**Jetpack Update - Picture Heavy**
Here it is....My Jetpack build. I just want to re-iterate that I'm not looking for 501st approval and I'm sure that in many eye's probably not 100% accurate. But after a month of assembling, accidentally breaking - repairing and all the taping, bagging and painting, here is what I came up with.... (
Be easy on me.....I know its amateur hour. )
So, I ended up getting Coz3D's Jetpack which can be found on Etsy. I was wanting a cheap Jetpack that looked the part and something I could hopefully take to the next level. In the interest in taking it to that next level, I've otp'd to upgraded several parts on this kit. And those parts are:
Vendor | Part |
QuestDesignCanada | Metal Beacon with LED (with Steady LED and Pulse LED Options) |
QuestDesignCanada | Metal Stabilizer |
QuestDesignCanada | Metal Thruster Greeblies |
Full Metal Fett | Metal Hooks and Rings |
Obtained from a friend | Metal Rivets |
DeLucks Designs | ROTJ Jetpack Decals |
Here was the kit as I got it...
After some light sanding to get some components to fit correctly I used Gorilla Glue Gel and was able to get it all assembled...
Knowing that this 3D print was done up in PLA (
as most kits are) I opt'd to go with a product by
Smooth-On called "
XTC-3D" to assist in the smoothing out of those pesky "
print lines".
I gotta tell you this stuff does an amazing job with very little effort. And can attest that it does indeed hide the print lines quite well as you've probably seen on my EE-3.
You can see the posts above of the XTC-3D /Primer work (
As well as that repair I had to do - Post #186). And here is the paints I decided on.
Manufacturer | Color |
Humbrol | Matt 104 - Oxford Blue |
Humbrol | Matt 73 - Wine |
Vallejo (Game Air Series) | 72.707 Gold Yellow |
Tamiya | X-11 - Silver/Chrome |
Tamiya | X-2 - White |
Here it is all Silver/Chome'd up...
.....I've been used to Tamiya X-11 and other paints, and they all sprays great with a little Airbrush Flow Improver. But the Blue from Humbrol? My lord was this stuff really thick. Had to use 3 to 4 times as much Airbrush Flow Improver to get it to shoot. But here is the layer of Blue.
I won't go through every Color, but I can tell you that a lot of time was spent taping and bagging the JP to get it prepped to paint on the next color.
I did want to go over my review of DeLucks Decals I got them back in spring of this year and they looked great! However, I did notice that the main tank decals (
The symbols that sit in-between the black stripes on the tanks) didn't look correct. Sadly, I set them aside and decided to hand draw my own. Now go ahead and laugh at this next part because what I did here was rather silly, but in my eyes worked great. Using a piece of hobby tape I darkened my room and resized the 501st CRL photo to be about the correct size for my JP and stuck it to my monitor.
Using a pencil I traced the symbol. I then removed the tape and stuck it to a piece of Plexiglass and cut it out.
I looked at it and compared it to DeLucks Decal....
I like my iteration of it and decided to use it. I got it applied and painted on.
The end result?
The other decals I ended up using and it may have just been that I've had the decals for an extended period, but they were quite difficult to get off the backing and onto the transfer tape. I had to start peeling the transfer tape and then lay it flat on the table and then sharply turning the backing and onto the transfer tape. This process worked and was quite pleased with how they looked!
I really liked those rivets on the 501st's CRL photo, something that the Coz3D JP didn't come with. These rivets are installed on the right hand side of the JP on the white section. A buddy of mine had a few rivets lying around and graciously made a contribution.
Here are those rivets....
Using a vice, I gently knocked the pins out and tossed them.
I drilled out two holes (
The drill bits I used were 9/64 and 13/64)
The simply dropped right in for a perfect fit!
I then drilled out two shallow holes in a scrap piece of 2X4 for painting...
Once dried I got em set in place using the Gorilla Super Glue Gel.
After the painting was completed I installed the Magnets (
For the back cover) which are super strong magnets by the way, and the Full Metal Fett - Hooks.
And after about a months worth of work, the final reveal.....
And again, I'm not going after a 501st certification here, but to me.....I'm very pleased with how this JP turned out. I'm sure there are more than a few discrepancies with this pack. But not too bad for a first-timer, eh?
Oh! I also wanted to share with you the two lighting options I got from QuestDesignCanada.
First the Steady Light:
And Second the Pulsing Light:
I know the Pulsing Light is something that didn't occur in either the ESB or ROTJ (
unless I"m mistaken) but it was an option that QDC was offering and for just a few bucks more....I thought, why not?
With only a couple weeks left till Halloween, I'll be on Helmet paint-up duty!
Thanks,
-Iron
P.S. I'll more than likely be getting a Boba Maker Pack in 2021. So......you may see this pack listed in the Cargo Hold during Q4 of 2021.