Here's today's update:
These pieces were fine sanded today before I ran out of sand paper, I have 3 pieces left to finish this portion of the job.
I went to the store to buy more sanding pads and picked up some glazing putty as well. I figured I didnt want to do anymore sanding today, I'd save it for tomorrow. So, I glazed the pieces that had been fine sanded:
At this time, this project is turning out to be exactly as labor intensive as I had anticipated. Making the templates, painting, assembly, that's all the easy stuff. The fiberglassing itself isn't even difficult. It's the sand, bondo, sand, bondo, sand, putty, sand, putty, sand... that gets old quickly.
As I sat sanding today, an epiphany struck... All the flat plates, ie those without intense angles etc., I should have made from 3MM sintra. It would have saved alot of time and work. Likely, I'd be to painting by now. If anyone is following this build with the idea of doing one for themselves or applying these techniques to the build on the Mando from another era, I would suggest that any plates you can make with metal, sintra or trashcans you do so. In the case of my build, that would have been the backplate, left thigh, fronts on both lower legs, right gauntlet and the upper shell of the left gauntlet. Due to the raised plates on the right thigh, left lower shell and the intense angles on the chest and shoulders, they are the only pieces of this build that I really had to use these techniques.
So, tomorrow, more sanding. I will hopefully get the last 3 pieces fine sanded and hopefully glazed. Hopefully I'll be cooking along fast enough I can start sanding the already glazed pieces as well. However, that may be another day.
