Liquid Mask Strikes Back

I sprayed the final red on the gauntlets (Rustoleum Cabernet) and then dusted them with flat black.  Followed by darkening some areas with even more flat black to make "scorch marks".  As I said last time, the liquid mask I was using turned out to be crap.  But by the time I discovered this, I had already used it on the gauntlets.  It turned into a nightmare.  Once I sprayed the final red on the gauntlets, I started peeling off the liquid mask and it began to peel up other layers beneath it.  I spent hours trying to gingerly remove the liquid mask.  Sometimes it ended up peeling everything right down to the white resin.

Luckily, with touch-ups, I managed to save the day, and in the end, I'm pretty happy.  I added more scratches and pock marks with a screwdriver, a car key and some gravel.

 A new bottle of Windsor Newton Masking Fluid came in, and I'll be testing that soon. The old stuff is going in the trash.

All I have left to do with the gauntlets is go over them with Testor's Dullcoat (a flat clear), install the switches I bought at RadioShack, and add the custom aluminum gauntlet darts I got from Mojo-Fett.  Speaking of which... here are the gauntlet darts and toe spikes for the boots. Custom machined aluminum. Beautiful.

Also, I received the ammo belt -- hand made leather by Mel Mattson -- and boy, did she do a hell of a job.  I still have to age it a bit, and add grommets to the back so I can cinch the belt with leather lacing.

In other news, the wife and I went to the fabric store and picked out the material she's going to use to make the flak vest that the chest and shoulder armor attach to.

And because I'm a geek, I bought this for myself, online:

It's been rainy here all weekend, so I can't finish the gauntlets yet, but soon. Then I'll get started on the Jetpack's paint job.

~N