It's the small things that you do...

For a change, both Nixu and Veka managed to find some time to come working on their packs. This was a pleasant thing, and I am happy at what we managed to do today..

We gave all our packs a thorough sanding with 0000 grade steel wool. It removed most of the imperfections that came up when I painted the packs, ( I DO SO HATE THAT PAINT!!!) and gave the pack a nice dull finish. The imperfections that appeared on the packs can, and will be used when we are making the wear and tear... Hopefully in the near future..

As I had to repair my pack from the damage that Nixu's pack did (bad, bad pack...) I went on to make the weld lines on my Ion arm.

The boyz are busy doing the same..

While the boys worked on their welds, I cut out the first warning labels, and promptly glued it on. Nixu protested the idea, as the welds needed to be painted, but I decided to push forward on this..


Veka is taking his time doing the welds..

He did the same that Nixu did, and added some weld lines that were not on the original packs. This is not any problem for us...

I borrowed a laptop computer for the label work. It is very difficult to tell where every piece is going, as some pieces on the HPProps' sheets are for the gun, and some for the pack...

Still after a while I got the hang of it...

Beer, as witnessed on the two Olvi bottles, has been a driving force on these... All in all, we were drunk when the idea of building these packs was conceived by Nixu...

And as the welds were drying, the boyz started to cut out their labels..

And yes, it is very tedious job... It would have been so much more easier to buy BobaMatt's stickers, but this was the way to go for us..

Here Veka is placing one of the top stickers on.

I had done this already, and the boyz took note on my pack on the placement..

My Ion Arm, welded, but not painted..

Nixu too the opportunity to try his pack on..

Looks good, although the gun is not painted..

There is so much work on these, I can tell you, but in the end the results are speaking..

After the labels, I went on attaching the pneumatic couplings. I used a pop rivet, but did not thighten it so much as to snap the shaft off. This gave me a strong pin onto what the couplings were glued by two part epoxy..

For a while the coupler on the Cyclotron needed a support, and as the one for the Ion arm could not be used before the Iona Arm was painted, I used it to support the other one..

I took the pneumatic elbows out for a quick spray with gold paint, and presto, they were looking very brassy.. Note that the two brass legris straights ARE brass..

I then glued the other coupler on to the HGA.

It really looks nice in there..

I also attached the coupler on the Ion Arm, but did not glue it on yet. That will be done after the paint on the weld lines is dry..

The tubing are giving the pack a real nice look...

Although I ordered enough tubing for four packs, there were enough of the small loom tube for three packs... Well, that is not such a big problem...

Here is my pack, after the paint job, and with the clippard attached. It really, REALLY looks good!

Veka's pack followed en suite...

As well as Nixu's.. Nixu felt bad as he looked upon his pack, for he had wished to do all the work himself.. Well, he has a family, and that comes first. This is a hobby after all..