but once that is done i will also use rub and buff on it...I then used a series of rubber faucet washers and zinc washers...all these pieces were put together on a piece of 1/2 inch dowel...

I then made the end piece from a coat hanger piece and a daub of pc-7, which will be sanded into shape and painted...

here is what it looks like at this point...only thing left is some final sanding, detail and paint...

not perfect but i think it gets the point across, the number represent the following...

1 - the resister area that needs to be sanded "into shape"
2 - the gap between these two washers will be filled with pc-7, sanded and rub and buffed
3 - I need to dremel two score lines in these spots to mirror the actual piece
4 - needs to be sanded, shaped and rub and buffed

a quick mock up with the rifle...

will obviously look much better after i sand, final paint and finish the piece...

 

[ItsThatGuy]

Not bad for 7 bucks! Very clever!

 

[JDFett]

i have this thing, i like to try and build stuff from scratch if i can, especially when it comes to weapons and such...it brings out the old model builder in me...upgrades are for later when i have extra cash laying around and the actual zam is fiished

 

[sl tk8456]

Ah dude that's inspirational

Try and find 'smoother' parts and spray them rather than hand paint them?
I would have thought if enough people wanted them Ian's price could come down? But it's not for me to say. I will say that his stuff is ace though and I'm very pleased with them.

That said. That looks awesome and will do the job

 

[JDFett]

im actually on another trek today for some other possibilities...i think i can find some better options for some of the parts, and it wasnt quite long enough...but that was pretty good for a test run...after comparing to the actual picture a few times i saw some stuff i'd like to change around...stay tuned...still trying to keep it under 10 bucks...